Environment news

• Obama, Saudi king discuss strained alliance, Middle East conflicts

  20-04-2016 23:02
  By Roberta Rampton RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday to seek joint action on security threats including Iran and Islamic State - and to talk through tensions between the two allies that have been laid bare in recent weeks. Obama's fourth and likely last visit to the world's top oil exporter has been overshadowed by Gulf Arab exasperation with his approach to the region, and doubts about Washington's commitment to their security. Most of th
  
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• Oil up 4 percent on small U.S. crude build, talk of another producer meeting

  20-04-2016 21:01
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 4 percent on Wednesday after a smaller-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories offset glut worries stirred by the end of a Kuwaiti strike, and as oil bulls bet that major crude producers would meet again to try to curtail output. Moscow, however, denied media reports that Russia planned to host such a meeting. Just on Sunday, Russia and OPEC nations failed to reach an agreement on freezing production at a meeting in Doha, Qatar.
  
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• Stop aid to Honduras, says murdered campaigner's daughter

  20-04-2016 21:00
  
  Berta Cáceres’s daughter urges Europeans to suspend aid and investment in hydro projects until human rights are respected The daughter of murdered environmental leader Berta Cáceres has called for a suspension of European aid to Honduras and investment in its hydro projects until the country complies with human rights norms. Cáceres was shot as she slept on 2 March, after her family say that Honduran authorities failed to adequately respond to a slew of escalating deat
  
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• Protesters criticise Drax over use of subsidies for coal and wood power

  20-04-2016 20:41
  
  Activists in London and Yorkshire call on government to ‘axe Drax’, which they claim receives £1m a day in renewable energy subsidiesDrax faced protests during its annual general meeting in London over its use of public subsidies to support its massive coal and wood-burning power station.Banners were unfurled by campaigners seeking to “axe Drax” outside its AGM in the capital on Wednesday, as well as at the Drax power station site near Selby, North Yorkshire. Contin
  
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• VW to pay each U.S. customer $5,000 to settle dieselgate - Die Welt

  20-04-2016 20:28
  By Andreas Cremer BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen has reached a deal with U.S. authorities to settle the case over its cheating of diesel emissions tests that would involve it paying each affected customer $5,000 (3,479 pounds), Germany's Die Welt newspaper reported on Wednesday. Citing unidentified sources close to the negotiations, Die Welt said the agreement would be presented on Thursday to Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco, avoiding a trial. Volkswagen (VW) declined to comment.
  
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• Hinkley Point C and the UK’s energy needs | Letter from Amber Rudd MP

  20-04-2016 19:58
  
  The government’s job is to ensure our families and businesses have energy supplies they can rely on. And we are doing it by taking the long-term decisions to ensure secure, clean, affordable supplies now and in the decades ahead. That’s the key role for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and we’ve never said otherwise, despite the very strange claims in your article (Minister: Hinkley no risk to power supply, 20 April).The reason we are backing the construction of Hink
  
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• VW deceived customers like us on emissions. It must face the consequences | Letters

  20-04-2016 19:56
  
  21 April is the deadline that Judge Breyer has set for VW to respond to the scandal caused by installing “defeat devices” to evade emissions regulations on 567,000 “clean diesel” cars sold in the US (VW emissions cheat software came from Audi – report, 20 April).As owners of a diesel Jetta, we have been waiting for VW to respond for seven months since the scandal broke. The defeat device eliminates the reason we purchased the car: low-emission “clean transport
  
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• Shell defies order to halt production at Nigeria facility - officials

  20-04-2016 19:56
  By Tife Owolabi YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has failed to halt production at the Gbaran Ubie oil and gas facility in southern Nigeria, contravening a court order for the site to be sealed and raising the prospect of legal action, state government officials said on Wednesday. A Shell spokesman declined to comment. On Monday, the Bayelsa state government said the premises had been sealed up for operating without a permit and staff had been evicted.
  
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• Chameleon's tongue gives up secrets

  20-04-2016 19:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists build a mathematical model that explains the secrets of the chameleon's extraordinary tongue.
  
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• US weather 'preferable' for most thanks to climate change; but there's a catch

  20-04-2016 19:01
  
  Research finds most Americans have seen a pleasant mix of warmer winters and tolerable summers since 1974, but the situation is set for a radical reversalA large majority of Americans have enjoyed more pleasant weather due to global warming over the past 40 years, research has found, but there is set to be an unpleasant sting in the tail as temperatures escalate further this century.Vast areas of the contiguous US have warmed considerably during winters without becoming unbearably hot during the
  
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• Oil up 3 percent on small U.S. crude build, talk of another producer meeting

  20-04-2016 18:59
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 3 percent on Wednesday after a smaller-than-expected U.S. crude build offset glut worries stirred by the end of a Kuwaiti strike and on speculation that major oil producers were meeting in Russia in May for another attempt at curtailing output. Just on Sunday, Russia and OPEC nations failed to reach an agreement on freezing production at a meeting in Doha, Qatar. "There is no such agreement," Russian Energy Minister Alexander Nova
  
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• Obama meets Saudi king as U.S. Iran policy strains alliance

  20-04-2016 18:26
  By Roberta Rampton RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday to seek joint action on security threats including Iran and Islamic State, but his visit is overshadowed by Gulf Arab exasperation with his approach to the region. The American president has come to the world's top oil exporter for a fourth and likely last time, hoping to reassure Salman and other Gulf leaders, whom he will meet on Thursday, of Washington's commitment to their security.
  
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• USGS study shows why some chemicals bio-accumulate and others don't

  20-04-2016 18:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers have figured out what makes certain chemicals accumulate to toxic levels in aquatic food webs. And, scientists have developed a screening technique to determine which chemicals pose the greatest risk to the environment.According to the study led by the U.S. Geological Survey, two traits were identified that indicate how chemicals can build up and reach toxic levels:  how easily a chemical is broken down or metabolized by an organism and the chemical’s ability to dissolve i
  
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• How collaborating with charities creates the business case for CSR

  20-04-2016 18:09
  
  EXCLUSIVE: "Leaning" on charities provides a resource-driven platform to ensure that companies are "walking the talk" on delivering sustainability, catering and facilities company Sodexo has claimed.
  
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• In riposte to Riyadh, Russia says ready to ramp up oil output

  20-04-2016 18:08
  By Olesya Astakhova, Denis Pinchuk and Dmitry Zhdannikov MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it was prepared to push oil production to new historic highs, just days after a global deal to freeze output levels collapsed and Saudi Arabia threatened to flood markets with more crude. OPEC member Venezuela predicted oil prices could crash in the next few weeks if producers failed to resume dialogue as the spectre of oversupply loomed once more. Venezuela and top non-OPEC producer Russia had b
  
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• LHC can be 'biggest rain meter'

  20-04-2016 17:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The LHC is not just the world's most powerful particle accelerator, it could also be its biggest rain meter.
  
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• Belgium rejects German call for nuclear plants closure

  20-04-2016 17:32
  
  Belgium’s nuclear safety agency says 40-year-old Tihange 2 and Doel 3 reactors meet ‘strictest possible safety requirements’Belgium on Wednesday rejected a request by neighbouring Germany to shutter two ageing nuclear plants near their shared border, arguing the facilities met with the strictest safety standards.German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks earlier on Wednesday requested that the 40-year-old Tihange 2 and Doel 3 reactors be turned off “until the
  
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• The environment photographers you should be following on Instagram

  20-04-2016 16:57
  
  Sometimes, the best way to understand what’s happening on the other side of the world is to see it for yourself. Here are some of our favorite Instagrammers who focus on capturing our changing planet Continue reading...
  
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• As the planet warms, how do we decide when a plant is native?

  20-04-2016 16:30
  
  Yale Environment 360: The fate of a tree planted at poet Emily Dickinson’s home raises questions about whether gardeners can - or should - play a role in helping plant species migrate in the face of rising temperatures and swiftly changing botanical zonesOn rare occasions, the townsfolk of Amherst, Massachusetts, would catch a glimpse of a ghostly figure dressed in white, leaning over to tend her flowers by flickering lantern light. The mysterious recluse, who was better known to neighbors
  
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• Ten years after 'hug a husky', what is David Cameron's green legacy?

  20-04-2016 16:04
  
  A decade ago today, the Conservative leader visited the Arctic to witness the effects of climate change. But since coming to power, his government has dropped or watered down a succession of green policies It is one of the most successful political reinventions ever. In just a few years as its new leader, David Cameron turned around the Tories’ toxic “nasty party” image - at least with enough voters to form a coalition government. One of the most eye-catching moments came 10 y
  
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• Low costs will see global wind capacity nearly double in next five years

  20-04-2016 16:03
  
  Global wind power installations will nearly double in the next five years as prices continue to fall and countries develop renewable energy to comply with emissions reduction targets, according to research published in Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) flagship publication.
  
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• Is Faraday Future's owner buying into rival electric car startup Atieva?

  20-04-2016 15:04
  
  Mysterious Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting has a stake in both car firms. But after internal dissent and the departure of the co-founder, what’s the future for Atieva?The glossy video on the website of Atieva, a Silicon Valley startup developing a self-driving electric vehicle, is a hard sell for the California dream. “To reimagine the future, we’re rewriting the rules. Applying the California state of mind to shape a new vision of what a car can be.” Related: Inside Fara
  
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• Battle of the electric car startups: will Faraday Future merge with Atieva?

  20-04-2016 15:04
  
  Sources fear that mysterious Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, who has a stake in both promising startups, is exerting increasing influence over the rival companiesThe glossy video on the website of Atieva, a promising Silicon Valley startup developing a self-driving electric vehicle, is a hard sell for the California dream. “To reimagine the future, we’re rewriting the rules. Applying the California state of mind to shape a new vision of what a car can be.” Related: Inside Fara
  
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• Mitsubishi expresses 'deep apologies' after falsifying fuel economy tests

  20-04-2016 14:38
  
  Mitsubishi Motor Corporation has become the latest carmaker to become embroiled in a testing scandal, after the company admitted to manipulating data to make 625,000 vehicles appear more fuel-efficient.
  
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• Mitsubishi enters the emissions storm after falsifying fuel economy tests

  20-04-2016 14:38
  
  Mitsubishi Motor Corporation has become the latest car maker to become wrangled in an emissions scandal, after the company admitted to manipulating test and trial data to make 625,000 vehicles appear more fuel efficient.
  
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• More than 1,000 species have been moved due to human impact

  20-04-2016 14:37
  
  Animals and plants are increasingly being ‘translocated’ from their native areas to survive effects of climate change, poaching and habitat loss, says top conservationistMore than 1,000 species have had to be relocated because of climate change, poaching and humans taking their habitat, according to a top conservationist.Dr Axel Moehrenschlager said cases of “translocation”, such as India’s plan to relocate tigers to Cambodia or South Africa’s scheme to airlif
  
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• Ocean currents push phytoplankton and pollution faster than thought

  20-04-2016 13:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  The billions of single-celled marine organisms known as phytoplankton can drift from one region of the world's oceans to almost any other place on the globe in less than a decade, Princeton University researchers have found.Unfortunately, the same principle can apply to plastic debris, radioactive particles and virtually any other man-made flotsam and jetsam that litter our seas, the researchers found. Pollution can thus become a problem far from where it originated within just a few years.
  
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• Oil falls on end to Kuwaiti strike, supply outlook

  20-04-2016 13:48
  By Simon Falush LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday as investor focus returned to worries about oversupply after Kuwaiti workers ended a three-day strike that had halved the nation's crude output. Six supertankers have lined up at Kuwait's crude export terminal to load oil, and the country has raised its output to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.1 million on Sunday. "Kuwait is moving back to full production, and we expected that oil would come off more after the Doha deal fe
  
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• EU dropped climate policies after BP threat of oil industry 'exodus'

  20-04-2016 13:42
  
  Oil giant warned industry would pull out of EU if laws to cut pollution and speed clean energy take up were passed, letter obtained by the Guardian revealsThe EU abandoned or weakened key proposals for new environmental protections after receiving a letter from a top BP executive which warned of an exodus of the oil industry from Europe if the proposals went ahead.In the 10-page letter, the company predicted in 2013 that a mass industry flight would result if laws to regulate tar sands, cut powe
  
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• Is your home making you sick?

  20-04-2016 13:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research in the journal Science of the Total Environment has highlighted the dangerous effects of indoor pollution on human health, and has called for policies to ensure closer monitoring of air quality.A collaborative effort of European, Australian and UK researchers, led by the University of Surrey,  assessed the harmful effects of indoor pollution in order to make recommendations on how best to monitor and negate these outcomes.Dr Prashant Kumar of the University of Su
  
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• Germany asks Belgium to take two nuclear reactors offline

  20-04-2016 13:17
  BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany has asked Belgium to take two nuclear reactors temporarily offline while questions about their safety are cleared up, an unusual diplomatic move that underscores German concerns about the plants. Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said on Wednesday that she asked Belgium this week to shut down its Tihange 2 and Doel 3 reactors, after Germany's Reactor Safety Commission advised that it could not confirm the reactors would be safe in the event of a hazardous
  
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• UK could save billions by embracing low-carbon transport

  20-04-2016 13:13
  
  A transition to low-carbon transport could reduce global spending on oil and save £232bn a year between 2020 and 2030, according to a new report from economic analysts.
  
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• Chernobyl disaster 30 years on: what do you remember?

  20-04-2016 13:00
  
  Share your stories and contribute to our coverage marking the anniversary of the biggest nuclear catastrophe in historyOn 26 April 1986 one of the four reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. It was the biggest accident of its kind in history – a human and environmental disaster that triggered a political storm that has lasted for decades. Related: Chernobyl 30 years on: former residents remember life in the ghost city of PripyatContinue reading...
  
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• Venezuela minister warns oil prices may collapse if producers don't talk

  20-04-2016 12:51
  Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino warned on Wednesday that global oil stocks were nearly full and the oil price could collapse if producers did not resume talks about freezing output levels. Del Pino was speaking at an oil conference in Moscow, just days after leading oil producers failed to reach an agreement on freezing their output levels in order to help support weak oil prices.
  
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• Ed Davey warns Brexit would be bad for UK's green businesses

  20-04-2016 12:35
  
  Former energy and climate change secretary warns leaving EU would be ‘environmental madness’, reports BusinessGreenSir Ed Davey has today added his voice to the ranks of energy and climate change experts warning ‘Brexit’ would undermine the UK’s energy security, its ability to combat climate change threats, and its burgeoning green economy.Writing on BusinessGreen today ahead of a roundtable event on the implications of Brexit for energy and climate policy this morn
  
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• edie Live Innovation Competition finalists announced

  20-04-2016 12:23
  
  Innovative and pioneering technologies - from hybrid commercial vehicles to energy storage, innovative AD solutions to retail refrigeration - will take to the stage next month, after 10 forward-thinking companies made it through to the final of edie's Innovation Zone competition.
  
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• David Attenborough's early films to be shown in colour for first time

  20-04-2016 12:03
  
  Week of BBC programming, including Zoo Quest, will mark naturalist’s 90th birthdaySome of David Attenborough’s first natural history films will be shown in colour for the first time as part of a week of programming to mark the broadcaster’s 90th birthday.Related: Great Barrier Reef: David Attenborough ignores politics and appeals to the heartContinue reading...
  
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• More than half US population lives amid dangerous air pollution, report warns

  20-04-2016 12:00
  
  American Lung Association’s ‘state of the air’ report finds 166 million Americans are living in unhealthy ozone or particle pollution with serious health risksMore than half of the US population lives amid potentially dangerous air pollution, with national efforts to improve air quality at risk of being reversed, a new report has warned.
  A total of 166 million Americans live in areas that have unhealthy levels of of either ozone or particle pollution, according to the American
  
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• Are Chinese businesses responsible for helping China achieve its climate goals?

  20-04-2016 12:00
  
  With only 10% of Chinese firms carrying out sustainability initiatives, the country’s business sector will need to step up its game if China is to meet its emissions targetChina’s offshore oil drilling firm and the country’s largest oil producer with $98.53bn in revenue in 2014, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) inevitably disturbs marine life as it probes seabeds around the world for resources. Like other big oil firms, the company has caused its share of environmental
  
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• Concern over Brexit impact on science

  20-04-2016 11:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK science community draws vital benefits from EU membership and could lose influence in the event of an exit, says a House of Lords report.
  
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• OPEC stands aloof of oil price regulation - Russian energy minister

  20-04-2016 11:28
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Decision-making within the OPEC has become more complicated and since 2008 the international oil cartel has taken no action to regulate the global oil market, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday. Novak, in remarks at an energy forum, said he had witnessed disagreement among OPEC members during the Doha meeting on a proposed oil output freeze last weekend. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk and Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Vladimnir So
  
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• Mitsubishi Motors admits manipulating fuel economy tests

  20-04-2016 11:18
  
  Inaccurate tests covered four of its mini-cars, two of which it manufactured for NissanMitsubishi Motors has admitted manipulating test data to overstate the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars.The Japanese carmaker said the inaccurate tests covered four of its mini-cars, two of which it manufactured for Nissan. The number of Nissan cars affected was 468,000, while 157,000 were sold under the Mitsubishi brand. Continue reading...
  
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• Dutch court overturns $50 billion Yukos award against Russia

  20-04-2016 10:09
  In a victory for Moscow, a Dutch court on Wednesday overturned an order that Russia pay $50 billion (35 billion pounds) to shareholders in defunct oil company Yukos, saying that the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration had no jurisdiction. Four shareholders in the defunct oil company were demanding compensation from the Russian state, which they said had deliberately crippled the company with tax demands.
  
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• Switch to low-carbon transport could 'save UK billions'

  20-04-2016 09:39
  
  Reducing global oil demand would drive down prices and free up funds for oil importing countries to spend on other areas of the economy, report findsA switch to low-carbon transport such as electric cars would save countries including the UK billions of pounds a year, a report has suggested.
  Global policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector would reduce demand for oil, driving down prices and cutting global spending on the fossil fuel by £232bn a year worldwide betw
  
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• Senators call for Australia to ban microbeads to protect marine life

  20-04-2016 09:15
  
  Senate committee wants an immediate ban on production or importation of beauty products containing the tiny plastic beadsThe production or importation of cosmetics containing microbeads should immediately be halted in order to protect vulnerable marine life, a Senate inquiry has recommended. Related: The microbead battle and the search for a greener replacementContinue reading...
  
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• Scientists sniff out vehicle emissions

  20-04-2016 08:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Heidelberg researchers are following vehicles through city streets, sampling their exhaust plumes to get a real-world perspective on emissions.
  
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• Volcano implicated in Maya upheaval

  20-04-2016 08:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists think they can now tie the disruption that hit Maya civilisation in the 6th Century to an eruption of the El Chichon volcano.
  
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• Air quality in eastern China improves but slips elsewhere - Greenpeace

  20-04-2016 04:04
  The air quality in eastern China continued to improve in the first quarter, but smog worsened in central and western regions, Greenpeace said in a report on Wednesday after analysing government data for 362 cities. An analysis of concentrations of tiny airborne pollutants known as PM2.5 highlighted the effectiveness of government policies to clean the air in key population centres along the eastern seaboard that includes areas around Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, Greenpeace East Asia said.
  
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• Hopes of finding Ecuador quake survivors fade as death toll nears 500

  20-04-2016 03:58
  By Julia Symmes Cobb and Ana Isabel Martinez PEDERNALES, Ecuador (Reuters) - Rescuers in Ecuador were losing hope on Tuesday of finding more survivors from an earthquake that killed nearly 500 people and dealt a shattering blow to the South American OPEC country's already fragile economy. The 7.8 magnitude quake, which struck late on Saturday, also left 107 people missing, and injured more than 4,000, according to the latest government tallies. Supervising rescue work in the disaster zone, Ecuad
  
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• Crude futures fall after Kuwaiti oil workers end strike

  20-04-2016 02:45
  Crude futures fell in early Asian trade on Wednesday after Kuwaiti oil workers ended a three-day strike that had cut production from the Middle Eastern country and data showed U.S. stockpiles rose last week. Kuwaiti oil and gas workers ended a three-day strike that had temporarily cut the OPEC member's crude production by nearly half, the trade union said in a statement posted on its Twitter account on Tuesday. Adding to the bearish tone, data from industry group American Petroleum Institute (AP
  
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