The Tonga Meteorological Services said a tsunami warning was in effect for all of Tonga, and data from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center showed waves of 2.6 feet had been detected.
Unusual rains and heat saw beetles reproducing in larger numbers and invading a small town in Argentina
The Argentinean town of Santa Isabel has been forced to shut off its lights for several days in an effort to persuade the millions of bugs that have invaded its streets to leave and look for another place to stay.
The town of some 2,500 in Argentina’s central province of La Pampa has been plagued by swarms of beetles for over a week. “They’re everywhere – in the houses, in the shops,” Deputy Mayor Cristian Echegaray complained to the media.
Local law enforcement agents have blamed the beetles for damaging the police station, residential buildings, and vehicles, as well as plugging the drains at a gas station, among other inconveniences.
Residents have documented the infestation in videos uploaded to social media, showing thousands of bugs in the roofs of their houses and huddling in dark holes.
Some have been filling huge boxes with the insects, driving them out of town in their cars, and dumping them, so as to be able to go on with their daily routine without the insects’ hindrance.
Los cascarudos invadieron Santa Isabel y planean avanzar sobre la capital pampeana. Ampliaremos. pic.twitter.com/k1Co2V1LuL
The authorities attribute the infestation both to unusually heavy rains for the time of the year and the heatwave that recently hit Argentina, which saw temperatures rise to almost 40C (104F).
Those conditions were perfect for the reproduction of the bugs, the larvae of which develop below ground.
Millions of adult beetles then flocked to Santa Isabel, attracted by its streetlights. The insects don’t bite or sting, but they’re protected by a sturdy shell and have a tendency to hit things as they fly, so locals were recommended to cover their faces while outside to avoid injury.
Santa Isabel eventually decided to turn off its streetlights and the lights in public building to make the bugs “go away and find another town,” Echegaray told the AP news agency on Saturday.
The town has been dark for the past three days, with the move proving effective. The number of beetles has decreased dramatically during the blackout, he said.
The UN Office in Geneva is celebrating a 60-year collaboration with the European Broadcasting Union of public-service broadcasters, which has helped transparent, fair and impartial television news to be seen around the world.
The shortest route to get a ship from Asia to the U.S. is through America’s West Coast ports. But given the pileup there, some ships are going the long way through eastern Canada into the Great Lakes.
Biden administration said one of the suspected hackers arrested in Russia was to blame for the Colonial Pipeline attack
The Biden administration is “pleased” about Russia arresting several suspected hackers, including one allegedly behind the ransomware attack that led to week-long fuel shortages last year.
A senior administration official, speaking with reporters on Friday, said Moscow had informed Washington about the arrests, and that one of the individuals involved was responsible for the May 2021 attack that crippled the Colonial Pipeline.
“I want to be very clear: In our mind, this is not related to what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine. I don’t speak for the government’s motives, but we’re pleased with these initial actions,” said the unnamed official, according to Axios.
The US has been accusing Russia of planning an “invasion” of Ukraine for several weeks now, with Moscow dismissing the allegations as “fake news.”
Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced it had conducted raids in three regions – Moscow, St. Petersburg and Lipetsk – targeting suspected hackers, after receiving a notice from US authorities about their alleged criminal activity.
The men arrested were reportedly members of REvil, a hacking group that specialized in ransomware attacks, and was blamed for the June 2021 attack on the meat processing conglomerate JBS and the US-based IT management platform Kaseya in July.
The Colonial Pipeline attack was originally attributed to a different gang, called DarkSide. The company, which runs the pipeline providing much of the southern and eastern US with fuel, shut down operations for several days in May 2021, after the ransomware attack affected its automated invoicing service.
The week-long disruption in supply caused fuel shortages across several states and Washington, DC. Colonial’s CEO Joseph Blount later admitted that he paid $4.4 million in ransom to the hackers, saying it was “the right thing to do for the country.”
The following month, the FBI also blamed DarkSide for the attack, boasting that it had seized about $2.3 million in bitcoin from their accounts.
