
-
FIFA World Cup draw in Vegas on December 5: reports
-
Japanese qualifier Ito ousts seventh seed Paolini in Montreal
-
New Athletic captain Williams 'lucky' to represent migrants in Spain
-
Musetti, Rune set winning pace for ATP seeds in Toronto
-
Venus Williams gets US Open mixed doubles wild card spot
-
Global stocks mixed as market focus shifts to earnings deluge
-
Tens of thousands of Catholics head to Vatican's Jubilee of Youth
-
Trump says fell out with Epstein because he was taking Mar-a-Lago spa staff
-
Russia strikes kill 25 in Ukraine as Trump shortens Moscow deadline
-
US pushes to revoke scientific ruling that underpins climate regulations
-
US says Trump has 'final call' on China trade truce
-
Goalkeeper Trafford returns to Man City from Burnley
-
Boeing reports smaller loss as CEO sees progress in turnaround
-
Qatar, Saudi, Egypt join call for Hamas to disarm, give up Gaza rule
-
Trump opens Scottish golf course and vows 'peaceful world'
-
Aubameyang close to Marseille return: club
-
Gucci owner Kering posts 46% profit slump before new CEO arrives
-
Cambodia-Thailand truce broadly holds despite shaky start
-
P&G estimates $1 bn tariff hit, plans some US price hikes
-
Wiebes claims Tour de France stage as Vos holds lead
-
Mbeumo looks forward to Fernandes link-up at Man Utd
-
Displaced Cambodians return home after Thailand truce
-
Stock market attention shifts from trade deals to company results
-
Tens of thousands in Rome for Vatican's Jubilee of Youth
-
Pogacar to skip Vuelta after Tour de France triumph
-
New York mass shooter blamed NFL for his brain injuries
-
Impressive Scandinavia delivers O'Brien Goodwood Cup 1-2
-
US to overturn foundational climate ruling on Tuesday
-
Russia strikes kill 25 in Ukraine as Kremlin notes new Trump deadline
-
Boeing reports smaller loss, sees more 'stability' in operations
-
Jeep owner Stellantis says has turned corner on sales
-
India coach Gambhir clashes with Oval staff ahead of final Test
-
Netherlands bars two hardline Israeli ministers
-
IMF lifts 2025 growth forecast on 'fragile' easing in trade tensions
-
Portugal's Joao Felix joins Ronaldo at Al Nassr in Saudi
-
Ledecky wins 22nd world title as Popovici savours 'scary' gold
-
Stock markets rise as attention shifts from trade deals to company results
-
'Nervous' McKeown beats rival Smith for more backstroke gold
-
Fossil-fuel pledge in EU-Trump deal sparks climate fears
-
Novo Nordisk cuts earning forecasts again, names new CEO
-
Popovici says came close to going home before winning world gold
-
LA wildfires push insurance losses to highest since 2011: Munich Re
-
Spotify sees 12% rise in paid subscribers
-
England's Lionesses party in London after Euro 2025 triumph
-
European pharma industry still worried about tariffs
-
Ageless Ledecky wins 1,500m freestyle for 22nd world gold
-
Russia kills 25 in Ukraine, as Kremlin says 'committed' to peace
-
French health experts speak out against bee-killing pesticide
-
'Better than Olympics' as Popovici wins world 200m free gold
-
European stocks rally with eyes on earnings, trade deal
RBGPF | 4.73% | 77.55 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.79% | 13.38 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.49% | 22.61 | $ | |
SCS | -3.24% | 10.51 | $ | |
RIO | 0.13% | 62.27 | $ | |
NGG | 0.28% | 70.52 | $ | |
BP | 0.88% | 32.96 | $ | |
BTI | 1.88% | 52.77 | $ | |
SCU | 0% | 12.72 | $ | |
AZN | 2.91% | 73.98 | $ | |
GSK | 0.58% | 37.67 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.95% | 23.12 | $ | |
RELX | 0.29% | 51.92 | $ | |
VOD | -0.45% | 11.11 | $ | |
BCC | -0.7% | 86.14 | $ | |
BCE | -0.72% | 23.66 | $ | |
JRI | 0.23% | 13.06 | $ |

Ethiopia's vast lake being pumped dry
There is a constant hum around Ethiopia's enormous Lake Dembel -- the sound of its water steadily being sucked out by pumps.
The pumps irrigate farms all around the lake, which is four times the size of Manhattan, and are vital for hundreds of thousands of people.
Ethiopia has already lost at least one large lake -- Haramaya, in the east of the country -- to over-pumping.
Now it risks losing another.
Lake Dembel's depth has halved since 1990 from four metres to two (13 feet to over six), according to Wetlands International, an NGO.
"If things continue like this, the lake could disappear," said its project manager Desalegn Regassa.
Pumping by farmers and industry is not the lake's only problem. Heavy pesticide use is also killing its fish, locals and the NGO say.
Belachew Derib has been fishing the lake since the 1980s but says stocks are disappearing.
"I built my house thanks to the income from fishing and support my three children through this work," Belachew, 60, told AFP as he rowed his small boat out to pull up his nets.
"Previously, we could catch 20 to 30 fish a day. Nowadays, young fishermen are lucky to catch two or three," he said.
Just a few dozen metres (yards) from the shore, AFP found Habib Bobasso, 35, liberally covering his small onion plot with pesticides from a pump strapped to his back.
"There are many worms that can damage the plants... we could lose the entire harvest," he said as he sprayed, with just a shawl to cover his face.
He knows the pesticides are harmful but sees no alternative.
"The fertilisers and pesticides we use degrade the soil. We spend too much money on fertilisers and chemicals for a low yield," he said.
- Degradation -
Water management is essential for Ethiopia, a land-locked giant in east Africa with a rapidly growing population already estimated at more than 130 million and often hit by droughts.
But a lack of funds and government oversight has allowed bad practices to continue for decades.
A recent report by the Stockholm International Water Institute blamed Ethiopia's "lacklustre policy frameworks" for "the demise of Lake Haramaya, the shrinking of Lake Abijata (and) the pollution of Awash River and Ziway and Hawassa Lakes."
Lately, the government has shown signs it is taking the problem seriously.
It passed a law earlier this year imposing a fee to extract water from Lake Dembel, which lies around 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa.
A local official, Andualem Gezahegne, told AFP he hoped this would curtail the pumps.
It cannot come too soon -- Wetlands International said there were some 6,000 pumps installed around the lake last year, running 24 hours a day, and "maybe more today".
AFP witnessed two huge tanker trucks filling up for a nearby highway project during a recent visit.
Keeping fishing under control is another challenge, said Andualem.
"Unfortunately, the peak fishing activity coincides with the fish spawning periods, from January to May," he said.
On the surface, the lake is still full of life -- from hippos to marabou storks.
But as the fishermen head out at dawn, the steady hum of the pumps strikes an ominous note for the future.
P.Hernandez--AT