Environment news

• Reuters distances itself from Greg Hunt 'best minister' award: 'It wasn't our idea'

  10-02-2016 23:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Confusion surrounds the process by which Australia’s environment minister was crowned the world’s No 1, with the news agency denying it designed the scheme Confusion surrounds the selection process for the “best minister in the world” award bestowed upon Greg Hunt at the World Government Summit in Dubai for his efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
  According to the summit’s website in the United Arab Emirates, the “best minister in the world” award was &ld
  
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• Global warming: uneven changes across planet

  10-02-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Less than 2C of global warming for the Earth, the target agreed by leaders at the COP21 climate conference in Paris last November, doesn’t really sound too ambitious. In fact, many of us would welcome an extra couple of degrees warmth. So what is all the fuss about?Unfortunately the warming would not occur evenly around the world. A study published recently in Nature shows what 2C of warming – a rise, of this level, above the pre-industrial global mean surface temperature – mig
  
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• U.S. crude down as Cushing offsets total stock draw; Brent up

  10-02-2016 22:23
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude prices fell 2 percent on Wednesday after stockpiles at the main U.S. delivery point hit record highs, while Brent rose for the first time in five days after Russia suggested oil producers cut output by a million barrels each. Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures rose to an all-time high just shy of 65 million barrels, data from the government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed. The Cushing buil
  
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• Supreme court ruling on Obama's clean power plan just a 'bump in the road'

  10-02-2016 20:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Many states have begun shifting funds to clean energy, and the administration has touted measures such as tax credits that it says will have a larger impact on curbing emissions – and still anticipates a win in the supreme court in JuneThe supreme court hit the pause button on Barack Obama’s plans to cut climate pollution from power plants, injecting new uncertainty into the viability of Obama’s climate plan once he leaves office in 2017. But that will not bring back coal from
  
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• Should we wipe mosquitoes off the face of the Earth?

  10-02-2016 20:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Even before the Zika virus, mosquitoes were the deadliest creatures on the planet. But gene modification means these blood suckers’ days might be numbered. Is it dangerous to talk about ‘editing nature’, or should we consider eradicating them for good?When an Aedes aegypti mosquito bites you, she – because only the females, which need blood as nutrients for their offspring, bite – will probe your skin with her proboscis as many as 20 times. Two pairs of sharp cuttin
  
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• Magical madrigals powered by the bee | Letters

  10-02-2016 20:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Be’s One album (G2, 8 February), featuring the sound of 40,000 honey bees, is an exciting reminder of a musical experiment first conducted 400 years ago by the Rev Charles Butler. “The father of English bee-keeping” was an accomplished musicologist, and in the seclusion of his Hampshire vicarage, he composed a four-part bees madrigal, which was published in his bees manual, The Feminine Monarchie. Like Kev Bales, Butler was fascinated by the magical sound of bees in the hive &n
  
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• Concerns raised over number of children not engaging with nature

  10-02-2016 19:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Two-year study finds more than 10% of children in England have not been to a natural environment in the past 12 monthsMore than one in nine children in England have not set foot in a park, forest, beach or any other natural environment for at least 12 months, according to a two-year study funded by the government.Children from low-income families and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) households are markedly less likely than white children and those from higher income households to frequent
  
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• Concerns raised over amount of children not engaging with nature

  10-02-2016 19:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Two-year study finds more than 10% of children in England haven’t been to a natural environment in past 12 monthsMore than one in nine children in England have not set foot in a park, forest, beach or any other natural environment for at least 12 months, according to a two-year study funded by the government.Children from low-income families and black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) households are markedly less likely than white children and those from higher income households to frequen
  
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• Fund managers who ignore climate risk 'could face legal action'

  10-02-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Pension and investment fund managers have a duty to reduce the risk global warming poses to the world economy, green law firm warns Pension and investment fund managers who ignore the risks of climate change face the prospect of legal action, according to financial and legal experts.Global warming poses a systemic risk to the world economy and could significantly cut the value of investments, the experts argue, so those with fiduciary responsibility have a duty to act to reduce that risk, or be
  
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• Swansea tidal energy scheme faces 'disastrous setback' from government review

  10-02-2016 18:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Plans to generate energy from Swansea Bay lagoon are further delayed as UK energy minister announces wider review of the sector The future of a revolutionary plan to generate electricity from a lagoon in Swansea Bay has been thrown into further doubt after the UK government unveiled plans for a six-month review of the wider tidal power sector.
  The promoters of the £1bn plan, Tidal Lagoon Power, said it welcomed any extra focus on this type of renewable energy but needed a final decision fr
  
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• US clean power plan setback 'will not affect Paris climate change deal'

  10-02-2016 18:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Politicians, businesses and campaigners from other countries rally to support Barack Obama after supreme court puts US flagship climate plan on holdThe US commitment to cutting carbon emissions under the landmark Paris agreement remains unaffected by the setback delivered to President Obama’s climate plans by the country’s supreme court, the White House has said.Politicians, businesses and green campaigners from other countries rallied to the support of the president after the US sup
  
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• U.S. crude falls on glut worries despite U.S. stock draw

  10-02-2016 18:09
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices fell on Wednesday, reversing an early rally, and Brent also pared gains as worries about the global supply glut offset encouraging U.S. government data showing a surprise drop in domestic crude stockpiles. U.S. prices rallied to above $29 after data showed crude inventories unexpectedly fell by 754,000 barrels in the last week due to lower imports and a drop in refinery runs. Traders noted the record high inventories hit last week at the Cu
  
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• Crowded insurance industry becomes latest casualty of oil slump

  10-02-2016 17:04
  By Jonathan Saul and Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) - The insurance industry is becoming the latest casualty of the oil price slump, with postponements and cancellations of energy projects forcing down premium rates and income in a market that was already crowded. Insurers forecast income could dive by 20 percent or more, possibly forcing some players to quit the energy part of a business that has attracted new entrants hoping for better returns during the era of ultra-low interest rates. While m
  
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• Russia considers drastic steps to plug finances hit by tumbling oil

  10-02-2016 17:02
  By Margarita Papchenkova, Darya Korsunskaya and Elena Fabrichnaya MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is running out of options to plug a yawning hole in its budget - and steps unthinkable before oil prices began to plunge 20 months ago are now being considered. Two senior financial officials told Reuters that authorities were discussing the possibility of calculating rouble rate levels against the dollar that could compensate for some budget losses caused by tumbling oil export revenues by preventing the
  
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• Renewables to grow faster than forecast to 2035 - BP

  10-02-2016 16:49
  By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - Renewable energy will grow more quickly than forecast and provide around 15 percent of world power generation by 2035, oil company BP said on Wednesday. Renewables, including biofuels and wind power, are projected to increase at a rate of 6.6 percent per year, boosting their share of the total primary energy mix to 9 percent by 2035, up from 3 percent now, BP said in its annual Energy Outlook 2035. Renewable energy production was 354.6 million tonnes of oil eq
  
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• Renewables to grow faster than expected to 2035 - BP

  10-02-2016 16:07
  By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - Renewable energy will grow at a greater annual rate than previously forecast and account for over one third of the growth in global power generation by 2035, oil company BP said on Wednesday. Renewables, including biofuels and wind power, are projected to increase at a rate of 6.6 percent per year, boosting their share of the total primary energy mix to 9 percent by 2035, up from 3 percent currently, BP said in its annual Energy Outlook 2035. The firm revised
  
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• BP upbeat about oil industry and expects prices back at $100

  10-02-2016 16:07 via theguardian.com
  
  British oil company accused of being self-serving after saying fossil fuels will still be providing 80% of world’s total energy supply in 2035BP has predicted a bright future for the oil and gas industry with crude prices spiking at $100 a barrel again, huge increases in shale output and new production from Canadian tar sands.The British oil company believes fossil fuels will still be providing 80% of total energy supply in 2035 and admits that under this scenario, carbon emissions will ro
  
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• U.S. shale oil output to double by 2035 - BP

  10-02-2016 16:01
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. shale oil production will double over the next 20 years as drillers that became more efficient amid a slump in oil prices unlock new resources, British energy giant BP said on Wednesday. In its industry benchmark 2035 Energy Outlook, BP forecast global demand for energy to increase by 34 percent, driven by growth in the world population and economy, with the share of oil declining in favour of gas and renewables. U.S. shale or tight oil production using frac
  
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• In Yemen war, hospitals bombed to rubble, starvation spreads

  10-02-2016 16:00
  By Noah Browning DUBAI (Reuters) - Elderly Hamama Yousif was rushed to the main hospital in one of Yemen's largest cities after an artillery round lashed her chest with shrapnel, only to find that the doctors there had run out of the oxygen tanks needed to save her life. In a video captured by local news station Yemen Youth TV, worried relatives carry her, still talking, to almost every clinic and hospital in the war-torn city of Taiz - none had any oxygen - until motionless and dead, she was fi
  
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• Warmer climate contributes to spread of the Zika virus

  10-02-2016 15:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Aedes mosquitos that carry the Zika virus and dengue fever are not just perfectly adapted to life in cities, writes Nadia Pontes. They are also being helped along by warming climates which increase their range. It's time to get serious about the health implications of a hotter planet.Global warming affects the abundance and distribution of disease vectors. As regions that used to be drier and colder start to register higher temperatures and more rain, mosquitoes expand their breeding areas,
  
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• Fukushima chief confident new disaster won't threaten clean-up

  10-02-2016 15:30
  
  The chief of Japan's shuttered Fukushima nuclear power plant warned Wednesday that the biggest risk the crippled facility faces is another major earthquake and tsunami -- though insisted the chaos of nearly five years ago won't be repeated.
  
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• 'Update' on gravitational waves

  10-02-2016 14:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An international effort to detect ripples in space-time, called gravitational waves, has scheduled an announcement on Thursday.
  
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• 'Update' due on gravitational waves

  10-02-2016 14:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An international effort to detect ripples in space-time, called gravitational waves, has scheduled an announcement on Thursday.
  
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• Did a meteorite kill a man in India?

  10-02-2016 14:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Did a meteorite kill a man in India?
  
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• What Caused This Weird Crack to Appear in Michigan?

  10-02-2016 14:04
  
  A strange and sudden buckling of the earth in Michigan five years ago is now being explained as a limestone bulge, researchers reported today (Feb. 9). The upheaved rock and soil was discovered after a deep boom thundered through the forest near Birch Creek on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, north of Menominee.
  
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• Oil rises after third-biggest daily fall since 2008 crisis

  10-02-2016 13:30
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose on Wednesday, after having posted its third-biggest daily fall since the 2008 financial crisis the day before, supported by the possibility of major producers cooperating to tackle a supply glut that has sent prices to 12-year lows. Iran's oil minister said Tehran was ready to negotiate with Saudi Arabia and the Kremlin's oil tsar Igor Sechin proposed producing countries reduce output by 1 million barrels per day - without saying whether non-OPEC member
  
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• Climate change will delay transatlantic flights

  10-02-2016 13:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  Planes flying between Europe and North America will be spending more time in the air due to the effects of climate change, a new study has shown.By accelerating the jet stream – a high-altitude wind blowing from west to east across the Atlantic – climate change will speed up eastbound flights but slow down westbound flights, the study found.  The findings could have implications for airlines, passengers, and airports.
  
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• Medium-Size Asteroid Strike Could Unleash a Mini Ice Age

  10-02-2016 13:16
  
  Such an impact on land (as opposed to at sea) could cause average global temperatures to plunge to ice age levels and lead to steep drops in precipitation and plant productivity, among other effects, researchers said. "These would not be pleasant times," Charles Bardeen, of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said in December during a presentation at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. Bardeen and his colleagues modeled
  
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• Green makeover: The Body Shop enters new era of sustainable business with bold CSR strategy

  10-02-2016 13:08
  
  The Body Shop has today (2 February) launched an ambitious new CSR strategy including an overarching goal to be the world's most ethical and truly sustainable global business".
  
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• Public sector still unprepared for floods and droughts, research reveals

  10-02-2016 12:43
  
  Only a quarter of Britain's public sector organisations have plans in place to adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as more frequent flooding or higher temperatures, new research from the Carbon Trust has found.
  
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• Pictures of the day: 10 February 2016

  10-02-2016 12:30
  
  A hairy horse, baby orangutans and Mardi Gras in New Orleans
  
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• Bank of France plays down impact of market turbulence on economy

  10-02-2016 12:04
  Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday that the French economy was not affected by recent market turbulence as it was driven by solid internal demand. French banks, along with European peers, had a rough start to the year as falling oil prices and worries about slowing growth in China contributed to weakness in credit markets. "They (French banks) have a more prudent approach than banks on average and are little exposed to the most indebted companies that are sensi
  
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• The gutting of CSIRO climate change research is a big mistake | John Abraham

  10-02-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  To be able to adapt to climate change, we need scientists to project how the climate will change
  Last week, surprise news shocked the world’s scientific community. One of the most prestigious and productive scientific organizations is slashing hundreds of jobs, many related to climate change research. The organization, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO for short) is simply put, one of the best in the world. It rivals well-known groups like NASA, NOAA,
  
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• Friends of the Earth defends its record on lobbying against fracking

  10-02-2016 11:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Green group says claims by the head of fracking company Cuadrilla that they had ‘misled’ the charities regulator are an attempt to silence the oppositionFriends of the Earth (FoE) has defended its record on lobbying against shale gas fracking, after accusations from one of the companies involved in drilling that it had acted contrary to its charitable status.The green campaigning organisation sent out a press release last December, applauding the Labour party’s decision to call
  
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• Green procurement offers 'quick win' for circular economy

  10-02-2016 11:49
  
  The systematic adoption of green procurement (GP) policies will provide the UK with its single biggest 'quick win' in its transition to a circular economy, a new report from the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group (APSRG) has found.
  
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• Oil rises towards $31 as Russia floats idea of supply cut

  10-02-2016 11:47
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose towards $31 a barrel on Wednesday after four days of declines, supported by the prospect of OPEC and rival producers cooperating to tackle a supply glut that has sent prices to a 12-year low. Iran's oil minister said Tehran was ready to negotiate with Saudi Arabia and the Kremlin's oil tsar Igor Sechin proposed producing countries reduce output by 1 million barrels per day - without saying whether non-OPEC member Russia would cut. "If prices drop furthe
  
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• ‘No evidence’ that EU's illegal timber policy is working

  10-02-2016 11:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Leaked review shows that EU law is failing to prevent $100bn a year trade in illegal timber - or that rules are even being implemented There is “no solid evidence” that an EU law has done anything to prevent the illegal timber trade or even that it has been implemented, according to a draft commission review seen by the Guardian.Nine EU countries have still not imposed penalties or taken action against timber traffickers and six others have yet to carry out checks on importers as req
  
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• Court halts Obama's key climate plan

  10-02-2016 10:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  President Obama's plans to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide from US power plants are stalled by the Supreme Court.
  
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• Legal breakthrough for Google car

  10-02-2016 09:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google's self-driving technology should be considered a legal driver, the US highways authority says.
  
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• DECC urged to make U-turn on 'disappointing and damaging' CCS cancellation

  10-02-2016 08:33
  
  The Department of Energy & Climate Change's (DECC) decision to cancel the £1bn funding competition for carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives could make it 'challenging' for the UK to meet climate change commitments, the Energy and Climate Change Committee has warned.
  
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• Tullow in the red for second year as weak oil prices bite

  10-02-2016 08:19
  Africa-focused oil producer Tullow Oil reported an operating loss for the second consecutive year and further suspended its dividend payments on Wednesday as the sharp decline in oil prices has drastically reduced its income. Tullow Oil said it made a full-year operating loss of $1.09 billion in 2015, a smaller loss than the $2 billion seen the previous year, but signalling one of the worst spells in the company's history. The oil producer said there was a risk, if oil prices remain low, that it
  
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• I’m starting to hate the EU. But I will vote to stay in |George Monbiot

  10-02-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  On jobs, health and wildlife, the European Union is often all that stands between us and unfettered corporate powerBy instinct, like many on the left, I am a European. I recognise that many issues – perhaps most – can no longer be resolved only within our borders. Among them are grave threats to our welfare and our lives: climate change and the collapse of the living world; the spread of epidemics whose vectors are corporations (obesity, diabetes and diseases associated with smoking,
  
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• Home of UK 'patron saint of conservation' opening to public

  10-02-2016 07:45 via theguardian.com
  
  £4.4m lottery grant will see opening of the Slimbridge home of Sir Peter Scott, who designed the panda logo for conservation group WWFThe home of the “patron saint of conservation” is to open its doors to the public for the first time after being awarded a £4.4m grant.Sir Peter Scott, son of Antarctic explorer Captain Scott who instructed his wife in a last letter to “make the boy interested in natural history”, and his home at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, wer
  
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• Scrapping carbon capture support 'threatens UK climate targets'

  10-02-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  MPs warn that without CCS technology, it will be much more expensive to meet national and internationally agreed targets on reducing emissionsThe scrapping of government support for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has put at risk the UK’s international commitments on tackling climate change, an influential group of MPs has found.The energy and climate change committee said that, without such technology, it would be much more expensive to meet national and internationally agreed
  
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• Winds of climate change will make transatlantic flights longer, study shows

  10-02-2016 06:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Faster jet stream will add thousands of hours to journey times and increase airline fuel bills Airline flights are known to worsen climate change but now climate change is set to worsen flight times, according to new research.The work shows faster jet stream winds will delay transatlantic flights, adding thousands of hours a year to journey times and millions of dollars to airline fuel bills. Earlier work showed other impacts of rising temperatures on aviation, including bumpier, more turbulent
  
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• Halo in the sky, a supernatural glow

  10-02-2016 06:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire I resisted the temptation to point at the sky and yell at people to kneel before the visionA strange glow, a halo, an aura? The sky was so bright I wore sunglasses. After weeks of dishwater grey the light that made me blink found bands of small birds brightening their browns, blues and yellows, making their voices empty like a drawer of silver cutlery tipped out on to the path.My attention was drawn upward by a tree creeper spiralling an oak trunk through dark branches,
  
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• Swarm of moths blanket Queensland town of Winton

  10-02-2016 06:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Video shows thousands of insects clinging to hotel walls in town locals say is often overrun by the winged creatures when they breed after rain The outback Queensland town of Winton has been blanketed by a swarm of moths after heavy rain in the region.A video posted to Facebook on Wednesday shows thousands of the tiny winged creatures filling the gutters of a car park and clinging to the walls of the Winton hotel. Continue reading...
  
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• Outback Queensland town blanketed by swarm of moths after heavy rain – video

  10-02-2016 05:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Queenslander Frank Standfast posted this video to Facebook on Wednesday showing thousands of moths filling the gutters of a car park and clinging to the walls of the Winton hotel after heavy rain in the region Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices rebound from sharp selloff; more volatility expected

  10-02-2016 05:51
  By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Crude oil prices pushed higher on Wednesday after Iran said it was open to cooperation with Saudi Arabia, partly recovering from an 8 percent fall in the previous session on concerns over demand and weak equities. Prices were supported by comments from Iran's oil minister that Tehran is ready to negotiate with Saudi Arabia over the current conditions in global oil markets. The International Energy Agency (IEA), meanwhile, said the Organization of
  
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• Supreme Court deals blow to Obama climate plan

  10-02-2016 04:14
  
  The US Supreme Court has put on hold a sweeping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fueled power plants, dealing a significant blow to President Barack Obama's efforts to rein in climate change.
  
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