A software failure in Argentina’s wetland-monitoring system inflated recovery scores across millions of hectares, steering public grants to provinces that may not have earned them. The error surfaced last week when the system began producing impossible readings.
A new emergency-medicine law has produced a surge of more than 31,000 refill requests in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo on its first day. Pharmacies say thousands of patients were turned away as severe-weather warnings exposed gaps in the scheme’s rollout.
A Chilean court has halted the government’s new short-term rental controls, just hours before platforms were due to remove thousands of unregistered listings. The ruling leaves a flagship housing policy in limbo and forces ministers to consider an emergency law.
An X12.9 solar flare has hurled a vast cloud of charged particles toward Earth, with the strongest impacts forecast for Wednesday. A malfunctioning spacecraft accidentally recorded the eruption in an unusually long exposure, prompting Pacific scientists to warn of satellite disruption and possible power cuts.
An unexpected combination of ground uplift and a falling gravity reading has led researchers to warn that Italy’s Campi Flegrei volcano could enter an eruption window within days. Officials say there is no reason to evacuate, but the study’s authors are urging emergency planners to prepare for a rapid change.
A 900-square-kilometre (347-square-mile) section of the fictional Morrow Ice Shelf broke away in West Antarctica last week, and a former US monitoring analyst says officials understated how quickly its remaining support is failing. Scientists warn that the loss could accelerate inland ice flow and add up to 17cm (6.7 inches) to global sea levels by 2100 in a high-emissions scenario.
An asteroid with a possible 18 May impact date has a 1-in-17 chance of striking Earth, with its current path uncertainty reaching Taiwan’s eastern coast. A review of public telescope records found the island’s astronomy bureau had flagged the object 11 days before its warning went out.
An Irish trading group has frozen a €64 million family dividend and pledged €112 million for Caribbean communities after a former ethics director challenged how the company handled its historical ties to plantation wealth. The announcement came hours after she went public with evidence that earlier promised grants had barely reached their intended recipients.
A protest in Mississauga over a proposed Diwali fireworks cancellation has led to a Canadian software study with an unexpected finding: changing the launch time may protect spectators better than switching to low-smoke shells. Researchers say their system could cut peak fine-particle exposure by 68% without shrinking the show.
Switzerland has taken control of a cross-border fire-warning network and merged it with an expiring Alpine pact, creating a new service as smoke from an exceptional wildfire season reaches major cities. Scientists say the region could face another 190,000 hectares of burning land by mid-December if dry winds persist.
A leaderless residents’ group has secured a majority on a Can Tho city panel overseeing a 1.8 trillion dong renewal fund, after officials counted its protest ballot as a formal slate. At a public inquiry on Monday, one administrator said the group had been given powers its members never requested.
A new study says a widely sold reflective roof coating may have raised cooling bills across three Caribbean islands, prompting its maker to withdraw 41,600 tins. Researchers estimate households spent nearly US$18 million more on electricity over three years than they would have without the product.