CAIRO — Egypt’s leader said Sunday his country stands shoulder to shoulder with Somalia in its dispute with landlocked Ethiopia, which struck a deal with Somaliland to obtain access to the sea and establish a marine force base. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi slammed Ethiopia’s agreement with the breakaway region. He called on Ethiopia to seek … Read more
PANAMA CITY — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes. The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected. Canal administrators now … Read more
View of stranded boats at Alhajuela Lake during the summer drought, in Colon province, 50 km north of Panama City, Panama, on April 21, 2023. The Alhajuela lake is one of the main lakes that supplies water to the locks of the Panama Canal and is at its lowest level of recent years. Luis Acosta … Read more
ROME — Global prices for food commodities like grain and vegetable oil fell last year from record highs in 2022, when Russia’s war in Ukraine, drought and other factors helped worsen hunger worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of … Read more
MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials imposed severe, months-long cuts to Mexico City’s water supply at midnight Friday, acting just a month after initial restrictions were ordered as drought dries the capital’s reservoirs. The Mexican National Water Commission and mayor announced the moves at a news conference, but officials did not report the cuts on social … Read more
NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan government announced Monday a surprise public holiday on Nov. 13 for a nationwide tree planting day, part of its ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki made the announcement via a gazette notice posted on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, following … Read more
MANAUS — The Negro River, the major tributary that runs through the Brazilian Amazon, has reached historic lows, revealing millennia-old carvings previously hidden under water. The engravings deeply etched into the black rock along the riverbanks represent human faces, animals and other figures, and are thought to be 1,000 to 2,000 years old, archaeologists said. … Read more
MEXICO CITY — On a bank of Villa Victoria reservoir, where in other years boats might have used them to anchor, 10 concrete blocks lie exposed to the sun. They should be under water, but that was before severe drought dropped the reservoir to the lowest level that Gabriel Bejarano has seen since he moved … Read more
A woman spreads cocoa beans during the sun-drying process in the backyard of her house in Asikasu, Ghana on December 19, 2020. Cristina Aldehuela | Afp | Getty Images El Nino is here to stay — and that’s bad news for cocoa crops which are highly sensitive to weather changes. Frequent extreme weather events caused … Read more
MANAUS, Brazil — Communities dependent on the Amazon rainforest’s waterways are stranded without supply of fuel, food or filtered water. Dozens of river dolphins perished and washed up on shore. And thousands of lifeless fish float on the water’s surface. These are just the first grim visions of extreme drought sweeping across Brazil’s Amazon. The … Read more