Frightening causing fear

        Guwahati/ChaygaonAt 1.30pm on Thursday, Kabita Das’s phone rang. The mother of three was resting in the family’s unfinished courtyard that flanks their two-room thatched house in Chhaygaon, and fumbled for a minute with the correct button before her son’s voice wafted into her ears. “I am going for the meeting, Maa,” he said.Her son, 21-year-old Dipanjal Das, worked as a waiter in a restaurant in Guwahati, and was a loyal member of the powerful All Assam Students Union (AASU). On his way to a massive protest at the city’s Latasil field called by his idol, singer Zubeen Garg, against India’s new citizenship laws, he had dialled his mother.Das lived in a remote corner of central Assam’s Kamrup district, but news of the tumult outside reached her ears. “Don’t go, I have heard there can be gondogol (trouble),” she said.At 5pm, the phone rang again. This time, it was an unfamiliar voice on the … [Read more...] about Assam simmers as old wounds reopen

At 1.30pm on Thursday, Kabita Das’s phone rang. The mother of three was resting in the family’s unfinished courtyard that flanks their two-room thatched house in Chhaygaon, and fumbled for a minute with the correct button before her son’s voice wafted into her ears. “I am going for the meeting, Maa,” he said.Her son, 21-year-old Dipanjal Das, worked as a waiter in a restaurant in Guwahati, and was a loyal member of the powerful All Assam Students Union (AASU). On his way to a massive protest at the city’s Latasil field called by his idol, singer Zubeen Garg, against India’s new citizenship laws, he had dialled his mother.Das lived in a remote corner of central Assam’s Kamrup district, but news of the tumult outside reached her ears. “Don’t go, I have heard there can be gondogol (trouble),” she said.At 5pm, the phone rang again. This time, it was an unfamiliar voice on the other end. “Dipanjal has been shot,” … [Read more...] about Scared, angry, confused: Assam struggling to find a fine balance

There were 47 people on the island at the time, with the eruption killing at least sixteen people and seriously injuring 28. White Island, also known as Whakaari, is an active volcano with a long history and this isn’t the first time tragedy has struck. Before becoming a popular tourist destination, White Island was mined for its native sulphur, which has many uses, including the manufacturing of gunpowder, matches, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, dyes, fungicides and pesticides. Sulphur mining began on the island in 1840, with small quantities of sulphur being exported to Europe. A photo of White Island taken in 1913. Picture: Auckland War Memorial MuseumSource:Supplied Over the years mining activities on the island became more established, with men living and working there from the 1880s. Between 1885 and 1900, more than 5000 tonnes of sulphur was shipped to the mainland from White Island. In September 1914 disaster struck in the middle of the night when part of a crater wall … [Read more...] about ‘Disaster waiting to happen’: New Zealand’s White Island’s deadly history

Change is afoot for the official measuring stick used to size up big places in America. The reason? There are actually two different definitions of the 12-inch measurement known as a foot. Some land surveyors use what’s known as the U.S. survey foot. Others use the definition that’s more accepted by the broader world: the international foot. The difference between them is so tiny that you can’t see it with the naked eye on a 12-inch ruler. But over big distances, it matters. So, to reduce the chance for errors and confusion, the federal government has announced it’s finally giving the boot to the survey foot. The international foot is the smaller one — adding about an eighth of an inch of difference when measuring a mile. That means the United States is 28.3 feet wider when measured using the international foot instead of the survey foot. The change started in 1959, when the federal government mandated that everyone use the international foot but allowed … [Read more...] about Right ‘Foot’ Forward: Unites States is Changing the Measurement of a Foot, Here’s Why

Residents in the path of a major blaze in the Wollemi National Park, northwest of Sydney have been told it’s too late to leave as the fire pushes closer to their homes. The alert was issued for the Gospers Mountain blaze, which is almost 370,000 hectares in size, on Sunday afternoon. The NSW Rural Fire Service says the fire has crossed Bowen Creek, south of Mount Wilson. The blaze is moving towards Mount Wilson, Mount Irvine, Mount Tomah and Berambing. Mount Tomah is the home of the heritage listed Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens one of the regions’s major landmarks known from its cool climate plants that would fare less well at lower elevations closer to Sydney. The Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens at Mt Tomah is under threat from the bushfires close to Sydney.Source:Supplied The Bells Line of Road, one of two roads cross the Blue Mountains, is closed between Bilpin and Bell. It passes the Blue Mountain Botanic Gardens. Motorists should avoid the area and use the Great … [Read more...] about Large bushfires threaten Perth, Sydney fringes