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At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe’s largest national park amid a drought.

Experts from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) say the elephants died at Hwange National Park due to a lack of water.

The national park, Zimbabwe’s largest, is home to around 45,000 elephants, as well as more than 100 other types of mammals and 400 bird species.

It has 104 solar-powered boreholes to maintain sources of water for the animals.

However, park authorities say there are not enough and the boreholes are no match for extreme temperatures, which are drying up existing waterholes and forcing wildlife to walk long distances searching for food and water.

“The most affected elephants are the young, elderly and sick that can’t travel long distances to find water,” according to Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

The deaths of the elephants are a sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon.

“El Nino is making an already dire situation worse,” according to Mr Farawo.

In this photo supplied by IFAW, an elephant lies dead metres from a watering hole in Hwange National Park, Tuesday Dec. 5, 2023. At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their decaying carcases a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Ni..o weather phenomenon. (Privilege Musvanhiri/IFAW via AP)
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Pic: Privilege Musvanhiri/IFAW via AP

El Nino is a natural and recurring weather phenomenon that warms parts of the Pacific, affecting weather patterns around the world.

It occurs every few years, in a cycle with its opposite phenomenon, La Nina, which sees episodes of cooler-than-average sea surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific.

The pattern typically lasts 12 months and peaks in December.

However, studies indicate that climate change may be making El Ninos stronger, leading to more extreme consequences.

Read more from Sky News:
El Nino: What is it and how does it impact the weather closer to home?
Temperatures worldwide set to break records in 2023 and 2024

While this year’s El Nino has already brought deadly floods to East Africa, it is expected to cause below-average rainfall across southern Africa.

In Zimbabwe, there has been a recent spell of rising heat and a scarcity of rain. And, while some rain has now fallen, the forecasts are generally for a dry, hot summer ahead.

Authorities fear a repeat of 2019 – another El Nino year – when more than 200 elephants in Hwange died in a severe drought.

Elephants stop by a watering hole to get a drink in Hwange National Park. Hwange, Zimbabwe. (Edwin Remsberg / VWPics via AP Images)
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Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe is home to 45,000 elephants. Picture from 2018: Edwin Remsberg / VWPics via AP Images


“This phenomenon is recurring,” said Phillip Kuvawoga, a landscape programme director at IFAW, which raised the alarm for Hwange’s elephants in a report this month.

Zimbabwe’s rainy season once started reliably in October and ran through to March.

However, it has become erratic in recent years and conservationists have noticed longer, more severe dry spells.

“Our region will have significantly less rainfall, so the dry spell could return soon because of El Nino,” said Trevor Lane, director of The Bhejane Trust, a conservation group which assists Zimbabwe’s parks agency.

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He said his organisation had been pumping 1.5 million litres of water into Hwange’s waterholes daily from more than 50 boreholes it manages in partnership with park authorities.

Hwange does not have a major river flowing through it and relies on around 100 solar-powered boreholes that pump water for the animals.

An average-sized elephant needs a daily water intake of about 200 litres.

The oldest female elephants remember the locations of water sources they have visited before and can lead their herd hundreds of miles to them.

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California wildfires: More than 30,000 flee as fire erupts north of Los Angeles

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California wildfires: More than 30,000 flee as fire erupts north of Los Angeles

More than 30,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes north of Los Angeles after a new wildfire broke out in California.

The latest blaze – dubbed the Hughes Fire – started late on Wednesday morning near Lake Castaic, around 40 miles from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that devastated parts of LA earlier this month.

Within hours, the blaze had burned across more than 10,000 acres (41sq km), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. They added that the fire is at 14% containment.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Los Angeles County officials said in a news conference that more than 31,000 people – greater than the entire population of Castaic – were told to leave over warnings of “immediate threat to life”.

Another 23,000 people are in zones under evacuation warnings.

Planes were seen making runs over the mountains to drop water and fire suppressants.

A plane dropping water on the Hughes fire

As California continues to reel from a month of wildfires, President Donald Trump said the government should not provide aid to help rebuild until authorities use water from the northern part of the state.

In a Fox News interview, he repeated false claims that the state’s fish conservation efforts there are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas.

The president has accused Governor Gavin Newsom of refusing to redirect water from northern California as it protects the Delta smelt – an endangered species of fish. Mr Newsom has denied the claim

“I don’t think we should give California anything until they let water flow down,” he said.

‘Driving into hell’

Helicopters have also reportedly scooped water out of the lake to drop on the latest fire to stop it from approaching Interstate 5, where a 30-mile stretch of the Mexico-to-Canada highway had already been closed.

Speaking to NBC4, a local affiliate of Sky’s US partner network NBC News, one witness said scenes from the nearby 5 Freeway “looked like you were driving into hell”.

“There was red fire coming up from below,” she told the broadcaster. “It was pretty terrifying… It looks like a smoke bomb went off.”

Read more:
Families return to homes reduced to ruins

Sky News reunites with Palisades fire survivor
Why are there wildfires in January?

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Smoke from the fire caused “worsening air quality” forcing Ventura College to close, while Los Angeles Zoo shut its doors over “Red Flag” weather conditions.

It comes as the National Weather Service (NWS) branch in Los Angeles said areas around the city – including Oxnard and Burbank – are under critical fire conditions until 8pm on Thursday (4am on Friday in the UK).

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

High winds to continue

Low humidity and high winds have been driving the spread of the fires across southern California, which has not seen significant rainfall for nine months.

The continuing gusts have left officials concerned that the Palisades and Eaton fires could break their containment lines. At least 28 people are believed to have died since the blazes began on 7 January.

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According to Cal Fire, the Palisades fire, which started as a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades, has destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 23,000 acres. It is currently at 70% containment.

The Eaton fire broke out just hours later, and spread to 14,021 acres and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and businesses. It’s currently at 95% containment.

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Sealed with a kiss: Same sex couples in Thailand celebrate equal marriage rights

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Sealed with a kiss: Same sex couples in Thailand celebrate equal marriage rights

Hundreds of same-sex couples have been tying the knot in Thailand today as it becomes by far the largest nation in Asia to allow equal marriage and the first in South East Asia.

A mass LGBTQ wedding at a shopping mall in Bangkok saw hundreds of marriage registrations as the law came into effect. It marked the culmination of years of campaigning and thwarted attempts to pass equal marriage laws.

Porsch Apiwatsayree and Arm Panatkool have been together for 17 years, but first got engaged 11 years ago.

“Personally, I think it marks the beginning of equality in Thailand and it also, in a way, inspired people to see that love is normal,”Porsch said, holding his hand on his heart. “Every love is the same, every love is the same inside.”

Couples wait for their marriage certificates. Pic: AP
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Couples wait for their marriage certificates. Pic: AP

Thailand’s same-sex marriage bill was passed in an historic parliamentary vote last June, making Thailand the third country in Asia to do so after Taiwan and Nepal.

Thailand ranks highly on global assessments of LGBTQ legal conditions and public attitudes. It’s very different from many of its neighbours where most nations oppose gay rights. Opinion polls have also shown overwhelming public support for equal marriage.

But the kingdom remains a conservative Buddhist society with a largely patriarchal family structure.

More on Lgbt

Pisit Sirihirunchai, left, and Chanatip Sirihirunchai show their marriage certificates. Pic AP
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Pisit Sirihirunchai, left, and Chanatip Sirihirunchai show their marriage certificates. Pic AP

‘Love is just love’

Porsch and Arm still believe it has some way to go to ensure tolerance translates to full acceptance.

“We have to wait and see because even the law has approved that love is the same. We need more and more acceptance,” Porsch said.

Porsch Apiwatsayree and Arm Panatkool were joined at the ceremony by their families and friends
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The couple were joined at the ceremony by their families and friends

His own wedding to Arm was celebrated in the grounds of a luxurious new shopping centre. The families of both grooms played a huge part in the ceremony, lining up to face each other in a humorous and moving Thai custom of call and response between each party.

“What I feel now is the closeness between people and families,” said Porsch.

“Love is just love,” Arm added, with a beaming smile.

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Footage shows Palestinian family in car under attack during Israeli army raid in occupied West Bank

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Footage shows Palestinian family in car under attack during Israeli army raid in occupied West Bank

A series of videos show the moment a car carrying a family in the occupied West Bank came under attack during an Israeli raid into the city of Jenin yesterday.

At least seven gunshots are heard as the passengers including children scream before the footage filmed from inside the Kia vehicle shows the car crashing on the side of the road.

Wadah Soubeh, who was inside the car, said his 43-year-old cousin who was driving, Ahmed al Shayeb, was killed in the attack.

The dashboard seen in the footage filmed inside the car shows that it was taken at 1.10pm local time on Tuesday.

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A family was driving in Jenin in the West Bank when their car was attacked.

Israel launched a major military operation into Jenin on Tuesday and said its forces had “initiated a counterterrorism operation” in the area.

Sky News geolocated another video filmed after the attack that shows the abandoned vehicle on the same road around 600m northwest of the Jenin refugee camp.

An Israeli military vehicle can be seen in the background – less than 100m from the car. It’s unclear whether that vehicle was involved and how long after the attack this particular video was filmed.

Mr Soubeh said the family left Jenin at the start of the raid and were “heavily shot at”.

“When we turned right on the road to Burqin, we drove another 30 or 40 metres. Ahmed al Shayeb said ‘oh God’. After he said ‘oh God’, he stopped breathing,” he added.

A funeral was held on Wednesday for Mr al Shayeb, who owned a mobile phone shop in Jenin.

Sky News asked the IDF whether its forces were involved and why it had a vehicle in the area at the time and received the following response: “The IDF arrests individuals wanted for suspected terrorist activities, incitement of terrorism, and terrorists who have carried out or are planning to carry out attacks.

“Additionally, security forces are deployed in the area to ensure the safety of the region and its residents, as well as the security of the State of Israel and its citizens.

“The IDF operates wherever necessary, especially in areas with a high levels of terrorism, such as Jenin. The IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals.

“In cases where uninvolved individuals are harmed, the events are investigated and handled accordingly.

“The case mentioned is under review.”

Mourners cry at Ahmad Nimer Al-Shaib's funeral. Pic: AP
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Mourners cry at Mr al Shayeb’s funeral. Pic: AP

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it is “deeply concerned” about the wellbeing of civilians in Jenin city and refugee camp.

At least nine Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, including a 16-year-old, and 40 were wounded, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The move into Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions over recent years, comes just days after the Gaza ceasefire started.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said hundreds of Palestinians were trapped in Jenin Government Hospital and were unable to leave for hours. Videos filmed by the hospital shows bulldozers outside the hospital.

Mourners carry the body of Ahmed al Shayeb after he was killed during an Israeli military operation in Jenin, on Wednesday. Pic: AP
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Mourners carry the body of Ahmed al Shayeb after he was killed during an Israeli military operation in Jenin, on Wednesday. Pic: AP

The Israeli military said its forces were trying to detonate explosive devices planted by militants beneath the road outside the hospital in the city of Jenin, and had told patients and doctors not to exit the hospital during the detonations.

Dozens of military bulldozers have carved up tracts of roads in the city.

It was the third major incursion by the Israeli army in less than two years into Jenin, a major stronghold of militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which said its forces were fighting Israeli troops.

As the raid began, Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces pulled out after having conducted a weeks-long operation to try to reassert control over the refugee camp, dominated by Palestinian factions that are hostile to the PA, which exercises limited governance in parts of the West Bank.

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