News

Scientists Uncover Prized White Truffle Mystery Paris, 24 Jul (ONA) - - - The prized white truffle emits intense aromas of garlic, fermented cheese and methane, and is so rare that the truffle can fetch up to £9,000 a kilogram. Now, the puzzle that has confounded experts for more than half a century, of how to cultivate the elusive white truffle on a commercial scale, appears to have been solved, the British Guardian News reported. This week, scientists from France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), will reveal that, at a secret ...

Oldest Male Giant Panda in World Dies Hong Kong, 21 Jul (ONA) --- The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity died at age 35 at a Hong Kong theme park after its health deteriorated. The giant panda had high blood pressure which is a common condition among old pandas. Over the past few weeks, the panda was kept out of sight from visitors at the park as his health worsened. The panda stopped eating solid food and was significantly less active in recent days. A panda living 35 years equals approximately 105 years in human age, the statement read, the Associated Press ...

Heatwave in Britain Causes Severe Travel Disruption London, 20 Jul (ONA) ---- High temperatures have brought severe disruption to rail services throughout Britain as the country wilts under a heatwave. Dozens of trains were cancelled or delayed across England this morning because of problems caused by the extreme heat. Temperatures hit 40C yesterday Tuesday, the hottest on record in the UK, causing damage to overhead wires, tracks, and signalling systems. National Rail has told customers to check before setting off on their journeys and to only travel if absolutely ...

Japan Plans to Hold ex-PM Abe's State Funeral on 27 Sept   Tokyo, 20 Jul (ONA) --- Japan is planning to hold a state funeral on Sept. 27 for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot earlier this month, government sources said today, Japan Kyodo News reported.   Planning for the rare state funeral is proceeding while the public is still processing the shocking death of the country's longest-serving prime minister, with the opposition camp expressing concern that a state funeral could be used to cement the legacy of the divisive ...

Southern Europe Battles Wildfires Amid ‘Apocalypse of Heat’ Madrid, 19 Jul (ONA) --- Firefighters were battling blazes across southern Europe on Tuesday as a heatwave sent people hunting for shade and compounded fears about climate change, according to the Spanish News paper Elpais. In Spain, wildfires were raging in several parts of the country, including the popular southern destination of Málaga. A second fatality was reported on Monday, when a shepherd’s body was found in Sierra de la Culebra, a mountain area in Spain’s northern Zamora province. The first ...

Over 15,000 Migrants Crossed Channel Into Britain in 2022 London, 19 Jul (ONA) ---- As many as 15,000 migrants have arrived in Britain so far this year after crossing the English Channel, figures show.Since the beginning of 2022, 15,107 people have reached Britain's shores after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats, according to provisional government data.Crossings continued on Monday for the 11th day in a row, with 330 people arriving in seven boats, Ministry of Defence figures show.The highest daily total for 2022 to date was recorded on 13 April when 651 people ...

Number of Elementary, Junior High Students in Japan Down 1 Million in Decade Tokyo, 19 Jul (ONA) --- The number of students in elementary and junior high schools in Japan fell by around 1 million from a decade earlier to about 9.56 million in 2020, according to a government survey, underscoring the rapid graying of the country’s population, according to Japan Times news. The survey showed that 346 of the 1,892 municipalities in Japan had seen student numbers in the compulsory education system dwindle by more than 30% in the 10 years. The number of elementary and junior ...

Wild Bison Return to UK for First Time in Thousands of Years London, 18 Jul (ONA) --- Early morning today, three gentle giants wandered out of a corral in the Kent countryside to become the first wild bison to roam in Britain for thousands of years, the Guardian reported. The aim is for the animals’ natural behaviour to transform a dense commercial pine forest into a vibrant natural woodland. Their taste for bark will kill some trees and their bulk will open up trails, letting light spill on to the forest floor, while their love of rolling around in dust baths ...

Eight Died in Crash of Cargo Plane in Greece Belgrade, 17 Jul (ONA) --- A cargo plane transporting 11 tons of military ammunition and other explosives from Serbia crashed in northern Greece, triggering warnings to nearby residents they could be exposed to dangerous fumes.All eight crew members on board the Antonov An-12 died when the aircraft went down near the city of Kavala last night, officials in Greece and Serbia said today.Serbian Defence Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the cargo had been loaded on the plane at Nis airport on Saturday evening. The plane then set off for ...

More People Brought to Safety in France As Wildfires Ravage Europe Paris, 17 Jul (ONA) ---- French authorities were forced to save more people from a large forest fire burning near Bordeaux today as high temperatures continue to scorch southern Europe.The fire in Teste-de-Buch has intensified and threatened campsites, the local authority said in a statement. More than 14,000 people in the area have already had to leave their homes or holiday residences because of the fire.The flames destroyed 10,500 hectares of land and are being driven by high winds and extra dry land. Firefighters ...

Europe Heatwave Causes Deadly Wildfires Spread in Mediterranean Lisbon, 17 Jul (ONA) --- Thousands of firefighters are continuing to battle wildfires in Portugal, Spain and France, as a heatwave shows no sign of easing. In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border. The Portuguese authorities say at least 238 people have died from the heat over the past week, The BBC News reported. Fires are ravaging areas of France's south-western Gironde region, where over 12,000 people have been ...

Wildfires Rage as Europe Battles Heatwave Lisbon, 14 Jul (ONA) --- A heatwave spreading across Europe is fuelling wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain. Around 3,500 firefighters in Portugal are battling dozens of blazes, as temperatures break records in various parts of the country. The worst has been reported in Leiria, where 600 people were forced out of their homes. Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and longer-lasting because of climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began. In France, about 1,000 ...

Death Toll Rises to 10 in Italy’s Fatal Glacier Collapse Rome, 7 Jul (ONA) —— The death toll from a fatal glacier collapse in Italy has risen to 10, an official confirmed today.Regional President of Trento Maurizio Fugatti told journalists in Canazei that the emergency services had recovered one more body.Officials have identified six of those who have died. Two are from the Czech Republic and four are from Italy, while five Italians are still missing. Carabinieri specialists are now trying to determine whether they are among the bodies that have been found so far, and to clarify the ...

Spain’s Famous Bull Run Festival Back after 2-year Hiatus Pamplona, Spain, 6 Jul (ONA) --- Thousands of revelers erupted in celebration today as the traditional “chupinazo” firework was ignited to start the San Fermín bull-run festival in the Spanish city of Pamplona, ending a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Rain did nothing to dampen the atmosphere as crowds, nearly all dressed in the traditional garb of white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief, crammed the tiny town hall square for the noon event. The highlight of the nine-day festival ...

Glacier Collapse Kills Six in Italy Rome, 4 Jul (ONA) --- At least six people have been killed after being caught in an avalanche sparked by the collapse of a glacier in the northern Italian Alps. Emergency officials said nine others were injured in the collapse, with two people suffering serious injuries, BBC news reported. Rescue teams using helicopters and drones have been working through the night searching for 19 still missing. --- Ends/Khalid ...

Many Missing in Landslide that Killed 42 in India New Delhi, 4 Jul (ONA) --- Rescue teams in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur are searching for 20 missing people, days after a massive landslide. More than 40 people have died so far in the landslide, which hit a railway construction site late last Wednesday. Local officials say heavy rains and fresh landslides have hampered rescue efforts. Monsoon rains have triggered severe floods in India's north-eastern states, particularly in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, BBC news reported. The impact has been ...

Heavy Rains, Floods Prompt Evacuations of Sydney Suburbs Sydney, Australia, 3 Jul (ONA) --- Thousands of residents in Sydney suburbs were told to evacuate their homes today after heavy rains caused floodwaters to rise and rivers to overflow in what local authorities called life-threatening emergencies. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for heavy rains and flash floods and winds of up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour along the coast of Australia’s most populous city and other parts of New South Wales state. Australian authorities said that ...

Rice Fields Dry up as Italy’s Drought Lingers on Rome, 30 Jun (ONA) --- The worst drought Italy has faced in 70 years is thirsting paddy fields in the river Po valley and jeopardizing the harvest of the premium rice used for risotto. Italy’s largest river is turning into a long stretch of sand due to the lack of rain, leaving the Lomellina rice flats — nestled between the river Po and the Alps — without the necessary water to flood the paddies. According to the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), drought stress is the most damaging factor ...

Mudslide in Northeast India Leaves 7 Dead, 40 Others Missing New Delhi, 30 Jun (ONA) --- Pounding rain following weeks of heavy downpours triggered a mudslide in northeast India that killed at least seven people and left about 40 others missing, local authorities said today. Disaster response workers, police and local villagers were trying to rescue those buried under the debris in Noney, a town near Imphal, the capital of Manipur state. Continuous rainfall over the past three weeks has wreaked havoc across India’s northeast, which has eight states and 45 million people, ...

EU Countries Approve Climate Measures After Long Talks Brussels, 29 Jun (ONA) --- European Union (EU) countries reached a deal following hard-fought talks that dragged into early today to back stricter climate rules that would eliminate carbon emissions from new cars by 2035. The 27 EU members found agreement on draft legislation aimed at slashing EU greenhouse gases by at least 55% in 2030 compared with 1990 rather than by a previously agreed 40%. The agreement on the five laws proposed by the EU’s executive arm in 2021 paves the way for final negotiations with the ...

Europe Wildfire Risk Heightened by Early Heat Waves, Drought Madrid, 22 Jun (ONA) --- Extended drought conditions in several Mediterranean countries, a heat wave last week that reached northern Germany and high fuel costs for aircraft needed to fight wildfires have heightened concerns across Europe this summer. “Much of the continent is in drought,” said Cathelijne Stoof, an environmental science professor at the Netherlands’ Wageningen University, who called the wildfire outlook “very challenging across Europe.” Fires last summer blackened more than 11,000 square ...

Firefighters Battle Wildfire Near Turkish Resort Ankara, 22 Jun (ONA) --- Firefighters, aided by water-dropping planes and helicopters, were battling a wildfire today that broke out in southwestern Turkey, local officials and media reports said. The fire erupted last evening in the Bordubet region, near the vacation resort of Marmaris on Turkey’s Aegean coast. It spread rapidly, fanned by strong winds, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Some 30 homes near the region were evacuated as a precaution. The cause of the blaze was under investigation. Anadolu said close ...

Afghanistan Powerful Quake Kills 1,000 People Kabul, 22 Jun (ONA) --- A powerful earthquake today struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in the country’s deadliest quake in two decades, the state-run news agency reported. Local officials warned that the already grim toll may still rise. In the remote area near the Pakistani border, residents searched for survivors and the dead. The extent of the destruction among the villages tucked among the mountains was still not known. A UNICEF official said ...

UN Biodiversity Summit Moved from China over COVID-19 Policy Beijing, 21 Jun (ONA) --- A United Nations (UN) summit on biodiversity will be held in Canada instead of China, organizers announced today, the second major international event to be moved from China because of its strict anti-coronavirus policies. The UN secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity and China’s environment ministry said in separate statements that the meeting will be held in December 2022 in Montreal, where the secretariat is based. China, which is the chair of this round of meetings, ...

Dozens Dead, Thousands Homeless in Bangladesh, India Floods Dhaka, 21 Jun (ONA) --- Villagers in north-eastern Bangladesh crowded makeshift refugee centers and scrambled to meet boats arriving with food and fresh water as massive floods, which have killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands there and in neighboring India, today continued to wreak havoc. In Sylhet, one of the worst-hit areas in the extreme northeast of the country near the border with India, villagers waded, swam and paddled makeshift rafts or small skiffs to a boat delivering aid that had moored ...

South Asia Floods Hampering Access to Food, Clean WaterDhaka, 20 Jun (ONA) --- Days of flooding are challenging authorities in South Asia as they try todeliver food and drinking water to shelters across submerged swaths of India and Bangladesh. The high water brought on by seasonal monsoon downpours has already claimed more than a dozen lives, displaced hundreds of thousands and flooded millions of homes. Those who remain in their homes can be seen wading through streets flooded up to their knees. Flooding also continued to ravage India’s north-eastern Assam state where two ...

Study Finds Sharks Prefer Staying Near Coastal CitiesNew York, 19 Jun (ONA) --- A study conducted by the United Nations (UN) predicts that 66% of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050, and a majority of those cities will likely be near coastlines. As urbanizing coasts continue, it becomes more clear that understanding the adaptation of ocean life with human development is increasingly important. A new study by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science tracked three types of sharks, including 14 great hammerheads, 13 ...

Dozens Dead, Millions Stranded as Floods Hit Bangladesh, India Dhaka, 19 Jun (ONA) --- Monsoon storms in Bangladesh and India have killed at least 59 people and unleashed devastating floods that left millions of others stranded, local officials said. Floods are a regular menace to millions of people in low-lying Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability. Relentless downpours over the past week have inundated vast stretches of Bangladesh’s northeast, with troops deployed to evacuate households cut off from ...

Lausanne, Switzerland, 9 Jun (ONA) --- Bacteria have helped lay the foundations for complex life by creating a hospitable atmosphere on our planet, and they continue to support the food web. It seems like microbes have colonized nearly every part of the earth, from the hottest hydrothermal vents to the insides of animals, including us. Now researchers have explored microbial communities that took up residence in old wooden shipwrecks.UNESCO has estimated that there are about three million shipwrecks littering the seafloor, which all impact their local ecosystems, and potentially ...

Tehran, 8 June (ONA) --- A passenger train traveling through eastern Iran struck an excavator and derailed nearly half its cars before dawn today, killing at least 21 people and injuring another 47, local officials said. The train carried some 350 people as it traveled from Tabas, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Tehran, to the city of Yazd. The route had begun as an overnight train out of Iran’s city of Mashhad. --- Ends/Khalid ...