Mexico airlifts tourists stranded by hurricane
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (AFP) Sept 17, 2014 -
Mexican military and commercial airplanes began Tuesday to airlift tourists stranded in the Los Cabos resorts after Hurricane Odile left luxury hotels and communities in tatters.
Some 30,000 tourists have been waiting for a ride out of the devastated zone in Baja California peninsula after Odile rolled across the region Sunday and Monday before being downgraded to a tropical storm.
Witho ...
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Japan to file new research whaling plan 'this year'
Portoroz, Slovenia (AFP) Sept 17, 2014 -
Japan said Wednesday it would file a plan by the end of the year for the resumption of its controversial Antarctic whaling programme, ruled invalid by the UN's highest court in March.
Tokyo's representative to the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) 65th meeting, Joji Morishita, said his country would be "open and transparent" in its bid, and file a new plan by late 2014.
The countr ...
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Scientists say Chinese sturgeon will soon be no more
Beijing (UPI) Sep 16, 2014 -
Chinese sturgeon are on their way out, say scientists in Asia.
A recent survey, carried out by the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences and funded by China's Ministry of Agriculture, found that the 140 million-year-old species has stopped naturally reproducing. The only thing sustaining the population are artificial breeding programs, Chinese scientists confirmed.
"It is the first ...
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Woman dies in flood as storms lash southern France
Paris (AFP) Sept 17, 2014 -
A woman died after falling into a swollen river in France on Wednesday, the interior minister said, as heavy storms battered the south.
The victim's body was found on the banks of the Dourdou river in Arnac commune in the region of Aveyron.
The woman apparently fell from a bridge and drowned in the surging river below, rescue services said.
The Languedoc-Roussillon region is experie ...
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De Beers warns diamonds aren't forever
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 17, 2014 -
The De Beers diamond cartel warned Wednesday that global production will decline from 2020, a trend that could spell pricier bling for consumers.
A dearth of major new diamond finds means that production might not keep up with ever-increasing demand from the United States, China and India, the firm claimed.
"Unless major new discoveries are made in the coming years, supply can be expecte ...
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Rushed evacuations as Philippine volcano spews lava
Legazpi, Philippines (AFP) Sept 17, 2014 -
Lava cascaded down the Philippines' most active volcano on Wednesday as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands ahead of a possible deadly eruption.
Mostly women, children and the elderly carrying bags of clothes were hauled out of farming villages near Mayon volcano's slopes on board army trucks and minibuses.
Soldiers went from house to house asking residents to evacuate, after author ...
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Scientists come closer to the industrial synthesis of a material harder than diamond
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Sep 18, 2014 -
Researchers from the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials in Troitsk, MIPT, MISiS, and MSU have developed anew method for the synthesis of an ultrahard material that exceeds diamond in hardness. An article recently published in the journal Carbon describes in detail a method that allows for the synthesis of ultrahard fullerite, a polymer composed of fullerenes, or sph ...
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