Latest news with #RodrigoGarrido
The Star
30-07-2025
- Climate
- The Star
Chile's coastal erosion could erase 10 beaches within a decade, scientists say
FILE PHOTO: People are seen the beach in Vina del Mar, Chile, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo RENACA, Chile (Reuters) -Chile's central and southern coastlines are facing erosion that could cause at least 10 beaches to disappear within a decade, according to a team of scientists in the South American country, which stretches for several thousand km (miles) along the Pacific Ocean. "It will be very difficult for these beaches to survive the next 10 years," said Carolina Martinez, director of the Coastal Observatory at Universidad Catolica, in an interview this month on the Renaca beach near the popular coastal city of Vina del Mar. Her team has tracked erosion on 67 beaches, finding that 86% are steadily shrinking — even during spring and summer, when they typically recover. Ten in particular, which already had high erosion in 2023, have continued to rapidly lose ground, with rates now about twice as high. The causes are both natural and human-made, Martinez said. She pointed to intense and increasingly frequent swells driven by climate change, along with rising sea levels, sudden downpours, and heat waves, as key factors. Unchecked urbanization and the degradation of river basins that supply sand to the coast have also contributed. In Puerto Saavedra, in the southern region of Araucania, storm surges have carved sinkholes into roads and cliffs, cutting off access to some communities. The saltwater is damaging forests, too. "We're seeing cliffs and sandy shores retreating rapidly," Martínez said. Some local businesses in popular tourist towns are already feeling the impact. "Last year was brutal … the beach disappeared," said Maria Harris, who owns a beachfront restaurant in Valparaiso. "There was no space between us and the sea." Despite the risks, construction continues along the coastline, often near wetlands and dunes. Martinez warned that the impacts go beyond the environment. "We're transferring the cost of these disasters to people —fishermen, coastal communities, and the tourism sector," she said. (Reporting by Nicolas Cortes and Carolina Fernandez; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon and Lucinda Elliott; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Straits Times
30-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Chile's coastal erosion could erase 10 beaches within a decade, scientists say
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: People are seen the beach in Vina del Mar, Chile, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo RENACA, Chile - Chile's central and southern coastlines are facing erosion that could cause at least 10 beaches to disappear within a decade, according to a team of scientists in the South American country, which stretches for several thousand km (miles) along the Pacific Ocean. "It will be very difficult for these beaches to survive the next 10 years," said Carolina Martinez, director of the Coastal Observatory at Universidad Catolica, in an interview this month on the Renaca beach near the popular coastal city of Vina del Mar. Her team has tracked erosion on 67 beaches, finding that 86% are steadily shrinking — even during spring and summer, when they typically recover. Ten in particular, which already had high erosion in 2023, have continued to rapidly lose ground, with rates now about twice as high. The causes are both natural and human-made, Martinez said. She pointed to intense and increasingly frequent swells driven by climate change, along with rising sea levels, sudden downpours, and heat waves, as key factors. Unchecked urbanization and the degradation of river basins that supply sand to the coast have also contributed. In Puerto Saavedra, in the southern region of Araucania, storm surges have carved sinkholes into roads and cliffs, cutting off access to some communities. The saltwater is damaging forests, too. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Water supply issues during Toa Payoh blaze affected firefighting operations; SCDF investigating Singapore MHA to support HSA's crackdown on Kpod abusers and help in treatment of offenders: Shanmugam Singapore Bukit Panjang LRT to shut on 2 Sundays to facilitate tests; some upgrading work nearing completion Singapore Jail, fine for man linked to case involving 3 bank accounts that received over $680m in total Singapore Provision shop owner who raped 11-year-old gets more than 14 years' jail Business S'pore's economic resilience will face headwinds in second half of 2025 from tariffs, trade conflicts: MAS Business S'pore's Q2 total employment rises but infocomm, professional services see more job cuts Singapore Fewer than 1 in 5 people noticed suspicious items during MHA's social experiments "We're seeing cliffs and sandy shores retreating rapidly," Martínez said. Some local businesses in popular tourist towns are already feeling the impact. "Last year was brutal … the beach disappeared," said Maria Harris, who owns a beachfront restaurant in Valparaiso. "There was no space between us and the sea." Despite the risks, construction continues along the coastline, often near wetlands and dunes. Martinez warned that the impacts go beyond the environment. "We're transferring the cost of these disasters to people —fishermen, coastal communities, and the tourism sector," she said. REUTERS
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Congo's battle against M23 strains public finances, IMF says
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is seen during a news conference in Santiago, Chile, July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File photo An escalation of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has strained the Central African nation's public finances, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have staged an unprecedented advance in eastern Congo this year, triggering a fresh cycle of violence in a decades-long conflict in a region rich in minerals including tantalum and gold. The rebels seized Goma, eastern Congo's largest city, in late January and Bukavu, the area's second-largest, weeks later. The closure of revenue collection offices in M23-controlled regions, combined with measures to ease living costs by exempting basic food products from customs duties and value-added tax, "have led to a revenue shortfall", the IMF said in a statement after a visit to Congo's capital Kinshasa. Elevated security spending has also put pressure on the budget, the statement said. The finance ministry announced in March it was doubling salaries for soldiers and police in an apparent bid to boost morale. The IMF said it had reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Congo's three-year economic and financial programme under its extended credit facility. "The government has reaffirmed its commitment to the objectives of ECF-supported program, which has been recalibrated to reflect the new realities following the intensification of the conflict," the statement read. It also said the programme would help safeguard fiscal sustainability while enabling adequate fiscal space for pressing security and humanitarian needs. The United Nations and Western governments say Rwanda has provided arms and troops to M23. Rwanda denies backing M23 and says its military has acted in self-defence against Congo's army and a militia founded by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Pakistan says IMF clears loan review, frees $1 billion
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is seen during a news conference in Santiago, Chile, July 23, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido The International Monetary Fund executive board approved on Friday the first review of its $7 billion program with Pakistan, freeing $1 billion in cash, the Pakistani government said on Friday. "Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expresses satisfaction over the approval of a $1 billion tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Pakistan," his office said in a statement. The IMF board was scheduled to discuss both the review of the $7 billion program and a new sustainability loan for $1.3 billion over more than two years. The fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The announced approval comes after India asked the IMF to review its loans to Pakistan, following an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 and triggered the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors in nearly three decades. The staff-level agreement on both programs was reached before the current hostilities rose. Pakistan and India accused each other on Friday of launching drone and artillery attacks overnight as tourists and villagers fled. The review approval brings disbursements to $2 billion within the $7 billion program. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
