AFP UK

A landslide on the southern Italian island of Ischia has left at least seven dead, the Naples prefect announced

Italy declared a state of emergency on the southern island of Ischia on Sunday after a landslide killed at least seven people and left several others missing. 

A wave of mud and debris crashed through the small town of Casamicciola Terme on Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, local media and emergency services said.

“The toll of victims from the landslide in Casamicciola has risen to seven dead, while five are missing,” Naples city prefect Claudio Palomba announced late Sunday. 

A first tranche of two million euros ($2 million) of relief funds was released at the end of an emergency cabinet meeting, which declared the state of emergency, said Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci.

Italian media had earlier reported that four bodies had been found by Sunday afternoon.

More than 200 rescuers were still searching for missing people, while hundreds of volunteers, up to their knees in mud, were busy cleaning the town’s streets.

The rescue effort had been hampered by rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland.

“It’s a situation that hurts us, if only for the people who disappeared under the mountain. Here it’s an island and even if we don’t really know everyone, it’s almost that,” Salvatore Lorini, 45, told AFP.

“The mountain came down, there was devastation of shops, cars, hotels and that was already happening nine years ago. Now I am cleaning my mother-in-law’s shop,” he said.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had earlier warned there were people trapped in the mud, saying it was a “very serious” situation.

– Complex rescue operation –

Heavy rain sent torrents of mud through the streets of Casamicciola Terme, a spa resort of 8,000 inhabitants on the north of Ischia, a lush island near Capri that is thronged with tourists in summer.

Trees were upturned and cars left battered on the side of the road or in the water, according to AFP journalists.

Boulders were scattered around as excavators sought to free up access to homes, cars and shops.

“If I could, I would leave Casamicciola because I now struggle to live there, even if my house survived the tremor, the flooding,” 64-year-old Iacono Maria told AFP.

Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims, “those who suffer and all those who have contributed to the rescue” in his Angelus prayer on Sunday.

The fire service said earlier one house had been swamped by the mud and two people had been rescued from a car swept into the sea.

In the worst-affected area of the town, at least 30 families were trapped in their homes without water or electricity, with mud and debris blocking the road, ANSA news agency reported.

Officials had said they expected to evacuate and find temporary homes for between 150 and 200 people.

Local authorities called on Ischia residents to stay inside to avoid hindering the rescue operation.

An “exponential” growth of infrastructure sparked by mass tourism ended up “stifling all the natural elements of the land and covering everything with cement”, geologist Mario Tozzi wrote in La Stampa newspaper.

Casamicciola Terme was hit by an earthquake in 2017, in which two people died. It was completely destroyed by a much more powerful tremor at the end of the 19th century.

The devastation in Ischia comes just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in the central Italian region of Marche.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme on Saturday

Italian rescuers were searching for missing people on the southern island of Ischia on Sunday after a landslide killed at least four and the government declared a state of emergency.

A wave of mud and debris crashed through the small town of Casamicciola Terme on Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, local media and emergency services said.

A first tranche of two million euros ($2 million) of relief funds was released at the end of an emergency cabinet meeting which declared the state of emergency, said Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci.

Italian media reported that four bodies had been found by Sunday afternoon, with an official toll to be provided in the evening by the prefect of Naples Claudio Palomba.

More than 200 rescuers were still searching for around 10 missing people, while hundreds of volunteers, up to their knees in mud, were busy cleaning the town’s streets.

The rescue effort had been hampered by rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland.

“It’s a situation that hurts us, if only for the people who disappeared under the mountain. Here it’s an island and even if we don’t really know everyone, it’s almost that,” Salvatore Lorini, 45, told AFP.

“The mountain came down, there was devastation of shops, cars, hotels and that was already happening nine years ago. Now I am cleaning my mother-in-law’s shop,” he said.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had earlier warned there were people trapped in the mud, saying it was a “very serious” situation.

– Complex rescue operation –

Heavy rain sent torrents of mud through the streets of Casamicciola Terme, a spa resort of 8,000 inhabitants on the north of Ischia, a lush island near Capri that is thronged with tourists in summer.

Trees were upturned and cars left battered on the side of the road or in the water, according to AFP journalists.

Boulders were scattered around as excavators sought to free up access to homes, cars and shops.

“If I could, I would leave Casamicciola because I now struggle to live there, even if my house survived the tremor, the flooding,” 64-year-old Iacono Maria told AFP.

Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims, “those who suffer and all those who have contributed to the rescue” in his Angelus prayer on Sunday.

The fire service said earlier one house had been swamped by the mud and two people had been rescued from a car swept into the sea.

In the worst-affected area of the town, at least 30 families were trapped in their homes without water or electricity, with mud and debris blocking the road, ANSA news agency reported.

Officials had said they expected to evacuate and find temporary homes for between 150 and 200 people.

Local authorities called on residents of Ischia to stay inside to avoid hindering the rescue operation.

An “exponential” growth of infrastructure sparked by mass tourism ended up “stifling all the natural elements of the land and covering everything with cement”, geologist Mario Tozzi wrote in La Stampa newspaper.

Casamicciola Terme was hit by an earthquake in 2017, in which two people died. It was completely destroyed by a much more powerful earthquake at the end of the 19th century.

The devastation in Ischia comes just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in the central Italian region of Marche.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme on Saturday

Italian rescuers were searching for a dozen missing people on the southern island of Ischia on Sunday after a landslide killed at least one and the government declared a state of emergency.

A wave of mud and debris crashed through the small town of Casamicciola Terme on Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, local media and emergency services said.

A first tranche of two million euros ($2 million) of relief funds was released at the end of an emergency cabinet meeting which declared the state of emergency, said Minister for Civil Protection Nello Musumeci. 

More than 200 rescuers were still searching for a dozen missing people, while hundreds of volunteers and others, up to their knees in mud, were busy cleaning the town’s streets.

Rescuers had recovered the body of a 31-year-old woman, according to Italian news agency AGI, with other local media reporting 13 people had been injured.

The rescue effort was hampered by rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland.

“It’s a situation that hurts us, if only for the people who disappeared under the mountain. Here it’s an island and even if we don’t really know everyone, it’s almost that,” Salvatore Lorini, 45, told AFP.

“The mountain came down, there was devastation of shops, cars, hotels and that was already happening nine years ago. Now I am cleaning my mother-in-law’s shop,” he said. 

– Complex rescue operation –

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had earlier warned there were people trapped in the mud, saying it was a “very serious” situation.

However, he denied a statement by his colleague Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister, that eight people had died, saying this had not been confirmed.

Heavy rain sent torrents of mud through the streets of Casamicciola Terme, a spa resort of 8,000 inhabitants on the north of Ischia, a lush island near Capri that is thronged with tourists in summer.

Trees were upturned and cars left battered on the side of the road or in the water, according to AFP journalists.

Boulders were scattered around as excavators sought to free up access to homes, cars and shops.

The fire service said earlier one house had been swamped by the mud and two people had been rescued from a car swept into the sea.

In the worst-affected area of the town, at least 30 families were trapped in their homes without water or electricity, with mud and debris blocking the road, ANSA news agency reported.

Officials had said they expected to evacuate and find temporary homes for between 150 and 200 people.

Local authorities called on residents of Ischia to stay inside to avoid hindering the rescue operation.

Casamicciola Terme was hit by an earthquake in 2017, in which two people died. It was completely destroyed by a much more powerful earthquake at the end of the 19th century.

The devastation in Ischia comes just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in the central Italian region of Marche.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme

Italian rescuers were searching for a dozen missing people on the southern island of Ischia on Sunday after a landslide killed at least one person, as the government scheduled an emergency meeting.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme early Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, local media and emergency services said.

Rescuers had recovered the body of a 31-year-old woman, according to Italian news agency AGI, with other local media reporting that 13 people had been injured in the incident.

About a dozen people were still unaccounted for by early Saturday evening, according to Claudio Palomba, prefect of Naples, of which the island is part.

But some people who had earlier been reported missing had since been found safe, including one family with a newborn baby, he said.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni tweeted her sympathy to those affected, saying she had called an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss the disaster.

“We are afraid that there might be other victims, but so far the current figure is one dead,” Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire service, told AFP.

The rescue effort was hampered by rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had earlier warned there were people trapped in the mud, saying it was a “very serious” situation.

However, he denied a statement by his colleague Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister, that eight people had died, saying this had not been confirmed.

– Complex rescue operation –

Heavy rain sent torrents of mud through the streets of Casamicciola Terme, a settlement on the north of Ischia, a lush island near Capri that is thronged with tourists in summer.

Trees were upturned and cars left battered on the side of the road or in the water, according to AFP journalists.

The fire service said earlier one house had been overwhelmed by the mud and two people had been rescued from a car that had been swept into the sea.

In the worst-affected area of the town, at least 30 families were trapped in their homes without water or electricity, with mud and debris blocking the road, ANSA news agency reported.

Officials said they expected to evacuate and find temporary homes for between 150 and 200 people by Saturday evening.

“The rescue effort remains complex due to the weather conditions,” said the department for civil protection, but it stressed teams would keep working through the night.

Local authorities called on residents of Ischia to stay inside to avoid hindering the rescue operation.

Casamicciola Terme was hit by an earthquake in 2017, in which two people died.

The devastation in Ischia comes just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in the central Italian region of Marche.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme

One woman died and around a dozen other people were still missing Saturday after heavy rains caused a landslide on the Italian island of Ischia, officials and emergency services said.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme in the early hours of Saturday morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, media reports and emergency services said.

A woman’s body was found by rescuers, while around a dozen or so people were unaccounted for by early Saturday evening, according to the prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba.

He said however that some of those reported missing earlier were later found safe, including one family with a newborn baby.

“We are afraid that there might be other victims, but so far the current figure is one dead,” Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire service, told AFP.

The rescue effort was hampered by continued rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had earlier warned there were people trapped in the mud, saying it was a “very serious” situation.

However, he denied a statement by his colleague Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister, that eight people had died, saying this had not been confirmed.

– Complex rescue operation –

The heavy rain sent torrents of mud through the streets of Casamicciola Terme, on the north of Ischia, a lush island located near Capri that is thronged with tourists in the summer months.

Trees were upturned and cars left battered on the side of the road or in the water, according to AFP journalists.

The fire service earlier said one house had been overwhelmed by the mud and that two people had been rescued from a car swept into the sea.

In the worst-affected area of Casamicciola Terme, at least 30 families were trapped in their homes without water or electricity, with mud and debris blocking the road, ANSA news agency reported.

Officials later said they expected to evacuate and find temporary homes for between 150 and 200 people by Saturday evening.

“The rescue effort remains complex due to the weather conditions,” said the department for civil protection, but stressed teams would keep working through the night using headlights.

Local authorities called on residents of Ischia to stay inside so as not to hinder the rescue operation.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her sympathy to those affected and called an extraordinary cabinet meeting for Sunday to discuss the crisis.

Casamicciola Terme was hit by an earthquake in 2017, in which two people died.

The devastation in Ischia came just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in central eastern Italy.

The rescue effort was hampered by continued rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland

One woman died and other people were still missing Saturday after heavy rains caused a landslide on the Italian island of Ischia, a local official said.

A wave of mud and debris swept through the small town of Casamicciola Terme in the early hours of the morning, engulfing at least one house and sweeping cars down to the sea, media reports and emergency services said.

The first victim was confirmed to be a woman whose body was found by rescuers, according to a media briefing by the prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba.

He said some of those reported missing earlier were later found safe, including one family with a newborn baby, but around 10 other people were still unaccounted for mid-afternoon.

The rescue effort was hampered by continued rain and high winds, which also delayed ferries bringing reinforcements from the mainland.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi had earlier warned there were people trapped in the mud, saying it was a “very serious” situation.

However, he denied a statement by his colleague Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and infrastructure minister, that eight people had died, saying this had not been confirmed.

– Complex rescue operation –

The heavy rain sent torrents of mud through the streets of Casamicciola Terme, on the north of Ischia, a lush island located near Capri that is thronged with tourists in the summer months.

Trees were upturned and cars left battered on the side of the road or in the water, according to images published by emergency services and local media.

The fire service earlier said one house had been overwhelmed by the mud and that two people had been rescued from a car swept into the sea.

In the worst affected area of Casamicciola Terme, at least 30 families were trapped in their homes without water or electricity, with mud and debris blocking the road, the ANSA news agency reported.

Officials later said they expected to evacuate and find temporary homes for between 150 and 200 people by Saturday evening.

“The rescue effort remains complex due to the weather conditions,” said the department for civil protection, but stressed teams would keep working through the night using headlights.

Local authorities have called on residents of Ischia to stay inside so as not to hinder the rescue operation.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was following the situation, offering her thoughts to those affected.

Casamicciola Terme was hit by an earthquake in 2017, in which two people died.

The devastation in Ischia came just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in central eastern Italy.

The new vehicle has rounded edges along with large windows that make it appear more like a toy than a technological breakthrough

South Korea’s capital launched its first self-driving bus route on Friday, part of an experiment that engineers said aims to make people feel more comfortable with driverless vehicles on the roads.

The new vehicle does not look like a regular bus and has rounded edges as well as large windows that make it appear more like a toy than a technological breakthrough.

This design is intentional, said Jeong Seong-gyun, head of autonomous driving at 42 Dot, the start-up responsible for the self-driving technology that is now owned by auto giant Hyundai.

“This is the future,” he told AFP, adding that the bus required “a considerable new type of design”.

The bus looks a bit “like Lego” and is made of composite parts to help keep costs down and make it easy to replicate, he said.

It uses cameras and radar to navigate the way instead of expensive sensors, Seong-gyun added.

The company’s goal was to make the technology low-cost, safe and easily transferable to many types of vehicles in the future, for example, delivery trucks.

For now — with a safety driver monitoring closely — the bus will drive itself around a small 3.4-kilometre (2.1-mile) circuit in downtown Seoul that takes around 20 minutes.

The public can board at two designated stops after booking a free seat through an app.

“I feel like I’ve just hopped into a time machine to visit the future,” said Kim Yi hae-ran, 68, after her 20-minute ride during the launch of the bus Friday.

“I thought it might make me dizzy from a sudden acceleration but I didn’t feel any of it.”

The ride felt “very smooth and safe”, which she said made her feel proud of the technological progress the South Korean company has made.

A crocodile swims amid garbage in the Tarcoles River, one of the most polluted in Central America. This species is thriving despite the toxic waters

In one of the most polluted rivers in Central America, a vulnerable crocodile species is thriving despite living in waters that have become a sewer for Costa Rica’s capital, experts say.

Every day, trash and wastewater from San Jose households and factories flood into the Tarcoles River, which vomits tires and plastic into the surrounding mangroves.

Nevertheless, some 2,000 American Crocodiles have adapted to life in the toxic river that bears witness to the country’s decades-long battle with waste management.

“It is a super-contaminated area, but this has not affected the crocodile population,” said Ivan Sandoval, a biologist with the National University of Costa Rica.

“The Tarcoles River is the most polluted river in Costa Rica, and one of the most contaminated in Central America. Heavy metals, nitrites, nitrates, and a large amount of human waste can be found,” added the crocodile expert.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are only about 5,000 of the crocodile species — found in 18 countries — left in the world after decades of hunting and habitat loss.

The organization lists the Crocodylus acutus as “vulnerable,” but says its numbers have increased in recent years. The Costa Rica population is “healthy and robust.”

Indeed, the large reptiles — basking in the sun and occasionally feeding on fish that come up the channel from the sea — appear unphased by some 150 types of bacteria that Sandoval says have been detected in the river.

He describes the carnivores as “living fossils” with the capacity to survive very tough conditions. 

“They haven’t had to change anything in millions of years, they are perfectly designed.”

– Laws not applied –

Sandoval said that since 1980, Costa Rica’s population of the crocodiles “are recovering,” and warns of the threat of tourist activities.

The river’s crocodiles are a major draw for foreign visitors, who take boat tours to see the creatures up close.

Some feed the animals, which is prohibited, and Sandoval worries about them getting too used to being close to people. 

Juan Carlos Buitrago, 48, who captains one of the tour boats, says he and other locals regularly pull hundreds of tires and plastic waste from the water.

He delights in the fauna of the river, with macaws flying over ahead at sunset, but wishes his countrymen would stop polluting his “office.”

“We cannot hide the pollution,” he tells AFP.

Costa Rica has impressive environmental credentials, with a third of its territory marked for protection, 98 percent renewable energy, and 53 percent forest cover, according to the UN’s environmental agency.

However, the law is not always strictly applied, as in the case of the Tarcoles River.

Lawyer and environmentalist Walter Brenes, 34, said that all of Costa Rica’s rules and regulations “do not solve the problem.”

He said the country needs “real public policy that is completely aimed at protecting wildlife.”

The NASA Orion spacecraft, on its way to the moon

NASA’s Orion spacecraft was placed in lunar orbit Friday, officials said, as the much-delayed Moon mission proceeded successfully.

A little over a week after the spacecraft blasted off from Florida bound for the Moon, flight controllers “successfully performed a burn to insert Orion into a distant retrograde orbit,” the US space agency said on its web site.

The spacecraft is to take astronauts to the Moon in the coming years — the first to set foot on its surface since the last Apollo mission in 1972. 

This first test flight, without a crew on board, aims to ensure that the vehicle is safe.

“The orbit is distant in that Orion will fly about 40,000 miles above the Moon,” NASA said.

While in lunar orbit, flight controllers will monitor key systems and perform checkouts while in the environment of deep space, the agency said.

It will take Orion about a week to complete half an orbit around the Moon. It will then exit the orbit for the return journey home, according to NASA.

On Saturday, the ship is expected to go up to 40,000 miles beyond the Moon, a record for a habitable capsule. The current record is held by the Apollo 13 spacecraft at 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth.

It will then begin the journey back to Earth, with a landing in the Pacific Ocean scheduled for December 11, after just over 25 days of flight. 

The success of this mission will determine the future of the Artemis 2 mission, which will take astronauts around the Moon without landing, then Artemis 3, which will finally mark the return of humans to the lunar surface. 

Those missions are scheduled to take place in 2024 and 2025, respectively. 

Sharks were the star of the CITES summit Panama, which approved the protection of more than 50 species

A global wildlife summit that ends Friday passed resolutions to protect hundreds of threatened species, including sharks, reptiles, turtles as well as trees.

Here are some highlights of the two-week meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Panama.

1) Sharks steal the show

No longer just the villains of the deep, these ancient predators were the stars of the summit.

Delegates from more than 180 countries agreed to regulate the trade in 54 species of the requiem shark and hammerhead shark families.

These species are the most hunted for their shark fins — seen as a delicacy in some Asian countries — and their numbers have been decimated, putting the entire marine ecosystem at risk.

Only Japan grumbled over the resolution, arguing restrictions on the trade of the blue shark would be a blow to the livelihoods of its fishermen.

CITES also voted to restrict the trade of guitarfish rays and several other freshwater ray species.

2) See-through glass frogs

The skin of these nocturnal amphibians can be lime green or so translucent their organs are visible through their skin.

This has made them sought-after pets, and intense trafficking has placed the species in critical danger.

CITES also placed more than 160 species of glass frog, found in several rainforests in Central and South America, on its Appendix II, which places trade restrictions on threatened species.

The European Union and Canada withdrew early reservations about the resolution, which was adopted unanimously.

3) Weird and wonderful turtles

CITES approved varying levels of protection for around 20 turtle species from America and Asia.

These include the striking matamata turtles, with their prehistoric, beetle-like appearance, which have also become sought-after pets and are hunted for their meat and eggs.

They live in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, but scientists do not know how many there are.

Freshwater turtles are among the most-trafficked species in the world.

The unusual-looking North American Alligator Snapping Turtle was also granted trade protection.

4) Crocodile bans lifted

Brazil and the Philippines now will be able to export farm-raised crocodiles, after a total trade ban was lifted.

Delegates also allowed the export of skin and meat of the broad-snouted caiman — found in the wild in the Brazilian Amazon and Pantanal as well as wetlands, rivers, and lakes of neighboring countries.

“The population of these animals is very big. There has been a great reproductive success,” said researcher Miryam Venegas-Anaya, a crocodile expert with the University of Panama.

In the Philippines, a trade restriction was lifted on the saltwater crocodile that lives mainly on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan.

However, Thailand’s efforts to lift a ban on its Siamese crocodile was rejected.

5) Ivory ban stays, no luck for hippos

Zimbabwe and its southern African neighbors have seen their elephant populations soar in recent years, and pushed a drive to re-open the ivory trade which has been banned since 1989.

One-off sales were allowed in 1999 and 2008 despite fierce opposition.

However, in the rest of the continent poaching for ivory is still decimating elephant populations and the request was rejected.

Delegates also rejected a request by Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), to allow the sale of southern white rhino horn.

Meanwhile, after a fierce debate, a request by ten west African nations to ban the trade in hippopotamus, was rejected by delegates.

Illegal trade in the surly semi-aquatic mammal — for its meat, ivory tusks, teeth, and skull — rose after elephant ivory was banned.