Environment

25 June 2020; MEMO: Lebanon has the highest pollution linked death rate in the Middle East, a Greenpeace report published yesterday has revealed.

According to the study, entitled “Toxic Air: The Price of Fossil Fuels”, the estimated number of deaths in Lebanon attributable to fossil fuels was 2,700 in 2018 – a rate of four deaths per 10,000 people.

MEXICO CITY, June 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck southern Mexico has risen to ten, the federal government said.

The 7.4-magnitude quake, which was followed by more than 1,500 aftershocks, was felt in Mexico City, some 700 kilometers away from the epicenter in Oaxaca.

It sent people fleeing their homes and workplaces and forced the closure of an oil refinery.

Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat said in an interview with Milenio TV earlier in the day that 2,000 homes had been damaged.

MEXICO CITY, June 24 (NNN-Xinhua) — A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring four others, the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) said.

The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 10:29 a.m. local time (1629 GMT), was located 23 km south of La Crucecita, a Pacific Coast village in southern Oaxaca state, the National Seismological Service (SSN) said via Twitter.

Two men and a woman were among the dead in separate incidents as a result of damage to roofs and walls.

Perry (Oklahoma), Jun 21 (AP) A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook northern Oklahoma on Saturday and was felt in parts of Tulsa as protesters filled the city's downtown streets after President Donald Trump's campaign rally.

The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 10:15 pm near Perry, roughly 80 miles west of Tulsa.

WINDHOEK, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Namibia’s Ministry of Agriculture said it had detected an outbreak of red locusts in central regions of the southern African country and had sent pest control teams to the affected areas.

The large grasshopper species, which is marked by bright red wings, is common to sub-Saharan Africa and breeds abundantly under drought conditions followed by rain and rapid vegetation growth.

MOSCOW, June 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia has finished clearing fuel from the surface of a river hit by a massive diesel spill in the Arctic region, but the full clean-up could take years, officials said.

After more than 700 people were deployed to clear the pollution, officials said the operation had removed the main spill from the surface of the most-polluted waterway, the River Ambarnaya.

The Marine Rescue Service told RIA Novosti news agency: “We have completed the active phase of collecting petroleum products.”

17 June 2020; MEMO: The Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said yesterday that it had sent two Be-200ES amphibious planes to Turkey on firefighting missions.

ANKARA, June 15 (NNN-ANADOLU) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7, hit Turkey’s eastern province of Bingol on Sunday, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said.

The quake occurred at 5:24 p.m. local time (1424 GMT), with its epicentre at Kaynarpinar village of Karliova district, and shook for around 10 seconds, followed by 22 aftershocks, according to the report.

Mumbai, Jun 14 (PTI) Four days after hitting coastal Maharashtra, the southwest monsoon made a steady progress and has now covered the entire state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.

The progress of the monsoon has so far been normal and on the expected lines, an IMD official said.

In the last 10 days, parts of Central and North Maharashtra and Vidarbha received incessant showers, IMD's Mumbai centre deputy director general K S Hosalikar said.

"The southwest monsoon covered the entire state on Sunday," he said.

TOKYO, June 14 (NNN-NHK) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3, struck off the northwest coast of the Amamioshima Island, of Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture today, Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), said.

The temblor occurred at around 0:51 a.m. local time, with its epicentre at a latitude of 28.8 degrees north and a longitude of 128.3 degrees east, and at a depth of 160 km.

The quake logged 4 in some parts of Kagoshima Prefecture, on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

So far no tsunami warning has been issued.