Virus. The word evokes images of illness and fears of outbreaks. Yet, in the oceans, not all viruses are bad news. Some play a helpful, even critical, role in sustaining marine life. In a new study, we and an international team scientists examined the behavior of marine viruses in a large band of oxygen-rich water…
Launching on Friday, South Africa’s joint naval exercise with China, Russia and Iran goes beyond manoeuvres at sea. The drills signal determination to project influence in southern Africa, a region that holds growing strategic importance for Moscow and Beijing. The Mosi-3 exercise will run for a week off the coast of Cape Town, under Chinese…
Given its obligations in the region, South Africa is uniquely positioned to represent Africa’s interests in Antarctic governance. The Southern Ocean, encircling Antarctica and extending northwards to about 60° south latitude, contains some of the world’s richest polar marine living resources. Around 85% of the planet’s ocean biological productivity depends on nutrients from this ocean….
As COP30 concluded in Belém, Brazil, a noticeable shift in broad ocean ambition was observed. However, the deep sea – one of our planet’s most vital carbon stores and a key climate regulator – remained largely absent from negotiations. Brazil, the host country, integrated the ocean into its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), marking an important…
Africa has an enormous ocean area at its disposal. There are almost 20 million square kilometres of ocean, seas and inland water that could be developed into environmentally sustainable blue economies. The G20 group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union also view the blue economy as key to developing the…
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Erin, which formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Monday, is expected to strengthen later in the week and could become the Atlantic’s first hurricane of the season. The storm formed just west of the Cabo Verde islands, off the western coast of Africa, and was moving toward the west, the U.S….
Adie Bush | Connect Images | Getty Images Shares of Hanwha Ocean surged as much as 16.06% on Thursday to their highest levels since July 2015, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blanket 15% tariff on Seoul’s exports to the U.S. According to Reuters, Kim Dong-kwan, the vice chairman of the Hanwha Group,…
“We are rushing to prepare regulations atop a foundation of scientific uncertainty, in direct contradiction of our obligation under Article 145 of UNCLOS to protect the marine environment. This is not urgency born of science, but acceleration shaped by external pressure. We must be guided by principle, and not by artificial deadlines.” President Surangel Whipps…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a global health alert over a fast-moving outbreak of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral disease, that is sweeping across the Indian Ocean islands and making inroads into mainland Africa and South East Asia. Speaking at a media briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, Dr Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO’s lead on…
At the High Level Event on “A Sustainable Ocean Economy,” co-organised by APRM & the OECD at the AU Permanent Observer Mission offices in New York this afternoon, AUC Deputy Chairperson H.E Amb. Selma Malika Haddadi reaffirmed the AU’s commitment to ocean health as a cornerstone of Agenda 2063 & SDGs. She underscored the urgent…
