Six In The Morning Wednesday 17 February 2021

 

Norway, the UK and Canada are not climate champions. They are climate hypocrites

Analysis by Ivana Kottasová, CNN

Updated 1449 GMT (2249 HKT) February 17, 2021

In Oslo, the street lamps are powered by renewables. To conserve energy, the smart lights dim when nobody is around. The Norwegian capital, like the rest of the country, is proud of its exceptional green credentials. Its public transportation system too is powered entirely by renewable energy. Two thirds of new cars sold in the city are electric. There's even a highway for bees.

There's just one problem. Much of the environmental innovation that Norway is so proud of is financed by its oil money. Because Norway, apart from being a forward-thinking climate champion, is also a major fossil fuels exporter. And it plans to keep it that way for a long time to come.

Norway isn't the only country preaching sustainability while simultaneously cashing in on the very thing that is causing climate change. The UK is hosting a major climate summit later this year. At the same time, it is contemplating opening a new coal mine. Canada, a self-proclaimed climate leader, is pouring tax dollars into a doomed oil pipeline project.

Air pollution significantly raises risk of infertility, study finds

Exclusive: With 30% of infertility unexplained, pollution could be an ‘unignorable’ risk factor, scientists say

Damian Carrington Environment editor

@dpcarrington

Wed 17 Feb 2021 12.18 GMT

Exposure to air pollution significantly increases the risk of infertility, according to the first study to examine the danger to the general population.

The analysis of 18,000 couples in China found that those living with moderately higher levels of small-particle pollution had a 20% greater risk of infertility, defined as not becoming pregnant within a year of trying.

The study design did not enable the scientists to determine how air pollution might damage fertility, but pollution particles are known to cause inflammation in the body, which could damage egg and sperm production, the scientists said. Another recent study of 600 women attending a US infertility clinic found that increased exposure to air pollution was associated with a lower number of maturing eggs in the ovaries.

EU ramps up Covid vaccine supplies with fresh Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech deals

Purchase will allow EU to distribute doses ‘to our neighbours’, says EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen

Matt Mathers@MattEm90

The EU has secured hundreds of millions more Covid-19 vaccines doses from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech as it moves to protect against new variants of the disease.

On Wednesday, the Commission said it had agreed to purchase 150 million doses from Moderna this year with an option of buying an additional 150 million shots in 2022.

Earlier in the day Pfizer/BioNTech said it would provide the bloc with an additional 200 million doses on top of the 500 million it had previously agreed.

Nigeria: Gunmen kidnap students in school attack

Gunmen have taken over 40 people, mostly children, in an attack on a school in central Nigeria. President Buhari has ordered a rescue operation.

Students and teachers were abducted from a school in Niger state, Nigerian officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Schools have become regular targets for militant groups in Nigeria as well as criminal gangs seeking ransom money.

Google strikes deal with News Corp amid pressure on regulation

Google has agreed to make "significant payments" to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for content, the companies said Wednesday as tech firms face growing pressure to pay for news from an Australian-led initiative.

A joint statement called the deal a "historic multiyear partnership" that would see Google feature news from the media giant as part of the Google News Showcase.

The three-year agreement also includes the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of ad revenue and "meaningful investments in innovative video journalism" by Google's video-sharing site YouTube.

‘Wake up call’: Deadly Iraq rocket attack puts pressure on US

Rocket barrage launched from inside Iraq’s Kurdish region raises questions about who is responsible and how Biden will respond.

By 

Dana Taib Menmy

It was the most serious attack on the US-led coalition since the Biden administration took power with questions swirling about who was responsible for the rare rocket barrage on Erbil city.

A volley of projectiles targeted the main military base inside Erbil’s airport, which hosts foreign troops deployed as part of the US-led coalition that has helped Iraq fight the armed group ISIL (ISIS) since 2014.