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The Swift Unraveling of Fragile Peace in Burundi

Sat, 2015-05-30 21:18 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Refugees from Burundi arrive at the Mahama camp in Rwanda. The political crisis in Burundi has driven thousands to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Photo by: Thomas Conan / ECHO / CC BY-ND

devex.com - by Andrew Green - May 25, 2015

A failed coup and ongoing political conflict in Burundi have sparked a regional refugee crisis and stalled much-needed development projects in one of the world’s poorest countries.

This after Burundi spent the past decade attempting to overcome a post-independence period marred by a brutal civil war played out largely along ethnic lines. . . .

. . . The 10 years of relative peace allowed humanitarian partners to transition from emergency relief to long-term development projects in a country consistently ranked among the five poorest in the world. Now many of those partners have evacuated, as the country’s political situation has unraveled over the past month.

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The Other Grade 3 Emergencies Apart From Ebola

Fri, 2015-05-29 08:59 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Men walk past damaged buildings after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25. The disaster is just one of six Grade 3 emergencies that require a massive response from the World Health Organization.
Photo by: Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi / UNDP Nepal

devex.com - by Jenny Lei Ravelo - May 21, 2015

There is no doubt that Ebola was 2014’s biggest health emergency, which required — and continues to command — a massive response from the World Health Organization and the wider international community.

But it was not the only emergency that demanded WHO’s attention and resources over the course of the past year.

During the special session of the executive board on Ebola in January, member states requested the health agency submit a report containing information on all Grade 3 emergencies the organization responded to as from May 2014.

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Heat Wave Kills Hundreds in India

Thu, 2015-05-28 10:01 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Photo: Sanjay Kanojia via Getty Images

cnn.com - by Harmeet Shah Singh and Rishabh Pratap - May 26, 2015

(CNN) Stifling heat has killed more than 1,100 people in India in less than one week.

The worst-hit area is the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, where authorities say 852 people have died in the heat wave. Another 266 have died in the neighboring state of Telangana.

India recorded its highest maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius -- 117 degrees Fahrenheit -- at Angul in the state of Odisha on Monday, according to B.P. Yadav, director of the India Meteorological Department.

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7 Ways Design’s Future Is Actually Rooted in the Past

Mon, 2015-05-25 01:58 — Maeryn Obley

Sustainable Design Is Local Design: Angkor Wat is one of the earliest and most impressive examples of sustainable architecture. During Siem Reap's heyday, the two reservoirs regulated water, so that the temple could be used in the dry season. The pools also helped to distribute cool air throughout the temple.

Image: Sustainable Design Is Local Design: Angkor Wat is one of the earliest and most impressive examples of sustainable architecture. During Siem Reap's heyday, the two reservoirs regulated water, so that the temple could be used in the dry season. The pools also helped to distribute cool air throughout the temple.

wired.com - May 19, 2015 - Liz Stinson

When the Khmer built Angkor Wat in the 12th century, they probably didn’t use the word “sustainable” to describe their creation. At the time, the temple and its unique design was nothing more than a result of Cambodia’s climate, which oscillates between extreme wet and dry. The temple ran on a hydraulic engine comprised of eastern and western manmade pools of water called barays.

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UPDATE 3-South Korea confirms third case of MERS virus; 64 isolated

Mon, 2015-05-25 01:49 — Maeryn Obley

reuters.com - May 21, 2015

South Korean health officials confirmed the country's third case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Thursday, with the two latest cases found in people who had been in contact with the first patient after he returned from the Middle East.

Authorities have isolated as a precaution another 64 people who are family members or medical workers treating those three patients, said Yang Byung-guk, director of the health ministry's Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Test results came back positive for a 63-year-old woman, the wife of the first proven case, as well as for a 76-year-old man who shared a hospital room with him, the ministry said.

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Revealed: The Ocean's Tiniest Life At The Bottom Of The Food Chain

Mon, 2015-05-25 01:38 — Maeryn Obley

Plankton collected in the Pacific Ocean with a 0.1mm mesh net. Seen here is a mix of multicellular organisms — small zooplanktonic animals, larvae and single protists (diatoms, dinoflagellates, radiolarians) — the nearly invisible universe at the bottom of the marine food chain. Christian Sardet/CNRS/Tara Expeditions

Image: Plankton collected in the Pacific Ocean with a 0.1mm mesh net. Seen here is a mix of multicellular organisms — small zooplanktonic animals, larvae and single protists (diatoms, dinoflagellates, radiolarians) — the nearly invisible universe at the bottom of the marine food chain. Christian Sardet/CNRS/Tara Expeditions

npr.org - May 22, 2015 - Christopher Joyce

What's at the bottom of the bottom of the food chain? Well, think small ... smaller than you can see.

Tiny life forms in the ocean, too small for the naked eye to see.

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Homeless Nepalis Sleep Outside As Fierce Monsoon Rains Approach

Sat, 2015-05-23 23:39 — Kathy Gilbeaux

huffingtonpost.com - reuters - May 19, 2015

THALI, Nepal, May 19 (Reuters) - Nepali tea shop owner Phurba Sherpa has spent four nights cramped under a tarpaulin with his wife and nine others on a school field outside Kathmandu since falling rocks triggered by an earthquake last week demolished his distant mountain village.

The Nepali government is struggling to provide shelter for more than a million people like Sherpa who were uprooted by two massive earthquakes, first on April 25 and then 17 days later.

Tens of thousands are sleeping in the open, with monsoon rains possibly little more than a fortnight away.

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Who Did This To Peru's Jungle?

Sat, 2015-05-23 20:45 — Maeryn Obley

Image: An aerial photo shows the environmental destruction in the wake of illegal gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon. Courtesy of Gregory Asner, Carnegie Institution for Science

npr.org - May 17, 2015 - Jason Beaubien

Gold has been a blessing and a curse for Peru for centuries. In the 16th century, one of the first Spanish explorers to arrive, Francisco Pizarro, was so enthralled by the mineral riches that he took the Inca king hostage.

Pizarro demanded a room filled with gold for the release of the Atahualpa. According to legend, the Inca delivered the ransom, packing a room from floor to ceiling with the precious metal.

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