At least 17 dead as flood rescue boat capsizes in Pakistan
Multan, Pakistan (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
At least 17 people including a bridegroom and two children drowned Sunday when a rescue boat carrying a wedding party capsized in flood-hit central Pakistan, officials said.
The boat, which was carrying at least 40 people, went down as it attempted to cross a swollen river in the Muzaffargarh district of central Punjab province, they said.
"We have recovered more dead bodies. The death t ...
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Slow-down in global warming enhanced by an unusual climate anomaly
Brussels, Belgium (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
A hiatus in global warming ongoing since 2001 is due to a combination of a natural cooling phase, known as multidecadal variability (MDV) and a downturn of the secular warming trend.
The exact causes of the latter, unique in the entire observational record going back to 1850, are still to be identified, according to a JRC article which analysed the phenomena.
The earth hasn't warmed ...
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Winter is coming: British weather set to become more unsettled
Sheffield, UK (SPX) Sep 15, 2014 -
British winters are becoming increasingly volatile due to extreme variations in pressure over the North Atlantic according to scientists from the University of Sheffield.
The new research, published in the International Journal of Climatology, shows that weather patterns over the UK have become distinctly more unstable, resulting in contrasting conditions from very mild, wet and stormy to ...
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Environmentalists criticise Australia reef protection plan
Sydney (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
Environmentalists criticised a new Australian government plan released Monday to protect the Great Barrier Reef in the face of UN concerns, saying it will not do enough to halt the marine park's decline.
The draft plan, now open for consultation, comes after UNESCO threatened to put the reef on its World Heritage "in danger" list. It gave Canberra until February 1, 2015 to submit a report on ...
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Singapore air pollution soars due to Indonesian forest fires
Singapore (AFP) Sept 15, 2014 -
Air pollution in Singapore rose to unhealthy levels Monday, blanketing the city-state's skyline with clouds of smog from fires raging across giant rainforests in the neighbouring Indonesian island of Sumatra, officials said.
Singapore's National Environment Agency said the pollutant standards index (PSI) reached a high of 111 at 7:00 am (2300 GMT) before easing to 80 a few hours later.
A ...
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Black-clad democracy activists stage sombre Hong Kong rally
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
More than 1,000 activists paraded through Hong Kong's streets on Sunday carrying huge lengths of black cloth, in a sombre protest against a recent decision by Beijing that crushed the city's hopes for full democracy.
Democracy activists in the former British colony had expectations Hong Kongers would be able to vote for their leader cut short in August when China announced plans for a highly ...
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Food safety fears see farming return to high-rise Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 14, 2014 -
It's a rural tradition that faded out decades ago as Hong Kong turned into a neon-lit megacity: rice seedlings being dropped into watery paddy fields with gentle plops.
But now a new wave of farmers are growing the staple again in sleepy Long Valley in the city's northern New Territories, where buzzing insects and flocking birds offer a rich contrast to the high rise blocks in the distance. ...
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