Stories for August 2020

Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:35 UTC
Lula da Silva apologizes for protecting Italian militant who confessed several murders

Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he regretted protecting communist militant Cesare Battisti from extradition to his native Italy after the ex-fugitive confessed to four murders.
Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:31 UTC
Brazilian anti corruption probe nets two of South America's richest brothers

Two of South America's wealthiest brothers, the Bolivian-born airline magnates German and Jose Efromovich, were arrested this week in Brazil as part of the country's sweeping anti-corruption probe, “Operation Car Wash.”
Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:30 UTC
Massive losses of sheep in Patagonia highlands because of intense snowstorms

Snowstorms and frosts in the high areas of the Argentine Patagonia Rio Negro province could cause the death of 70% of the flock, according to estimates from the provincial Livestock Secretariat, Tabaré Bassi.
Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:30 UTC
Can the cruise industry really recover from coronavirus?

By Liz Sharples and Kokho Jason Sit (*) – On Sunday the first major cruise ship to take to the Mediterranean in almost five months sailed out of the Italian city of Genoa. Passengers on the MSC Grandiosa were tested for coronavirus before stepping on board. The ship – which has brought in an array of strict measures to limit the spread of the virus – will stop at three Italian ports and the Maltese capital Valletta in a seven-day voyage. But will these measures be enough to help the sector survive the pandemic? A lot is riding on the success of this Italian cruise.
Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:17 UTC
Pandemic appears to be leveling off in Brazil, according to WHO

The coronavirus crisis in Brazil appears to be leveling off, if not easing, the World Health Organization said on Friday, offering a glimpse of light for the world's second-biggest COVID-19 hot spot.
Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:05 UTC
Argentina's wheat crop under pressure from unfavorable climate conditions

Argentina's wheat crop continued to remain under pressure amid growing unfavorable weather conditions, which are casting doubts of further crop loss. Wheat planting in Argentina was 100% completed in the week to Aug. 19, but recent frost conditions, with variable intensity, have hit most parts of its key wheat regions, rendering current growth conditions unfavorable for the crop, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said in its report released on Aug. 20.
Saturday, August 22nd 2020 - 08:01 UTC
South Atlantic Anomaly and Evolving Dent in Earth’s Magnetic Field

A dent in the protective shield sounds scary for any person, but what are the scientists talking about when they say South Atlantic Anomaly? The researchers from the US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), recently noticed a growing dent in the Earth’s magnetic field over South America. And the news has caught on like wildfire across the digital community.
Friday, August 21st 2020 - 10:59 UTC
UN water rights expert questions Chile for placing economic development over human rights

Chile on Thursday faced questioning by a United Nations water rights expert who suggested the government could be placing economic development over human rights through controversial agriculture and energy projects.
Friday, August 21st 2020 - 09:49 UTC
Earth Overshoot Day will be reached next Saturday, according to Global Footprint Network scientists

Humanity will have burned through all the natural resources that the planet can replenish for 2020 by Saturday Aug 22, according to researchers who said the grim milestone is slightly later than last year after the pandemic slowed runaway overconsumption.
Friday, August 21st 2020 - 09:40 UTC
Oil spill from refinery triggers an environmental disaster along the Venezuelan coastline

A strip of Venezuela's western coastline boasting pristine beaches and fragile ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs could take more than half a century to fully recover from the environmental impacts of a recent oil spill, a researcher said.