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US-CA: Incredible footage has captured the moment a tree split in half after being struck by lightning on Saturday, July 31, inside the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California.

The Jeffery pine splits in half after reportedly being struck twice by lightning while plumes of smoke and embers rise up from the flames.

“It was a gorgeous 200+ year old healthy tree that had an unlucky day,” said Michael Bogan, who filmed the footage.

Firefighters worked to extinguish the flames from several lightning strikes and took down the scorched tree on Sunday, according to the San Bernardino National Forest.

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Watch this reel by rtenews on Instagram rtenews • Original Audio

US-CA: At least 16 people were injured, several structures and vehicles were damaged after police failed to safely dispose of illegal fireworks seized from a South Los Angeles home on Wednesday, June 30.

The explosion rocked the neighbourhood after police attempted to dispose of over 2,000 kgs of fireworks, which were found earlier in the day, in an armoured container, according to local reports.

The explosion destroyed the container, injuring at least 16 people, including Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD ) officers and residents.

Three people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, local media reported.

The bomb squad was called to the scene to help with the operation, as some of the explosives would be sent away to be detonated elsewhere, while others were due to be destroyed on-site.

LAPD said the blast happened as some of the illegal fireworks were being stored in their bomb squad trailer as a precautionary measure, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation.

Police discovered the explosives near a home after officers received a tip, and arrested an unidentified man on suspicion of possessing fireworks, according to media reports citing local officials.

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Illegal Fireworks EXPLOSION Caught on Camera in Los Angeles 'Illegal Fireworks EXPLOSION Caught on Camera in Los Angeles'A cache of illegal fireworks seized at a south Los Angeles home exploded on Wednesday, damaging ...

CANADA: Stunning timelapse footage captured at Charlie Lake in eastern British Columbia showed noctilucent clouds which formed with a glimpse of the aurora taken between 1:00 to 3:00 a.m. PDT.

“What’s better than watching the noctilucent clouds with a hint of lady aurora come out afterwards? Absolutely nothing,” said Jeff Adams who captured the footage.

Noctilucent clouds (NLCs), or night-shining clouds, are phenomena of ice crystals in the sky that are only able to be seen during astronomical twilight.

These clouds are most commonly spotted in the Northern Hemisphere in the summer months of June and July, and can only form in the highest part of the atmosphere, typically at an altitude of around 80 kilometres.

BBC News via Eurovision Social Newswire

Noctilucent clouds shine over British Columbia - BBC Weather The high altitude clouds were captured on time lapse above over Charlie Lake in Canada's westernmost province during the early hours of 30th June 2021.

CANADA: An Alberta resident captured a timelapse video on Wednesday, June 30, showing a pile of gummy bears melting in the extreme temperatures that have been gripping parts of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest in recent days.

The uploader of the video said in the caption that it took an hour for the gummy bears to melt into a “gummy puddle” adding that “the sour cherry gummies are much more resilient.”

The unprecedented heatwave in western Canada has seen all-time temperature records broken for three days straight with the village of Lytton, British Columbia, recording a staggering 49.6 degrees Celcius on Tuesday, according to media reports.

A statement by the chief coroner of British Columbia, Lisa Lapointe, quoted by CNN on Wednesday said that there had been a “significant increase in deaths reported where it is suspected that extreme heat has been contributory.”

The statement by Lapointe added that 233 deaths had been reported from Friday through Monday whereas the usual number for a four-day period would be 130.

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Gummy bear 'puddle' highlights extreme heat in Canada Timelapse video from Alberta captures a pile of gummy bears melting in the extreme temperatures that have been gripping parts of western Canada and the US Pa...

US-MI: At least five waterspouts were spotted over northern Lake Michigan on Wednesday morning, June 22, to the delight of onlookers.

The International Centre For Waterspout Research (ICWR) forecast the phenomenon, which was later confirmed by eyewitnesses capturing the sights on camera.

It took place as water “temperatures were nearing 15 Celsius, while temperatures about five kilometres off the ground were struggling near 4.5 Celsius”, local forecasters said.

Waterspouts are usually more of an autumn phenomenon, as “cold air typically rolls over relatively warmer lake water,” they added.

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BBC Weather on Twitter “At least five waterspouts were spotted over northern Lake Michigan in the USA earlier this week. https://t.co/gHoEYUnwVr”

US-NH: Home surveillance footage captured a four-legged suspect breaking and entering into a truck with its bear hands in Thorton, New Hampshire.

The footage shows a bear standing on its two legs to open the car door, and then crawling into the vehicle.

The bear was most likely searching for food or trash, according to local authorities.

RTÉ One via Eurovision Social Newswire

Hungry bear breaks into car in New Hampshire Home security camera footage captured a bear nonchalantly approaching and then opening the door of a car in the US state of New Hampshire last week.

FRANCE: A severe thunderstorm ripped through the Île de France region on Saturday evening, June 19, bringing hail, heavy downpours and gusts of up to 137 kph, according to local reports.

Météo France issued an orange thunderstorm warning for the region throughout the day.

The Val-de-Marne department, south of Paris, was especially hard hit with reports of injuries, electricity cuts and roads blocked by downed trees.

The worst of the damage was seen in Alfortville, where a roof was torn off a building injuring two people.

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Hail and Thunder Storms BATTER France, Felling Trees and Tearing Rooves from Buildings 'Hail and Thunder Storms BATTER France, Felling Trees and Tearing Rooves from Buildings'Severe thunderstorms have brought heavy downpours, hail, and flooding...

PUERTO RICO: A fire at an electrical substation in Puerto Rico has caused widespread power outages that affected one in 10 residents on the island on June 10.

Some 400,000 customers have been affected, with LUMA Energy tweeting that it was working to restore power late on Thursday.

The cause of the fire at a transformer at LUMA’s Monacillos substation was under investigation.

ODN via Eurovision Social Newswire

Puerto Rico Substation Power Outage Causes BLACKOUT in House of Representatives 'Puerto Rico Substation Power Outage Causes BLACKOUT in House of Representatives'A fire at an electrical substation in Puerto Rico has caused widespread powe...

TURKEY: A mucus-like organic matter known as ‘sea snot’ has been clogging up parts of Turkey’s coastline since late December last year.

Scientists have warned that the gloopy, gelatinous substance is the result of global warming and can have a devastating impact on marine life.

The sea snot was first reported in Turkish waters in 2007 and is created in areas with abundant nutrients in the water and during periods of prolonged warm temperatures and calm weather.

The sea snot is not usually a problem, but when the phytoplankton grows out of control, the substance can suffocate marine life, impacting the breeding grounds for fish while also impacting immobile organisms like coral.

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Masses of Ugly Marine ‘SEA SNOT’ Blooms in Sea Off Turkey ‘Masses of Ugly Marine ‘SEA SNOT’ Blooms in Sea Off Turkey’A huge mass of marine mucilage - also known as ‘sea snot’ - has bloomed in Turkey’s Marmara Sea.Th...

US-CO: A tornado touched down in Colorado’s Weld County on June 7 covering a path of 14 miles.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado warning for the Firestone, Frederick, and Fort Lupton areas until 5:30 PM MDT on Monday.

The twister downed powerlines in several areas, causing a home located at Highway 66 to catch fire.

No human injuries were reported, though two calves were killed as a result of the tornado, according to reports.

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Watch: Landspout tornado touches down in Colorado A tornado funnel was spotted 35 miles north of Denver, Colorado. The tornado was characterized as a landspout, which grows from the ground up.

CANADA: A statue of 19th Century Canadian educator Egerton Ryerson was toppled on Sunday evening, June 6, following a protest in Toronto in honour of residential school victims.

The statue was located at Toronto’s Ryerson University, which has said that it will not be “restored or replaced”.

The monument to the educator, who was influential in the design of Canada’s indigenous residential school system, has long stoked controversy and became a flashpoint after the discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children at the site of what was once the country’s largest residential school last month.

DW News via Eurovision Social Newswire

DW News on Twitter “Thousands protested in Canada on Sunday after the remains of 215 indigenous children were found at a former residential school. https://t.co/GrvA6JLcSn”

UK: Two drug dealers sped down a motorway hard shoulder to avoid queuing – but they unwittingly undertook one police officer who caught up with the pair and found them with a stash of co***ne.

Dashcam from the patrol car shows Simon Pagett undertaking on the M6 near junction 7 on 5 November last year and the officer exclaiming “Really?” in disbelief at their audacity.

Pagett, alongside pal Dean Stone, intimated to pull over on seeing the blue lights but then accelerated away at speeds topping 100mph.

The 39-year-old weaved between cars on the A34 towards Walsall, at one point hitting the central reservation, and jumped several sets of red lights.

He even did a lap of Toby Carvery car-park in a desperate bid to give our advanced driver the slip before going off-road near Springvale Avenue where Stone jumped from the car and ran off clutching a rucksack.

The 40-year-old didn’t get far as he was arrested trying to get into a taxi nearby, while the rucksack was recovered in bushes.

It was found to contain five 1kg slabs of high-purity co***ne with a value of around half a million pounds.

RTÉ News via Eurovision Social Newswire

Impatient drug dealer arrested after undertaking police, sparking high-speed chase Two drug dealers ended up in prison in England because they were too impatient to queue on a motorway, undertaking a police car, leading to a high-speed chas...

CHINA: A herd of 15 Asian elephants has reached the outskirts of the capital of China’s southwestern Yunnan province, prompting authorities to close off roads and residential areas, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday, June 3.

The herd, which includes three calves, started their journey in March 2020 after escaping a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna.

On Wednesday, the elephants reached the outskirts of Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, prompting the authorities to shut down several roads and ask residents to stay indoors.

According to Xinhua, the group, initially consisting of 16 wild elephants, arrived in Pu’er in Yunnan in November 2020 where a female elephant gave birth to a baby.

The herd then stayed in Pu’er for five months before embarking on their journey toward north.

In the meantime, two left the group, leaving 15 to slowly wander across the roads.

It is not clear why the elephants left their natural habitat.

RTÉ News via Eurovision Social Newswire

rtenews on Instagram: A herd of 15 Asian elephants has reached the outskirts of the capital of China's southwestern Yunnan province, prompting authorities to… rtenews • Original Audio

SRI LANKA: A fire-stricken container ship has begun to sink off the Sri Lankan coast containing several hundred tons of oil still in its fuel tanks leading to fears of an impending marine disaster. Authorities still struggled to douse the flames on Wednesday, June 2, 13 days after it first broke out, according to local reports.

According to the latest statement released on Wednesday, despite salvors gaining access to the MV X-Press Pearl to attach a tow wire to transport the vessel into deeper waters, their efforts failed as of 3 pm local time with smoke continuing to billow from the ship.

The Singapore-flagged vessel, which was transporting chemicals, including 25 tons of nitric acid, was waiting to enter port 9.5 nautical miles off the coast of Colombo when the fire broke out.

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Sri Lanka Faces WORST Marine Disaster as Burnt Cargo Ship Starts to Sink Near Colombo 'Sri Lanka Faces WORST Marine Disaster as Burnt Cargo Ship Starts to Sink Near Colombo'A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking off Sri Lanka’s w...

AUSTRALIA: Australian farmers have been battling a rodent plague, the worst in decades, which has infested large parts of New South Wales and destroyed crops and stored grain.

Millions of mice have caused extensive damage to farming machinery, electrical wires and household items.

According to media reports, hospitals in eastern parts of Australia have also reported damage to infrastructure as well as complaints by patients who have been bitten by mice.

Following the devastating plague, Australian government granted an emergency permit to farmers, allowing them to use a stronger poisonous bait that was previously banned in the country.

The government has also introduced a 50 million Australian dollar package to fight the plague.

Videos shared on social media platforms show the scale of the issue.

One video captured in Tullamore, New South Wales, showed mice raining down from a farmer’s auger as soon as it was turned on.

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Watch this reel by rtenews on Instagram rtenews • Original Audio

YAAS: Cyclone Yaas was intensifying over the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, May 25 and was expected to hit the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha on Wednesday, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The department said the “very severe cyclonic storm”, the third-worst category, could pack winds of up to 165 kilometres per hour (102 miles per hour) when making landfall.

Yaas is the second major storm to hit the coronavirus-stricken nation in 10 days after Cyclone Tauktae killed at least 140 people across western India.

ČT24 via Eurovision Social Newswire

Zničené pobřeží a vytopené domy. Východ Indie zasáhl cyklon Yaas Zničené pobřeží a vytopené domy. Východ Indie zasáhl cyklon Yaas Včera Sdílet obsahFacebook Twitter Vytisknout   přehrát video Zničené pobřeží a vytopené domy. Východ Indie zasáhl cyklon Yaas Zdroj: EBU   zdroj: Nahlásit chybu Vydáno pod

TAUKTAE: Pakistan’s biggest city was hit by rain and a dust storm on Tuesday following several days of sweltering heat.

The storm left several areas of the city without power and a 10-year-old was reportedly killed by a collapsing wall.

The dust storm comes as Cyclone Tauktae batters neighbouring India, prompting Pakistan’s Meteorological Department (PMD) to issue weather alerts.

“Karachi, Hyderabad, and Shaeed- Banzirabad, districts likely to experience hot/very hot weather with gusty winds during next two days. Sea Conditions will remain rough to very rough and fishermen are advised not to venture in the sea till 19 May 2021,” the PDM tweeted on Monday.

BBC News via Eurovision Social Newswire

Dust storm and destruction caused by cyclone Tauktae Pakistan's biggest city is hit by a dust storm after the cyclone ravaged coastal India, killing at least 19.

US-CA: A total of 540 firefighters from multiple agencies continued on Monday to combat a growing brushfire suspected to have been started by an arsonist in Pacific Palisades, California on Friday. Residents of more than 500 homes have so far been evacuated because of the blaze.

The fire, dubbed the Palisades Fire, broke out near Pacific Palisades and Topanga Canyon and had spread to 800 acres on Saturday.

By Sunday, the fire remained at zero percent containment and nearly doubled in size reaching 1,325 acres, according to the L.A. County Fire Department.

Officials confirmed on Monday that the fire had an eastward growth overnight into Monday morning.

A suspected arsonist has been arrested in connection with the fire and is receiving medical treatment, according to the Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti.

Evacuation orders have been given to a total of more than 1,000 residents living near Topanga Canyon, according to authorities.

Several helicopters have been deployed to drop fire retardant and water on the flames in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Officials closed down major commuter roads on the Pacific Coast Highway and Mulholland Drive due to the fire.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury, and no casualties had been reported as of Monday.

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Pacific Palisades Wildfires: Suspected ARSONIST Arrested As Blaze Threatens Los Angeles 'Pacific Palisades Wildfires: Suspected ARSONIST Arrested As Blaze Threatens Los Angeles'Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the raging wildfir...

ISRAEL: Police in Israel dispatched forces and deployed water cannon to several cities across the country on Tuesday night, May 11, to disperse Palestinian protesters.

Police said violence erupted across several towns including Acre, Umm al-Fahm and Haifa where they deployed water cannon and detained a number of Palestinian protesters who were throwing stones at security forces.

Elsewhere, Israel has ramped up its airstrikes on Gaza Strip, killing 35 Palestinians including 12 children, according to Palestinian health ministry, in response to the barrage of rockets that Hamas militants continued to launch on the country.

In Israel, at least 5 people have been killed on Tuesday night as a result of rockets being fired from Gaza, according to a military spokesman.

Palestinian Ministry of Health said 233 Palestinians were also injured due to the Israeli airstrikes that continued into the early hours of Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile, warned that Hamas “will pay a very heavy price for their aggression.”

The sharp escalation, the most intense since a 50-day war in 2014, follows days of violence in east Jerusalem amid protests over the possible eviction of several Palestinian families in the predominantly Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood to make way for Israeli settlers.

On Monday more than 300 Palestinians were wounded when Israeli security forces raided Al Aqsa-Mosque, firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

The rocket fire came after Hamas issued an ultimatum, calling on Israel to remove its security forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following the attack on Palestinian worshippers.

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Israel's Iron Dome SWATS Hamas Rockets Above Gaza Strip as UN Warns of 'Full-Scale War' 'Israel's Iron Dome SWATS Hamas Rockets Above Gaza Strip as UN Warns of 'Full-Scale War''Israeli jets and Hamas militants have traded missile strikes for a s...