Category: Environment

Mar 31, 2014 (LBO) – A UN panel on climate change has warned of dire consequences ranging from hunger to war from climate change amid a 15 year plus ‘pause’ in global warming that scientists are struggling to explain. “Increasing magnitudes of warming increase the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts,” AFP a news […]

COLOMBO, March 26, 2014 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk led a procession of elephants Wednesday, demanding authorities capture wild pachyderms from the jungle to boost the dwindling number of the animals in temples.Asian elephant expert Jayantha Jayewardene noted many Sri Lankans wanted to own elephants as a symbol of wealth. “It is prestige. […]

NEW DELHI, March 24, 2014 (AFP) – An Indian cabinet minister found himself at the centre of a vote-rigging row Monday, after he asked supporters to vote twice for his party in elections which begin next month.Speaking at a rally on Sunday, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar urged voters to wash off the ink which would […]

PARIS, March 19, 2014 (AFP) – The Burmese python has a built-in compass that allows it to slither home in a near-straight line even if released dozens of kilometres away, researchers said Wednesday.Capable of growing over five metres (16 feet) long, pythons are among the world’s largest snakes.Although native to South and Southeast Asia, the […]

Mar 11, 2014 (LBO) – Wetland’s in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo will be preserved and a educational wetland park is also being built, under a World Bank funded program to improve the city, an official said.Seneviratne also said the two ‘beach parks’ will be set up in the north and south Colombo. Rohan Seneviratne additional […]

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2014 (AFP) – E-cigarette use among US youths doubled in just one year, and those who tried the unregulated devices were more likely to smoke conventional cigarettes as well, a study said Thursday. Commonly sold at convenience stores and gas stations, e-cigarettes are battery powered gadgets that deliver nicotine through a vapor […]

CAMPANARIOS DE AZABA, March 6, 2014 (AFP) – In an oak wood spanning the border of Spain and Portugal, an ancient sight unfolds: wild horses, not saddled or shoed, but roaming free as they did centuries ago.Farming has declined in Spain, leaving the countryside deserted, conservationists say. Now the wild things are coming back: wolves, […]

LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2014 (AFP) – Los Angeles lawmakers voted Tuesday to ban e-cigarette use in public places where tobacco smoking is prohibited, including work places, restaurants and bars.The LA City Council agreed by 14-0 to outlaw their use in indoor workplaces, outdoor dining areas, parks, recreational areas, beaches, bars and nightclubs where lighting […]

WASHINGTON, January 17, 2014 (AFP) – Smoking cigarettes can cause even more health problems than lung cancer, including blindness, diabetes, erectile dysfunction and liver cancer, said a major US government report on Friday.The latest Surgeon General’s findings on the health consequences of smoking were to be formally announced at the White House, in a ceremony […]

SYDNEY, December 26, 2013 (AFP) – Three icebreaking ships were Thursday hurrying to reach a Russian vessel carrying 74 people on a scientific expedition which is trapped by ice off Antarctica, with Australian authorities coordinating the rescue mission.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the MV Akademik Shokalskiy sent a distress message on Wednesday to […]

WASHINGTON, December 17, 2013 (AFP) – New findings at an old Neanderthal burial ground in France have bolstered the notion that cavemen cared for their elders, researchers said Monday.The research is based on excavations around the skeleton of an elderly Neanderthal man who could barely walk and had lost his teeth, and who was painstakingly […]

PARIS, December 9, 2013 (AFP) – Europeans with long-term exposure to particulate pollution from road traffic or industry run a higher risk of premature death, even if air quality meets EU standards, a study said on Monday.Published in The Lancet, the paper pointed the finger at fine particles of soot and dust, emissions of which […]