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☆ Dwarf elephants? Giant rats? Strange island creatures at high risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - A dwarf elephant the size of a Shetland pony once roamed the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. They were examples of the "island effect," a rule in evolutionary biology describing how large-bodied species tend to downsize on islands while small-bodied species upsize. Extinction risk was seen highest among species that underwent more extreme body size shifts compared to mainland relatives. But small-bodied species, because there is a decreased risk from predators on islands, are emancipated from evolutionary constraints on their size. It once was home to a dwarf elephant relative, giant rats and a giant stork, as well as a dwarf human species - Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the "Hobbit," standing just 3-1/2 feet tall (106 cm) tall.

☆ Wagner wills New Zealand to miracle one-run win over England
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - New Zealand pulled off a remarkable one-run win over England on Tuesday as lionhearted paceman Neil Wagner's heroics saw the hosts become just the fourth side in test history to win a match after being asked to follow on. Wagner took four wickets and two crucial catches at Wellington's Basin Reserve, where the hosts recorded only the second one-run victory in test cricket following West Indies' famous 1993 win in Adelaide. Enter Wagner, who had bled more than eight runs an over in the third innings when England romped to a 267-run win in the series-opener at Mount Maunganui. "It's a special one this and we'll celebrate it well," said Wagner, who finished with 4-62 in the fourth innings. Over the home summer, England chased down fourth-innings targets above 250 in three successive tests to whitewash New Zealand.

☆ South Africa name new coaches for test, limited overs teams
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - South Africa have named Rob Walter as their new head coach in limited overs cricket with Shukri Conrad to take over the test team, officials confirmed on Monday. Conrad is an experienced head coach in South African domestic cricket and was most recently in charge of the national Under-19 side. "Their leadership is very strong and they are clear in their minds about how to move South African cricket forward," Nkwe told reporters. Nkwe said it was important to lay the foundations for success in the 50-overs Cricket World Cup in 2027, which South Africa is co-hosting with Namibia and Zimbabwe. "The 2027 World Cup is a must-win and we need to build the systems to be successful there," he added.

The EPA shut down the refinery, formerly called Limetree Bay, in May 2021 after a series of chemical releases into the environment sickened neighboring residents. The plant owners intend to restart the facility, but have let it fall into disrepair, the EPA said last month. The new Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit would require detailed air-quality analyses and the use of the best available air pollution control technology, the EPA said Thursday. An earlier owner, Hovensa, was required to spend $700 million on pollution control equipment, among other obligations after violating the Clean Air Act by increasing emissions without first obtaining pre-construction permits and installing required pollution control equipment. Hovensa went bankrupt and shut down the plant the following year; later Limetree Bay Ventures bought the refinery in December 2015.

☆ England beat Pakistan to win T20 World Cup at MCG as Ben Stokes stars yet again in a final
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( David Ruse | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Ben Stokes of England celebrates victory following during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final match between Pakistan and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Ben Stokes starred in a final once again as England became dual white-ball world champions after overcoming Pakistan by five wickets to win the T20 World Cup at the MCG. England rallied to overpower New Zealand, edge past Sri Lanka and decimate India before seeing off Pakistan to end their opponents' hopes of winning the T20 World Cup for a second time and of repeating their victory over England at the MCG in the 1992 50-over final. Babar's exit came at the start of the 12th over with Pakistan 84-2 and they went on lose six wickets for 47 runs. England will remain in Australia to play a three-match one-day international series against Australia, beginning on Thursday at Adelaide before fixtures at the SCG on Saturday and MCG on November 22.

☆ Hurricane Nicole barrels into Florida's Atlantic coast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Nicole was upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane as it thrashed the Bahamas on Wednesday. It was packing sustained winds of up to 75 mph (120 kph) as it made landfall along the east coast of Florida north of Miami, according to the National Hurricane Center. read moreThe hurricane center also issued storm-surge advisories for much of Florida's Atlantic coast, warning that wind-driven waves would wash over beaches and rush inland to flood low-lying areas well beyond the shore. Nicole is expected to pack less punch at landfall than Ian, which struck Florida as a major Category 4 storm. 'LAST OPPORTUNITY'[1/5] A car drives by a flooded street ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Nicole, in Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S., November 9, 2022.

☆ Hurricane Nicole bears down on Florida's Atlantic coast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A car drives by a flooded street ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Nicole, in Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S., November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloMIAMI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Hurricane Nicole closed in on Florida's Atlantic shoreline early on Thursday with a brew of heavy downpours, fierce winds and a treacherous surge of ocean surf that threatened coastal areas still reeling from the last major storm six weeks ago. Nicole is expected to pack less punch at landfall than Ian, which struck Florida as a major Category 4 storm. Authorities warned, however, that Nicole still posed a formidable threat, especially to structures and coastal foundations weakened by Ian. "We have had a lot of flooding within the last couple of storms," Leanne Hansard, 53, a Daytona Beach resident, said as she was boarding up windows to her family's insurance office.

Nicole, newly classified as a hurricane, was packing sustained winds of up 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour) as it made landfall on Grand Bahama Island, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported. Grand Bahama, Bimini and the Berry Islands in the northwest corner of the island nation remained under a hurricane warning. As the storm closed in earlier in the day, some Bahamas residents fled their homes amid fierce winds and flooding. Storm surge caused widespread devastation to Florida's Gulf Coast when the last major storm, Hurricane Ian, crashed ashore there on Sept. 28, causing an estimated $60 billion in damage and claiming more than 140 lives. Several counties along the Florida coast issued mandatory orders and voluntary evacuation advisories for homes near the shore and on barrier islands.

☆ Storm Nicole churns toward Bahamas en route to Florida and hurricane status
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brian Ellsworth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Beachgoers are shown as tropical storm Nicole approaches the state in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., November 8, 2022. A hurricane warning was posted for Grand Bahama Island, Bimini, the Berry Islands and the Abacos in the northwestern corner of the West Indies archipelago nation, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. A 240-mile expanse of Florida's Atlantic shoreline from Boca Raton north to around Flagler Beach was likewise placed under a hurricane warning. "It's going to take more than a Category 1 hurricane or so to really move stuff and have them flying around." Forecasters said Nicole would likely sweep across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia on Thursday.

The idled St. Croix refinery, formerly called Limetree Bay, was shut down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May 2021 after a series of chemical releases into the environment sickened neighboring residents. The refinery was sold in December 2021 for $62 million to West Indies Petroleum and Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation, following the bankruptcy of its former private equity owners. The owners also failed to provide hazard assessments and other documentation for the facility, the EPA said. The refinery was sold in December 2021 for $62 million to West Indies Petroleum, a Jamaican oil storage company that intends to operate the facility. In June, West Indies Petroleum denied its ownership of the facility, though the EPA has said it does.

☆ Christopher Columbus brought a host of terrible new diseases to the New World
▼ + stars: | 2015-10-12 | by ( Julia Calderone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wikimedia CommonsWhen Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and touched down in North America in 1492, he changed the world forever. He bridged the "old" world in Europe, Africa, and Asia with the "new" world in the Americas. Along with their own set of diseases at the time, Columbus' arrival created a devastating concoction of maladies. "But it also launched a clash of infectious diseases." AdvertisementOf the estimated 250,000 natives in Hispaniola, Columbus' first stop in the Americas in 1492, new infectious diseases wiped out a staggering 236,000 Indigenous people by 1517 — nearly 95% of their population.

Persons: Christopher Columbus, Stephen Prescott, — Organizations: Wikimedia, Stephen Prescott , Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Malaria Locations: West Indies, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Americas, Columbus, Stephen Prescott , Oklahoma, Hispaniola, Lyme

☆ 10 Things You Always Wondered About Cannibalism
▼ + stars: | 2012-05-31 | by ( Lauren Brown | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Anthropological data shows that millions of years ago, Homo antecessor, the link between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, were cannibalistic for nutritional reasons. In 1492, when Columbus came to the Americas, he encountered the West Indies Carib tribe, who were ritually cannibalistic. From the 16th through 18th centuries, blood, ground bones and other body parts were routinely used in what is referred to as medicinal cannibalism. Through cannibalism's history there has been a persistent theme that the vitality of the human body and spirit can be ingested to bestow power and life force upon human beings. In the 20th century instances of survival cannibalism are known to have occurred in China up through the 1960s and even in North Korea more recently.

Persons: Theodor de Bry, Hans Staden's, antecessor, Columbus, Webster Organizations: West Indies, Merriam Locations: Brazil, Americas, West Indies Carib, China, North Korea

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