<p>Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Are missing palm trees causing more lighting deaths in Bihar appearing in ‘The Times of India’ dated 29.05.2025".
The New South Wales government warned yesterday that Australia's main eastern state was facing another "horror autumn" of drought to already devastated farmlands. The government said the area of the state officially in drought had increased to 48.4 per cent from 42.9 per cent a month earlier as farmers wait for rain in order to plant wheat and other winter crops. "These figures represent a real fear that our winter crop may again be savaged by this merciless drought," Ian Macdonald, primary industries minister, said.
The cyclone in Myanmar has killed 37,000 people. Another 1.5 million have been rendered homeless. The people badly need help but the rulers, a military junta, have been refusing it. Instead they have gone ahead with a referendum held to legitimise permanent military rule. Already, the military has been in power for 46 years. The new, army-drafted constitution is anything but democratic. It favours a presidential system, and the president has to be an army officer. No woman can be president.
Bangkok: Oxfam says the initial estimated death toll of 100,000 in Myanmar as a result of Cyclone Nargis may multiply by up to 15 times if clean water and sanitation are not urgently provided.
Earthquake Measuring 7.8 Leaves 8,533 Dead In Sichuan Alone The death toll in Monday's earthquake that devastated parts of southwest China's Sichuan province appeared heading towards a massive figure that might surpass 20,000 people. Till late evening on Monday, official sources confirmed 8,533 deaths in Sichuan alone, but indicated that the situation was so grim that a lot more people may have lost lives.
A major earthquake of 7.8 magnitude ripped through southwest China on Monday afternoon, killing more than 8,700 people and sending shock waves through cities across a large swathe of the country and southeast Asia. The epicentre of the quake was pinpointed at Wenchuan County, some 100 km northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province and home to over 12 million people.
India joined other nations in urging Myanmar to accept international relief for its cyclone-affected people while continuing to send assistance by military aircraft and naval ships. Myanmar's military government acceded to the appeal during a telephonic conversation between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his counterpart Nyan Win.
Tremors resulting from the huge earthquake in China yesterday, which has claimed more than 10,000 lives, were felt all the way here in Maldives, Department of Meteorology has said. Fathmath Fairooza, a Geological Observer at the Department of Meteorology, said that the effects of the 7.82 magnitude earthquake in China 4300km away was felt in Maldives as a tremor of magnitude 3 on the Richter scale. "The effects of the earthquake were felt in Shanghai in China and Bangkok in Thailand also,' she said. "The tremor was recorded by the sensors at Hanimaadhoo.'
President Hu Jintao on Monday ordered large-scale efforts to help those affected by the earthquake that jolted Wenchuan County of south-west China's Sichuan Province on Monday. Mr. Hu directed local authorities to rescue the injured as soon as possible and to ensure the safety of people in the quake-hit areas. Premier Wen Jiabao flew into Sichuan on Monday to oversee rescue work.
Monday's deadly earthquake occurred on a fault where South Asia pushes against the Eurasian landmass, smashing the Sichuan plain into mountains leading to the Tibetan highlands. Worst affected were four counties including the quake's epicenter in Wenchuan, 60 miles northwest of Chengdu. Landslides left roads impassable Tuesday, causing the government to order soldiers into the area on foot, state television said. Heavy rain prevented four military helicopters from landing.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda sent a message Monday to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao saying that Japan is prepared to offer every support to quake-hit China if necessary, the Foreign Ministry said. In the message conveyed through the Japanese Embassy in China, Fukuda also expressed sympathy over the damage caused by the powerful earthquake in western China, it said.
