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Huge sinkhole opens up in riverbed, India

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A 15 feet deep and 31 feet wide sinkhole has formed in the Chitravathi riverbed near Lakshumpalli in Yellanur mandal of Anantapur district, confirming fears that groundwater in the area has been exploited to alarming levels.

The groundwater department, after a thorough study, noticed that cavities of limestone deposits beneath the riverbed had become brittle due to pumping of groundwater by drilling borewells even at depths of 800 feet.

The sinkhole formed near Lakshumpalli on Thursday with a loud sound and residents of surrounding villagers feared that it was an earthquake. The Yellanur mandal, near Pulivendula of Kadapa district, depends on the Chitravathi river's water.

With poor rainfall for the last 12 years in it's upstream, the river hasn't even been flowing at its minimum level in Yellanur mandal. Farmers thus have been dependant on borewells that they have been digging near the riverbed, leading to over exploitation of groundwater.

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SOTT Focus: Behind the Headlines: The truth behind 'global warming' and the 'war on terror' hysteria

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With signs of increasingly extreme weather patterns all around us, this week on Behind the Headlines, we delved into the pro- and anti-global warming debate to look at what's really going on. Forget about the seas gradually rising by the year 2100, we're headed for an ice age a lot sooner than that.

We also discussed the growing refugee crisis Europe, the latest nonsense in 'the global war on terror', and deciphered the latest anti-Russian propaganda coming from Washington.

Running Time: 01:36:00

Download: MP3


Binoculars

Gull from northern oceans turns up for the first time in Odisha, India

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Black-legged kittiwake
A black-legged kittiwake, a gull which is found in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, has been sighted in Odisha for the first time. A team of Wild Orissa recorded the bird on Balasore coast last week.

Rissa Tridractyla, as the species is known, was spotted by bird expert Nanda Kishore Bhujabal and photographer Chinmaya Bhujabal in a water tank in the coastal district during a survey.

The team members observed the lone bird closely and took its photographs for analysis. The winged visitor had a white head and body; its back was grey and wings tipped with solid black. It had black legs and a bill which had dull greenish yellow colourations. Its distinct black legs and dull greenish yellow bill was what made it different from other gull species found in Odisha.

"Since this species is not mentioned in any bird manuals on India, it was a bit difficult to confirm its identification," said Nanda Kishore. While its physical features did not match with any gull species found in Odisha, literature available were examined and institutions were consulted which led to the conclusion that it was a Black-legged Kittiwake.

Attention

Female killer whale found dead on beach in County Waterford, Ireland

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© Patrick BrowneA Killer Whale washed ashore at Saleens Beach, Tramore, Co Waterford
Marine biologists are working to remove the body of a killer whale which washed up on a beach near Tramore in Waterford on Friday morning.

The five metre whale was spotted by a passerby who alerted members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG).

It is believed the predatory mammal may have died of malnutrition and was dead before it washed up on shore.

"It's probably a youngish female, but its teeth are worn down which is kind of surprising. Looking at the teeth you'd think it's a very old animal," said Andrew Malcolm of the IWDG.

"When you see the teeth as worn down as that you would speculate that it could be malnourished, and that it wasn't getting enough to eat.

Windsock

Swaying highway lamps were 'vortex-shedding' in the wind, Lofthouse, England

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UK weather conditions left lampposts swaying violently in gale force winds
Britain's Highways Agency said the violent swaying of lamp posts in a video taken by a motorist driving in high winds was an example of "vortex-shedding."

Bob Hill posted a video on YouTube showing lamp posts swaying violently in the wind while he was driving Wednesday on M62 near Lofthouse, England.

The Highways Agency posted a comment explaining why the posts were swaying while other tall objects in the background, including other lamp posts, didn't move at all.

"This video shows 'vortex-shedding' -- when the natural frequency of a lamp column matches the speed of the wind. It only happens at certain wind speeds and is a fairly rare event," the comment read.


Binoculars

Rare Sierra Nevada red fox spotted for the first time since 1916

red fox
© National Park ServiceA rare photo of a Sierra Nevada red fox, snapped by a remote camera trap in Yosemite National Park.
The elusive and rare Sierra Nevada red fox has been spotted in Yosemite National Park for the first time in nearly a century, park officials said yesterday (Jan. 28).

Camera traps caught the sleek animal in a remote northern corner of the park on Dec. 13, 2014, and again on Jan. 4 of this year. The cameras were set up by wildlife biologists hoping to spot the red fox and the Pacific fisher, Yosemite National Park's rarest mammals. The ongoing study is funded by the Yosemite Conservancy.

There hasn't been a verified sighting of the Sierra Nevada red fox inside Yosemite National Park since 1916, said Ben Sacks, director of the University of California, Davis Veterinary School's Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit. That year, two animals were killed in Yosemite's Big Meadows, northeast of El Portal, for the University of California, Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.

"It's likely that the Sierra Nevada red fox has been in the backcountry of Yosemite in the last century, but they are rare enough and secretive enough that they haven't been encountered by anyone who has been able to document them," Sacks told Live Science.

Attention

Wild boar attacks man outside nursery in Umbria, Italy

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© Prinke
A man is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a wild boar outside a nursery in Umbria.

The 54-year-old was attacked after dropping his grandson off at the nursery in Arrone, a town near Terni, Il Messaggero reported.

Forestry workers are now hunting for the boar, which fled the scene. The nursery is close to a green area along the Nera river.

The wild boar population in Italy has grown in recent years alongside a rise in demand for their luxury meat, which can be found in many butcher's shops.

Comment: A run down of the global reports featuring wild boar attacks on people for the past year:


Attention

Tusker kills man in Nayagram, India

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At Nayagram's Chunapara area, one person was killed by a wild elephant. The person, according to the locals, went into the nearby forest for some work. It is then a wild tusker came out of the woods and attacked him. Although he tried his best to rescue himself from the elephant, the tusker got the better of him at the end and killed him. The forest officers have already reached the spot of the mishap.

Binoculars

Wrong time, wrong place: Purple gallinule bird found in Weston, Massachusetts

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A purple gallinule was found near the 80-Acre Conservation Area near Hobbs Pond
A purple gallinule, a common marsh bird of Florida, made a wrong landing in Weston last week. Unable to withstand the cold temperatures and find food, its final resting place turned out to be 80-Acre Conservation Area near Hobbs Pond.

On Jan. 19, dog walker Susie Duff discovered the bird when her two dogs stopped to examine something about 20 feet off a trail. When she approached, she observed an "odd bird" sitting motionless, but alive on the ground.

Conservation Agent Michele Grzenda received the email on Monday night.

"Being an avid bird watcher, I'm always intrigued when I receive a mystery bird inquiry," Grzenda said. "Fortunately Susie was able to take a couple of pictures and attach them to the email she sent me. I took one look at the photo and quickly emailed back, 'Wow! Susie, you have to take me to that bird first thing tomorrow.' I suspected the bird would not last the night, since it was so approachable and far away from its normal habitat."

Ice Cube

Global Warming is all snowed out

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'Global warming' in action.
Last year, the New York Times predicted the end of snow. This week, its employees had trouble getting to work because of a travel ban caused by the blizzard. And those New Yorkers still subscribing to the print edition of the Old Gray Lady of Eight Avenue were even more out of luck.

Snow wasn't over, but the New York Times was.

A few days after the New York Times forecast a snowless future in 2014, a major snowstorm (which didn't read the paper and wasn't aware of the 97% scientific consensus) hit shutting down airports, causing major accidents and killing dozens of people. Thirteen inches of snow fell over the city.

A week after warning of the end of snow, the New York Times was instead forced to report on "downed power lines, stranded travelers, abandoned vehicles and yet another mess of snow, slush and ice."