Jakarta (AFP) July 13, 2024 Indonesian rescuers said Saturday they had ended the search for more than a dozen missing people after a landslide near an illegal gold mine killed at least 27. The landslide hit a remote village in Bone Balango district on the central island of Sulawesi a week ago following heavy rain. With the search effort called off and 15 people still … Continue reading 27 dead, 15 missing as Indonesia ends landslide search

Tokyo (AFP) July 13, 2024 Three people were found dead at the site of landslide in western Japan after heavy rain hit the region, a local official said Saturday. Rescue workers had been searching three people – a man in his 90s, a woman in her 80s, and a man in his 40s – who were living in a wooden house that collapsed after the … Continue reading Three found dead in Japan landslide after heavy rain

Geneva (AFP) July 12, 2024 The amount of dust in the air eased slightly in 2023, the United Nations said Friday, warning that poor environmental management was fuelling sand and dust storms. The UN’s weather and climate agency called for greater vigilance in the face of climate change, as drier surface soil leads to more dust being carried in the wind. “Every year, around 2,000 … Continue reading Dust in the air eased slightly in 2023: UN

London (AFP) July 11, 2024 Scores of whales washed ashore in a “mass stranding” in Scotland’s Orkney archipelago on Thursday, a British marine life rescue charity said. A total of 77 long-finned pilot whales were found on the island of Sanday in Orkney, off the northeastern coast of Scotland, after the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) received a report. When the BDMLR arrived, only … Continue reading ‘Mass stranding’ of more than 70 pilot whales in Scotland

Cape Town (AFP) July 11, 2024 Several areas of Cape Town were flooded Thursday after heavy winter rains and strong winds battered the city, ripping off roofs from homes and damaging thousands of makeshift dwellings, South African officials said. The city’s disaster operations centre said informal settlements, including the major township of Khayelitsha, had been particularly affected by flooding. Nearly 7,000 structuhttp://dlvr.it/T9V7Mn Continue reading Flooding, damage as storms batter S.Africa’s Cape Town

London (AFP) July 11, 2024 Britain’s embattled Thames Water has been placed under closer regulatory scrutiny owing to serious financial difficulties, the industry’s watchdog Ofwat said Thursday. The announcement comes as the newly-elected Labour government could decide whether taxpayers should renationalise Britain’s biggest water supplier after it avoided a state rescue under the previous Conservative administration.http://dlvr.it/T9V7Mg Continue reading UK hardens stance over indebted water supplier

Dhaka (AFP) July 11, 2024 Bangladeshi police have charged 26 people for destroying a swath of mangrove forest that protects the low-lying nation from storm surge waters exacerbated by climate change, environmental officers said Thursday. “They have destroyed parts of a unique ecosystem, which has been declared as an ECA (Ecologically Critical Area),” Jamir Uddin, a deputy director of the environment department, toldhttp://dlvr.it/T9V7JD Continue reading Bangladesh charges 26 for destruction of vast mangrove forest

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jul 11, 2024 Anchoring the boat in a sandbar, research scientist Morgan Gilmour steps into the shallows and is immediately surrounded by sharks. The warm waters around the tropical island act as a reef shark nursery, and these baby biters are curious about the newcomer. They zoom close and veer away at the last minute, as Gilmour slowly makes her way … Continue reading Surfing NASA’s Internet of Animals: Satellites Study Ocean Wildlife

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jul 11, 2024 Understanding how ice interacts with liquid is essential, as ice in nature is typically surrounded by liquid. A study by Kobe University and the Institute for Molecular Science has, for the first time, directly observed the exact shape of ice at the ice-liquid interface using antifreeze and a cooled microscope. When ice interacts with liquid, such as when sliding … Continue reading Observing Ice Structures with Antifreeze and Refrigerated Microscopy

Paris (AFP) July 10, 2024 A large sample of European drinking water has detected a substance linked to “forever chemicals” used in pesticides and refrigeration, a coalition of non-governmental organisations said Wednesday. It follows an earlier study in May, also by the European Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) and its members, that found “alarming” levels of PFAS chemicals in Europe’s rivers, lakes and groundwahttp://dlvr.it/T9RS2K Continue reading Europe’s drinking water contamined by ‘forever chemical’: NGOs