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Horror scenes of India's dairy industry

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Pic by Reuters/Kham Harsha Atmakuri was studying to be a medical doctor in India when a visit to a local market sparked his interest in the meat industry. His journey began into how it all works. He discovered that animal slaughterhouses were increasing across the country. But that’s not where the story begins. After cows give birth, calves are taken from their mothers. The cows then continue producing milk for about 10 months. They’re impregnated again, and the cycle is repeated. The cows are kept alive until their milk runs dry. Once they stop producing milk, some cows are killed. Others are abandoned, or sold to slaughterhouses. Harsha’s investigation spoke to many people, and while they may be aware of how the dairy industry works, it’s not enough to make them give up milk. Harsha delved deeper into the issue. He read books on the topic, spoke to people from all over India, and learned more. It was a mammoth challenge. As he sought to understand the connection between the dairy ind...
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Running out of fish

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During winter evenings at most seafood markets in the Pakistani city of Karachi, people flock to eateries that serve fish and shrimp. "The demand for every kind of fish goes up at this time of the year. The types of fish that have few buyers during other seasons become favourites in winter. There is such a wide variety of fish such as red snapper, Indian salmon, black pomfret, and  others." said Muhammad Rashid, seafood restaurant owner. There’s even international demand for Pakistani seafood too. The country exports to places like China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. But as demand for fish surges across the world, our oceans are paying the price. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says fish stocks are dwindling, and fast. Scientists say when sea critters are taken out of the ocean faster than they can reproduce, it's called overfishing. A practice widely regarded as unsustainable. But how did it all start? Back in the 19th century, the need for whale oil led hunters t...
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Women in Climate

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How many times have we talked about the lack of representation – at every level? There’s no question women play a significant role in how the world functions. But they’re often undervalued and unappreciated. And now, more than ever, everyone needs to be brought into the conversation to fight the climate crisis. Here are some brave women who’ve made their voices heard, despite the odds. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist and policy expert from Brooklyn. She's co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, an NGO that creates equitable, practical climate and ocean policies for the future of coastal communities. Canadian scientist Katharine Hayhoe is making a difference with her research which is focused on assessing the impacts of the crisis on human interactions and the natural environment. She develops innovative strategies that translate future projections into relevant actions. Another climate scientist who is doing important work is Corinne Le Quere, a professor at the University of ...
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PETA claims win against the US over monkey smuggling issues

In Thailand, monkeys are celebrated. A festival is held every year to honour them. The event attracts tourists from around the world. It’s a different story for thousands of other monkeys caught in the wild and sent to labs in the United States. The endangered macaques are sourced mainly from Cambodia. If being crammed into wooden crates on planes seems bad, what happens when they reach their destination is normally far worse. Scientists believe non-human primates are more useful for testing drugs and studying diseases. The rise in demand by US laboratories for monkeys peaked at more than 76 thousand in 2017. And they don’t come cheap. Each monkey costs up to 10,000 US dollars. Experts are calling on the government to invest in local breeding programmes. US agencies are finally listening, and have temporarily halted shipments from Cambodia. Usually, special permits are required to import macaques. But many are illegally purchased when there's a shortage from breeding farms. There’s...
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Sudan Unrest Explained

It's been over four months since the conflict in Sudan, a north-east African country started. The unrest has brought violent battles not just to the streets of the capital Khartoum but also to the rest of the nation including Darfur, reviving ethnically-targeted attacks. Two military generals are at the centre of this dispute. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Burhan’s ex-deputy and leader of the Rapid Support Forces, the country’s main paramilitary group. There has been a power rotation between the army and RSF for four years after the toppling of former long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir. Since 2019 both parties have disagreed on the direction of the country and the proposed move toward civilian rule. Just before fighting broke out on April 15, both sides fell out over a plan to include the 100,000- strong RSF in the army and who would lead the new force. RSF was deployed around the country. The army saw the move as a threat. Ta...
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