Author: Verified News Online

AdvertisementAnimalsWorldEuropeNorway reports Europe’s first case of bird flu in a polar bearThe H5N5 variant was also found in a walrus found about 1,000km from the North Pole, and is thought to be the likely cause of death
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 1:40am, 20 May 2026Norwegian authorities on Tuesday announced that bird flu has been documented in a polar bear for the first time in Europe, in the Svalbard region in the Arctic.
The H5N5 variant of the virus was detected in samples taken from a male bear about one year old and a walrus found dead in mid-May on the icy archipelago, around 1,000km (600 miles) from the North Pole, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute said.
“The results are part of a trend in which highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are increasingly being detected in mammals in Europe,” noted Ragnhild Tonnessen, bird flu coordinator at the Veterinary Institute, quoted in a press release.
Advertisement“At the same time, in recent years, the vir..

Image: National gEOGRAPHIC The ancient Roman town of Pompeii was buried under volcanic ashes after the disastrous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. This natural catastrophe caused the destruction of houses, streets, temples and thousands of lives in a matter of hours; the city was hidden underneath the pumice and ash deposits for almost 1,700 years. Pompeii is still one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world, providing people with an insight into the daily life of ancient Romans. From casts of bodies to preserved frescoes and bakeries, the ruins tell us about the sudden change nature brings into people’s lives.The eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of PompeiiIt appeared to be just another day in August of AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted with catastrophic force. As the Roman author Pliny the Younger described it, the sky was so dark that it looked “as if the lamp had been put out in a dark room”. As explained by Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze..

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the US will give a 30-day extension for countries to import Russian oil that is already in tankers at sea, a move that is meant to reduce the oil supply shortages caused by the Iran war.
The announcement marks a continued policy reversal by an administration that had previously said the sanctions on Russian oil would resume.
Originally announced in early March, the temporary waiver on the sanctions was first renewed in April, just two days after…

A US jury ⁠on Monday ruled against Elon Musk in ⁠his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding the artificial intelligence company ⁠not liable to the world’s richest person for having allegedly strayed from its original mission to benefit humanity.
In a unanimous verdict, the jury in Oakland, California federal court said Musk had brought his case too late.
The jury deliberated less than two hours.
The trial had widely been seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence…

Image: AI Generated
In the drought-ridden Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, women have adopted fog-harvesting technology to extract potable water from clouds that pass over the fringes of the Sahara Desert. In the villages surrounding Ait Baamrane, a lack of water sources, desertification, climate change, and the drying up of wells previously made it necessary for women and children to spend hours each day fetching water in large containers. Thanks to the installation of enormous fog-collection nets on Mount Boutmezguida, the lives of many have been changed forever. It is an initiative led by the women of the Dar Si Hmad Foundation that has become one of the world’s best-known fog-collection ventures.Fog harvesting in Morocco: How the system worksThe fog harvesting process is both simple and efficient. Huge mesh nets are suspended in mountainous areas where there is a high probability of thick fog from the Atlantic Ocean passing through. Tiny droplets are collected in the net, converte..