Tag Archives: Environment

Doha, Qatar | AFP | Desert country Qatar will plant at least 16,000 trees in a bid to “beautify” its eight planned 2022 World Cup stadiums, tournament organisers said on Thursday. The trees, a mixture of local specimens and other varieties imported from China, Spain and Thailand, will be grown …

Maasai Mara, Kenya | AFP | Five-month-old bloodhound Shakaria gambols through the long savannah grasses of Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve, her playful mood swiftly turning to keen determination as she is ordered to track a human scent. Straining at the leash, she pulls her handler along an invisible scent path …

  Paris, France | AFP | The world has abundant freshwater but it is unevenly distributed and under increasing pressure, UN agencies say, as highlighted by the severe shortages in Cape Town. – Water, water ‘everywhere’ – More than 97 percent of the planet’s water is salty, most of it in …

Miami, United States | AFP | Sea level rise is accelerating and could reach 26 inches (66 centimeters) by century’s end, in line with United Nations estimates and enough to cause significant problems for coastal cities, a study said Monday. The past annual rate of sea level rise — about three …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A suspected poacher was mauled to death and eaten by a pack of lions close to the Kruger National Park in South Africa, police said Monday, adding that little was left of the victim’s body. The remains were found at the weekend in the …

elephant Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Ever tried to put a GPS real-time tracking collar on a five-tonne animal? Well in Gabon conservationists have begun trying to use the devices on elephants; tracking and drugging the animals, before attaching the high-tech gadgets in a bid to stop poachers and ivory …

Los Angeles, United States | California Governor Jerry Brown Friday signed an executive order detailing aims to have five million electric cars on the state’s roads by 2030 — by accelerating the production of such vehicles using financial incentives and rebates. The $2.5 billion, eight-year plan also involves the installation …

Miami, United States | AFP | When coral reefs come in contact with plastic trash in the ocean, their risk of becoming diseased skyrockets, said an international study out Thursday. Researchers examined more than 120,000 corals on 159 reefs — some polluted with plastic, others not — from Indonesia, Australia, Myanmar …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | A landslide in southwestern Colombia has killed 13 people on a small public bus in a rain-soaked mountainous area, authorities said Sunday. The landslide struck an area not far from the town of Tuquerres in Narino on Saturday. Rescuers have so far found the bodies …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Facebook has emerged as the top site for wildlife trafficking in the Philippines, a watchdog said Friday, with thousands of endangered crocodiles, snakes and turtles illegally traded in just three months. Monitoring network TRAFFIC said Facebook had not done enough to shut down the trade, …