Lexi Ward

American researchers have studied the genes of coffee plants all over the planet and created a family tree of the most popular coffee variety – Arabica (Coffea arabica).

As it turned out, this variety appeared 350-600 millennia ago as a result of natural crossing of Coffea eugenioides and Coffea canephora. This happened without (and even before) human intervention.

Although wild coffee plants grow in Ethiopia, it is believed that their first roasting and preparation began in Yemen in the 15th century. According to legend, an Indian monk named Budan secretly smuggled 7 raw coffee beans back to his homeland in the 17th century, helping to spread coffee around the world.

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It is noted that the Seine will be the venue for marathon swimming at the Summer Olympics to be held in Paris, as well as the swimming stages of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons. Hidalgo was asked if she would honour her promise to swim in the Seine ahead of the Olympics, to which the city manager replied in the affirmative because she is confident in the quality of the water.

The agency pointed out that for decades the capital’s river has been too toxic and mostly used to transport goods and people and as a “water graveyard” for discarded bicycles and other rubbish. Swimming in the river, with few exceptions, has been banned since 1923.

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Between 15 and 50 per cent of Ghana’s cocoa tree crop has been lost due to the spread of a virus affecting cocoa shoots. It is noted that the virus is spread between trees by small insects known as felids, which feed on the leaves, shoots and flowers of infected trees and transmit the infection to healthy trees. The virus causes shoot overgrowth, leaf discolouration and other plant problems.

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According to her, global warming is causing malaria and dengue vectors to take up residence in more and more regions. The expert says that outbreaks of these diseases will affect parts of Northern Europe, Asia, North America and Australia that are not yet covered by them in the next few decades.
As of 2023, the tropical virus-carrying tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) has already spread to 13 European countries: Italy, France, Spain, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Greece and Portugal.

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A report by environmental organisation Global Energy Monitor shows that coal power capacity, driven by an increase in the number of plants in China and a decline in the rate of coal plant closures across Europe and the US, grew by 2% last year.

It is noted that about 69.5 gigawatts of coal power capacity was added in 2023, two-thirds of which China alone is responsible for, according to the report.

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