The Prague Post

China heatwaves boost ice factory sales

In a high-ceilinged room on the outskirts of eastern China's Hangzhou, workers use tongs to slide large blocks of frosty white ice along a metal track into a refrigerated truck.

Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday

Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives.

'Hippo Birthday': Thailand's Moo Deng marks one year old

Thailand's pygmy hippo Moo Deng marked her first birthday on Thursday, leaving behind the animal infancy which boosted her to worldwide internet fame for her cute antics.

US senator warns of fossil fuel coup, economic reckoning

One of the US Senate's leading climate advocates says President Donald Trump's administration no longer governs -- it "occupies" the nation on behalf of Big Oil.

June was hottest on record in western Europe: EU monitor

Western Europe sweltered through its hottest June on record last month, as "extreme" temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, the EU climate monitor Copernicus said Wednesday.

Alpha males are rare among our fellow primates: scientists

New research on Monday contradicted the commonly held idea that males dominate females among primates, revealing far more nuanced power dynamics in the relationships of our close relatives.

Children's camp confirms 27 dead, with Texas flood toll over 80

Rescuers in the US state of Texas on Monday searched for bodies swept away by flash floods that killed more than 80 people, including 27 girls and counselors at a summer camp.

NGOs laud tougher Malaysia plastic trash import laws

Environmental groups welcomed on Monday Malaysia's decision to tighten regulations on plastic waste imports, but urged stricter enforcement of the laws in a country that recycles tonnes of trash from the United States, Europe, and elsewhere each year.

Desperate search for the missing as more than 80 people dead in Texas floods

Rescuers in Texas raced against time to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed more than 80 people, with forecasters warning of new deluges.

Syria fights 'catastrophic' fires for fourth day

Syrian authorities said some 100 square kilometres (40 square miles) of forest had "turned to ash" in wildfires as firefighters from neighbouring Jordan arrived Sunday to battle a fourth day of blazes in the province of Latakia.

Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll hits 50

Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating floods that killed 50 people in the US state.

AI robots fill in for weed killers and farm hands

Oblivious to the punishing midday heat, a wheeled robot powered by the sun and infused with artificial intelligence carefully combs a cotton field in California, plucking out weeds.

US rescuers search for missing girls in deadly Texas flash floods

Rescuers were on Saturday searching for more than 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed 24 people -- with more rain on the way.

'Childhood dream': Seine reopens to Paris swimmers after century-long ban

The River Seine reopened to swimmers in Paris on Saturday morning, marking the first time since 1923 that bathers could take a dip in the iconic waterway following a years-long cleanup effort.

Texas flood toll rises to 24 as rescuers search for missing children

Rescuers were desperately searching for at least 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp, officials said Friday, after torrential rains caused a "catastrophic" flash flood that killed at least 24 people as it swept through south-central Texas.

BRICS nations to denounce Trump tariffs

BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro from Sunday are expected to decry Donald Trump's hardline trade policies, but are struggling to bridge divides over crises roiling the Middle East.

'Frogging' takes off in Borneo's jungle

Dodging fire-ants, snakes and millions of nighttime creepy-crawlies, a group of trekkers advances through the humid Bornean rainforest, scanning with torches for some of the jungle's most unlikely stars: frogs.

Inter-American court says states must protect people from climate change

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that countries belonging to the Organization of American States (OAS) have an obligation to take "all necessary measures" to protect populations from climate change.

Two dead as wildfires rage near Turkish resort of Izmir

An elderly man and a forestry worker died on Thursday in wildfires in Turkey, as firefighters battled high winds fanning two blazes in the western province of Izmir, lawmakers said.

Thousands evacuated as Greek, Turkish wildfires rage

A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds on the southern Greek island of Crete has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists, officials said Thursday.

Japan plans 'world first' deep-sea mineral extraction

Japan will from January attempt to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor in the deepest trial of its kind, the director of a government innovation programme said Thursday.

'Happy suffering': the Brazilian gold rush that spawned iconic pictures

Four decades after Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado shot a human anthill of mud-spattered miners digging for gold in the middle of the Amazon, some of the "garimpeiros," now into their 70s, are still hoping to get lucky.

Facing climate change, Swiss trees get mist before they're missed

In a Swiss pine forest, the treetops are being sprayed with mist in a bid to discover the effect that drier or wetter air has on their ability to survive.

'Significant declines' in some species after deep-sea mining: research

Deep-sea mining could impact marine life stretching from the tiniest bottom dwellers to apex predators like swordfish and sharks, a major piece of industry-funded research found Thursday.

Drought-hit Morocco turns to desalination to save vegetable bounty

On the drought-stricken plains of Morocco's Chtouka region, cherry tomato farms stretch as far as the eye can see, clinging to life through a single, environmentally contentious lifeline: desalination.

Public or private? Funding debate splits reeling aid sector

As cuts by rich donors decimate aid budgets for the world's most vulnerable, private financing has been touted as the sector's saviour -- but not everyone is convinced.

Philippines biodiversity hotspot pushes back on mining

A nickel stockpile towers over farmer Moharen Tambiling's rice paddy in the Philippines' Palawan, evidence of a mining boom that locals hope a new moratorium will tame.

France expecting peak temperatures as heatwave hits Europe

Paris was on red alert for high temperatures on Tuesday, with the top of the Eiffel Tower shut, polluting traffic banned and speed restrictions in place as a searing heatwave gripped Europe.

'Every day I see land disappear': Suriname's battle to keep sea at bay

In the dead of night on a beach in Suriname's capital Paramaribo, a group of just-hatched baby sea turtles clamber out of their sandy nesting hole and race, flippers flailing, towards the sea.

Ambulances on stand-by as southern Europe heatwave intensifies

Authorities across Southern Europe urged people to seek shelter Sunday and protect the most vulnerable as punishing temperatures from Spain to Portugal, Italy and France climbed higher in the summer's first major heatwave.

Pakistan flash floods, heavy rain kill 45 in just days

Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 45 people in just a few days since the start of the monsoon season, disaster management officials said Sunday.

Cold baths, climate shelters as Southern Europe heatwave intensifies