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Watching the World
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Spain
A group of scientists believe that human activity
may have influenced the 2011 earthquake at Lorca, in southern Spain,
which killed nine and injured dozens. The geologists found a correlation
between the deadly quake and locations from which huge quantities of
underground water had been extracted for irrigation.
China
Tourists from China spent $102 billion (U.S.) on
international travel in 2012. According to the UN World Tourism
Organization, this figure for the first time ranks China top among
spenders in international tourism—ahead of Germany and the United States. International tourists from each of these two countries spent about $84 billion (U.S.).
Japan
A study reported on in BMJ, a British
medical journal, followed almost 68,000 people in Japan for an average
of 23 years. Researchers found that women born between 1920 and 1945 who
began smoking before age 20 lived an average of ten years less than
women who had never smoked; men lived eight years less.
Mauritania
The importation, manufacture, and use of plastic
bags have been banned in order to protect the lives of marine and land
animals, which can die after ingesting them. The government is promoting
the use of biodegradable alternatives instead.
World
Insurance losses resulting from weather
disasters average about $50 billion (U.S.) a year. Such losses, adjusted
for inflation, have more than doubled every decade since the 1980’s.
