20121001 BBC_Japan typhoon Jelawat lifts car into air in Okinawa

A powerful typhoon has hit Japan's southern island of Okinawa, injuring more than 50 people and leaving thousands without power.

The country's Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Jelawat was expected to hit the Tokyo region Sunday evening. Residents have been warned to stay indoors.

Amateur footage posted online shows a car being lifted into the air by strong winds in Urasoe city, as the BBC's Philippa Thomas reports.

Japan typhoon lifts car into air

20121001 BBC_Climate change 'may shrink fish'

Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24% because of global warming, say scientists.

Researchers modelled the impact of rising temperatures on more than 600 species between 2001 and 2050.

Warmer waters could decrease ocean oxygen levels and significantly reduce fish body weight.

The scientists argue that failure to control greenhouse gas emissions will have a greater impact on marine ecosystems than previously thought.

Previous research has suggested that changing ocean temperatures would impact both the distribution and the reproductive abilities of many species of fish. This new work suggests that fish size would also be heavily impacted.

As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish. But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University of British Columbia, the level of oxygen in the water is key.

"Rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate of the fish's body function," he told BBC News.

"This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller body size."

Taking both the movements and the physiological impacts of rising temperatures together, the research team concludes that fish body size will shrink between 14% and 24%, with the largest decreases in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

When compared with actual observations of fish sizes, the model seems to underestimate what's actually happening in the seas.

The authors point out a number of limiting factors in their study, including uncertainties in the predictions for the climate and the oceans. According to Dr Cheung, further research is required.

"Our study shows that climate change can lead to a substantial decrease in the maximum body weight of fish. We need to look more closely at the biological response in the future."

20120719 China Daily_WHO urges China to tax smokers

Cigarette tax should be increased to combat nicotine addiction in the world's largest tobacco consumer and producer, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said.


"There is still plenty of room for China to raise its tobacco tax and the government should take more action regarding this to help curb smoking," she told China Daily.

"Evidence shows that higher taxes deter people, especially the young, from smoking,'' she said.

International studies indicate that for every 1 percent rise in the price of a packet of cigarettes,the number of smokers falls by about 0.4 percent, she said.

There is a huge financial cost in treating tobacco-related diseases, Chan said.

China has 350 million smokers, more than one-third of the world's total, and at least 1 million people die from smoking-related diseases each year, according to the ministry. By 2020, thefigure for fatalities is expected to reach 2 million without effective intervention.

Government agencies, like the ministries of health and education, have introduced policies such as smoke-free hospitals and schools, as well as smoking bans at most public indoorplaces. Tobacco products have also been targeted with tax hikes.

In 2009, authorities increased tobacco tax by at least 6 percent, mostly on the more expensive brands.

"But that had little effect on curbing tobacco use, particularly the low-end brands," said YangGonghuan, former director of the tobacco control office under the Chinese Center for DiseaseControl and Prevention.

Tobacco tax, even after the hike, remained very low on a global scale.

20120719 BBC_Iceberg breaks off from Greenland's Petermann Glacier

The Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland has calved an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan, scientists say.

Images from a Nasa satellite show the island breaking off a tongue of ice that extends at the end of the glacier.

In 2010 an ice island measuring 250 square km (100 square miles) broke off the same glacier.

Glaciers do calve icebergs naturally, but the extent of the changes to the Petermann Glacier in recent years has taken many experts by surprise.

However, the calving is not expected have an impact on sea levels as the ice was already floating.

Icebergs from the Petermann Glacier sometimes reach the coast off Newfoundland in Canada, posing a danger to shipping and navigation, according to the Canadian Ice Service.

Scientists have also raised concerns in recent years about the Greenland ice shelf, saying that it is thinning extensively amid warm temperatures.

20120617 China Daily_Issues linger before summit (Rio+20)

The draft action plan for the coming global sustainable development summit, the Rio+20,remains unfinished as the final preparatory meeting wrapped up Friday evening.


Brazil will take on the coordination and shepherd the draft through informal consultations thatbegan on Saturday. The formal high-level segment of the conference begins June 20.


The principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" has become a sticking point forsome developed countries and the European Union proposed to delete the terms in the draftdocument. "The bloc of the Group of 77 and China firmly request to reaffirm the principles stated in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development," La Yijun, a representative ofthe Chinese delegation said on the sidelines of the meeting on Friday.

La urged all sides to adopt a sense of urgency and a spirit of compromise and flexibility.

Sustainable development has been highly valued by the Chinese government, he said, and the nation will continue to work to push forward the process.

The definition of "green economy" is another issue at the meeting. Green economy is apathway to sustainable development, La said, but it must be considered in the context ofpoverty eradication and not as an excuse for trade protectionism.

Developed countries need to help developing countries establish green economies byproviding funds, technology and market access, but their commitment has been weak, said La

20120611 Apple Daily 林鄭：東涌發展橋頭經濟

【本報訊】發展局局長林鄭月娥（圖）昨日出席東涌地區團體舉辦的模型展覽時表示，東涌未來可進一步發展，將由現時約13萬人口，增加至約23萬人的市鎮；加上十大基建中如港珠澳大橋等都與東涌連接，認為該區有潛力發展「橋頭經濟」效應。
她指出，東涌有15幅土地已納入分區計劃大綱圖，其中3幅土地可興建住宅單位，包括一幅位於56區的土地正計劃興建公屋，但計劃被同區私樓居民反對暫時擱置。有地區團體建議，政府可開發東涌大約150公頃的土地，提供約2.4萬個公私營住宅單位及休憩場所，並興建由東涌到迪欣湖的單車徑。

20120609 日擬重開核電廠 民眾抗議

日本311大地震引發的核災難，至今仍未完全解決，首相野田佳彥昨日（周五）召開記者會游說國民，為了保障就業和人民的生活，必須重開其中兩個已暫停運作的核反應堆，結果觸發大批民眾抗議。
福島核災爆發後，日本上月初暫停了全國50個核反應堆運作，卻引發電力不足問題。野田指出，隨着夏季來臨，電力需求增加，其中西部地區預期會缺電15%，缺電問題很嚴重，刻不容緩，必須重新啟動部份核反應堆。
他指西部福井縣大飯核電廠第三和第四號反應堆已準備好恢復運作，強調當局已採取充足安全措施，確保再發生像311那麼嚴重的大地震和海嘯，反應堆都不會洩漏輻射。
但大批反核人士在首相府外抗議，拉起寫有「堅決反對大飯核電廠重開」、「打倒野田政權」等抗議標語。