Lightning sparks chaos in Porto de Sanabria José Antonio Bruña, a honey producer, stands on a hillside near Porto de Sanabria, where he keeps his beehives. He points to a spot on the opposite mountain where lightning struck weeks earlier, igniting a wildfire with disastrous effects. “This August has been a nightmare for me and for local farmers,” he says. “I’m 47, and I’ve never seen a fire that fierce.” The fire consumed over 20,000 hectares of land and forced thousands of villagers to evacuate in north-western Spain, near the Portuguese border. It was one of many blazes that destroyed…
Author: Grace Johnson
Grace Johnson
Grace Johnson is a freelance journalist from the USA with over 15 years of experience reporting on Politics, World Affairs, Business, Health, Technology, Finance, Lifestyle, and Culture. She earned her degree in Communication and Journalism from the University of Miami. Throughout her career, she has contributed to major outlets including The Miami Herald, CNN, and USA Today. Known for her clear and engaging reporting, Grace delivers accurate and timely news that keeps readers informed on both national and global developments.
Fields of Struggle The wheat fields outside Seqalbia, near Hama, should be golden and heavy with grain. Instead, Maher Haddad’s 40 dunums (10 acres) remain dry and empty, yielding barely a third of their usual harvest. “This year was disastrous due to drought,” said the 46-year-old farmer, surveying the land that cost more to sow than it produced. His fields delivered only 190kg (418 lbs) of wheat per dunum, far below the 400–500kg he expects in a normal year. “We haven’t recovered what we spent on agriculture. We’ve lost money. I can’t finance next year and I can’t cover the…
The most remote inhabited island races to protect its seas – and its only source of income. Dawn on the fishing grounds At 05:00 local time, the clang of a hammer on an old oxygen cylinder wakes the island. It signals fishing day on Tristan da Cunha, a tiny speck in the South Atlantic with just over 200 residents. Beyond this UK Overseas Territory, the nearest inhabited settlement lies more than 2,400 km away. As the sound fades, dogs bark, engines roar, and rubber boots scrape across the ground. Fishermen head to Callshot Harbor, known locally as “the Beach,” to…
Flax once defined Northern Ireland through its thriving linen industry. Changing consumer habits in the mid-20th century caused its steep decline. Now, the plant is returning as a tool to restore soil health and decarbonise manufacturing. It may also offer smaller farms a chance to diversify as demand grows for sustainable fibres. Farmers rediscover an old crop Helen Keys and her husband, sculptor Charlie Mallon, started growing flax when they couldn’t source Irish linen bags for Charlie’s artwork. The crop had once been grown on Charlie’s family farm in County Tyrone. Helen quickly realised the plant’s wide potential. “There is…
The Belfast Hills Partnership (BHP) marked its 20th anniversary with nearly £1m in recovery funding.The support comes from the Nature Recovery Challenge and strengthens conservation work across Northern Ireland. Strong investment for projects across the region Two BHP projects join nine others in sharing more than £3.2m from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.The money will be distributed over three years.Northern Ireland struggles with biodiversity loss, as 12% of its species face extinction.Dr Lizzy Pinkerton from BHP called the award a “wonderful opportunity” to expand existing efforts.She highlighted the importance of relationships with communities, sectors, and landowners on…
Southern Water has ordered tanker companies to stop delivering its water to a Wiltshire estate owned by an American billionaire. The company issued the warning after discovering that some water had been used to help fill a new lake during a hosepipe ban for local households. Residents film tankers at standpipes Locals filmed multiple tankers loading water day and night from standpipes in neighbouring Hampshire. That area currently operates under a drought order. The vehicles later travelled to Conholt Park, a 2,500-acre estate owned by Stephen Schwarzman, one of the world’s richest men and a financial backer of former US…
Bali faces its deadliest floods in ten years as at least 14 people have died across the island. Torrential rains triggered rivers to burst their banks, submerging homes and roads. Authorities report the rain has stopped, but rescuers continue searching for survivors. Two people remain missing in Denpasar, where eight deaths occurred. Widespread Evacuations and Infrastructure Damage Since Tuesday, hundreds of residents evacuated their flooded homes. Landslides have blocked major roads, and authorities report at least two damaged bridges. Residents describe the scene as shocking. Tasha, a Bali local, said the flooding overwhelmed the island’s drainage system. The provincial government…
Sustainability and food researchers Joseph Poore, Hannah Ritchie, and Charles Godfray examine how shrinking farmland has allowed nature to return. They explore how far this trend could continue. Throughout the 20th century, human activity demanded more land, causing massive losses of natural forests and grasslands. Today, humans farm around half of the world’s land, growing crops or grazing animals. However, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that global agricultural land use peaked in the early 2000s. Since then, farmland has slowly declined, replaced by grasslands, trees, and bush. Wild animals have returned to abandoned pasturelands, reclaiming areas they…
Apple has finally changed the way iPhones look. For years, new models mostly looked the same, even though the technology inside improved. The iPhone 17 series now offers fresh designs and choices for users who want something different. The iPhone Air is the most talked-about model. It is much thinner at 5.64 mm, compared to 7.95 mm for the standard iPhone 17 and 8.75 mm for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. While the difference in numbers seems small, it feels very noticeable in the hand. The Air also has a slightly larger screen at 0.2 inches but weighs…
A vaccine designed to protect Australia’s endangered koalas from chlamydia has received regulatory approval for rollout for the first time. Scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) spent over a decade developing the jab to halt the disease ravaging wild populations across eastern Australia. Peter Timms, a lead researcher, said some wild colonies face infection rates as high as 70% and edge closer to extinction every day. With regulatory approval secured, the team now seeks major funding to distribute the vaccine to wildlife hospitals, veterinary clinics, and koalas in the wild. “It has been a long road with…