Authorities in Geneva have put down a rutting deer that attacked four people over the course of 48 hours, according to reports.
The buck went on the rampage at the end of July in a residential area in the Collonge-Bellerive area of Geneva, newspaper 24 Heures said on Thursday.
Describing his experience to the paper, one of the animal's victims, José Taboada, said he was driving his van through the area on July 25th when he saw it leap out of a sunflower field a few metres from his vehicle.
Taboada got out of the van to take a photo of the buck with his phone when it attacked.
When a young woman went for a swim in an idyllic south Bavarian region, she got more than she bargained for.
The woman was swimming in a lake in Straubing-Bogen in southeastern Bavaria when the huge flesh-eating fish bit into her leg, the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported on Wednesday.
She immediately turned round and was able to swim back to the shore in safety. But the large bite left in her leg allowed experts to estimate that the beast - a wels catfish - that had a nip at her was around two metres in length, about 6.5 feet.
An expert from the Bavarian Fishing Association told the SZ that such incidents are not wholly uncommon, especially when the male is protecting a pair's eggs.
A second victim of the freak Aug. 12 lightning strike in a City of Poughkeepsie park has died.
The 46-year-old man died at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to John Nelson, director of public and community affairs at Vassar Brothers Medical Center.
The man, whose name was not released, was the second man fatally struck in City of Poughkeepsie's Mansion Square Park that Friday afternoon. A 50-year-old man died early the following day.
Three other lightning strike victims, Alexander Carr, Karen Brooks and an unnamed 46-year-old man, were treated at local hospitals following the strike and released.
Lightning struck a tree, traveling down it and into the ground, shocking five victims on or near a bench, one of whom died. Police have not released the names of the victims.
In a gross natural disaster, a total of 38 sheep were killed on Tuesday night as lightning struck the Kammalam Poondy village in Kanchipuram district.
The catastrophe had left the village in a pall of gloom and is a first of its kind in the recent past, said the distressed villagers.
Cattle owner E. Lakshmanan (45), who lost 38 sheep among the 104 ones, has incurred a loss of Rs 1.52 lakh. As brief spells and thunderstorms were observed on Tuesday evening, Lakshmanan had chosen to not take the cattle to a fenced field and left them in an open ground, a few yards behind his house. At around 11pm, he woke up to the disturbance and was shocked to see the carcasses of the cattle.
Rescuers continued to search for survivors in central Italian towns devastated by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake as the number of victims rose to 247 on Thursday morning. Accounts of lucky escapes and tragedies have emerged as communities struggle to cope with the aftermath.
Italy's earthquake death toll has climbed to 247, local wire service ANSA quoted regional officials as saying.
Meanwhile, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported yet another 4.6-magnitude earthquake hit central Italy, some 66 km northeast from the town of Terni, with a population of over 220,000 people. It was the 22nd quake in the region in less than 24 hours.
The dramatic rescue operation continued overnight into the early hours of Thursday as scores of people are still believed trapped under the rubble. Thousands have been left homeless.
At least 86 victims come from the small towns of Amatrice and Accumoli that lie close to the epicenter of the quake, about 100 km from Rome.
Comment: An earthquake of comparable force hit the nearby city of L'Aquila in 2009, killing 309 people. In the subsequent 'witch hunt' seven seismologists were convicted of manslaughter for failing to adequately assess the earthquake risk. In 2012 they were sentenced to six years in prison, six were acquitted two years later.
This is one of the most seismically active parts of Italy as clearly identified in many seismic hazard maps. Addressing the fundamental reason for such tragic loss of life, Kevin McCue, president of the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society, said
"This earthquake occurred in an area rated a high earthquake hazard region of Italy. Buildings should be designed and built to withstand this level of shaking without collapse. That they don't is typical of the attitude to the hazard in Italy and Australia where the risk of being killed in a vehicle accident is much higher."
Mr Renzi, the Italian prime minister,says "Our credibility and honor depends on a real reconstruction that would prevent the inhabitants of these municipalities from leaving, to allow these beautiful places to start over."
The reason why so many buildings fall down in Italy during earthquakes is that many were put up without planning consent, with the structural guarantees that normally accompany it; but more specifically buildings have simply not been designed and built with due consideration to the seismic threat, like in Japan for instance.
According to the government own statistics office, unlawful construction in Italy is of "dimensions unparalleled in other advanced economies". The latest estimate, for 2014, is that 18% of buildings are erected without permission, excluding extensions.
Unless these planning and construction laws are completely overhauled further tragedies such as this are inevitable.
At least 300 people have died in eastern and central India and more than 6 million others have been affected by floods that have submerged villages, washed away crops, destroyed roads and disrupted power and phone lines, officials say.
Heavy monsoon rains have caused rivers, including the mighty Ganges and its tributaries, to burst their banks forcing people into relief camps in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
Government officials in Bihar, which has seen some of the worst flooding this year with almost 120 dead and more than 5 million affected, said the situation was serious.
"The flood waters have engulfed low-lying areas, homes and fields of crops," said Zafar Rakib, a district magistrate of Katihar, one of 24 districts out of Bihar's 38 districts which have been hit by the deluge.
Unusual to say the least with all the news articles saying its the warmest year ever and now 8 Inches of August Snow for Alaska, Record Cold Europe, Snow pack Remains Scotland & UK up to 20 meters/60 feet deep.
Hundreds of thousands of fish turned up dead in a creek in New Jersey this week, prompting environmental officials to investigate.
The Department of Environmental Protection said the dead fish found in Waackcaack Creek in Keansburg are peanut bunker, which is a name used to describe Atlantic Menhaden when they are first developing after hatching. Officials believe they were likely chased into the creek by either bluefish or skates.
The peak of the dead fish appeared to be Saturday, said Bob Considine, a spokesman for the DEP.
"Although the water is tidal, the creek and other surrounding waters where the fish have washed up can get stagnant during certain tides and we believe at this point that the die off is due to dissolved oxygen levels in the water," Considine said.
See what the fish kill looked like from above, via NewsCopter 7:
A deadly earthquake has struck central Italy, leaving up to 38 people dead so far, according to provisional count by rescue officials.
The quake is said to have happened after 3:30am local time on Wednesday morning when people were still sleeping in their homes. It has been reported that some 60 aftershocks have followed in the first four hours of the initial earthquake, some having reached a magnitude of 5.5.
Geological experts estimate the depth of the quake to be around 6 miles. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre put the magnitude at 6.1, while the United States Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2. The quake was felt across a broad section of the central part of the country, including the capital, Rome.
BBC reports that some buildings in Rome shook for around 20 seconds. The quake was also felt from Bologna in the north to Naples in the south. It has been reported that somewhere between 60-80 aftershocks have followed in the first four hours of the initial earthquake, some having reached a magnitude of 5.5.
The epicenter of the devastating quake has been marked in the town of Norcia in Umbria region, about 105 miles northwest of Rome.
Comment: UPDATES
The earthquake hit 126km north of Rome, the largest and most populous city of the region with 2.6 million people.
The death toll from the earthquake has risen to 84, local broadcaster RAI has reported.
Fabrizio Curcio, the head of Civilian Defense service, who is now in Amatrice, reported that in that town and adjacent Accumoli alone the number of those dead has soared to 60.
At the same time, the Civilian Defense service of the Marche region stated that 24 people had been killed in the quake there.
The town of Norcia, home to some 5,000 residents, lies just 10km southeast of the quake's epicenter, according to US Geological Survey (USGS). The ancient Italian city of Spoleto in the Perugia province with some 40,000 residents is located 35km east of the quake.
The national civil protection agency stated the earthquake is estimated to be "severe," Reuters reported.
Apart from Amatrice, buildings have collapsed in Arquata and Norcia. At least two deaths due to the earthquake were reported in Arquata, according to RailNews 24.
Four people have been confirmed dead by the mayor of the town of Accumoli, RailNews reported.
Apart from Amatrice, buildings have collapsed in Arquata and Norcia. At least two deaths due to the earthquake were reported in Arquata, according to RailNews 24.
The USGS graphics suggest "significant casualties" are likely to occur in Central Italy with small town of Accumoli, Norcia, Maltignano, Amatrice, Cascia and Cittareale are listed as most exposed to the quake. The economic damages are expected to be significant and "likely widespread."
A series of strong aftershocks followed the initial quake. One with a 5.5 magnitude occurred 4 kilometers from the town of Norcia at a depth of 10 kilometers.
Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief.
- Frantz Fanon
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“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” -O’Brien in Orwell’s 1984
Comment: See also: Fatalities from U.S. lightning strikes this year at highest since 2010