Environment

• Tuesday, December 15th 2020 - 12:47 UTC

  BAS to study impact of giant A'68 iceberg and fresh water on South Georgia's ecosystem

  

  A research mission to determine the impact of the giant A-68a iceberg on one of the world’s most important ecosystems gets underway next month. A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), will set sail on the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) ship bound for the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2020 - 12:26 UTC

  Mercosur ready to address EU environmental concerns that have stalled trade deal

  

  Mercosur countries will address environmental concerns raised by the European Union that have stalled ratification of a free trade deal between the two trade blocs, Argentina’s foreign minister said on Monday.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2020 - 09:08 UTC

  WTO fails to agree rules on over-fishing; billions of dollars spent subsidizing fishing fleets

  

  World Trade Organization negotiators have failed to reach a deal by a year-end deadline to cut the subsidies that have helped decimate the world’s fish stocks, but will try again next year, the chairman of the talks said on Monday.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2020 - 09:01 UTC

  Thousands turn out in Chilean and Argentine Patagonia to watch the solar eclipse

  

  Thousands of people turned their heads to the sky to watch a solar eclipse that lasted around two minutes on Monday as southern Chile and Argentina were plunged into darkness. Heavy rain had threatened to prevent star gazers in Chile from seeing the eclipse but at the last moment, the clouds parted just enough for the phenomenon to be partially visible.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Honduras claims two hurricanes caused damage equivalent to half its GDP

  

  Hurricanes Eta and Iota have caused about US$10 billion in damages in Honduras and affected more than 4 million people, the Central American country's foreign minister said on Monday as he called for international support.

• Friday, December 11th 2020 - 09:37 UTC

  EU leaders unblock massive €1.8 trillion financial package for the recovery of the economy and linked to climate change

  

  European Union leaders unblocked on Thursday a €1.8 trillion financial package to help the economy recover from the pandemic-induced recession after reaching a compromise with Poland and Hungary, the chairman of EU leaders Charles Michel said.

• Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:40 UTC

  Brazil lowers corn production forecast because of dry weather in the south

  

  Brazil's corn production forecast for 2020-21 has been cut to 102.6 million mt from 104.9 million mt projected in November, Brazil's national agricultural agency, Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab), said in its latest forecast.

• Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:35 UTC

  The “Last Shark” and the Amazon dolphin in the endangered species list

  

  A shark only just formally discovered might already be extinct - a fate no shark has yet suffered in the human era - while an Amazon river dolphin has become endangered, a Red List of species in trouble showed on Thursday.

• Thursday, December 10th 2020 - 09:29 UTC

  A new beaked whale species discovered off Mexico's western coast?

  

  Researchers believe they have found a previously unknown species of beaked whale in waters off Mexico's western coast. If confirmed, the new species would mark a significant discovery among giant mammals.

• Wednesday, December 9th 2020 - 08:05 UTC

  Panda diplomacy survives current US/China confrontation

  

  Giant pandas will remain at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington for another three years under an agreement reached with Chinese wildlife officials, the zoo said on Monday.