Heavy rain across parts of Japan has killed one person and left two missing, authorities said Saturday, with thousands issued evacuation warnings and left without power.. In central and western Japan, many evacuation orders -- which are non-compulsory, even at the highest level -- were downgraded Saturday as rains eased.
Early tests indicate that the recent mass death of thousands of seabirds along Chile's northern coast were not caused by avian flu, authorities said Friday.. Initial tests on the dead birds did not reveal presence of avian flu, which has wracked other parts of Chile, Jorge Mautz, regional director of the service, told AFP. Residents of Coquimbo voiced surprise at the mass seabird deaths.
Canada is facing a catastrophic spring wildfire season with massive and powerful blazes out of control in all corners of the country, and thousands more people displaced on Friday.. Some 10,000 people on Friday were ordered to evacuate from Sept Iles in Quebec in the face of advancing wildfires.
A Brazilian judge has ordered a suspension in the construction of a zip line on Rio de Janeiro's iconic Sugarloaf Mountain, alleging damage to the stone at the UNESCO World Heritage Site. . With its mountain peak and spectacular views over the sea and the city, Sugarloaf was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012 along with other Rio landmarks such as the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the Corcovado mountain.
The world should see the first draft of a highly anticipated and much needed international treaty to combat plastic pollution by the end of November, 175 nations gathered in Paris decided Monday after five days of gruelling talks.. "The world needs urgently an international plastic treaty, one that regulates production, one that addresses pollution from its very source," said Li Shuo of Greenpeace.
Some 10,000 people on Friday were ordered to evacuate from a city in the Canadian province of Quebec in the face of advancing wildfires, officials said.. A total of 29,000 people had been evacuated before Friday's order.
The "cloud forest" of Monteverde, in the center of Costa Rica, will soon no longer be worthy of the name: climate change threatens this unique ecosystem, and its fauna and flora face an unclear future under a brilliant blue sky.. As she spoke, she stared into the forest where the temperature had risen to more than 25 degrees Celsius, under a blue sky where only a few clouds crowned the peaks.
Opposition to whaling is on the rise in Iceland with a majority now in favour of dropping the practice, a fresh public opinion poll showed ahead of a possible government ban.. The share of Icelanders in favour of the hunt has dipped slightly, to 29 percent from 32 percent four years ago, the poll showed.
Even when the disease is caught early, breast cancer recurrence is relatively commonplace -- and for survivors, the prospect can be daunting.. A drug developed by Swiss pharmaceutical maker Novartis reduced this risk by a quarter in a large group of early-stage survivors of the most common type of breast cancer, according to clinical trial results presented Friday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) annual meeting, offering patients new hope.
A long trek across the desert of northeastern Niger brings the visitor to one of the most astonishing and rewarding sights in the Sahel: fortified villages of salt and clay perched on rocks with the Saharan sands laying siege below.. It saw an influx of miners from across West Africa, bringing life and some economic respite, but also bandits who hole up in the mountains.
