WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – US climate scientists accused four of the world’s largest oil companies Tuesday of lying about the harms linked to their industry and trying to delay the switch to cleaner fuel. American multinationals ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as Britain’s BP and Shell, are being investigated by the US Congress for their role in spreading misinformation about climate change. Michael Mann, an academic, told the House oversight committee the companies […]
Life
NGO files complaint over dead fish deluge off French coast
SAINT-JEAN-DE-LUZ, France (AFP) – Environmental organisation Sea Shepherd on Tuesday filed a legal complaint against the owners of a large fishing vessel after tens of thousands of dead fish were spotted off France’s Atlantic coast. The NGO last week published footage of what it said were more than 100,000 dead fish floating in the sea some 300 kilometres (186 miles) off the southwestern port city of La Rochelle in the Bay of Biscay. The fish, […]
Mozambique to plant 100 million trees on battered coast
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) – Mozambique, whose coastline has been ravaged by rising sea levels and tropical storms, announced plans on Tuesday to plant over 100 million trees to restore its battered mangroves. Large portions of mangroves along the country’s 2,500-kilometre-long (1,500-mile-long) coastline have been decimated by high seas and the harvesting of firewood for charcoal. The Ministry of Sea and Inland Waters said it plans to plant up to a 100 million trees over […]
Johnson & Johnson temporarily halts Covid-19 vaccine output: report
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson has temporarily suspended production at a key plant manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine, the New York Times reported Tuesday. The facility in the Dutch city of Leiden halted output late last year, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the decision. J&J, without confirming or denying the report, said it has continued to fulfill delivery commitments, a company spokesman said. The factory, which is currently […]
WHO laments ‘tragic’ 500,000 Covid death toll since Omicron
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization lamented Tuesday that half a million Covid-19 deaths had been recorded since the Omicron variant was discovered, calling the toll “beyond tragic”. The WHO’s incident manager Abdi Mahamud said that 130 million cases and 500,000 deaths had been recorded globally since Omicron was declared a variant of concern in late November. It has since rapidly overtaken Delta as the world’s dominant Covid variant because it is […]
Pfizer sees Covid-19 drug sales topping $50 billion in 2022
by John BIERS NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Pfizer forecast more than $50 billion in 2022 sales for its Covid-19 vaccine and therapeutic on Tuesday as the pharmaceutical giant reported a more than doubling of annual profits on strong sales of its innoculation. Pfizer, whose vaccinee developed with German company BioNTech was the first approved in the United States to counter the deadly virus, sees slightly lower 2022 revenues for the vaccine compared with […]
Chen smashes record with ‘shocked’ rival Hanyu in trouble in Beijing
by Rebecca BAILEY Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Nathan Chen smashed a world record held by fierce rival Yuzuru Hanyu as the “shocked” two-time reigning Olympic figure skating champion made a shaky start to leave his title defence in trouble Tuesday. Facing off for the first time at the Beijing Games, Hanyu had to settle for a disappointing eighth in the short programme, with his Japanese teammates Yuma Kagiyama and Shoma Uno […]
World must work together to tackle plastic ocean threat: WWF
by Stéphane ORJOLLET Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Plastic has infiltrated all parts of the ocean and is now found “in the smallest plankton up to the largest whale” wildlife group WWF said on Tuesday, calling for urgent efforts to create an international treaty on plastics. Tiny fragments of plastic have reached even the most remote and seemingly-pristine regions of the planet: it peppers Arctic sea ice and has been found inside fish in […]
Livelihoods lost as climate disaster woes mount in Kenya
by Raphael AMBASU, with Hillary ORINDE in Nairobi Agence France-Presse MARSABIT, Kenya (AFP) – Dabaso Galgalo is now used to the smell and grisly spectacle of rotting flesh festering in the scorching heat as Kenya reels from a spate of climate disasters. Surrounded by barren scrubland littered with withered carcasses of sheep and goats, the 56-year-old pastoralist is struggling to keep his beloved animals, and himself, alive. What was left of his herd after a months-long […]
Lockheed Martin wins NASA contract to bring Mars samples back to Earth
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Lockheed Martin’s space division has won a NASA contract to build the rocket that will return the first Mars rock samples to Earth in the 2030s, the US space agency said Monday. The “small, lightweight rocket” will be the first to take off from another planet, bringing back “rock, sediment and atmospheric samples from the surface of the Red Planet,” NASA said in a statement. NASA’s Perseverance Rover has […]
Dubai to charge for single-use plastic bags
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) – Dubai is ending the free distribution of single-use plastic bags in a drive towards more sustainable practices for the glitzy emirate known for its unbridled consumerism. From home deliveries to supermarkets and shops, single-use plastic bags are ubiquitous across the emirate. “In line with enhancing environmental sustainability and encouraging individuals to reduce the excessive use of plastics, the Executive Council of Dubai has approved the policy to limit single-use […]
Mountain glaciers hold less ice than thought, and that’s bad news
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Mountain glaciers shrinking due to climate change are less voluminous than previously understood, putting millions who depend on them for water supply at risk, researchers reported Monday. Glaciers in the Andes Mountains of South America, for example, were found to store 23 percent less fresh water compared to earlier estimates, they wrote in the journal Nature Geoscience. Bolivia’s largest city La Paz, with more than two […]