Two schoolchildren killed in Somalia

Yesterday, in Mogadishu Somalia an artillery shell landed on a school killing two students under 10 years old and injuring four others.
The tragedy occurred during the second day of warring between Islamist insurgents and AU peacekeepers

Mutiny in Bangladesh

Shooting erupted in Dhaka, Bangladesh today as the country’s border guards continued their mutiny over pay. This morning, mutineers targeted the residence of the commanding officer in Tekhnaf. Reports also suggest that violent clashes occurred at border guard posts around the country.

Turkish Airlines plane crash

A Turkish Airlines plane crash-landed today on route into Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. Airline officials have reported that of the passengers on board, suggested to be at least 135, one has been killed and at least 20 injured.
The Boeing 737-800, which left Istanbul at 7.55am local time, broke into 3 pieces when it landed in a field near the airport. Passengers were seen to be walking away from the wreckage and then sifting through the luggage that had been strewn around the area.

Maoris rights to haka

Last week, in a move to prevent its commercial exploitation, the government of New Zealand assigned intellectual property rights to the Ka Mate haka. The rights were passed over to a North Island Maori tribe along with NZ $121 million and property in both the North and South Islands. Maori celebrations were invigorated last weekend (19-22nd Feb) at the Biennial Festival and the Kapa Haka Championships, where tens of thousands of people arrived in the town of Tauranga to delight in four days of performing arts, competitions, music, dance and chants.

Fresh Bushfires in Australia

Southern Australia continues the fight to control new bushfires, with one fresh blaze occurring dangerously near a densely populated residential area close to Melbourne.
Rising temperatures and powerful winds have enabled terrifying conditions for the fires to remain strong. Although the fire brigades are reporting that they are gaining control over the infernos, four major sites remain alight and warnings have been released that temperatures are predicted to increase to over 32C.

Brazil's Carnival 2009

On Saturday 21st of Feb Brazil’s 2009 carnival began in what has commonly become known as the ‘Carnival Capital of the World’. The streets of Rio de Janeiro were decorated in vibrant colour and alive with the sounds of the Samba.
The festivities permeate almost every residency and business in the vicinity, people turning out in their droves to celebrate the final big party before Lent begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday. The carnival represents a climax of debauchery, a final binge of self-indulgent pleasure which ends on ‘Fat Tuesday’ (today) , 40 days before Easter, thus a day before abstinence from ‘pleasures of the flesh’ begins.
For 4 days carnival- goers dress in outrageously-loud glittering, feathered costumes and swing their hips to the Capoeira, while the bands belt out the traditional energising sounds that the procession has become infamous for. The celebrations are said to attract around 500,000 foreign visitors per year, and is the most popular festival for the residents of Rio. The carnival is rich in Brazilian culture artistically revered, and is often considered as the ‘greatest carnival in the world’.

Elephant rumbles signal hope

The unique natural phenomena exhibited by elephants- the ability to communicate through seismic social calls, otherwise known as ‘rumbles’ in the ground- has been harnessed by Zoologists in Namibia and could be used to save the species.
They found that bull elephants responded directly and intensely to a simulation of the rumbles produced by a female in a state of sexual readiness (which only happens once every 5 years). The bulls changed direction and headed for the origin of the artificially created ground vibrations.
The experiment has been an exciting development and could indicate a tool for keeping elephants, and farmlands, safe. The animals are often considered something of a pest to farmers in Africa- elephants are often found trampling on crops and breaking water installations, which can lead to them being shot. The findings could also be employed to assist bringing stray elephants back within the boundaries of Etosha National Park.

China Eco-Adventures

The China National Tourism Association (CNTA) decided 2009 to be “Chinese Ecotourism Year”, encouraging citizens to “be a green traveller and experience eco-civilisation”.
China is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, thus it may be of little surprise that many environmentalists and NGOs are focusing their efforts towards Chinese tourism. The number of eco-lodges and organic farms are increasing, the WWF are training native guides within nature reserves, and the development of scenic areas into such eco-tourism sites will undoubtedly contribute positively to the economic conditions of the rural communities.
While China continues to promote and develop it’s environmentally friendly tourism projects it is yet to develop a system of recognising such environmental credentials, through for example using the global benchmarking system of ‘The Green Globe’.

Volcano in Colombia erupts

On Saturday 14th February at 7:10pm local time, Colombia’s Galeras volcano erupted. The government immediately issued a ‘red alert’ which resulted in the evacuation of around 7,000 local residents. The quick response ensured there were no fatalities or serious injuries.
The volcano became active again in 1989, with an eruption in 1993 resulting in the deaths of nine people, all of whom were near the volcano’s crater at the onset of the hot magma surge.

Fines For Naked Hikers

A craze of naked hiking, especially popular among German tourists, has provoked offence in the small, conservative Swiss canton of Appenzell-Innerrhoden.
Last year, the local police arrested one man found hiking without his clothes on and later charged him with a public disorder offence.
The incidents of naked hiking have incited outrage in the local residents of Switzerland’s smallest community, where women only received the right to vote in 1990. The Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger quoted the head of the canton police department as saying "We must protect our children from these immoral habits".

Rain Refreshes China

Rain finally fell over the dry landscapes of China this week. According to Chinese officials, China has been experiencing one of the worst droughts for over 50 years.
Many regions in northern and central China have not seen rainfall for over 3 months, leaving over 4 million citizens facing a shortage of drinking water and millions of wildlife affected.
The dry-heat has also ignited much concern for the countries wheat-producing areas as, due to poor irrigation, many agricultural regions rely on rainfall.
Thus, in an attempt to encourage precipitation, last weekend Chinese soldiers fired cloud-seeding chemicals into the skies over the worst drought-striken areas.
Today's rains may have brought light refreshment, though more will have to follow in order to quench China's present thirst for water.

Israel Elections Today

Despite bad weather, at 0700 local time today, the people of Israel began voting to decide upon a new government. The early election was called by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who is stepping down. The Israeli proportional representation system enables the leader of the largest party in the Knesset to form a government, with the Likud leader, Binyamin Netanyahu predicted to return to power.

Australian BushFires

Southern Australia continues to experience catastrophic devastation from the ferocious bush fires sweeping the land. The death toll in Victoria has today reached over 180 though is expected to rise as fire-fighters continue to uncover the charred ruins of more rural homesteads and communities, and, as the fires remain out of control.
The main fire in Victoria is thought to have so far destroyed over 750 homes, with fears for today focused on a fire in the wine region of the Yarra Valley.
The world has been watching in horror at the vast scale of destruction left by the weekend bushfires that have arisen within one of the hottest summers Australia has experienced for over 100 years.
As new strategies are being reviewed for how to control the infernos, Quantas Airlines have donated $100,000 to the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund to support the people and communities affected. Others can donate directly to the appeal at the Quantas and Jetstar main websites.