Bangkok, July 30 (IANS) Thailand expects to export 8.2 million tonnes of rice in 2024, up from the 7.5 million tonnes projected earlier, thanks to robust demand from key markets, weak local currency and increased production, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday.

In the first half of this year, the Southeast Asian country shipped out 5.08 million tonnes of rice, marking a 25.12 percent surge compared to the previous year, the ministry said in a statement.

The increased demand is attributed to importing nations’ need for food security and stockpiling, coupled with India’s continued export restrictions, said Ronnarong Phoolpipat, Director General of the Minister’s Department of Foreign Trade.

Ronnarong said rice production in the final quarter of the year is expected to pick up as the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon have subsided, Xinhua news agency reported.

The kingdom’s rice shipment recorded a 13.7 percent rise from a year earlier to 8.76 million tonnes in 2023, beating a target of 8 million.

–IANS

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Barcelona, July 30 (IANS) The threat of desertification in Spain is growing due to climate change and the intensive pressure of land use, a Spanish expert told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

Gabriel del Barrio from the Spanish National Research Council’s Experimental Station of Arid Zones (EEZA) said: “The amount of land under active degradation has tripled in just ten years. This will continue to grow because the land is being subjected to very intense use in order to extract the vegetables and other agricultural products necessary for a socioeconomic dynamic that is overheating the system.”

Nevertheless, the researcher explained that the term desertification can be misleading as it suggests that the land affected by the phenomenon could become desert. He insisted that “there will never be a desert in Spain.”

Deserts are complex functioning ecosystems that have evolved over millions of years, he said, adding: “What we are talking about is degraded land, which is a different thing.”

Desertification refers to the permanent degradation of arable land in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas, due to intense pressure from farming, urbanization and climate change.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warned earlier this month that 90 percent of the planet’s land surface could become degraded by 2050.

Up to 75 percent of Spanish territory is “susceptible to desertification”, according to the country’s Ministry for Ecological Transition.

Meanwhile, the EEZA reports that the percentage of land in Spain that can be classed as degraded currently stands at 24.6 percent.

The Spanish government has warned that higher temperatures have caused arid climates to double since the mid-20th century, at an annual rate of about 1,500 square kilometers per year, Xinhua news agency reported.

As Del Barrio said, “An increasingly arid climate undermines the resilience of ecosystems and makes it harder for them to recover.” At the same time, the effect of climate change “increases the intensification of human activity”, such as the expansion of irrigation systems into dryland areas.

Some 22 percent of irrigated land is considered degraded or very degraded, according to Del Barrio. Spanish authorities say that 79 percent of the country’s water resources are used for agriculture and livestock farming.

“Land degradation is inherent to our presence in the world, but we can do some things to try to control it. We can, for example, respect the cycles of production and renewal of the natural resources that replenish slowly,” said the researcher, referring to underground water reserves known as aquifers.

The intensification of agricultural land use is the principal cause of land degradation, according to Del Barrio. The dynamic of the current market “forces farmers to produce in excess” in order to satisfy the strict demands of large food distribution chains.

In today’s globalized world, the effects of land degradation can also be felt across continents. Del Barrio cited the phenomenon of telecoupling, which refers to socioeconomic and environmental interactions over long distances.

“The areas in Spain of intensive agriculture and livestock farming are importing fodder produced in South America, which is at the expense of degrading native forests in regions of the Amazon, so the relationships are becoming increasingly complex,” he said.

UNESCO also sees land degradation and desertification as a global issue, and stresses the importance of fertile soil in maintaining ecosystems and biodiversity. It has warned that 75 percent of soils are already degraded, affecting 3.2 billion people.

–IANS

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Rome, July 30 (IANS) The massive heatwave punishing Italy since mid-June is about to intensify due to hot weather currents moving across the Mediterranean Sea from Africa.

According to the Ministry of Health, 13 of the country’s 27 largest cities are under a “red” alert on Tuesday, indicating that the hot and dry weather poses a health risk even to healthy individuals. This number has risen from 11 cities on Monday and just five on Sunday.

The cities under “red” alert on Tuesday include Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo, and Rome. Additionally, two cities are under an “orange” alert, signifying that the hottest part of the day poses a health risk for babies, the elderly, and those with health conditions.

On Wednesday, Naples and Palermo will drop to “orange” alerts, while Viterbo, just north of Rome, will rise from “orange” to “red.”

Amid the intense heatwave, water levels have fallen, and many parts of the country, especially in the southern regions, are experiencing water shortages, Xinhua news agency reported.

Italy has launched a special heat alert hotline – available by calling “1500” – offering weather updates and guidelines for combating the heat. Additionally, Italian cities have introduced a new free smartphone app called Waidy Wow, which helps residents and visitors locate the nearest free water fountain at any time.

The heatwave in Italy and other parts of Europe became so severe recently that the United Kingdom (UK) has issued heat-related travel alerts for its citizens traveling to Italy or Greece.

This marks the third consecutive year that Italy has struggled with the effects of intense and prolonged heatwaves.

–IANS

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Colombo, July 30 (IANS) At least 42 students from a school in Kinniya police division in Sri Lanka’s eastern province were admitted to hospital on Tuesday following a wasp attack, police said.

Local police said the incident occurred after a wasp’s nest, located on the roof of a school building, was disturbed.

The students have been admitted to a regional hospital and are reportedly aged between 10 and 15 years.

The police is conducting further investigations into the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

Wasp attacks were common in Sri Lanka.

–IANS

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Moscow, July 30 (IANS) The digital Ruble may be widely introduced in 2025 if it is successfully tested, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said Tuesday.

“Now I can say that if everything goes as we plan further on, with pilots implemented successfully, we will be able to shift from tests to massively introducing the digital Ruble from July 2025,” she addressed the Federation Council, adding that it will be a gradual process.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the digital Ruble platform showed efficiency and reliability as it was tested, local media reported.

The central bank launched a pilot programme of the digital Ruble in August last year. It is set to become the third form of Russia’s national currency, which the bank plans to issue in addition to cash and non-cash Rubles, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Nabiullina said Russia will conduct its first cross-border payments in cryptocurrencies by the end of 2024.

“The State Duma is considering a law that would allow settlements in cryptocurrency under an experimental framework,” she said, adding that the terms of the experiment are being discussed with relevant ministries and businesses.

–IANS

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