Flood warnings in Nigeria over release of water from Cameroon dam

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Potential for flooding in 11 Nigerian states as west and central Africa struggles to deal with recent heavy rainfall

Authorities in Nigeria have warned of the potential for flooding in 11 states after neighbouring Cameroon said it would start regulated releases from its Lagdo dam following recent heavy rainfall in west and central Africa.

Umar Mohammed, the director-general of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA), indicated that the discharges would be gradual “to avoid … triggering substantial flooding downstream in Nigeria” and that there was “no need for alarm”. Still, 11 Nigerian states from north to south lie along the Benue River’s flow trajectory and are expected to be affected to some degree.

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Blast from attack on Russian arms depot picked up on earthquake monitors

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Ukrainian drone attack causes large explosion at arsenal in Toropets, more than 300 miles north of Ukraine

A Ukrainian drone attack on a large Russian weapons depot caused a blast that was picked up by earthquake monitoring stations, in one of the biggest strikes on Moscow’s military arsenal since the war began.

Pro-Russian military bloggers said Ukraine struck an arsenal for the storage of missiles, ammunition and explosives in Toropets, a historic town more than 300 miles north of Ukraine and about 230 miles west of Moscow.

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Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira: murder charge dropped against one of three suspects

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Activists greet decision over killings of British journalist and Brazilian Indigenous expert with ‘indignation’

Appeal judges in Brazil yesterday upheld charges against only two of the three men accused of murdering Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips, in a decision “received with indignation” by Indigenous activists.

The three judges ruled that there was “insufficient evidence of authorship or participation” by Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, a fisher, in the 2022 deaths of the Brazilian Indigenous expert and the British Guardian journalist.

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Fatima Payman singles out Rupert Murdoch as she decries mainstream media’s treatment of Muslim women

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Independent senator accuses mogul of causing ‘division, marginalisation and fearmongering’, and says the media too often reduces her to a stereotype

The independent senator Fatima Payman has accused mainstream media of reducing Muslim women to “stereotypes” and singled out Rupert Murdoch, alleging moguls like him cause “division” and “fearmongering”.

“Like many of you, I’ve faced challenges in navigating mainstream media as a Muslim woman in politics,” she said in a keynote speech on Sunday at the 10th anniversary of independent Muslim media outlet Amust in the south-west Sydney seat of Blaxland.

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Global heating is making El Niño and La Niña forecasts less reliable, BoM says

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Exclusive: Meteorologists say climate change and the amount of heat being added to the oceans make predictions based on the past less reliable

The Bureau of Meteorology is shifting the way it communicates about climate phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña, because global heating is making predictions based on the past less reliable.

This week the bureau kept the country on a “La Niña watch” and said if the climate system in the Pacific does develop, it’s likely to be short-lived and weak.

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Coalition plan to give first home buyers access to super would benefit ‘those who already own housing’

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Saul Eslake report finds plan would cause Australian property prices to rise at a faster rate

The Coalition’s plan to allow first home buyers access to their superannuation would heavily favour older and wealthier people, with the median couple aged 25 to 34 likely to be able to withdraw only $18,000.

That is the conclusion of Saul Eslake, the principal of Corinna Economic Advisory, in a report commissioned by the Super Members Council which points to “six decades of evidence” that policies to boost housing demand “result in more expensive housing to the benefit of those who already own housing”, rather than boosting ownership.

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Australians stranded on Kokoda track resume walk after protests shut down sections

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Naoro village residents block sections of track and demand Papua New Guinea government release funds long promised for community projects

Australians walking the Kokoda track have had treks cancelled while others have been stalled for long periods on the historic route as protests by landowners closed sections of the trail.

A group of 64 walkers, including 52 Australians, were left stranded on Monday after frustrated landowners from Naoro village blocked off the track, demanding the Papua New Guinea government release funds earmarked for community livelihood development projects.

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Families of Americans ensnared in DRC coup plot assert their innocence

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Young Americans face death penalty for ‘amateurish’ assault in Congo that was led by one of their fathers

The family of a Utah student sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo for his alleged role in a failed coup d’etat in which his father was killed fears he and two other Americans could be executed within days without US government intervention.

Marcel Malanga, 22, was one of dozens convicted and sentenced at a military tribunal in Kinshasa last week, after the attempted overthrow of the Congolese government in May. The “amateurish” assault, which left six dead, was led by his father, Christian Malanga, a former DRC opposition leader, army captain and self-styled warlord.

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Thai woman rescued after two hours trapped in four-metre python’s coils – The Guardian

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  1. Thai woman rescued after two hours trapped in four-metre python’s coils  The Guardian
  2. Woman spends almost two hours in 13-foot python’s coils: ‘I fought with it’  The Washington Post
  3. Woman Freed After Being Strangled by Python for 2 Hours: 'I Saw the Snake Wrapping Around Me'  PEOPLE
  4. Python attacks Thai woman in her kitchen, squeezes her for 2 hours: ‘It only tightened’  FOX 31 Denver
  5. Thai Woman, 64, Rescued After Being In Python's Grip For 2 Hours  NDTV
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