2024 Disasters in Numbers
<p>In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95
United States Of America (US)
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Anti AIDS vitamin
The deficiency of vitamin A -- the cause of nictalopia, or night-blindness -- has now been linked to the transmission of the AIDS virus from pregnant women to their babies (Science, Vol 265 No 5170).
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Wave power
Using a material known as "piezoelectric plastic", a US company is trying to convert the kinetic energy of waves into electricity. Piezoelectric plastic generates an electric charge when
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Enlightening sulphur
The US Department of Energy and a Maryland-based company, Fusion Lighting, have jointly developed sulphur light bulbs, which experts claim could be the light sources of the future (New Scientist, Vol
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A nose for ova
How do sperms find the ova? Solomon Snyder and his colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, say that the male sex cells virtually sniff out their female counterpart (New
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Breathing out poison
American biomedical researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, have devised a simple instrument to accurately measure carbon monoxide (co) in a person's lungs (Environment
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China bans bicycles, while USA goes back to mud houses
CANTON will soon wear a different look as its commuters abandon the traditional bicycle for other modes of transport. In a dramatic step to ease traffic congestion, Cantonese officials intend to
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PROJECTS FOR PAKISTAN
A US $12.5 million project that focuses on poverty alleviation, environmental protection and improving the quality of education has been launched in Pakistan. The project, instituted by the United
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General Electric sued
new york's attorney general filed a lawsuit against General Electric Company (ge) to put pressure on the industrial giant to dredge parts of the Hudson River that has been contaminated with
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Widespread disagreement may mar WSSD
Emil Salim, chair of the global preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) and former Indonesian environment minister has urged India's Prime Minister, Atal Bihari
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Military manoeuvre
the us' pre-emptive onslaught against Iraq may not have won it many friends, but the Pentagon continues to enjoy the support of a strange bedfellow: the United States Environmental Protection Agency