Breaking - ArchivesPosts of 14/08/2017

Hundreds of people are likely to have been killed in a mudslide on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, the country’s vice-president has said.

“It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble,” Victor Foh told Reuters at the scene of the mudslide in the mountain town of Regent, adding that a number of buildings had been erected illegally in the area. “The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,” he added. “We’re trying to cordon [off] the area [&] evacuate...Read more HERE.

Scientists have uncovered the largest volcanic region on Earth – two kilometres below the surface of the vast ice sheet that covers west Antarctica. The project, by Edinburgh University researchers, has revealed almost 100 volcanoes – with the highest as tall as the Eiger, which stands at almost 4,000 metres in Switzerland.

Geologists say this huge region is likely to dwarf that of east Africa’s volcanic ridge, currently rated the densest concentration of volcanoes in the world. Read more HERE

Samples from the carcasses of egg-laying hens are being tested for fipronil over fears that meat sent to Africa from Belgium may have been contaminated with the banned insecticide.

Meat from older chickens, who have spent a lifetime producing eggs, is not sold on the domestic market in any significant amount, but is frozen and shipped to Africa, in particular to the Democractic Republic of the Congo, a former Belgian colony. Read more HERE

With the continent sweltering under a heatwave nicknamed Lucifer, tempers have been boiling over, too, as a wave of anti-tourism protests take place in some of Europe’s most popular destinations. Yet, as “tourism-phobia” becomes a feature of the summer, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has defended the sector, calling on local authorities to do more to manage growth in a sustainable manner. The focal point for much of this has been Spain. Read more HERE.