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Man dies after shark attack in Fiji

Serafina Silaitoga
The Fiji Times
Sat, 12 Mar 2016 13:38 UTC
Shark attacks
The horrendous shark attack in Cakaudrove has shocked villagers of Wailevu district as many try to fathom the incident.

Maika Tabua, 44, of Naiqaqi, was attacked at the river mouth of Yanawai.

When relatives found him afloat near a reef, they saw that the shark had ripped off his left arm and thighs, and it severed his neck leaving all internal organs exposed.

His cousins, Iliesa Tuinawaria and Saimone Ligavaki who retrieved his body from the sea were still in a state of shock when they visited The Fiji Times office in Labasa yesterday.

Mr Tuinawaria said they found his body floating in an upright position, not far from where he was picking sea slugs on a reef.

Divisional police commander North SSP Shiri Singh confirmed an investigation had started.
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Cloud Precipitation

5 dead, thousands flee as 'historic' floods swamp southern US - again

Doyle Rice
USA Today
Thu, 10 Mar 2016 14:34 UTC
flooded cars in Louisiana
© Advocate/Bill Feig
Submerged roadways, backed-up sewers, stalled cars and flooded homes: The dramatic scenes in and around Shreveport, La., were being repeated Thursday in the South as historic flash flooding continued to pound the region.

Five people have been killed in Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana since the deluge began earlier this week, and the heavy rain promises not to let up for at least another day.

More than 20 inches of rain has already fallen in some places, the Weather Channel reported. In all, some areas will receive two feet of rain by the time the storm winds down Friday, the National Weather Service said.

In addition to Louisiana, the hardest-hit state where three deaths occurred, parts of Arkansas, western Tennessee and southern Illinois will also be drenched by locally heavy rain into Friday, according to the weather service.

Flash flood watches and warnings stretched from Lake Charles, La., to Evansville, Ind., as of late afternoon Thursday. More than 80 river gauges in the region reported flooding Thursday.


Comment: A few months ago at least eight people died as a "once-in-a-thousand-year" rainfall event triggered flash flooding in the US state of South Carolina. All over the world we are witnessing an increase in these so-called 'historical' extreme weather events. See also:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - February 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Question

Mysterious sea creature washes up on Mexican beach


Yahoo! News
Thu, 10 Mar 2016 11:06 UTC
Mystery Creature
© Yahoo News
Mysterious 13ft Sea Creature Washes Up On Beach In Mexico.
It looks like something from a terrifying horror movie, but this is the mystery sea creature that's baffled experts after washing up on a tourist beach in Mexico.

The monstrous 4-metre (13-foot-long) beast was discovered on Bonfil Beach, in the city of Acapulco, in the south-west Mexican state of Guerrero.

Stunned beach-goers stood around the beast and began taking photos - while also speculating on the possible species of the creature.

The creature's body was washed on the shore by strong currents that have been affecting parts of the Mexican coast.
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Info

25 million migrant birds are illegally killed in the Mediterranean every year

John R. Platt
Takepart
Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:40 UTC
Two European turtledoves, whose numbers are plummeting across the Mediterranean.
© ALAMY
Two European turtledoves, whose numbers are plummeting across the Mediterranean.
Researchers find that the animals are being shot and trapped for food and the pet trade, with the majority of the deaths occurring at just 20 sites.

A new study finds that an estimated 25 million migrating birds are killed as they fly over Mediterranean countries each year. The deaths—by gun, net, or glue-covered traps—include several threatened species. Most of the birds end up being eaten as delicacies. Some are shot for sport, while others are captured alive and sold in the caged-bird trade.

Many bird species living in the Mediterranean are in decline owing to habitat loss, said Stuart Butchart, head of science at BirdLife International and a coauthor of the study. This mass killing could further threaten many species while also affecting the region's environment.

"Birds play an integral role in ecosystems, from pollinating plants and dispersing their seeds to controlling populations of insect pests," Butchart said. "Disturbing the balance of ecosystems by substantially changing bird abundance through illegal killing and other impacts will certainly have impacts beyond the birds themselves."

He cited the example of India, where some vulture species have declined by 99 percent or more because of poisoning by the veterinary drug diclofenac. The drug is used to treat livestock and contaminates vultures when they feed on dead animals. "This has led to a rapid increase in the feral dog population, as vultures no longer dispose of animal carcasses, and consequent increases in rabies cases among people," Butchart said.
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Info

Report: Record numbers of rhinos poached in Africa in 2015

Victoria Woollaston
Daily Mail
Wed, 09 Mar 2016 19:18 UTC
A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos (stock image) were murdered across Africa in the past year.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos (stock image) were murdered across Africa in the past year.
The number of African rhinos killed by poachers in 2015 increased for the sixth year in a row.

A report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed that at least 1,338 rhinos were murdered across the continent in the past year.

This is the highest its been since 2008 when South Africa banned trade in rhino horns, leading conservation body IUCN said on Wednesday.

The slaughter has been driven by demand for their horn in countries such as China and Vietnam, where they are prized for their purported medicinal properties.

The horn is composed mainly of keratin, the same component as in human nails, but it is sold in powdered form as a supposed cure for cancer and other diseases.
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Arrow Up

Costa Rica's Rincón de la Vieja Volcano ejects vapor and ash

L. Arias
The Tico Times
Thu, 10 Mar 2016 20:43 UTC
Costa Rica volcano erupts
© OVSICORI/Jorge Viales
A vapor and ash column on March 9, 2016 was visible from several communities in the surroundings of Rincón de la Vieja National Park, located 270 km northwest of Costa Rica’s capital, San José.
Experts from the National University's Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) on Thursday reported that Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, located in Guanacaste province, has seen increased vapor activity and explosions.

Strong explosions were recorded on Wednesday at 1:54 p.m. On Thursday at about noon, a tall column of vapor and ash was visible on top of the volcano's crater.

Local residents told OVSICORI that ash had fallen on the roofs of their homes in an area six kilometers around the volcano, mainly in communities north of the crater in Upala and Buenos Aires.

Volcanologist Javier Pacheco on Thursday said activity at the volcano had been low in the past 15 years, but monitoring equipment recorded an increase in deposits of volcanic material in the crater.

Comment: There has also been an apparent increase in volcanic activity throughout the whole world in recent times.

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Attention

Wild boar attacks 3 farmers in India


The Statesman (India)
Thu, 10 Mar 2016 19:20 UTC
Wild boar
In a fresh case of man-animal conflict, three farmers were injured following attack by a rogue male wild boar at a village in Odisha's Kendrapara district.

The incident took place in Srichandanpur village on Wednesday when farmers were engaged in vegetable cultivation activities.

The injured farm labourers - Bichitrananda Barik (49), Sudarshan Pradhan (42), Rankanidhi Das (40)- are undergoing treatment at Kendrapara district headquarters hospital. While condition of one of the injured person is stated to be critical, two others are out of danger, police said.

Mild tension has prevailed in the area following the animals attack. However, no untoward incident had occurred, they said.
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Tornado2

Waterspout filmed over Lake Buchanan, Texas

Calily Bien
kxan.com
Tue, 08 Mar 2016 19:03 UTC
storm map
As storms were rolling through the Hill Country on Tuesday morning, KXAN viewer Gage Watson sent a ReportIt video of what appears to be a tornado on Lake Buchanan.

Watson said he was on the lake fishing with his dad when they spotted the formation. "The rain just started coming down as we we were putting out our fishing poles," said Watson. As the spout formed, Watson and his dad pulled their boat up to a bank and waited for the storm to pass.

KXAN's First Warning Weather Team tracked the storm as it moved through the area around 7:30 a.m.

After the storm passed, the father and son team went back to fishing as normal.

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Umbrella

Heavy rain in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas will worsen an already 'historic' flooding event

Eric Ortiz and Alexander Smith
CNBC
Thu, 10 Mar 2016 05:11 UTC
Flooding in Louisiana
© NBC
A ferocious line of thunderstorms responsible for three deaths and that left 25 million Americans facing the threat of floods was set to wreak more misery across the Gulf Coast and South on Thursday.

Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas have been hammered all week with downpours, large hail, and at least two tornadoes — and forecasters warned there was more to come. Some areas have seen a foot of rain since Tuesday, with more than 16 inches falling near the northern Louisiana city of Monroe.

While severe thunderstorms were less likely Thursday, the rain was forecast to continue and shift eastward. Parts of Tennessee and Mississippi were also set to get soaked — with up to a foot of rain possible in New Orleans through Saturday.


"Unfortunately, the heavy rain will continue over this hard-hit part of the South for another 24-48 hours before slowly shifting east," The Weather Channel reported late Wednesday.

The National Weather Service warned that the extra rain "will add to an already historic flash flooding event."


Comment: For more bizarre weather Signs of the Times, see: Also, to understand what's going on, check out our book explaining how all these events are part of a natural climate shift, and why it's taking place now: Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection.

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Wolf

92-year-old woman dies following attack by pack of dogs in Olympia, Washington

Deborah Horne
kiro7.com
Tue, 08 Mar 2016 15:04 UTC
92-year-old woman dies after dog attack

92-year-old Gladys Alexander dies after dog attack
A woman who was the victim of a violent attack by dogs has died, according to the Harborview Medical Center.

Gladys Alexander, 92, walked across the street late Sunday to give her neighbor a newspaper when she was attacked by four pit bull mix dogs.

Thurston County Sheriff's investigators say the homeowner was running errands and returned home to find the dogs attacking Alexander. She stopped the attack.

Only a KIRO 7 camera was there as investigators for Thurston County Animal Services removed the dogs from the Scott Lake home near Olympia.

Their docile demeanor, a stark contrast to the way they behaved when a television crew showed up Monday.

      Read More...
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