Author: DW

Flooding from torrential rain in Tanzania has killed at least 155 people, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday. In an address to parliament, the East African leader added that around 200,000 people are impacted by flooding and that there was significant damage to homes, infrastructure and crops in a number of parts of the country. “The heavy El Nino rains, accompanied by strong winds, floods, and landslides in various parts of the country, have caused significant damage,” Majaliwa told parliament, according to AFP news agency. “As a result …  more than 51,000 households and 200,000 people were affected, with 155…

Dozens of whales have died after several pods washed up on the shore of a beach on the Western Australian coast.Marine wildlife experts including wildlife officers, marine scientists and veterinarians tried frantically to save the pilot whales stranded on Thursday in shallow waters at Toby Inlet in Geographe Bay. Image: The pilot whales became stranded on a beach n Western Australia. Pic: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions via AP Four pods of up to 160 pilot whales in total spread across about 500m along the beach, near the town of Dunsborough, in a region popular with tourists.More than 100…

This year, the Italian city of Venice will begin charging a €5 ($5.30) fee for day-trippers who are not staying overnight. The trial scheme starts on April 25 and will require tourists to pay a visitor’s fee on numerous different days between the end of April and mid-July. The scheme’s launch was repeatedly postponed in recent years. “It’s a great idea,” says Susanne Kunz-Saponaro, who lives in Venice and works as a local tour guide. “But it doesn’t seem really well thought-out.” She doubts the city’s efforts to curb mass tourism will have much effect. The problem is that a…

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called for the establishment of a “more united, sovereign and democratic” Europe in the face of numerous geopolitical and economic challenges. He made the comments during a speech at Paris’ Sorbonne University. What did Macron say during his speech on the EU? “We need to be clear on the fact that our Europe is mortal — it can die,” Macron said. He said the bloc’s survival “depends only on our choices.” He warned that “the rules of the game” had changed and the EU was not “armed against the risks we face.” “We are still…

German consumer confidence rose for the month of May, according to a market research survey released on Thursday. The survey was published jointly by the GfK market research company and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM). What did the survey find? According to the survey, consumer confidence rose by 3.1 points to -24.2 heading into May. The increase was higher than expected, with experts interviewed by the Reuters news agency foreseeing a rate of -26. This was the third monthly increase in a row, with GfK saying that its barometer hit a “two-year high.” The increase was driven by…

At least 118 prisoners were able to escape a medium security facility in Nigeria on Wednesday night after heavy rains destroyed a perimeter fence. The torrential downpour lasted for hours and “wrecked havoc” on the Suleja prison and some nearby buildings close to the capital, Abuja, prison service spokesperson Adamu Duza said on Thursday. Hunt for escapees Some 10 inmates had already been recaptured and authorities would continue searching until all the prisoners were back in custody, Duza added. “The public is further enjoined to look out for the fleeing inmates and report any suspicious movement to the nearest security agency,”…

A sweetener used in drinks, sauces, savoury and sweet foods and chewing gum can cause serious damage to people’s health, according to a new study.Neotame, a “relatively new” sweetener, could damage the intestine by causing damage to healthy bacteria in the gut, according to the study, leading it to become diseased and attack the gut wall. The study by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, found the negative effect of neotame “has the potential to influence a range of gut functions resulting in poor gut health,” potentially impacting metabolic and inflammatory diseases, neuropathic pain,…

Although rare, Tsunamis can be very destructive. They are usually caused by earthquakes along tectonic plates under the ocean. This sudden underwater movement causes a large displacement of water, sending waves across the ocean. These are often small, but move at high speeds — up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) per hour. These waves can be hundreds of miles long. It can take up to a day for a tsunami to travel through the ocean and reach the shore depending on where the underwater quake occurred. The waves that make up a tsunami are typically not noticeable to the human eye until they are…

This year, the Italian city of Venice will begin charging a €5 ($5,3) fee for day-trippers who are not staying overnight. The trial scheme starts on April 25 and will require tourists to pay a visitor’s fee on numerous different days between the end of April and mid-July. The scheme’s launch was repeatedly postponed in recent years. “It’s a great idea,” says Kunz-Saponaro, who lives in Venice and works as a local tour guide. “But it doesn’t seem really well thought-out.” She doubts the city’s efforts to curb mass tourism will have much effect. The problem is that a number…

After a spate of foreign influence scandals at the European Parliament and in national capitals, EU officials are scrambling to get a handle on suspected Russian and Chinese espionage ahead of the June elections. Source link