Death toll hits 122 in central Chile forest fires
Images | Xinhua
Raging forest fires in central Chile's Valparaiso region have claimed at least 122 lives, the Chilean government said Monday, Xinhua reports.
According to the South American country's forensics agency, the Legal Medical Service, only 32 of the fatal victims have been identified, while teams of experts have performed 40 autopsies.
Fires sparked Friday in different locations have burned more than 11,000 hectares in Valparaiso, and between 3,000 and 6,000 homes have suffered some degree of damage.
The causes of the fires are still under investigation amid an ongoing heat wave hitting Chile this summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Authorities declared a state of emergency to deploy military troops to help control the fires and channel extra resources to the region.
This is the worst tragedy hitting Chile since a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami claimed 525 lives and left 23 missing in 2010, according to official figures.
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Holy Fire descends in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Images | Depositphotos
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'Golden treasure’ caught on camera in Altyn-Emel National Park
Images | Depositphotos
The Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology has shared a stunning video of kulans and gazelles in Altyn-Emel National Park, Kazinform News Agency reports.
The "golden treasure" of Altyn-Emel National Park - kulans and gazelles. The video was shot in the territory of the park," the publication reads.
Altyn-Emel State National Park is located in Kazakhstan’s southeast, in the Ili River Valley, some 250 kilometers away from Almaty. Its area is about 307,000 square meters. The main office is located in the village of Basshi in the Basshi rural district of the Kerbulak region
According to the information provided on the park’s official website, Altyn-Emel is a home for 70 species of mammals, 14 of which are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan.
In 1953, eight kulans of the Turkmen subspecies (onager) were brought to the Barsakelmes island in the Aral Sea, where the animals successfully naturalized. In February 1982, due to the deterioration of the ecological situation on the island, 23 Turkmen kulans were relocated to the northern bank of Kapchagai water reservoir (Konayev, Zhetysu region). And in the spring, the first foals were born. Since then, the number of Altyn-Emel kulans has increased 100 times, having reached 3,607 (as per statistics of 2021).
As for gazelles, they mostly inhabit plains of Altyn-Emel. Their number changes depending on the year and season due to migration. Their exact number is unknown, as their census is carried out only in a wintering period.
Presently, the number of local population of gazelles has reached almost 5,000 (5,181 species as of February 2020).
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UAE witnesses largest rainfall in 75 years
Images | wam.ae
In a historic weather event, the UAE witnessed its heaviest rainfall on record in the past 24 hours. Surpassing anything documented since the start of data collection in 1949, the downpour impacted numerous regions across the country, WAM reports.
The National Centre of Meteorology confirmed that the record rainfall that fell on the country during the past 24 hours until 9 pm on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, is an exceptional event in the UAE's climate history since the start of recording climate data, and it is expected that the coming hours will witness the recording of larger amounts of rainfall.
The centre said that so far, the highest rainfall was recorded in the "Khatm Al Shakla" area in Al Ain, reaching 254 mm in less than 24 hrs.
It is noteworthy that the NCM's Shuwaib station had recorded 287.6 mm on 2016/3/9.
This heavy rainfall is an exceptional event in the UAE that contributes to increasing the annual rainfall average in the UAE, as well as strengthening the country's groundwater reserves in general.
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Dimash Kudaibergen visits volunteer’s headquarters in Aktobe
A renowned Kazakh singer, songwriter and musician, Dimash Kudaibergen, visited the volunteer’s headquarters in Aktobe that helps flood victims.
During the meeting with volunteers, Dimash said the key now is to restore all and return to normal. I cannot but arrive here and visit people who always supported me and wished me success, he said.
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2024 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA
Images | Joel Kowsky / NASA
Watch a telescope feed of a total solar eclipse moving across North America on April 8, 2024, traveling through Mexico, across the United States from Texas to Maine, and exiting North America along Canada’s coast. Weather permitting, we will provide live views of the eclipse from several locations across the eclipse path, including showing the partially eclipsed Sun in different wavelengths of light.
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Taiwan hit by strongest quake in 25 years
Images | armenpress.am
Taiwan has been hit by the strongest earthquake in a quarter of a century, with shocks from the temblor collapsing buildings in the city of Hualien.
The quake measured 7.4 in magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey.
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Terrorist attack in the Russian Crocus City Hall
Images | russian.news.cn
The death toll in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall in Moscow Region has grown to 133, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Saturday.
Emergency services are continuing to dig through rubble from the building, which was partially destroyed in a massive fire sparked by the attackers.
The tally had previously stood at 115 but is feared to grow further, given the scale of destruction inflicted on the concert hall. Over 150 people were wounded in the attack.
At least four suspects armed with assault rifles stormed the venue on Friday evening ahead of a rock concert. The attackers entered the concert hall, shooting civilians at point-blank range, and set it on fire.
The suspects fled the scene after the attack, but were eventually apprehended by Russian law enforcement near the country’s border in Bryansk Region. According to preliminary findings, the attackers were seeking to cross into Ukraine.
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Elegant trains run in Kazakhstan on the eve of Nauryz
For the Nauryz holiday, trains that will travel from Astana to Almaty, Shymkent and Pavlodar were decorated.
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