Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Global wildlife populations fall 60 per cent as WWF declares state of emergency for natural world
Conservationists have issued a demand for urgent international action after a major report uncovered an unprecedented crisis in nature that threatens to devastate the world economy and imperil humanity itself. Only a global pact on the scale of the Paris Agreement on climate change will save the natural world from irreversible collapse, the World Wide Fund for Nature said after publishing a report showing a cataclysmic decline in global wildlife populations. Global vertebrate populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as human activity destroys their natural habitats in grasslands, forests, waterways and oceans, the organisation said. Until the turn of the 20th century, humanity’s consumption of the world’s natural resources was smaller than Earth’s ability to replenish itself. But over the past 50 years expanding agricultural activity and the over-exploitation of natural resources to feed a growing world population, particularly its booming middle class, has pushed many ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, is being cleared for soy monoculture Credit: Adriano Gambarni/ PA “Humans are living beyond the planet’s means and wiping out life on earth in the process,” the report warns. From the savannahs of Africa to the rain forests of South America and oceans across the world, few wildlife populations have been spared. While great attention has been given to the impact of poaching on elephants and rhinos in Africa, the story has been more dismal in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 89 percent of indigenous mammals like the jaguar and anteater have been wiped out. Statistics are just as grim in the world’s rivers, lakes and seas. More than 80 per cent of freshwater populations has vanished, with freshwater fish accounting for a higher rate of extinction than any other vertebrate. Since 1950 nearly 6bn tonnes of fish and other seafood have been removed from the world’s oceans. Employees move freshly caught fish at a factory in the Angolan coastal city of Benguela Credit: AFP For surviving populations the impact of human activity is also stark: some 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their stomach, compared to just 5 per cent in 1960. Plastic pollution now stretches across the seas of the earth, even reaching the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest natural point in the world. With just a quarter of the planet’s land now free from human impact, the space bird, reptile and mammal populations' need to recover is growing ever more limited. “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last that can do anything about it,” said Tanya Steele, chief executive of the WWF. “The collapse of global wildlife populations is a warning sign that nature is dying." As tragic as the collapse of wildlife populations is, the impact of habitat loss will have a profound impact on human wellbeing, conservationists say. Man’s encroachment on nature threatens agriculture itself, because crops pollinated by animals account for 35 per cent of global food production, while habitat loss means that the soil for crops to grow is not being replenished with nutrients. Under threat | The 19 species on the World Wildlife Fund's critically endangered list The loss of South American rainforests has reduced rainfall thousands of miles away, also imperilling crop production. As many as 70,000 species of plants are used commercially or in medicine, posing a danger to efforts to fight disease and protect industry. Yet the issue, conservationists say, is not being taken as seriously as climate change — even though protecting nature can help mitigate the impact of global warming — which is why it is essential for big business and government to come together to find a solution to the crisis. “The statistics are scary, but all hope is not lost,” said Ken Norris, director of science at the Zoological Society of London, which collaborated on the report. “We have an opportunity to design a new way forward that allows us to coexist sustainably with the wildlife we depend on.”
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Lindsey Graham Says He'll Back Trump On Birthright Citizenship With Legislation
Daily Digit: 2018 midterms have become the most expensive in history
Donald Trump To Visit Pittsburgh After Synagogue Shooting Despite City Leaders' Opposition
Gab.com goes offline after Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
(This story corrects paragraph four to show non-profit group helps all refugees, not only Jewish refugees) By Trevor Hunnicutt and Paresh Dave (Reuters) - Gab.com, the website where the suspected Pittsburgh synagogue gunman posted anti-Semitic views, said on Sunday it was offline for a period of time after being asked by its domain provider to move to another registrar. The move comes after GoDaddy Inc asked Gab to change the domain, while PayPal Holdings Inc , Stripe Inc and Joynet Inc blocked the website. "We have informed Gab.com that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another registrar," a spokesman for GoDaddy said, adding the site violated its terms of service and hosted content that "promotes and encourages violence against people." The 46-year-old suspect Robert Bowers in the shooting incident has been charged with murdering 11 people on Saturday in the deadliest attack ever on the Jewish community in the United States.
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7 days until the midterm elections: Where things stand
GOP State Senate Contender Accused Of Sending Anti-Semitic Mailer
Trump Responds To Migrant Caravan By Deploying 5,200 More Troops To Mexican Border
Indonesian plane crashes into sea, all 189 on board feared dead
An Indonesian airliner crashed into the sea on Monday, with the likely loss of all 189 people on board, as it tried to return to Jakarta minutes after take-off. Lion Air flight JT610, an almost new Boeing 737 MAX 8, was en route from the capital to Pangkal Pinang, centre of the Bangka-Belitung tin mining region. Indonesia is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, but its safety record is patchy.
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The synagogue massacre was actually in Mister Rogers's neighborhood. What would he say?
A Plane Carrying 189 People Crashed in Indonesia. Here's What We Know So Far
Rabbi cites Jesus in prayer for synagogue victims with Pence
Kellyanne Conway’s Husband Shreds Trump Proposal To End Birthright Citizenship
Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting: Iranian immigrant raises more than $650,000 for Jewish victims
Shay Khatiri first heard about the mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue from a friend. Mr Khatiri, who had been crashing on his Jewish friend’s couch for several months, woke up to see his friend visibly shaken from the tragic news and wanted to do something. “I thought about [making] a small donation, and then I thought it’d be better if I start this campaign,” Mr Khatiri told The Independent.
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Turkey presses Saudi to say who sent Khashoggi killers: Erdogan
Saudi prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb held talks with Istanbul's prosecutor on Monday and Tuesday about Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which has escalated into a crisis for the world's top oil exporter. Riyadh at first denied any knowledge of, or role in, his disappearance four weeks ago but Mojeb has contradicted those statements, saying the killing of Khashoggi, a critic of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was premeditated. The case has put into focus the West's close relationship with Saudi Arabia - a major arms buyer and lynchpin of Washington's regional plans to contain Iran - given the widespread scepticism over its initial response.
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Man says traffic made him miss doomed Lion Air crash, believed to have killed everyone on board
Who is Gab founder Andrew Torba?
The murder of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday has brought new attention to Gab, the social media service created by Andrew Torba that bills itself as pro-free speech and serves as a gathering place for white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other extremist figures online, and counted among its users suspected gunman Robert Bowers.
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Kentucky Dad Apologizes For Father-Son Nazi Halloween Costumes
UN rights chief wants 'international experts' to help probe Khashoggi hit
The UN rights chief called Tuesday for "international experts" to help investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and called on Riyadh to reveal the whereabouts of his body. "For an investigation to be carried out free of any appearance of political considerations, the involvement of international experts, with full access to evidence and witnesses, would be highly desirable," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement. Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his upcoming wedding.
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Pittsburgh shooting suspect appears in court over attack that left 11 dead
Three congregations were conducting Sabbath services at Tree of Life when the attack began on Saturday morning. A man accused of killing 11 Jewish worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend appeared in federal court on Monday to face multiple charges that federal law enforcement officials said could result in the suspect’s execution.
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Nature pushed to the brink by 'runaway consumption'
Unbridled consumption has decimated global wildlife, triggered a mass extinction and exhausted Earth's capacity to accommodate humanity's expanding appetites, the conservation group WWF warned Tuesday. From 1970 to 2014, 60 percent of all animals with a backbone -- fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals -- were wiped out by human activity, according to WWF's "Living Planet" report, based on an ongoing survey of more than 4,000 species spread over 16,700 populations scattered across the globe. "The situation is really bad, and it keeps getting worse," WWF International director general Marco Lambertini told AFP.
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Democrats Are Going Bland To Beat Scott Walker — And It Might Just Work
'Project Gold' Porsche becomes most expensive 993 Turbo ever
This quiche's velvety custard makes it perfect for any party
Trump Calls Florida's Andrew Gillum A 'Thief' In Tweet Supporting Ron DeSantis
Clampdown on violence against NHS staff
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Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman on death row
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George Osborne 'regrets' mistakes that led to Brexit vote
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Suzy Lamplugh: Sutton Coldfield search enters day three
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What do American voters care about?
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Maori ceremony for duke and duchess as royal tour ends
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Pittsburgh shooting: Trump visits synagogue amid protests
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Being wrong weight 'cuts four years off life'
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Yemen conflict: Mattis and Pompeo urge swift ceasefire
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Nato holds biggest military exercise since Cold War
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University stops making unconditional offers
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Vatican embassy: Human remains found at Rome property
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The Great British Bake Off: 2018 winner revealed
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The Papers: Brexit impact and 'Suzy cop's blunders'
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News Daily: Osborne 'regrets' Brexit vote mistakes and NHS violence clampdown
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From Syria to Cambridge University
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Meeting my long-lost Jamaican family
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Bitcoin: The first ten years
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Harry greets NZ audience in six Pacific languages
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The men having penis fillers to boost their self-esteem
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DIY Generation: How to be your own boss aged 25
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What should I do with my broken kettle?
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The black history you might not learn at school
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Dutch language besieged by English at the unis
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Can artificial intelligence help stop religious violence?
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Does screen time really affect medical students' surgery skills?
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Leicester helicopter crash: Foxes will face Cardiff on Saturday following death of owner
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Lewis Hamilton on 2018 F1 world title: 'Let's dance. I know how to get by you'
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Carabao Cup: Nigel Clough says guiding Burton into last eight is 'special'
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Trump blames media, 'the true Enemy of the People,' for inspiring hate
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Protests greet world's biggest statue in remote corner of India
Angry local communities have warned India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stay away from the inauguration on Wednesday of the world's biggest statue, a 182 metre (600 feet) high tribute to an independence hero. The Statue of Unity, which is twice the size of the Statue of Liberty, has been built in a remote corner of Gujarat state as a flagship project of conservative leader Modi who is to open it on Wednesday. Posters of Modi with Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani in a town near the statue were torn down or had the faces blackened at the weekend.
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Synagogue shooter 'listened to noise and noise told him his people were being slaughtered', says Jewish doctor who spoke to Robert Bowers
A Jewish doctor who heads the hospital where the suspected Pittsburgh shooter is being treated and is a member of the synagogue he allegedly attacked, said Robert Bowers “hears noise…telling him to rise up and do something”. Mr Bowers, who wrote frequent racist online screeds denouncing Jewish people, is to appear in federal court on Monday, to face several dozen charges. US Attorney Scott Brady said federal prosecutors are seeking approval to pursue the death penalty against Mr Bowers.
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What It’s Worth: $250,000
Global wildlife populations fall 60 per cent as WWF declares state of emergency for natural world
Conservationists have issued a demand for urgent international action after a major report uncovered an unprecedented crisis in nature that threatens to devastate the world economy and imperil humanity itself. Only a global pact on the scale of the Paris Agreement on climate change will save the natural world from irreversible collapse, the World Wide Fund for Nature said after publishing a report showing a cataclysmic decline in global wildlife populations. Global vertebrate populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as human activity destroys their natural habitats in grasslands, forests, waterways and oceans, the organisation said. Until the turn of the 20th century, humanity’s consumption of the world’s natural resources was smaller than Earth’s ability to replenish itself. But over the past 50 years expanding agricultural activity and the over-exploitation of natural resources to feed a growing world population, particularly its booming middle class, has pushed many ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, is being cleared for soy monoculture Credit: Adriano Gambarni/ PA “Humans are living beyond the planet’s means and wiping out life on earth in the process,” the report warns. From the savannahs of Africa to the rain forests of South America and oceans across the world, few wildlife populations have been spared. While great attention has been given to the impact of poaching on elephants and rhinos in Africa, the story has been more dismal in Latin America and the Caribbean, where 89 percent of indigenous mammals like the jaguar and anteater have been wiped out. Statistics are just as grim in the world’s rivers, lakes and seas. More than 80 per cent of freshwater populations has vanished, with freshwater fish accounting for a higher rate of extinction than any other vertebrate. Since 1950 nearly 6bn tonnes of fish and other seafood have been removed from the world’s oceans. Employees move freshly caught fish at a factory in the Angolan coastal city of Benguela Credit: AFP For surviving populations the impact of human activity is also stark: some 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their stomach, compared to just 5 per cent in 1960. Plastic pollution now stretches across the seas of the earth, even reaching the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific, the deepest natural point in the world. With just a quarter of the planet’s land now free from human impact, the space bird, reptile and mammal populations' need to recover is growing ever more limited. “We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last that can do anything about it,” said Tanya Steele, chief executive of the WWF. “The collapse of global wildlife populations is a warning sign that nature is dying." As tragic as the collapse of wildlife populations is, the impact of habitat loss will have a profound impact on human wellbeing, conservationists say. Man’s encroachment on nature threatens agriculture itself, because crops pollinated by animals account for 35 per cent of global food production, while habitat loss means that the soil for crops to grow is not being replenished with nutrients. Under threat | The 19 species on the World Wildlife Fund's critically endangered list The loss of South American rainforests has reduced rainfall thousands of miles away, also imperilling crop production. As many as 70,000 species of plants are used commercially or in medicine, posing a danger to efforts to fight disease and protect industry. Yet the issue, conservationists say, is not being taken as seriously as climate change — even though protecting nature can help mitigate the impact of global warming — which is why it is essential for big business and government to come together to find a solution to the crisis. “The statistics are scary, but all hope is not lost,” said Ken Norris, director of science at the Zoological Society of London, which collaborated on the report. “We have an opportunity to design a new way forward that allows us to coexist sustainably with the wildlife we depend on.”
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Rick Scott’s Halloween party is a Trump rally
After years of fighting insurgencies, the Army pivots to training for a major war
Turkey demands truth over Khashoggi killing as Saudi prosecutor visits
Khashoggi's death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul nearly four weeks ago has escalated into a crisis for the world's top oil exporter, which initially denied any knowledge of or role in his death. Saudi public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb arrived in Istanbul overnight, days after he contradicted weeks of Saudi statements by saying that Khashoggi's killing was premeditated. On Monday he met Istanbul's chief prosecutor.
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Today on Inside Edition: Couple Says They Found Recording Device in Cruise Room; Latest on Pittsburgh Gunman
Synagogue-Shooting Suspect Held without Bond
The suspect in the Saturday massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left eleven dead appeared in court Monday and is being held without bond by the U.S. Marshals Service. Robert Bowers, 46, appeared in federal court in Pittsburgh in a wheelchair and was mostly silent as the 29 charges against him — including eleven counts of obstruction of religious exercise ending in death and eleven counts of use of a firearm to murder — were read. Because he is unable to afford a private attorney, he will be represented by a public defender as the case proceeds.
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Buffalo diocese says '60 Minutes' report 'incomplete'
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Diocese of Buffalo declined to address details of a television report where diocesan insiders called for the bishop's resignation Monday, saying he hadn't done enough when confronted with reports of clergy sexual misconduct.
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Quake rattles New Zealand as Harry and Meghan visit
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake rattled parts of central New Zealand Tuesday, where British royals Meghan and Harry are on tour, but officials said it caused no major damage. The quake was felt in Wellington during a session of parliament, prompting lawmakers to stop deliberations and seek refuge as a precaution. Reporters travelling with the couple said they did not feel any tremors during the quake, which the US Geological Survey (USGS) gave a magnitude of 6.1.
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Rabbi Has One Haunting Question For Trump Defender After Synagogue Shooting
7 days until the midterm elections: Where things stand
Israel has struck in Syria since Russia plane downed: Israeli official
Israel has carried out attacks in Syria since the accidental shooting down of a Russian surveillance plane last month, a senior Israeli official said on Monday. The Sept. 17 downing by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, after Israeli jets attacked a suspected Iranian arms shipment to Syria, caused a diplomatic rift between Israel and Russia, and Moscow blamed Israel for the incident.
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The Faces of Change in the Midterm Elections
By K.K. REBECCA LAI, DENISE LU, LISA LERER and TROY GRIGGS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2ACgWpO