Proposed nuclear power plants in Queensland could not access enough water to prevent a meltdown, research finds

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About 1,000 times the combined capacity of Wivenhoe and Boondooma dams was required to cool Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactors in 2011

Proposed nuclear power plants in Queensland would not have access to enough water to stop a nuclear meltdown and could strain capacity on drinking water and irrigation supplies even under normal operations, research has found.

Analysis by the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) has found that one of the two nuclear reactors proposed for the sunshine state under the energy plan that the Coalition will take to the upcoming federal election would require double the water currently used by the existing Callide coal-fired power station. The other, Tarong, would use 55% more water than its existing coal station.

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Ningaloo and Great Barrier Reef hit by ‘profoundly distressing’ simultaneous coral bleaching events

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Scientists say widespread damage to both world heritage-listed reefs is ‘heartbreaking’ as WA reef accumulates highest amount of heat stress on record

Australia’s two world heritage-listed reefs – Ningaloo on the west coast and the Great Barrier Reef on the east – have been hit simultaneously by coral bleaching that reef experts have called “heartbreaking” and “a profoundly distressing moment”.

Teams of scientists on both coasts have been monitoring and tracking the heat stress and bleaching extending across thousands of kilometres of marine habitat, which is likely to have been driven by global heating.

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Gaza’s ceasfire brought hope, but it was the calm before a brutal storm

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New strikes are ‘just a beginning’ said Netanyahu, after Trump inspires Israel to seize territory with massive military onslaught

In Gaza this weekend, the mood is darker than it has been at perhaps any time in this long, appalling war. Last Tuesday Israeli warplanes, tanks, artillery, drones and ships launched a wave of strikes, shattering the increasingly fragile pause in hostilities that had brought respite to the devastated territory for nearly two months. The ceasefire had also brought hope which, Palestinians in Gaza said, made the return to violence that much more unbearable.

In a video statement last Wednesday, Israel Katz, Israel’s defence minister, called on 2.3 million people in Gaza to “banish Hamas”, saying “the alternative is complete destruction and ruin”.

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‘Wake-up call’: ministers launch urgent investigation into Heathrow shutdown

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Government says lessons need to be learned after the substation fire that caused chaos for 300,000 passengers

The government has launched an urgent investigation into the power shutdown that crippled Heathrow airport, with experts warning it was a “wake-up call” about vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has commissioned the independent National Energy System Operator (Neso) to investigate the incident and assess the UK’s energy resilience. The regulator Ofgem warned it would “not hesitate” to take action if there were any breaches of standards or licence obligations.

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Three arrested after three killed and 15 injured in New Mexico mass shooting

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Victims identified in shooting that occurred at a park after ‘an altercation between two groups of people’, police say

Police have arrested three people in connection with a mass shooting on Friday night at an “unsanctioned car show” in Las Cruces, New Mexico that left three people killed and at least 15 others injured.

Local police said the shooting occurred at around 10pm on Friday at Young Park following “an altercation between two groups of people”. There were approximately 200 people at the park when the shooting occurred.

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Israel-Lebanon truce in danger after fresh attacks – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Israel-Lebanon truce in danger after fresh attacks  POLITICO Europe
  2. Israel strikes Lebanon after first rocket attack since ceasefire  BBC.com
  3. Israel strikes Hezbollah in response to rocket fire in most significant flare-up of tensions since ceasefire  CNN
  4. Violence flares on Israeli-Lebanese border as Israel steps up attacks in Gaza  PBS NewsHour
  5. Israel strikes multiple sites in southern Lebanon in response to rocket attack  NPR
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‘A clever agent’: notes from ‘watchers’ of spy Kim Philby made public for first time

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A new exhibition at the National Archives in London will reveal the extent of MI5 operation to expose the British double agent who was also Observer reporter

Secret surveillance of Britain’s ­notorious double agent, Kim Philby, made public for the first time in archived documents, reveals how keenly the Security Service wanted to confirm or disprove early suspicions of his high-level treachery.

In daily bulletins submitted to MI5 in November 1951, undercover operatives describe how Philby, codenamed Peach, moved about London.

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March 21st Just Became the Most Alarming Day of the Year – The Daily Galaxy –Great Discoveries Channel

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  1. March 21st Just Became the Most Alarming Day of the Year  The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel
  2. Glacier meltdown risks food and water supply of 2 billion people, says UN  The Guardian
  3. The UN has declared 2025 as the year of glacier preservation. Here's how to visit one safely  BBC.com
  4. World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says  Reuters.com
  5. Glacier melt threatens water supplies for two billion people, UN warns  Carbon Brief
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