Riot police use teargas to disperse demonstrators at site of A-69 near Puylaurens in southern France
Police and masked activists clashed at a protest over a motorway project in southern France on Saturday, leaving five people hurt, local officials said.
Thousands of demonstrators ignored a ban on the gathering to turn out for the protest at the site of the A-69 motorway between Castres and Toulouse in the south-west.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
06/08/2024 - 17:18
06/08/2024 - 09:00
Extreme temperatures and flammable grass fed by a wet winter are among this year’s biggest risks, experts say
This week’s broiling heatwave in the US south-west is just the start of what experts warn will be a brutally hot summer, setting the stage for an active wildfire season – even in places that don’t burn often.
Thanks to a wet winter, the dangers could be delayed in many fire-prone regions across the west, including in California forests where the threats from catastrophic blazes are often high. But the extra rainfall also helped seed invasive grasses that spread across sparse arid landscapes, and rapidly dried as temperatures rose.
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06/08/2024 - 01:00
Imogen May has withheld payments since 2019 and is thought to be one of thousands boycotting water charges
South West Water has taken a legal stake in a customer’s home after she withheld her bill payments in a protest over sewage dumping in rivers and the sea.
Thousands of water company customers are thought to be withholding payments but this is the first known case of a company enforcing a claim against a customer’s home.
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06/08/2024 - 00:43
Mt Buller had the country’s only ski-on chairlift operating on season’s opening day on Saturday – but snow is forecast for the week ahead
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It was a grassy start to Australia’s ski season, with one resort trying to remain upbeat “although we may not have snow on the ground” and a few pockets of human-made alternatives to play on elsewhere.
Mt Buller, in Victoria, was blessed with the only ski-on chairlift in the entire country on the opening day of the winter season on Saturday.
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06/07/2024 - 22:00
Opposition leader reportedly told News Corp he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election
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Peter Dutton has been accused of planning to break Australia’s commitment to the landmark Paris climate agreement after he said he would reject the country’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target.
The opposition leader reportedly told the Weekend Australian that he would oppose the legislated 2030 emissions target – a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels – at the next election but remain committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
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06/07/2024 - 15:22
Biden’s rule for 2% fuel-economy increase a year met with disappointment by some environmental groups
New vehicles sold in the US will have to average about 38 miles per gallon (mpg) of gasoline in 2031 in real-world driving, up from about 29mpg this year, under new federal rules unveiled on Friday by the Biden administration.
The final rule will increase fuel economy by 2% a year for model years 2027 to 2031 for passenger cars, while SUVs and other light trucks will increase by 2% a year for model years 2029 to 2031, according to requirements released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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06/07/2024 - 14:51
The hoodwinker sunfish, or Mola tecta, is a different species from the more common ocean sunfish, Mola mola
An enormous rare fish thought to live only in temperate waters in the southern hemisphere has washed up on Oregon’s northern coast, drawing crowds of curious onlookers intrigued by the unusual sight.
The 7.3-ft (2.2-metre) hoodwinker sunfish first appeared on the beach in Gearhart on Monday, the Seaside Aquarium said in a media release. It was still on the beach on Friday and may remain there for weeks, the aquarium said, as it is difficult for scavengers to puncture its tough skin.
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06/07/2024 - 10:52
John Browne appears to back Labour energy policy as he underlines need for green transition
The former boss of BP John Browne has appeared to back a key Labour energy policy by calling for an end to new North Sea oil and gas drilling licences.
The oil industry veteran, who was known as the Sun King when he ran the oil company between 1995 and 2007, said an important test for the UK’s political parties before next month’s general election was whether they have “serious plans for the country’s green energy transition”.
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06/07/2024 - 09:26
Professional body says outbreaks of foodborne illnesses will increase unless urgent action taken
Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, such as E coli, will increase in the UK unless urgent action is taken to tackle severe shortages of environmental health officers, a body representing the profession has said.
The warning comes after more than 100 E coli cases were reported in a fortnight, having spread via food distributed across Britain.
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06/07/2024 - 06:00
A new, cleaner ship points way as US ports in the region are spending millions on upgrades in pursuit of net zero
It’s just after 9.30pm on a Thursday night in late May when a conveyor belt begins dumping 21,000 tons of road salt into the cavernous hull of the MV Mark M Barker at a dock in Cleveland.
As the first US-flagged freighter to be built on the Great Lakes in nearly 40 years, the 639ft (195-meter)-long ship – launched in 2022 – is the only vessel of its kind in the region powered by cleaner, “tier four” marine engines that meet the federal Environmental Protection Agency rules governing hydrocarbons and particle matter emissions.
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