Dangling from umber cliffs that tower over Africa's westernmost shoreline, a crew of Senegalese climbers hunt for footholds that they say are vanishing. Rock climbing falls behind wrestling, football and surfing as well-loved Senegalese pastimes, but it has bound together a small community of locals and expats who say that their sport is under threat. Senegalese rock climber Abasse Wane climbs a rock wall at the Mamelles cliffs in Dakar, Senegal, June 27, 2021. REUTERS/Cooper Inveen The issue: coastal erosion caused by a massive construction boom in the capital Dakar where luxury hotels and condominiums are being built close to a once-untouched shoreline, eating away at the land and eroding the well worn climbing routes. Bits of hard cliff are quickly turning into slopes of sc...
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UNESCO keeps Great Barrier Reef off “in danger” list after Australian lobbying
The Great Barrier Reef will not be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are "in danger" after a UN panel on Friday agreed to defer a vote until 2022 amid intensive lobbying by Australia. A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee last month recommended the Great Barrier Reef be classified as "in danger", drawing an angry response from Australia. Desperate to avoid a politically embarrassing classification for a tourist attraction that draws about 5 million people each year and supports nearly 70,000 jobs - Australia's Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley travelled to more than a dozen countries in recent weeks to secure support. Speaking ahead of the decision, Ley assured the 21-country panel that Canberra was committed to...
Read MoreDeadly floods that have upended life in both China and Germany have sent a stark reminder that climate change is making weather more extreme across the globe. At least 25 people in the central Chinese province of Henan died on Tuesday, including a dozen trapped in a city subway as waters tore through the regional capital of Zhengzhou after days of torrential rain. Coming after floods killed at least 160 people in Germany and another 31 in Belgium last week, the disaster has reinforced the message that significant changes will have to be made to prepare for similar events in future. A street is flooded following heavy rainfalls in Erftstadt, Germany, July 16, 2021. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File Photo "Governments should first realize that the infrastructure they have built in t...
Read MoreEnglish city becomes only the third site ever to be removed from the prestigious list The English city of Liverpool was removed from UNESCO's list of world heritage sites on Wednesday because new buildings undermined the attractiveness of its Victorian docks, making it only the third site to be removed from the prestigious list. People walk on a deserted square, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Liverpool, Britain, January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble Liverpool was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nation's cultural organisation in 2004, joining landmarks such as the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. After a vote in China by members of its World Heritage Committee, UNESCO said the new buildings in Liverpool were underm...
Read MoreChina unveiled a maglev train capable of a top speed of 600 kph on Tuesday, state media said. The maximum speed would make the train, self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, the fastest ground vehicle globally. A high-speed maglev train, capable of a top speed of 600 kph, in Qingdao, Shandong province, China July 20, 2021. cnsphoto via REUTERS Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train "levitates" above the track with no contact between body and rail. China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai has a short maglev line running from one of its airports to town. While there are no inter-city or inter-province maglev lines yet in China that could make good use of the higher speeds, some cities...
Read MoreAnother milestone in billionaire’s race to open up space tourism Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man, and three crewmates soared high above the Texas desert aboard his space venture Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle on Tuesday and returned to Earth, a historic suborbital flight that helps to inaugurate a new era of private commercial space tourism. The spacecraft ignited its BE-3 engines for a lift-off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One facility about 20 miles (32 km) outside the rural town of Van Horn. There were generally clear skies with a few patchy clouds on a cool morning for the launch. New Shepard rocket and Blue Origin capsule taking off from Texas desert. Image captured from Live webcast/Awara Musafir The 57-year-old American billionaire flew on a voyage lasti...
Read MoreDivers have discovered rare remains of a military vessel in the ancient sunken city of Thônis-Heracleion - once Egypt's largest port on the Mediterranean - and a funerary complex illustrating the presence of Greek merchants, the country said on Monday. The city, which controlled the entrance to Egypt at the mouth of a western branch of the Nile, dominated the area for centuries before the foundation of Alexandria nearby by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Remains of an ancient military vessel discovered in the Mediterranean sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, are seen in this handout image released on July 19, 2021. The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities/Handout via REUTERS Destroyed and sunk along with a wide area of the Nile delta by several earthqu...
Read MoreThe cruise industry has welcomed the decision by the Italian Government on a long-awaited alternative route for ship access to the city of Venice. Italy on last Tuesday banned cruise liners from Venice lagoon to defend its ecosystem and heritage, moving to end years of hesitation and putting the demands of residents and culture bodies above those of the tourist industry. The government decided to act after the United Nations culture organisation UNESCO threatened to put Italy on a blacklist for not banning liners from the World Heritage site, cabinet sources said. FILE PHOTO: Venice residents ride on boats as they protest to demand an end to cruise ships passing through the lagoon city, as the first cruise ship of the summer season departs from the Port of Venice, Italy, June 5, ...
Read MoreThe Telangana Forest Department has said there are 14 tigers in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve as against 12 recorded in 2019. The Amrabad reserve is home to the highest population of tigers in the State. The latest findings on the presence of the big cats cameout during the phase-IV monitoring carried out in 2020- 21, according to an official release. "During the phase-IV census in 2019, there were 12 identified tigers. In the phase-IV monitoring in 2020-21, the number increased to 14..." it said. Phase-IV monitoring is being conducted as part of the exercise in every tiger reserve across the country. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments) },e._fwn||(e._fwn=n),n.qu...
Read MoreFrance will reinforce restrictions on unvaccinated travellers from a series of countries to counter a rebound in COVID-19 infections, while opening its doors to those who have received all their shots, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Saturday. The move comes as France faces a rapid surge in new coronavirus infections and President Emmanuel Macron tries to convince French citizens to accept vaccinations he says are the only way to stop the virus and put the country back on track. FILE PHOTO: A woman, wearing a protective face mask, walks past a closed restaurant in Paris amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Paris, France, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier From Sunday, July 18, non-vaccinated people coming from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, ...
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