Looking at the African Mega-Lakes which would be the largest lakes on Earth today, scientists say they found fossilized bones from tilapia and catfish, on massifs with rock carvings and stone art. Timeline seems off for fossils as well the sheer amount of caravans and trade points across N. Africa with known habitation points, vast swaths of civilization across the region and all we get is the Egyptians. I see a missing part of human history, what do you see?
If you thought it was cold this morning, spare a thought for Liawenee in Tasmania's Central Highlands — it is already one of the coldest places in Australia and has just broken its own record.
Temperatures dropped to -14.2 degrees Celsius just after 6:00am — a new record low for the state and even colder than Antarctica.
Michael Lasko from the Bureau of Meteorology said the Liawenee temperature was 2C colder than the town's previous record low of -12.2C, made back in 2013.
"But also it looks like that -14.2 is the coldest minimum for all of Tasmania," Mr Lasko said.
The previous record for Tasmania was -13C at Tarraleah and Butlers Gorge back in 1983.
While checking his hives this June, master beekeeper Joseph Zgurzynski discovered something highly unusual. Whereas all the other honeybees in the hive had normal black eyes, one insect sported a pair of creamy yellow peepers that were impossible to miss.
And that wasn't all. When Zgurzynski looked closer, he realized that not only were the bee's eyes off-color, but they were abnormally large. In fact, they looked like the radar-dish eyes typical of male honeybees, or drones, despite the fact that the rest of the bee — the abdomen, stinger, and wings — were clearly female.
"I've been keeping bees since 1976, and this is the first time I've seen anything like it," says Zgurzynski, who manages around six million bees at his Country Barn Farm just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Comment: So are these mutations increasing or are they just being documented more effectively? And if they are increasing, is it due to increased pesticide use, or is something else at play? Both?
Since the onset of monsoon, over 500 people have died across the country because of the ongoing floods and flood-related incidents. At least 1.26 crore people have been affected, and approximately 5,22,908 people have been displaced. Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh are the states that have been affected the most.
Bihar continues to be affected by floods as river overflow from Nepal has inundated more areas. According to the situation report published by the Ministry of Home Affairs' Disaster Management Division on August 4, over 59.68 lakh people have been affected by the floods, and 19 people have died. One thousand one hundred and eighteen villages have been affected. A total of 4,40,507 people have been evacuated, and 38 relief centres have been opened. The relief camps are currently housing 28,664 people.
Further flooding has struck in parts of Somalia, with over 10,000 people affected in South West State over the last few days.
Wide areas of the country have seen unusually strong "Hagaa season" rainfall which has caused flash and riverine flooding in particular from mid July. Since then, 6 fatalities have been reported and at least 120,000 people displaced and 191,000 affected in Hirshabelle, South West, Jubaland States and Banadir region.
17.5 million affected by floods and threatened by disease in South Asia
Monsoon floods are robbing millions of people of their homes and livelihoods, with mounting risk of more deadly disease outbreaks when health resources are stretched to breaking point by COVID-19.
So far almost 17.5 million people have been affected and more than 630 killed by major floods in India, Bangladesh and Nepal according to government figures. Half of Bangladesh's districts are underwater, leaving nearly 1 million families stranded and cut off in their villages. Flooding and landslides in Nepal have left almost 200 people dead or missing. In India, almost 12 million people are affected by the floods mainly in the northern states of Assam and Bihar.
Feroz Salah Uddin, Secretary General, Bangladesh Red Crescent said: "This is one of the biggest monsoon floods we have faced in many years and the worst may be yet to come as we face growing risks of malaria, dengue, diarrhea as well as this worsening COVID-19 pandemic."
Algeria's president on Sunday ordered an "immediate" investigation into forest fires that have ravaged thousands of hectares across the country in recent days, his office said. The enquiry aims to "determine the causes of fires that have ravaged vast stretches of forest". Local media have reported that the fires also destroyed homes, but the statement from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's office made no mention of such incidents.
An aerial view of the flood-affected Darbhanga district of Bihar on Wednesday.
Overflowing rivers inundate new areas in the State; CM makes aerial survey
The flood situation in Bihar deteriorated on Wednesday as waters from overflowing rivers originating in Nepal inundated fresh areas and the number of affected people rose to 66.60 lakh across 16 districts, a government bulletin said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made an aerial survey of the affected areas of north Bihar and visited a village in Darbhanga district, which has been hit by the calamity.
Wilmington police say two men were killed after they were struck by lightning while cutting tree limbs Wednesday morning.
According to the Wilmington Police Department, the incident happened in the 6200 block of North Bradley Overlook in the Bradley Creek area around 11:50 a.m.
The homeowner, 77-year-old Ralph Thomas Wallace, and his friend, 42-year-old Moo Saw Kefauver, were both pronounced dead at the scene.
A nearby house also suffered damage from the strike, including a small attic fire, but no one was injured.
Comment: For further details, see: