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Earthquake of magnitude 6.8 strikes near coast of northern Chile

(Reuters) – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck near the coast of Northern Chile on Tuesday, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences said, with local news media reporting some damage and minor landslides in areas near the epicenter. Chile’s interior minis... More »

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U.S. presidential hopeful Biden says he would not ban fracking

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said on Monday he would not ban hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of drilling for crude oil and natural gas, if elected and called Republican assertions that he supports such a ban a... More »

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Flash floods kill two in Thailand, storm heads for Myanmar

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Flash floods killed at least two people and swept through hundreds of houses in northern Thailand, authorities said after tropical storm Sinlaku dumped heavy rains on 18 provinces over the weekend. Muddy, waist-high waters poured into homes... More »

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BMW to offer fully electric 5-series in emissions push

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) will offer a fully electric 5-series as part of sweeping product overhaul unveiled on Monday as the German carmaker seeks to lower vehicle emissions during production and on the road. “In ten years, the goal is to have a tot... More »

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Prehistoric ochre mining operation found in submerged Mexican caves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Researchers diving into dark submerged caves on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula have found evidence of an ambitious mining operation starting 12,000 years ago and lasting two millennia for red ochre, an earth mineral pigment prized by prehist... More »

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Broadway theaters to remain closed through early January 2021

(Reuters) – Broadway theaters will remain closed through Jan. 3, 2021, industry group the Broadway League said on Monday, extending their coronavirus-related shutdown for another four months. The New York City theaters, which went dark in mid-March, had previo... More »

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Baby dragons take their bow in a Slovenian cave

POSTOJNA, Slovenia (Reuters) – Three rare aquatic creatures known as baby dragons are going on display in an aquarium at Slovenia’s Postojna Cave, one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. The cave-dwelling animals, officially called proteus or olms, h... More »

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World’s largest green turtle colony nearly twice as big as thought

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The world’s largest population of nesting green turtles is nearly twice as big as previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday, after drones enabled better surveys of the animals. Australian scientists determined that there were about 64... More »

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In dress of giant inflatable roses, Chinese artist marks Earth Day

BEIJING (Reuters) – Wearing a dress she made of eight giant plastic inflatable roses over a wire structure and a headpiece crowned by a globe, Chinese performance artist Kong Ning is using fashion to draw attention to environmental protection on Earth Day. “Ro... More »

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Actor Idris Elba launches U.N. coronavirus fund for poor farmers

BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – British actor and filmmaker Idris Elba launched a new United Nations fund on Monday to help farmers in poorer nations, calling on richer economies to provide aid to prevent “needless hunger and suffering” stemming from ... More »

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Frozen and desolate Antarctica once boasted warm, swampy rainforests

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Antarctica is now a harsh land of ice and snow, but has not always been that way. Earth’s southernmost continent long ago was home to temperate, swampy rainforests teeming with life, scientists said on Wednesday based on pristinely prese... More »

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Fossil footprints on Scottish island reveal dinosaur parade ground

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On a crag of rock called Brother’s Point on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, scientists have identified two bustling footprint sites that reveal an abundance of dinosaurs that thrived 170 million years ago including an early member of a celebrat... More »

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Billion-year-old Chinese seaweed is oldest green plant fossil

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists have spotted in rocks from northern China what may be the oldest fossils of a green plant ever found, tiny seaweed that carpeted areas of the seafloor roughly a billion years ago and were part of a primordial revolution among ... More »

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New York State pension fund puts 27 coal companies under review

BOSTON (Reuters) – New York state’s top pension fund official said it was reviewing whether to divest from 27 coal companies and could make decisions on $98 million in holdings within two months. The reviews by the third-largest U.S. state pension system, with... More »

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Australian budget surplus in doubt as bushfire funding boosted

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia on Monday boosted emergency funding for small businesses hit by bushfires that have ravaged the country for months, as the mounting costs of the disaster cast doubt on the government’s ability to deliver a promised budget surplus. ... More »

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Sports need to do more to combat climate change: lobby group

(Reuters) – The bushfire smoke that hampered the buildup to the Australian Open highlights the need for Tennis Australia to be doing much more to combat climate change, the country’s national environmental lobby group said. The Australian Open, the season open... More »

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In New York lab, centuries-old corals hold clues to climate shifts

PALISADES, N.Y. (Reuters) – Some 20 miles north of New York City, a team of scientists is searching for clues about how the environment is changing by studying organisms not usually found in the woods around here: corals. In the labs of the Lamont-Doherty Eart... More »

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Santa Claus dives into hot climate issue in Paris aquarium

PARIS (Reuters) – In a change of scene, Santa Claus is donning flippers and a diving mask along with his traditional red-and-white outfit to scuba dive in a Paris aquarium as he teaches kids about global warming and climate issues during the festive season. Th... More »

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Bye-bye, birdie: Study finds North American birds getting smaller

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Since 1978, researchers have scooped up and measured tens of thousands of birds that died after crashing into buildings in Chicago during spring and fall migrations. Their work has documented what might be called the incredible shrinking... More »

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New Zealand base for methane-measuring satellite mission

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – A satellite mission to measure global methane emissions from oil and gas facilities will be based in New Zealand, the government said on Wednesday, in a collaboration with a U.S. environmental group. The MethaneSAT, due to be launched in... More »

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Czech lab grows mustard plants for Mars

PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech scientists have opened a lab to experiment growing food for environments with extreme conditions and lack of water, such as Mars. The “Marsonaut” experiment by scientist Jan Lukacevic, 29, and his team at the Prague University of Life ... More »

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Solar powered cars set off for Australia’s outback race

(Refile changes to biennial from biannual in paragraph 2) MELBOURNE (Reuters) – More than 40 racing teams from 21 countries left Darwin on Sunday to race across Australia to the southern city of Adelaide in the world’s fastest solar powered cars. The 3,000 kil... More »

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Scientists find toxic fungus near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A highly poisonous fungus, with toxins that can be absorbed through the skin, has been identified for the first time in the rain forest near the Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists said on Thursday. The Fire Coral fungus, which is b... More »

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Endangered turtles bred in captivity in Israel to help save species

MIKHMORET, Israel (Reuters) – On a Mediterranean beach in Israel, a newly-hatched baby turtle fumbles along the sand, making its way to the sea for the very first time. The hatchling, one of 60 to be released into the wild this week, is part of a unique conser... More »

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Scientists race to read Austria’s melting climate archive

WEISSSEESPITZE, Austria (Reuters) – Scientists are racing to read a rapidly melting archive of climate data going back thousands of years – the inside of Austria’s Alpine glaciers. Mountain glaciers are receding the world over as average global temperatures ri... More »

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Congolese girl, 9, dies of Ebola in Uganda- hospital official

KAMPALA (Reuters) – A nine-year-old girl has died of Ebola in the East African nation of Uganda, a hospital official said, a day after she tested positive for the disease after crossing the border from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. “It is true she ... More »

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As Dorian looms, Florida’s Space Coast braces for possible…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As Hurricane Dorian advances on a course likely to slam the Florida peninsula within days, U.S. space agencies and aerospace companies are sheltering millions of dollars in hardware and assets along the Space Coast. Dorian, expected to s... More »

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New Jersey officials speed up Newark lead pipe replacement with…

(Reuters) – New Jersey unveiled a $120 million plan on Monday to speed up the replacement of old lead pipes in Newark in response to mounting alarm about the toxic metal leaching into the drinking water in the state’s largest city. Newark officials began handi... More »

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Eggs from last northern white rhinos fertilized, scientists say

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Seven eggs from the world’s last two remaining northern white rhinos have been successfully fertilized artificially, reviving hopes of saving the endangered animals, scientists said on Monday. The world’s last male northern white rhinoceros... More »

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Florida scientists induce spawning of Atlantic coral in lab for…

APOLLO BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – Scientists in Florida have artificially induced reproductive spawning of an endangered Atlantic coral species for the first time in an aquarium setting, a breakthrough they say holds great promise in efforts to restore depleted r... More »

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Philippines checks for African swine fever as pig deaths rise

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines has set up a crisis management team to determine if the deadly African swine fever virus has reached the country after officials detected a rise in pig deaths in some areas. The Bureau of Animal Industry had reported an incre... More »

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Genetic study implicates humans in demise of prehistoric cave bear

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Genetic research that reconstructed the past population dynamics of the cave bear, a prominent prehistoric denizen of Europe, implicates Homo sapiens rather than climate cooling in the Ice Age extinction of these brawny plant-loving beas... More »

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Indonesian walks 700-km backwards to highlight deforestation

SRAGEN, Indonesia (Reuters) – An Indonesia man is walking backwards from his home in eastern Java to the capital Jakarta to raise awareness of deforestation in a country with one of the highest rates in the world. The more than 700 km (435 miles) would be ardu... More »

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Grasshoppers take Vegas by swarm, disrupting weather radar, tourism

(Reuters) – Swarms of grasshoppers have descended upon America’s Sin City in unusual abundance this week, disrupting weather radars, deterring tourists and invoking hysteria on social media. The clouds of buzzing insects, whose migration through the Las Vegas ... More »

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Later alligator: Chicago wants scaly resident out of local lagoon

CHICAGO (Reuters) – An alligator has taken up residence in a Chicago lagoon, surprising locals after a winter of polar temperatures in the third-largest U.S. city. Police confirmed the reptile had been spotted on Tuesday in Humboldt Park Lagoon, on Chicago’s w... More »

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China reports new African swine fever outbreak in Guangxi region

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s southwestern region of Guangxi has confirmed a new outbreak of African swine fever, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday. The new outbreak has killed 1 pig and infected 42 more on a farm in Guigang city, the Ministry of Agricul... More »

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U.N., European bodies outline joint push against space junk

VIENNA (Reuters) – European and U.N. bodies on Thursday outlined a joint push for global action on space junk, saying that debris orbiting the earth must be cleaned up as satellites launched by private companies and other new entrants are adding to the crowdin... More »

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California ladybug swarm dozens of miles wide shows up on radar

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A swarm of many millions of ladybugs taking to the sky in Southern California this week to hunt for aphids has been captured on a radar screen as a massive blob, officials said on Thursday. The insect swarm spanned 80 miles by 80 miles ... More »

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U.S. biologists probe deaths of 70 emaciated gray whales

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – U.S. government biologists have launched a special investigation into the deaths of at least 70 gray whales washed ashore in recent months along the U.S. West Coast, from California to Alaska, many of them emaciated, officials sai... More »

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Back to nature: UK Duchess Kate shows off garden skills at Chelsea…

LONDON (Reuters) – Kate, Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge, released new pictures of her family playing in a woodland wilderness garden she designed for London’s Chelsea Flower Show. Co-created with landscape artists Andree Davies and Adam White, Kate’s “Back to ... More »

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Exclusive: Trump EPA did not await court ruling to loosen biofuel…

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Trump administration made it easier for oil refineries to get waivers from the nation’s biofuel law at least four months before a 2017 court decision it often cites to justify the move to the corn lobby, and the move was motivated by a... More »

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Little sun bear’s facial mimicry reveals complex social skills

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sun bears, the smallest of the world’s eight bear species, are generally solitary animals, content to spend most of their time alone outside mating season, foraging for fruit, rodents, birds and insects in Southeast Asian tropical forest... More »

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U.S. Air Force grounds Boeing’s KC-46 tankers over debris issue

(Reuters) – The U.S. Air force said on Friday it had stopped accepting Boeing Co’s KC-46 tankers since Feb. 20 and is working with the company to resolve the issue of foreign object debris (FOD) that were found in the aircraft. “No aircraft have been accepted ... More »

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Plastic finds second life in Portuguese street artist’s work

PARIS (Reuters) – A lemur made of damaged car bumpers and bin lids. An owl made from plastic junk. Colorful animals have popped up in Paris as part of a new exhibition by Portuguese street artist Bordalo II, who aims to highlight the effect of waste on the env... More »

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Tech firm Sigfox develops tiny tracker to help fight rhino poaching

PARIS (Reuters) – French tech company Sigfox has developed a bite-size tracker that can be inserted into the horns of rhinos to help conservationists monitor and protect the endangered species. With the dramatic decline of animal species in the past century mo... More »

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Ivory Coast painter gives new life to e-waste

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Desire Koffi often walks through Koumassi, a popular district of Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan, to collect old mobile phones that he buys from people for 500 CFA francs ($0.8726) a pair. Back home, the 24-year-old Ivorian artist dismantle... More »

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Chirp perp: Finches found in luggage at NY airport

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A man was caught at New York’s JFK airport last weekend trying to smuggle dozens of South American finches into the country, a bird that Guyanese immigrants covet for chirping but officials fear could spread disease, officials said on Thur... More »

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Bug business: Cockroaches corralled by the millions in China to…

JINAN, China (Reuters) – In the near pitch-dark, you can hear them before you see them – millions of cockroaches scuttling and fluttering across stacks of wooden boards as they devour food scraps by the tonne in a novel form of urban waste disposal. The air is... More »

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New ultralight material offers many uses for plastic waste,…

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Researchers in Singapore are seeking a patent for a new sound-proof and heat-resistant material made from recycled plastic bottles they say could help reduce plastic waste dumped in oceans and clogging landfills. The National University o... More »

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Giant crocodile captured in Australia to stop it going to town

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Authorities in Australia have caught a saltwater crocodile measuring almost 5 meters (16.4 ft), one of the biggest on record, to stop it from reaching a populated area, the Department of Tourism said on Tuesday. Weighing up to 600 kg (1,322 ... More »

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Scientists hope test-tube embryos can save near-extinct white rhino

LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists have created hybrid embryos from the sperm of near-extinct northern white rhinoceroses in the laboratory, hoping they can ultimately help save the species. The northern white rhino is the world’s most endangered mammal, and its on... More »

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Fossil of school bus-sized dinosaur dug up in Egyptian desert

Artist’s life reconstruction of the titanosaurian dinosaur Mansourasaurus shahinae on a coastline in what is now the Western Desert of Egypt approximately 80 million years ago is pictured in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on January 29, 2018. A... More »

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Heat wave leaves thousands of Australian homes without power

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – More than 10,000 homes in Australia’s second most populous state were stuck without power on Monday as a surge in demand amid scorching heat overloaded the grid, in the latest blow to the nation’s stretched power sector. The outages on di... More »

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Chemical sunshade to slow warming may not be feasible: U.N. draft

FILE PHOTO: People watch the first sunrise on New Year’s Day at a beach in Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo OSLO (Reuters) – The idea of spraying a haze of sun-dimming chemicals high above the Earth as a quick way to slow global war... More »

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Louvre shuts Islamic art display due to rising river Seine

A street-lamp is seen on the flooded banks of the Seine River in Paris, France, after days of almost non-stop rain caused flooding in the country, January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann PARIS (Reuters) – The Louvre museum in Paris closed its basement dis... More »

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Motorists of the world take heart: even popes get flat tires

LIMA (Reuters) – Pope Francis may have divine inspiration but not divine inflation: on Friday he suffered what millions of ordinary people have to deal with — a flat tire. While the pope was being driven into Lima from the airport, one of the wheels of the Fia... More »

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Captive orca Lolita can stay at Miami aquarium: U.S. appeals court

Lolita the Killer Whale is seen between shows at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Innerarity (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday rejected efforts by animal rights advocates to force the Miami Seaquarium in Florida to rel... More »

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Lobsters must be comfortably numb before cooking: Swiss government

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland has banned the common culinary practice of throwing fresh lobsters into boiling water as part of an overhaul of its animal protection rules. “Live crustaceans, including the lobster, may no longer be transported on ice or in ice ... More »