Human beings used fire to cook food hundreds of thousands of years earlier than previously thought, an Israeli-led group of researchers have suggested.

They found evidence in the 780,000-year-old remains of a huge carp-like fish discovered in northern Israel.

The scientists noted “the transition from eating raw food to eating cooked food had dramatic implications for human development and behaviour”.

The previous earliest evidence of cooking dated from about 170,000 BC.

The remains of the two-metre (6.5ft) fish were found at the Gesher Benot Yaaqob archaeological site which spans the River Jordan about 14km (8.5 miles) north of the Sea of Galilee .

Researchers led by Dr Irit Zohar of Tel Aviv University studied crystals from the enamel of the fish’s teeth, which were found in large quantities at the site.

The way the crystals had expanded was a sign that they had not been exposed to direct fire, but cooked at a lower temperature.

“Gaining the skill required to cook food marks a significant evolutionary advance, as it provided an additional means for making optimal use of available food resources,” said Professor Naama Goren-Inbar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who directed the excavation.

“It is even possible that cooking was not limited to fish, but also included various types of animals and plants.”

The scientists determined that the fish once populated the ancient Hula Lake which existed at the site until it was drained in the 1950s to try to eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Other archaeological evidence found at the site indicates it was inhabited by groups of hunter-gatherers for tens of thousands of years.

The team believe the location of such freshwater areas offers a clue to the route followed by early man on its migration out of Africa to the Levant and further afield.

The latest findings came from a joint study involving scientists from Israeli, British and German institutions.

The Dutch government is banning the use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, amid concerns over the health risks for the growing number of young people using it.

The ban, which starts in January, makes it illegal to buy, sell or own the gas.

However, the authorities say it can still be used for medicinal purposes and in the food industry.

The government also hopes the ban will reduce the number of road traffic accidents involving the drug.

According to road safety monitor TeamAlert, laughing gas has played a role in 1,800 accidents across the Netherlands over the past three years.

The popular legal high has grown in popularity amongst clubbers and festival-goers in recent years, and is often used in combination with other drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) or ketamine.

The gas is mostly sold in small metal canisters, which are emptied into balloons before it is inhaled.

According to the Trimbos Institute, more than 37% of Dutch party-goers use laughing gas on a regular basis – mostly young people.

But there are serious concerns about the impact the depressant-type drug has on the brain and the body’s response. Heavy regular use can also lead to a vitamin deficiency that can cause permanent nerve damage and lasting paralysis.

“The recreational use of nitrous oxide leads to enormous health risks,” State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport Maarten van Ooijen said, as the government decision was announced.

Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz said the ban would enable the police to take immediate action if they found someone with nitrous oxide gas canisters in their vehicle.

Concerns about the growing popularity of the drug goes beyond the Netherlands.

In England, it is the most commonly misused substance (after cannabis) among 16- to 24-year-olds.

Last month, the UK Home Office faced calls to ban all direct consumer sales of the gas, over concerns about its misuse.

It has become widely and easily available for recreational use, as it can be legally bought and sold for the purpose of making whipped cream.

Nitrous oxide is regularly used in big canisters as an anaesthetic inhaled by patients at hospitals and dental surgeries.

This is a massive wonder tree with an hollow inside situated in the Amakama community and capable of accommodating 20 people at a time.

This tree has served as a safe haven to the community during the inter-tribal wars and slave trade era.

This community is also serene and peaceful and will be a good spot for self-meditation.

Waste-to-Energy Plant, otherwise known as Spittelau, is a futuristic energy producing plant, located in the capital city of the Republic of Austria, Vienna.

As Vienna has always been committed to discharging key municipal services, such as waste management, on its own, this is one of the most interesting ways of discharging waste and producing energy at the same time.

As a result, the municipal administration is not only responsi­ble for the entire chain of waste disposal, but also handles the processing of residual waste independently, from collection to thermal treatment and, finally, depositing of the incin­eration residues at a municipally-owned landfill.

The WtE plants offer to Austria more reliable use of the waste from which the City of Vienna gains electricity.

Vienna’s power plants not only provide clean energy, but are also a part of the city’s skyline, with their artistic and innovative design.

Tours are offered to let visitors take a peek behind the scenes of this technology and learn more about environmental and climate protection measures.

A popular photographic motif in Vienna is the Spittelau waste incineration plant, whose façade was redesigned and given its present colorful, irregular structures by eco-architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser following a major fire in 1987.

Since then, the former utility building has combined the topics of waste, energy and art in a fascinating way.

On a tour of the plant, visitors get an insight into Vienna’s waste, recycling and disposal system, as well as the environmentally friendly generation of thermal heat and hot water.

The old plant was built between 1969 and 1971. After the fire in 1987, instead of being teared down, it was rebuilt on the same site.

That was the reason because the entire district heating technology was present at Spittelau and the waste burned exactly where it was being generated, in the middle of the city.

The then mayor of Vienna, Helmut Zilk, wanted Spittelau to be especially clean and to set new standards in protecting the environment, but also to be a work of art.

The building was finished in 1992, and Hundertwasser has done perfectly his job, with the colorful façade, the golden ball on the chimney, roof greenery and planted trees.

Today, the Spittelau waste incineration plant processes around 250,000 tonnes of household waste every year.

The plant in the 9th district produces approximately: 40,000 MWh of electricity, 470,000 MWh of district heating, 6,000 tones of scrap iron and 60,000 tonnes of clinker, ash and filter cake.

All this is enough to heat more than 60,000 households in Vienna in a year.

The building is not just a masterpiece on the outside, however, it represents a revolutionary technology on the inside as well, from which the citizens of Vienna can enjoy its benefits.

The garbage and sewage waste dumping by different restaurants and food chains operating in the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) have been posing serious risk to wildlife and biodiversity of the protected area.

Different hotels and recreational spots established in this national park, with their number mounting every passing day are gradually eating up beauty of the area making nature lover to think that why a proper mechanism is not devised for disposing of waste generated by these outlets.

Forming the foothill of Himalayan Mountain Range and sprawling over 17,000 hectare land, the Margalla Hills National Park is rich in wildlife and ecology and is home to the endangered common Asian Leopards, Barking Deer, Wolves, Pangolin, Kalij Pheasants and flora and fauna that are indigenous and unique in existence.

It is also one of attractive tourist spots and source of amusement for the federal capital residents for its zigzagging road leading to Pir Sohawa and beyond, walking tracks, tall pines and small brooks.

When contacted to comment on the situation, the CDA spokesperson stated that environmental protection was not their responsibility. “We owe the responsibility of maintaining roads, parking areas and their cleanliness. Other issues like protection of wildlife, habitat and walking tracks pertain to Pak-EPA.”

Protection of natural assets like wildlife, habitat and flora and fauna is our shared responsibility and the departments concerned cannot shy away simply by passing the buck.

Mozambique has started exporting liquefied natural gas for the first time, in a move the country’s President Filipe Nyusi has described as historic.

The gas has been produced at an off-shore plant run by Italian energy firm Eni, but British oil giant BP has the purchasing rights over it.

The gas left in a British cargo ship for Europe, but its final destination is unclear.

The shipment comes at a time when Europe is looking for alternative sources of gas, as it tries to reduce its reliance on Russia.

Mozambique hopes to become one of the world’s biggest exporters of natural gas, following its discovery in the northern Cabo Delgado province in 2010.

But its efforts have been hampered by a five-year-long Islamist insurgency that has killed more than 4,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in the province.

The government believes the discovery of gas will boost the economy, but Mr Nyusi said Mozambique would continue to focus on “traditional activities”, such as agriculture, fishing, tourism, to achieve development.

The Lekki Conservation Center In Lekki, Nigeria, is an oasis of nature within the urban chaos of Lagos, and the suspended canopy walkway that rises over the reserve is the longest in all of Africa.

The canopy walkway features six towers that rise over 22 feet each.

They are connected by a series of suspended (and swinging) walkways that offer a unique (if somewhat harrowing) 360-degree view of this part of the world from high above the treetops.

The treetop walk stretches about 1,315 feet long (more than three and a half football fields), setting the record for the longest on the African continent.

Founded in 1990 by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, the conservation center preserves a large part of the region’s biodiverse coastal ecosystem and educates visitors on the importance of coexisting with nature.

The reserve is home to a plethora of wildlife, including monkeys, tortoises, and rare birds.