More than 40 nations interested in joining BRICS – South Africa
Johannesburg, South AfricaReuters More than 40 countries have expressed interested in joining the BRICS group of nations, South Africa’s top diplomat in charge of relations with the bloc said on Thursday. Anil Sooklal and officials from the department of foreign affairs were addressing journalists in the main commercial city of Johannesburg, a day after South […]
Five nations elected to UN Security Council, but Belarus denied
United NationsReuters The United Nations General Assembly elected Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and South Korea to the UN Security Council on Tuesday for two-year terms starting on 1st January, 2024, while Belarus – allied with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine – was denied a spot. Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and South Korea ran […]
Snapshot: Lopé National Park, Gabon
See RALPH MESSI’s image…
Quick facts – Five global deforestation hotspots as Brazil reveals Amazon spike
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation A sharp rise in deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest drew global concern this week, spotlighting the environmental impact of the loss of huge swathes of forest around the world. The world lost 12 million hectares of tropical tree cover – equal to 30 football pitches a minute – last year, researchers […]
Wildlife-loving Gabon minister seeks to stamp out illegal logging
Johannesbury, South AfricaThomson Reuters Foundation Gabon’s new environment minister, Lee White, a British-born conservationist, has vowed to fight illegal logging by strengthening governance of forests after a national scandal in which about 350 containers of rare kevazingo wood went missing. Illegal logging, political apathy and climate change are key reasons why White made the move […]
Africa to seek declaration of global climate emergency at UN summit
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation African countries plan to call on the United Nations to declare a global climate emergency, among a set of demands to be presented at a climate summit in New York on Monday organised by the UN chief. Backed by African climate change negotiators, the statement is also expected to say that […]
African islands call for help as climate change worsens health
Thomson Reuters Foundation African island states this week said they need more help to cope with the health impacts of climate change, from worsening nutrition to a resurgence in mosquito-borne disease. At least 23 per cent of deaths in Africa are linked to the environment, the highest of any region worldwide, according to the World […]