Growth slows as world population nears 8 billion
The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, less than 1 percent a year, said the United Nations on Monday, with the population forecast to pass the milestone of 8 billion on Nov. 15. India was expected to surpass China as the world's most populous nation next year, with the United States challenged for third place by Nigeria by mid-century.
Report: Up to half of the world’s animals lost in sixth mass extinction
A sixth mass extinction of the planet’s species is already underway — and worse than thought, says new research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.