News

Guatemala City, 8 Mar (ONA) --- About 370 residents were evacuated today from the slopes of Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire as red-hot rock and ash flowed down the slopes toward an area devastated by a deadly 2018 eruption.Guatemala’s disaster agency said shelters had been opened for the evacuees.The 12,300-foot (3,763-meter) high Volcano of Fire is one of the most active in Central America and an eruption in 2018 killed 194 people and left another 234 missing.The biggest danger from the volcano are lahars, a mixture of ash, rock, mud and debris, that can bury entire ...

London, 8 Mar (ONA) --- A study suggests the world's largest rainforest is losing its ability to bounce back from damage caused by droughts, fires and deforestation.Large swathes could become sparsely forested savannah, which is much less efficient than tropical forest at sucking carbon dioxide from the air.The giant forest traps carbon that would otherwise add to global warming.But previous studies have shown that parts of the Amazon are now emitting more carbon dioxide than can be absorbed."The trees are losing health and could be approaching a tipping point - basically, a mass loss ...

Canberra, 8 Mar (ONA) --- Two more people died and 40,000 were told to evacuate in New South Wales as the eastern Australian state kept being battered by torrential rains today.The flood crisis has now claimed seven lives in the state after a 67-year-old woman and her 34-year-old son were found in floodwaters in western Sydney today, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.The premier said 40,000 people were under evacuation orders in the state, with two thirds of those orders in suburbs around Greater Sydney.At least 13 more people died in neighbouring Queensland in floods there, news ...

Beijing, 6 Mar (ONA) --- Fourteen people were killed in a coal mine accident in China's southwest Guizhou province, the official Xinhua news agency said today after a 10-day rescue operation.A collapse at the Shunxun coal mine in Zhenfeng county trapped the 14 people on 25 February 2022.The mine has an annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes, data from the National Energy Administration showed.China's mines are among the world's deadliest. The country in recent years has been calling for an end to small coal mines with an annual capacity below 300,000 tonnes due to environmental and safety ...

Sydney, 6 Mar (ONA) --- Sydney, Australia's most populous city that has been drenched in rain for days, braced for more heavy downpours today as the death toll from flooding across the country's east rose to 17.A wild weather system that dumped more than a year's worth of rainfall over a week in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales (NSW) brought widespread destruction, leaving thousands of people in the states displaced and sweeping away property, livestock and roads.A total of 17 people have been killed since the deluge began, according to police.The Bureau of ...

Colorado, US, 6 Mar (ONA) --- With a backdrop of mountain vistas and a rink of natural ice, the annual ice hockey tournament at Grand Lake offers a picturesque snapshot of Colorado’s beauty. What’s not apparent is the problem brewing under players’ skates. This year’s tournament was held a month later than normal, with thin ice forcing organizers to postpone the event originally scheduled for the third weekend of January. “We had slushy conditions and less than six inches of ice. There just was no way it could safely be held,” said Steve Kudron, mayor of ...

Sydney, 3 Mar (ONA) --- Around 500,000 people in Sydney and its surrounding areas had been told to evacuate or prepare to flee floodwaters as torrential rain lashed an extraordinarily long stretch of the Australian east coast. Rivers were rising in Australia’s most populous city, home to 5 million, with New South Wales’ State Emergency Services warning of “treacherous weather conditions” over the next 24 hours. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology warned of life-threatening flash flooding and damaging winds with peak gusts in excess of 90 kilometers (56 miles) ...

Brisbane, Australia, 28 Feb (ONA) --- Parts of Australia’s third-most populous city Brisbane were under water today after heavy rains brought record flooding to some east coast areas and killed eight people. The flooding in Brisbane and its surrounds is the worst since 2011 when the city of 2.6 million people was inundated by what was described as a once-in-a-century event. Queensland emergency services warned life-threatening flash flooding was occurring in parts of Gold Coast. --- Ends/KH ...

Dallas, 24 Feb (ONA) --- Travel has been disrupted from Central Texas to the Great Lakes due to freezing rain and drizzle. The ice-glazed roads also led to hundreds of traffic accidents. Hundreds of flights were canceled at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as the freezing rain iced parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas. Airlines had canceled more than 2,000 flights so far. Meanwhile, heavy snow is expected in upstate New York and New England later this week, with more than 8 inches (20 centimeters) possible through Saturday morning, ...

Antananarivo, Madagascar, 23 Feb (ONA) --- Cyclone Emnati crashed into the southeastern coast of Madagascar in the early hours today, ripping roofs off houses and raising fears of flooding and food shortages in a region still recovering from the destruction inflicted by another tropical storm just weeks ago. More than 30,000 people were moved to safe accommodation before Emnati arrived. Madagascar’s National Office for Risk and Disaster Management estimates more than 250,000 people could be impacted by the latest cyclone. There were no immediate reports of ...

Rome, 22 Feb (ONA) ---- The Italian coastguard has rescued more than 570 migrants in the central Mediterranean, though one person was recovered dead. The people on the two overcrowded fishing boats were in distress during the night due to bad weather conditions off the Calabrian coast, the Guardia Costiera said today. The crews of three patrol boats took the people on board and brought them to another coastguard vessel, where medical personnel took care of them. One person died before help could arrive. According to the migrants, the person had died in the past few days.The rescued ...

Lisbon, Portugal, 22 Feb (ONA) --- A fire aboard a ship carrying cars in the mid-Atlantic is dying out, a Portuguese navy officer said today. The huge vessel is expected to be towed to the Bahamas. The blaze on the Felicity Ace has burned for six days near Portugal’s Azores Islands. A Portuguese Air Force helicopter evacuated the 22 crew members last week, leaving the 200-meter-long (650-foot-long) vessel adrift. Two ocean-going tugboats with firefighting equipment have hosed down the ship’s hull to cool it. Two more tugboats were expected to arrive by the ...

London, 21 Feb (ONA) --- Storm Franklin is continuing to hammer parts of the United Kingdom (UK) with strong winds and heavy rain. There is severe flooding in parts of Northern Ireland and more than 80 flood warnings remain in place in parts of Yorkshire. "Severe disruption" means Network Rail is advising customers to check before they travel. Franklin comes days after Storm Eunice killed three people and left 1.4 million homes without power. Storm Franklin is the third named storm in a week - following Dudley and Eunice - the first time this has happened since ...

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 21 Feb (ONA) --- Wildfires that have been ravaging northern Argentina for several weeks advanced relentlessly, although the light rains that began over the weekend gave some hope to firefighters. Corrientes province is the most affected area, where local officials said at least eight separate fires continued to burn and had devastated at least 9% of its territory. The flames are consuming about 30,000 hectares (89,000 acres) a day in Corrientes, destroying almost 800,000 hectares so far, according to the latest official reports. Strong winds, low ...

Rio de Janeiro, 20 Feb (ONA) --- Bad weather has hampered the search for survivors in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis, four days after devastating flash floods and mudslides. Emergency teams had to suspend their work several times because of torrential rains. They say there is little hope of finding anyone alive. Officials say 146 people have died, including at least 27 children and teenagers, while 191 are still missing. More than 900 people are being housed in schools and shelters, BBC news reported. --- Ends/KH ...

London, 20 Feb (ONA) --- At least 16 people have been killed as Storm Eunice carved a deadly trail across Europe.According to the German News Agency (DPA), deaths were reported in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Irish Republic and the United Kingdom, as fierce winds felled trees and sent debris flying.Millions of homes and businesses lost power across Europe, while hundreds of flights have been cancelled and many more delayed.--- ...

Berlin, 17 Feb (ONA) --- Meteorologists warned today that Germany could see more extreme weather after a storm that swept across the country overnight toppled trees and caused widespread delays to rail and air traffic. There were no immediate reports of injuries. German rail company Deutsche Bahn said it halted long-distance connections in seven northern states early today. National carrier Lufthansa and other airlines also canceled several flights due to Storm Ylenia. Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state closed schools as a precaution, and several other ...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 17 Feb (ONA) --- Rio de Janeiro s government has confirmed 94 deaths from floods and mudslides that swept away homes and cars in the city of Petropolis. But even as families prepared to bury their dead, it was unclear today how many bodies remained trapped in the mud. More than 24 hours after the deadly deluge early Tuesday, survivors were digging to find lost loved ones. Rio de Janeiro’s public prosecutors’ office said in a statement last night that it had compiled a list of 35 people yet to be located. Footage posted on social ...

Sydney, 16 Feb (ONA) --- A swimmer has been killed after being catastrophically injured in the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963, Australian officials say. Emergency services were called to Little Bay beach near Malabar today where human remains were found in the water, police say. At the moment, Little Bay and several nearby beaches are closed. Police said the beach would remain closed for the meantime and urged people to practice caution on beaches and follow safety guidance, the BBC news reported. --- Ends/Anas ...

Petropolis, 16 Feb (ONA) --- About 38 people have died in landslides and flash flooding in the Brazilian city of Petropolis, emergency workers say. The city, which is located in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro, was hit by torrential rainfall causing the destruction of houses in hillside neighborhoods, and cars being swept away by floodwaters. The city’s mayor declared state of emergency amid ongoing work in search and rescue missions for survivors, the BBC news reported. --- Ends/Anas ...

London, 16 Feb (ONA) --- More than eight million trees have been brought down due to winter storms and many are now threatened by another two named storms expected on Britain. The two storms, named Dudley and Eunice, are expected to worsen the already catastrophic damage caused on trees. The climate’s soaring heat is worsening weather and making it even more unpredictable. Management and planting strategies must adapt more quickly. Richard Tanner, a forest ranger said that the west shore of Windermere has been tremendously affected. All over the place giant ...

Brasilia, 16 Feb (ONA) -- At least 18 people have died in landslides and floods due to heavy rain in Petropolis city, Brazil today.Floods engulfed the streets and swept away cars and trees and authorities had urged the public to flee to safer places, according to CNN.It added that rescue teams had to use boats to look ...

Ottawa, 16 Feb (ONA) ---- The bodies of 10 people have been recovered from the icy waters off the Atlantic coast of Canada after a Spanish fishing boat sank, according to reports today. Eleven of the 24 crew members were still missing, Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported citing authorities. Three crew members were rescued alive from a life raft yesterday, though they showed signs of hypothermia. Given the extremely cold water and stormy seas in the area there was little chance of finding more survivors.The boat sank overnight Monday off the coast of Newfoundland. According to ...

Washington, 15 Feb (ONA) --- After initial reports about the impending impact of a SpaceX rocket on the moon, NASA has offered a correction: A new analysis shows that the debris due to crash into our nearest neighbour is probably part of an old Chinese rocket.It is likely a Chang'e 5-T1 booster that was launched into space from Earth in 2014.NASA concluded this from orbits of the object in 2016 and 2017, dpa has learned.The impact on the far side of the moon is expected on 4 March.Earlier, the US space agency said it expected an errant Falcon 9 rocket stage from SpaceX's could collide with ...

Veliko Tarnovo, 15 Feb (ONA)--- An early notification system for flowering trees and pollen release will become operational in the cities of Veliko Tarnovo, Sofia and Plovdiv (Southern Bulgaria) in spring 2022, said agronomist Roman Rachkov, Head of the non-governmental Bulgarian Association for Biological Plant Protection (BABPP). The project aims to help both those who have pollen allergies and all interested in natural processes such as fruit-growers, beekeepers, farmers, among others. Its purpose is to notify people when trees are flowering so that they take measures ...

Nicosia, 15 Feb (ONA) ---- UN peacekeepers discovered a 4-year-old child in the buffer zone of the divided island of Cyprus during a night-time patrol, state media reported today. Cyprus Radio (RIK) said the little girl had been handed over to child welfare workers. She is thought to come from an Arab country. It is suspected that the child was separated from her parents. Soldiers from the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) are now working with the police to find the parents. ---- ...

Berlin, 15 Feb (ONA) ---- Investigators near Munich in southern Germany were still searching today for what caused two trains to crash head-on on a single-track line. One person was killed in the accident near Ebenhausen-Schäftlarn station south of Munich yesterday afternoon. The number of those considered seriously injured had risen to six, including both train drivers, police said today. Andreas Franken, chief spokesman for the Munich police, said 18 people in total were injured in the accident. Police had acquired the journey recording devices, equivalent ...

Tokyo, 14 Feb (ONA) --- A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency today began its review of Japan’s plan to begin releasing more than a million tons of treated radioactive water into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant; a review that Japan hopes will instill confidence in the plan. The 15-member team is to visit the Fukushima plant tomorrow (Tuesday) and meet with government and utility officials during its five-day mission. The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced plans last year to begin gradually releasing the ...

Chicago, 14 Feb (ONA) ---- A branch of aerospace company Boeing that sells parts online said internet sales increased significantly last year, in a sign of recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. The Boeing Company said today that it has posted a steep rise in its online parts sales for 2021 to over $2 billion, better than its pre-pandemic sales, reflecting recovery from Covid-19. The company's arm Boeing Distribution sold nearly 70,000 parts products through its portal in 2021. Out of which, reflecting a recovery in the airline industry, the commercial online sales orders were ...

Brasilia, 13 Feb (ONA) --- The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January 2022 far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data. The area destroyed was five times larger than 2021, the highest January total since records began in 2015. Protecting the Amazon is essential if we are to tackle climate change. Trees are felled for their wood as well as to clear spaces to plant crops to supply global food companies. At the climate change summit COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, more than 100 governments ...