ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2011) — Research released in anticipation of World Malaria Day finds that plants in East Africa with promising antimalarial qualities — ones that have treated malaria symptoms in the region’s communities for hundreds of years — are at risk of extinction. Scientists fear that these natural remedial qualities, and thus their potential […]
NAIROBI, 20 April 2011 (IRIN) – Officials and aid workers in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region have raised the alarm over the plight of drought-stricken villagers urgently needing food and water. “We are experiencing the worst drought we have seen in decades; since the beginning of March, we have buried 54 people who died from the […]
By Jason Straziuso and Tom Odula, Associated Press 20 April 2011 NAIROBI, Kenya—Stephen Omandi scratched out the number “55” on the sign advertising buckets of maize and wrote in the new price: 60 Kenya shillings. The price hike amounted to only $0.06. But for the residents of Nairobi’s largest slum, where most people live on […]
Contact: Dr. Herilala Randriamahazo, Madagascar Tortoise Conservation CoordinatorTurtle Survival Alliance/MadagascarPhone: +261 0331187993, +261 0343776701Email: herilala@turtlesurvival.org Antananarivo, Madagascar, April 8 — Despite being one of the most culturally significant and iconic species in Madagascar, the Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) is being catapulted to extinction because it is a source of food for local people and a […]
April 14 (Coastweek) – The Mountain Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) is on the edge of extinction mainly due to genetic factors, predation, disease, and forest habitat threats. This has been confirmed by both the Director of Kenya Wildlife Service Julius Kipng’-etich and Dr Jake Veasey, Co-ordinator for Bongo, IUCN Antelope Specialist Group. A recent joint […]
By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent 09 Apr 2011 Researchers have been left puzzled by the appearance of “naked” penguins on both sides of the South Atlantic. The condition, which is known as feather-loss disorder, has been found to afflict penguin chicks in colonies in both South Africa and on the coast of Argentina. Dee Boersma, […]
ISIOLO/MANDERA, 6 April 2011 (IRIN) – Thousands more heads of livestock have died in Kenya’s arid Northeastern province as La Niña drought conditions worsen and water shortages become more acute. Drought monitoring and assessment reports indicate that the hardest-hit areas are Marsabit, Moyale and Mandera. Livestock farmers in the three regions have lost more than […]
JOHANNESBURG, 1 April 2011 (IRIN) – Namibia has declared a state of emergency in response to widescale flooding in the north that has claimed 62 lives since January 2011. “The most severe flooding is occurring in the regions of Oshana, Ohangwena, Omusati and Oshikoto, which form the Cuvelai Basin,” said a situation report by the […]
VIDEO: Somalis flee drought zones 30 March 2011 (UN News Service) – The number of people in need of emergency food aid in East Africa has increased by 2 million to nearly 8.4 million as drought continues to ravage the region, the United Nations humanitarian arm reported today. Extremely poor rains from October to December […]
By Stephanie Pappas25 March 2011 According to just over half of Americans, God is in control of everything that happens on Earth. But slightly fewer are willing to blame an omnipotent power for natural disasters such as Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. A new poll finds that 56 percent of Americans agree or mostly agree that […]
