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by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Friday marks two years to the day since the World Health Organization first described Covid-19 as a pandemic, shaking countries into action as the disease ripped around the planet. The once-in-a-century pandemic has turned the world upside down, claiming more than six million lives and infecting at least 450 million people. But the WHO voiced its frustration at people marking the second anniversary of […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) – Four people were killed after a massive landslide triggered by “unusual” heavy rains buried their homes in a township outside the Malaysian capital, a senior rescue official said Friday. Malaysia has been experiencing heavy rains over the past few weeks, which officials and environmentalists say is unusual at this time of year and could be the result of climate change. Norazam Khamis, the emergency services chief of Selangor state, said […]
by Pathom SANGWONGWANICH Agence France-Presse UBON RATCHATHANI, Thailand (AFP) – A vast array of solar panels floats on the shimmering waters of a reservoir in northeast Thailand, symbolising the kingdom’s drive towards clean energy as it seeks carbon neutrality by 2050. The immense installation, covering 720,000 square metres of water surface, is a hybrid system that converts sunlight to electricity by day and generates hydropower at night. Touted by the authorities as the “world’s largest […]
by Marcelo SILVA Agence France-Presse Brasília, Brazil (AFP) – Iconic Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso led a star-studded protest Wednesday against President Jair Bolsonaro’s environmental policy, seeking to block a series of bills that activists say would be devastating for the Amazon rainforest and beyond. Thousands of protesters flooded the square at the seat of power in Brasilia, brandishing a giant inflatable turtle, bird and other animals and urging Congress to vote down what they call […]
by Catherine HOURS / Julien MIVIELLE Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Despite fears that the energy price shock unleashed by Russia’s war in Ukraine will put climate ambitions on the back burner, the transition to green fuels is more relevant than ever to reduce dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. Coal no longer a taboo As the United States imposes an embargo on Russian oil, the European Union and other countries are seeking to wean themselves […]
by Louis BAUDOIN-LAARMAN Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, an account on the Telegram messaging platform posing as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his armed forces to surrender. The message was not authentic, with the real Zelensky soon denying the claim on his official Telegram channel, but the incident highlighted a major problem: disinformation quickly spreads unchecked on the encrypted app. The fake Zelensky account reached 20,000 followers […]
by Etienne BALMER and Harumi OZAWA Agence France-Presse NAMIE, Japan (AFP) – Solar farms along tsunami-ravaged coastlines, green energy “micro-grids” and the experimental production of non-polluting hydrogen: 11 years after its nuclear nightmare, Japan’s Fukushima region is investing in a renewable future. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami on northeastern Japan, triggering a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant and forcing mass evacuations over radiation fears. One year later, Fukushima’s regional […]
by Jordane BERTRAND Agence France-Presse SAN JAVIER, Uruguay (AFP) – Far away from Kyiv and even further from Moscow, residents of the small Uruguayan village of San Javier — an old Russian settlement — look on with dismay at the invasion of Ukraine. At a first glance, the community’s grid plan, low houses and surrounding fields resembles any other rural Uruguayan village — but a scratch below the surface reveals the history of a site […]
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) – Sudan’s women’s football team is yet to win a match, but members say they have scored a victory by overcoming challenges including discrimination and a coup to play the game. “The girls are still taking their very first steps in international football,” said coach Salma al-Majidi, training the team that was formed just last year. A few years ago, the prospect of a Sudanese women’s national team was inconceivable, given the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Sydney residents have been told to evacuate their homes as severe storms and flash flooding inundated swathes of Australia’s largest city Tuesday. The national weather bureau warned of “a tough 48 hours ahead” for the city, with 60,000 people subject to evacuation orders and warnings across the affected areas, according to emergency services. The death toll from a week of what officials have called “unprecedented” floods across […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Most plastic “advanced recycling” plants in the United States aren’t actually recycling plastic but instead converting it into a dirty fuel, while producing toxic waste in low-income communities, a study by a leading environmental group said Monday. Advanced recycling, also known as chemical recycling, is a relatively new technique touted by industry groups that breaks plastic down to its molecular building blocks. It is said to be able to […]
by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Hammered by climate change and relentless deforestation, the Amazon rainforest is losing its capacity to recover and could irretrievably transition into savannah, with dire consequences for the region and the world, according to a study published Monday. Researchers warned that the results mean the Amazon could be approaching a so-called “tipping point” faster than previously understood. Analysing 25 years of satellite data, researchers measured for the first time […]
