WATCH Massive dust storm engulf Australian town

A massive dust storm with winds up to 110 kilometers an hour swept through parts of Queensland, Australia, with sections of the red cloud being caught on camera.

One video of the storm, filmed by a local man Leaim Shaw, has swept across social media. It had many comparing the scene out of the town of Boulia, which was swallowed whole by the cloud on Sunday, to something from the post-apocalyptic ‘Mad Max’ film franchise. The town of Boulia only has approximately 300 residents. 

Residents described the dust storm as the biggest they have seen in years to local media and said the sky turned red and relentless winds shook their homes as they sheltered in place, after a few had grabbed footage of the incoming cloud. 

Meteorologists reported the unusually large dust storm was caused by a series of thunderstorms in the area. Parts of Queensland were hit with heavy rainfall and cold weather following the dust cloud rolling through. 

“Storms are disorganised things, but sometimes they’ll organise together and on Sunday they did form along a line,” Bureau of Meteorology official Helen Kirkup told Yahoo News Australia. 

The dust storm also tore through the towns of Mount Isla, Dajarra, and Urandangi. 

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Iran explains blasts near nuclear plant

Iran has said that explosions above the Bushehr nuclear power plant in the early hours of Monday morning were related to an air defense drill, as the military launches war games across the country.

Speaking to Iranian state media on Monday, the deputy governor of Bushehr province, Mohammadtaqi Irani, said the power plant had hosted early morning maneuvers to prepare for possible future aggression. 

“This air defense exercise took place at 5am local time, with full preparation and coordination with the armed forces,” Irani stated.

Prior to Irani’s statement, there had been reports of anti-aircraft fire in the area around the power station. A video circulating online appears to show air defense drills in progress. 

State media outlets reported that Iran had launched the 17th iteration of its annual five-day war games, Payambar-e Azam [The Great Prophet]. 

The joint drills are taking place along the shores of the Persian Gulf, in the Strait of Hormuz, and in the provinces of Hormozgan, Bushehr, and Khuzestan, and involve the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ ground, naval, and air force units.

To mark the start of the exercises, a senior Iranian military commander issued a menacing message directed at Israel. “If Israel carries out attacks against Iran, our armed forces will immediately attack all centers, bases, routes, and spaces used to carry out the aggression,” Major General Gholamali Rashid said, vowing a “crushing” response, according to Nournews. 

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FILE PHOTO: Cars drive past the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq June 10, 2019  © REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily
US air defenses respond to rockets targeting Baghdad’s Green Zone

Iran’s nuclear sites have long been the source of international attention. For the past year, parties have sporadically met in Vienna with the aim of bringing Iran and the US back in line with the terms of an Obama-era atomic deal, which put constraints on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Then-President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled America out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018, re-imposing harsh economic sanctions on Iran as part of a maximum pressure campaign. Iran responded by reneging on a series of commitments it had previously agreed to under the terms of the deal.

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I see a light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria : A UN Resident Coordinator blog

Edward Kallon, the outgoing UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, is moving on after five years in the past. In this blog, Mr. Kallon reflects on the many challenges facing Africa’s most populous nation, the impact the UN has made on his watch, and the prospects for a prosperous, sustainable future.

Read the full story, “I see a light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria : A UN Resident Coordinator blog”, on globalissues.org

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