Environment

Beauregard, Mar 4 (AP) A tornado roared into southeast Alabama and killed at least 22 people and injured several others Sunday, part of a severe storm system that caused catastrophic damage and unleashed other tornadoes around the Southeast.

"We are at 22 right now. Unfortunately, I feel like that number may rise yet again," Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said of the death toll.

02 Mar 2019; DW: Germany's car industry association says billions will be spent on electromobility over the next three years to cement the future of the auto sector. Domestic car production is, however, expected to fall this year.

Germany's automotive industry is planning an aggressive investment in electric and autonomous cars, along with digitization, the president of the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) car industry association said on Saturday.

DHAKA, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has approved 185 million U.S. dollars to add up to 310 Megawatt (MW) in renewable energy generation capacity in Bangladesh and mobilize private sector participation to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country.

According to a statement of the Washington-based lender received here Saturday, the "Scaling-up Renewable Energy Project" will increase installed capacity of renewables through piloting and expanding investments in key market segments.

01 Mar 2019; DW: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg joined thousands of students in a Fridays for Future demonstration in Hamburg on Friday.

Demonstrators marched from the Gänsemarkt square through the city center to Rathausmarkt, the central city square in Hamburg, carrying banners and signs with slogans such as "The climate can't wait," "March now or swim later" and "Make earth cool again!"

Police initially estimated the turnout to be between 3,500 to 4,000 students.

GABORONE, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday blasted Western countries for their outburst over Botswana's plan to lift a hunting ban and allow an elephant cull.

Botswana is "a sovereign state and do not have to be arm twisted by the western countries," said Masisi in an interview with Xinhua during his stopover at the Francistown International Airport in Botswana's second largest city on transit to Zimbabwe.

MUMBAI, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Fire has spread across Bandipur Tiger Reserve in India's Karnataka state destroying several acres of forest land along with flora and fauna, media reports said late Sunday night.

Strong winds and dry grass have propelled the fire to an area of over eight km within the reserve that has spread towards National Highway 67, which connects the hill station town Ooty to the palace town Mysuru.

According to reports, the fire initially started in Barekatte and Guddakare region of the reserve, five days back.

22 Feb 2019; DW: Botswana's government is considering lifting a ban on big game hunting, saying it might be necessary to prevent conflict with humans.

Botswana is home to about 130,000 elephants — almost a third of Africa's elephant population — but some lawmakers say the number of elephants in the country is higher than that and causes problems for small-scale farmers.

SYDNEY, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Record numbers of migratory and threatened waterbirds have been spotted along the mid coast of Australia's New South Wales state, with the birds possibly finding new flight paths amid the major loss of feeding grounds, according to latest surveys.

Nearly 4,000 waterbirds were recorded in just one day in the state's Port Stephens area, with "significant numbers" of the critically endangered eastern curlew migratory shorebird found, local media reported on Sunday.

SYDNEY, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers said they have found a new way to recycle glass into everyday products, pointing to major cost and waste reductions for the environment.

The method extracts liquid silicate from waste glass and it can be used to make thousands of products ranging from concrete sealers and fertilizers to detergents and toothpaste, the University of Queensland said in a statement about its researchers' work late on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday broke off talks on vehicle mileage standards with California, increasing the chances of a court battle that threatens to unsettle the auto industry.

The White House, which has proposed freezing the standards, said it would now move unilaterally to finish its own mileage rule later this year “with the goal of promoting safer, cleaner, and more affordable vehicles.”