The global threat that insecticides pose for aquatic biodiversity has been revealed in a recent modelling study that pinpoints areas at greatest risk. The mapping exercise conducted by the researchers reveals that aquatic life in water bodies within 40 per cent of the global land surface is at risk from insecticides running off the land.
Categoria: English
Paulo Rebêlo Scidev.net | 25.jul.2014 link Twelve universities and research institutions from around the world have joined forces to assess the critical issues facing the world’s tropical regions and to examine how investments in aid, research and education affect development there. The institutions say they “share a responsibility to work with and for the people of the tropics, to bring to bear the power of our understanding, science and innovation on the issues of the tropics to create a brighter future for the tropics and its peoples”. Participating universities include Ecuador’s university Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, the University of Nairobi in Kenya, and the University of Papua New Guinea. The group says it will produce a major report every five years, and a paper focusing on a key tropical issue every year. They released their first State of the Tropics report in Myanmar last month (29 June) to address a broad question: is life in the tropics getting better? “The report demonstrates that nations in the tropics have made extraordinary progress across a wide range of environmental, social and economic indicators in recent decades,” says Sandra Harding, vice chancellor of James Cook University in Australia and convenor of the
Paulo Rebêlo BBC – 16/out/2013 link It’s one of Brazil’s biggest tech hubs, but Recife’s Porto Digital (Digital Harbour) is no gleaming expanse of shiny metal and glass. Instead, this tech park of more than 200 firms is located within the city’s historical neighbourhood. Launched with much hype in 2000, Porto Digital made headlines in the likes of Wired and Bloomberg Businessweek, a regional hub making a concerted effort to become a big noise. The big international companies have not flocked to Recife; but the hub’s steady growth, far from the wealth of Brazil’s southern cities, may be a salutary lesson for other tech centres aiming to take on major players. But after 13 years exporting products and services to the world, the hub still has to overcome a barrier no amount of high-speed internet connections can overcome: geography. Those behind the original concept of Porto Digital knew about the challenges challenge ahead, trying to attract new companies to a city few non-Brazilians could place on a map. It took longer than expected; the hub’s direction has changed from the original vision, partly because politicians did not believe Porto Digital would make that much of an impression in the global economy. Even today,
Paulo Rebêlo Diálogo – March 5, 2012 link original BRASÍLIA — The head of the Federal Police in São Paulo is preparing his officers for Brazil’s upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup. South America’s largest country has never had to deal with a major terrorist attack and officially dismisses the existence of terrorists within its borders. But Roberto Troncon Filho told Brazil’s largest daily newspaper that the World Cup will present local authorities in a dozen cities with unique safety challenges. “In Brazil, the [threat] level is very low, but an event like the World Cup can provide the opportunity for an attack, not against the Brazilian people, but against an international delegation,” Troncon told Folha de S. Paulo in a recent interview. The month-long event, scheduled for June 12 to July 13, 2014, will mark only the second time in history that soccer’s most important tournament has taken place in Brazil; the first time was back in 1950. Twelve Brazilian cities were selected as World Cup venues out of the 17 that applied. The 12 are Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. Targeted infrastructure initiatives in the host
Paulo Rebêlo, as guest blogger Greentech Media (link) 31.mar.2009 The Supreme Court in Brazil is once again struggling to decide the import of used tires from other countries, especially from the United States and the European Union. And once again, the process is temporarily halted in order to be “properly” analyzed by the Court members. Some of them have already voted. A new final decision is expected to come out soon. This is a decade-long issue with no proper results to date.
Paulo Rebêlo Ohmynews International (link) 31.mar.2009 When compared to the first “Ong Bak” movie, this 2008 sequel is pretty much a failure. Released in 2003 and by far one of the best and most intriguing martial arts movie ever made, “Ong Bak” is essential in every aspect for the action cinema lover. It is brutal and realistic in a very simple and objective way. It is fun to watch and you want more and more after every action scene.
A foto a seguir foi selecionada para fazer parte do novo Schmap Budapest Guide 2009. A imagem foi feita em 2006, do lado de Buda, usando uma câmera Sony DSLR-a100, ISO 100, velocidade 1/200 e diafragma f/13 com distância focal de 70mm. The following picture has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of our Schmap Budapest Guide 2009. The picture was taken from the Buda side in 2006. Equipment: Sony DSLR-a100, ISO 100, Exposure 1/200, Aperture F/13 and Focal Length of 70mm.