Manila (AFP) Aug 23, 2022 Schools were ordered shut across the northern Philippines Tuesday – a day after many resumed in-person learning for the first time since Covid-19 hit – as torrential rain and strong winds pounded the main island of the archipelago. Severe tropical storm Ma-on struck the northeast coast of Luzon around mid-morning, raking the largely agricultural region with gusts of up to … Continue reading Storm forces Philippine schools to shut day after reopening

Makaylab, Sudan (AFP) Aug 23, 2022 In the Sudanese village of Makaylab, Mohamed Tigani picked through the pile of rubble that was once his mud-brick home, after torrential rains sparked heavy floods that swept it away. “It was like doomsday,” said Tigani, 53, from Makaylab in Sudan’s River Nile state, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Khartoum. “We have not seen rains … Continue reading After ‘doomsday’ floods, Sudanese fear worse to come

Moscow (AFP) Aug 22, 2022 Riazan, a Russian region to the east of Moscow, announced a state of emergency Monday after a spate of forest fires laid waste to more than 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) of land. Interim governor Pavel Malkov said on Telegram the measure would facilitate mobilisation of resources “to protect inhabitants and territory.” Malkov added that aerial surveillance indicated as much as … Continue reading Region outside Moscow declares wildfire state of emergency

N’Djamena (AFP) Aug 19, 2022 Torrential rains have caused the death of 22 people in Chad since June, with more than 110,000 affected, a UN report has said. The rains had also destroyed more than 2,200 hectares (5,400 acres) of agricultural land, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report on Wednesday. The capital N’Djamena, which is located near the … Continue reading 22 dead in Chad heavy rains since June: UN

Kabul (AFP) Aug 21, 2022 Heavy rains triggered flash floods in the eastern Afghan province of Logar, killing at least 20 people and destroying more than 3,000 homes, officials said Sunday. The rains lashed several areas of the province on Saturday, injuring more than 30 people in addition to those killed, the provincial governor’s office said. The floods also destroyed dozens of canals and about … Continue reading Flash floods kill 20 in eastern Afghan province

Algiers (AFP) Aug 20, 2022 More than 10 percent of a UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve has been destroyed by fires that tore through northeastern Algeria, killing at least 38 people, an expert told AFP on Saturday. The figure cited by Rafik Baba Ahmed, former director of the El Kala Biosphere Reserve, means that the burned area of the park alone is almost double what the civil … Continue reading Algeria fires burned UNESCO-listed park; Evacuation lifted as Spain fire stabilised

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 19, 2021 The remains of dozens of medieval British Augustine friars discovered by the University of Cambridge were plagued with twice the parasitic intestinal worms of the general population at the time, according to a new study published Friday. “It is striking that the friars had nearly double the infection rate of parasites spread by poor hygiene, compared with the general … Continue reading Study: Medieval British friars had more intestinal worms than general population

El Molo Bay, Kenya (AFP) Aug 22, 2022 At first light, children from one of Kenya’s smallest and most isolated tribes put on life jackets and board a fishing boat for the journey across the lake to school. Until recently, they could walk the distance. A road connected the El Molo with the world beyond their tiny village, a lifeline for a secluded community of … Continue reading ‘We are divided’: lake upends life for tiny Kenyan tribe

Paris, France (SPX) Aug 19, 2022 Until now, it has been assumed that the oxygenation of the oceans over geological timescales has mainly been driven by atmospheric oxygen levels. However, a new study published in Nature on June 27 2022 suggests otherwise. Work by scientists at the Biogeosciences Laboratory (CNRS/UBFC), together with their colleagues at the University of California’s Department of Earth and Planetary Scienhttp://dlvr.it/SWvvJD Continue reading Plate tectonics drives ocean oxygenation

Nelson, New Zealand (AFP) Aug 19, 2022 A New Zealand city devastated by flooding will take years to recover, the mayor said on Friday, as hundreds more homes were evacuated. The Pacific nation has been lashed by wild weather with the Nelson-Tasman district on the South Island bearing the brunt after 75 centimetres (29 inches) of rain reportedly fell over three days. Several streets in … Continue reading New Zealand flood recovery estimated to take ‘years’