The Great Barrier Reef’s outlook has been officially downgraded from poor to very poor due to climate change. Rising sea temperatures thanks to human-driven global warming remain the biggest threat to the reef, a five-year Australian government report says.

Actions to save it “have never been more time critical”, the report reads. Stretching over 2,300km (1,400 miles), the reef was designated a World Heritage site in 1981 for its “enormous scientific and intrinsic importance”. But in recent years the reef has been increasingly damaged by warmer seas which have killed off coral and affected its long-term health. Unesco’s World Heritage Committee is due to consider adding the reef to its list of sites that are “in danger”. The massive report documents the condition of the reef and its outlook for the future.(BBC)…[+]

MEXICO CITY– Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said yesterday unseen forces were spying on him and his cabinet, revealing that a “sophisticated camera” had been discovered at the presidential offices in central Mexico City.

During a regular daily news briefing, in which he usually expounds on everything from history and economics to culture, Lopez Obrador said the device had been found in a room used for meetings in the National Palace, his headquarters.

“Just imagine, they’ve been recording us in a meeting room, here in the Palace,” the president said as he reflected on the importance of free speech and transparency.

Lopez Obrador, who didn’t provide details on the camera or how it came to be there, said he had no secrets. “What we talk about is completely legal, transparent, and there’s nothing that could be used against us,” he said.(Reuters)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has recently kicked off a project to make Dominica’s water supply resilient to climate change and tackle inequalities in the access to water. With support from the United Kingdom through CDB, a strategic plan, a feasibility study and detailed designs are under development to help the Government of Dominica to improve the water infrastructure.

“The improved water infrastructure will be important for Dominica’s key economic sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. The project findings will serve as a roadmap for medium to long-term interventions in the water sector in Dominica,” said Andrew Dupigny, Head of Infrastructure Partnerships, CDB. CDB has approved £2.1 million for the project, fully funded from a £25 million grant from the United Kingdom, which will ultimately cover actual construction.

As part of this project, designs will be developed to improve the potable water system, water treatment facilities, pumping stations, water storage reservoirs and transmission mains. This will facilitate the construction of more resilient infrastructure and reduce down-time. In addition, the capacity of the national utility, Dominica Water and Sewerage Company Limited (DOWASCO), will be strengthened to provide resilient water supply and sanitation. Although Dominica is a water-rich country, Hurricane Maria in September 2017 has shown that the reliability of the provision of potable water supply is under threat from extreme weather events, exacerbated through climate change. Strong winds, flooding, landslides, falling trees and power outage damaged 41 out of 43 water supply areas in the country, a third of them severely.(CDB)…[+]

LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to limit parliament’s opportunity to derail Brexit by cutting the amount of time it sits between now and EU exit day on Oct. 31, infuriating opponents who accused him of leading a “very British coup”.

In his boldest move yet to take the country out of the European Union with or without a divorce deal, Johnson said he would set Oct. 14 for the Queen’s Speech – the formal state opening of a new session of parliament that is proceeded by a suspension of the House of Commons.

That would effectively shut parliament from mid-September for around a month. Raising the stakes in the constitutional crisis gripping Britain, it could also force Johnson’s opponents to up their own game by calling a no-confidence vote in the government, potentially leading to an election. The news sent the pound down sharply. The Church of England said a chaotic EU exit would hurt the poor and fail to bring reconciliation or peace in a fractured country. Asked in a broadcast interview if he was trying to block politicians from delaying Britain’s departure from the EU, Johnson replied: “That is completely untrue.(Reuters)…[+]

President Donald Trump called Puerto Rico “one of the most corrupt places on earth” in a swipe at the U.S. territory’s leaders as they prepared for Tropical Storm Dorian which became a hurricane on Wednesday and headed for the island.

Dorian gathered strength over the U.S. Virgin Islands to become a Category 1 hurricane, and is expected to hit eastern Puerto Rico with heavy wind and rain. Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover from back-to-back hurricanes in 2017, which killed about 3,000 people just months after it filed for bankruptcy.

Dorian is approaching Puerto Rico from the southeast although it is blowing winds considerably less powerful than when Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017. However, by the time Dorian hits Florida late on Sunday or Monday, it could be a major hurricane, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC). After approving an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico late on Tuesday, Trump took a swipe at the U.S. territory in a tweet this  morning.(Reuters)…[+]