Satirist Dario Fo sued

Nobel Prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo has been sued for defaming Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi in his new satire The Two-…

Quest for speed

Scientists claim to have sent pulses of microwaves over a one-metre distance at speeds that are 5-10 per cent faster than the speed of light

COVID-19: Mass testing helped Italian town cut cases to zero

Vo in north Italy was home to country’s first death. Testing and quarantine helped control the spread

Drugs alone do not create health

Spending heavily on medicines does not necessarily result in better health, indicate recent studies.

Ten zero-waste cities: How Capannori inspired other European municipalities on zero waste

Taking a proactive, holistic approach and involving residents in all stages of policy development were key elements that led the Italian …

Identity crisis

Rightwing parties provide an illusion of certainty: the one thing that many Europeans reeling under new pressures are hungrily groping for

Paving way for a clean future

Released recently, the Bellagio memorandum advocates best practices for policies on vehicular emission reduction worldwide

Digging for diseases, past and present

Scientists are turning to ancient grave sites to unravel the mysteries of human ailments

Severe heatwave in Mediterranean Sea for 70 days, mass mortalities in marine life expected

At 27ºC, sea temperatures now close to late Cretaceous period of dinosaurs 

Italy suspends Novartis vaccine after four patients die

Tests are on to find if there is a causal link; Swiss pharmaceutical boasts of the drug’s safety record

Climate crisis, tourism may place Venice on UNESCO heritage danger list

UN agency panel to discussion inclusion of Italian city in list on September 10-25, 2023

Glitter, not litter: These 10 cities show how to get rid of waste

Zero-waste is all about making surroundings clean, green & environmentally sustainable

High-flying disease

From now onwards we have to battle with another mysterious enemy. Since February 2003, a disease similar to influenza has 'officially' killed 48 …

Finally, microorganisms and pollinators receive much needed support: Technical working group formed by FAO

19th session of Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture held July 17-21, 2023 in Rome to decide on the agenda for next two years

Roman secret to durable architecture? Self-healing concrete

Quicklime, pozzolanic material ‘hot-mixed’ to make concrete can endure for millenia; It can also help reduce environment …

G8 and tragedy of Africa

Rich nations are forcing African states to change laws to facilitate private investment in agriculture in a replay of colonial adventurism

US, Japan & others to fund Indonesia’s transition to clean energy

Just Energy Transition Partnership’s $20 bn finance can help freeze the country’s per capita emissions at 2.4 tonnes by 2030

A conversion problem

Catalytic converters, devices meant to clean car exhausts, are backfiring on the environment

COVID-19: Italy had 5.8 million cases by March 28, says study

Lockdowns reduced transmissibility in European nations but not template for all countries

COVID-19 lockdown: Why battle against air pollution needs to continue

Air crisis will spiral if it’s not contained long-term and if mitigation actions are diluted to make up for time lost during lockdown

The Caspian affair

The landlocked Caspian Sea is a cauldron of geopolitics. Its essential ingredients: oil and natural gas

Energised by oil

Energy policy has always been of vital importance in the US. That's why oil and gas executives have taken over the reigns of the government today

Oil that glitters

Petroleum fuels the engines of the global economy. So there is never enough of it. Oil politics dictates international relations

Cancun redux

Reflecting upon the fifth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization at Cancun, a Down To Earth editorial (see: "How not to lose …

WHO's problem

As most developed countries shy away from increasing their contribution, a cash-strapped World Health Organization is forced to rely on private …