BEIJING, 16 July 2013 (AFP) – At least 295 people have been confirmed dead or missing after rainstorms and Typhoon Soulik hit China, causing floods, landslides and buildings to collapse, the government said today. Torrential rains have battered the southwestern province of Sichuan since July 7 and have led to 68 deaths, with another 179 […]
By Ritchie King and Josh Kadis 12 July 2013 (Quartz) – The Tour de France has seen better days. A spate of recent doping scandals in the cycling world has severely undercut the sport’s credibility, starting with the discovery of a French team’s rolling pharmacy in 1998′s Tour and culminating in Lance Armstrong’s televised admission […]
By Dr. Jeff Masters 13 July 2013 (wunderground.com) – A massive fire burning in northern Quebec is Canada’s second largest fire since fire records began in 1959, according to the Canadian Forest Service. The fire was more than twice the size of Rhode Island on Tuesday–1,621,000 acres. Called the Eastmain fire, the near-record blaze was […]
10 July 2013 (Japan Times) – The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it strongly suspects highly radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is seeping into the ground and contaminating the Pacific Ocean. “We must find the cause of the contamination … and put the highest priority on implementing countermeasures,” NRA Chairman […]
By Jo Fidgen14 July 2013 NORWAY (BBC News) – Whale hunters tend to shy away from publicity because of the controversy surrounding their profession. But the crew of the Jan Bjorn in Norway – a country whose fishermen kill around 500 minke whales a year for commercial purposes – agreed to let us join them […]
By Steve Connor14 July 2013 (The Independent) – A satellite that measures gravity fluctuations on Earth due to changes in the massive ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica has detected a rapid acceleration in the melting of glacier ice over the past decade, which could have a dramatic impact on sea levels around the world. The […]
By JIM YARDLEY14 July 2013 SAVAR, Bangladesh (The New York Times) — On the worst days, the toxic stench wafting through the Genda Government Primary School is almost suffocating. Teachers struggle to concentrate, as if they were choking on air. Students often become lightheaded and dizzy. A few boys fainted in late April. Another retched […]
By HIROKO TABUCHI10 July 2013 TOKYO (The New York Times) – The stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima has probably been leaking contaminated water into the ocean for two years, ever since an earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant, Japan’s chief nuclear regulator said on Wednesday. In unusually candid comments, Shunichi Tanaka, the head […]
By Tony Press, CEO, Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems CRC at University of Tasmania13 July 2013 (The Conversation) – Australia had its second (and last) chance this week to argue against Japan’s whaling program in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). But before it did, New Zealand appeared before the Court to provide its take on […]
13 July 2013 (BBC) – Torrential rain and landslides in the west of China have left more than 200 people dead or missing. Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces have been the worst affected by severe flooding and mudslides. Now more than 300,000 people have been evacuated as Typhoon Soulik hits the country’s eastern coastline. Nick Childs […]
