Crowds can attend London’s new year fireworks on December 31 for the first time since 2019, after Covid-19 restricted the spectacle to television for two years.

More than 100,000 people will be able to watch the annual display in the British capital on the banks of the River Thames, with the first tickets going on sale next Friday.

Attendance at last year’s fireworks was cancelled as the Omicron variant prompted another wave of cases, while it was similarly axed the year before with the country in lockdown.

The events were broadcast on the BBC and its online iPlayer both years, and will be televised again this year with the crowds back.

The dramatic displays around the London Eye observation wheel on the south bank of the Thames typically draw huge crowds from Britain and around the world.

“I’m delighted that our fireworks are back and Londoners and visitors to our capital will again be able to join together on the banks of the Thames to welcome in the new year,” Mayor Sadiq Khan said.

“The celebrations are one of the biggest nights of the year for our capital’s hospitality industry and an unforgettable moment when the eyes of the world turn to our city.”

From tropical beaches to vibrant cultures, Indonesia’s Bali is known as one of the world’s most popular destinations for vacation — an experience some of the local operators are trying to enhance with the presence of animals exotic to the island’s fauna: camels.

On Kelan beach, located near Ngurah Rai International Airport, three camels called Bintang, Yulia, and Munaroh have been giving tourists rides by the beach, where sunset views and a glimpse of the fishermen’s lives become part of the experience.

“Tourists will see the fishermen’s fishing boats, how these people living on the shores earn their livelihoods through fishing,” Dewa Gde Yudistira, a veterinarian and co-owner of Bali Camel Adventure, said.

Yudistira, who started his camel rides in 2017, said tourists will also get to see the 122-meter-tall Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue from afar, or airplanes leaving or reaching the airport, as they ride on the camels.

“The sunset here is also one of the main attractions because there’s nothing like it,” Yudistira said. “It’s been gaining traction lately.”

Though the species is uncommon throughout the archipelago nation and, if at all, only seen at zoos, the animals’ upkeep is “not that difficult,” according to Yudistira. The camels, brought in from Australia, eat mainly grass and are sometimes treated to carrots, bananas and sweet potatoes.

The beachside camel rides have attracted visitors from all over Bali, Indonesian tourists from other parts of the country, and foreign visitors.

After two years of closures, the business and the whole hospitality sector in Bali are getting back on track.

More than 617,000 international visitors have entered Indonesia through Ngurah Rai as of July 2022, according to Ministry of Tourism data, compared with just 35 foreign tourists during the same period last year.

Thousands of people across Australia’s southeast were asked to evacuate their homes on Friday, including some in a western suburb of Melbourne, after two days of incessant rains triggered flash flooding and fast-moving waters burst river banks.

Large parts of Victoria state, southern New South Wales and the northern regions of the island state of Tasmania were pounded by an intense weather system with some taking more than a month’s worth of rain since late Wednesday, officials said.

“Our river systems… are reaching major flood levels at various times over today, through the weekend and through next week,” Victoria emergency services chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch told reporters.

Many rivers in Victoria, including the Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s west and the Goulburn further north, reached major flood levels, prompting the night-time evacuation of residents.

The Goulburn River at Seymour, about 100 km (62 miles) north of Melbourne, has peaked above the record 7.64 metres (25 ft) reached in May 1974, data showed. More than 200 flood rescues were conducted by emergency crews.

Upstream in Shepparton, rising flood waters are expected to surpass the 1974 peak by Tuesday and threaten over 4,000 properties.

“In terms of property damage, road, public infrastructure and the sheer volume of water, this is going to set new records,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said at a news conference.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government stood ready to provide assistance to the flood-stricken states.

More than 5 billion mobile phones, out of the total estimated 16 billion phones possessed worldwide, will likely be discarded or stashed away in 2022, experts said, calling for more recycling of the often hazardous materials they contain.

Many disused phones would rise 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) if stacked flat on each other, more than 100 times higher than the International Space Station, the WEEE research consortium found.

Despite containing valuable gold, copper, silver, palladium and other recyclable components, almost all these unwanted devices will be hoarded, dumped or incinerated, causing significant health and environmental harm.

“Smartphones are one of the electronic products of highest concern for us,” said Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum, a not-for-profit association representing forty-six producer responsibility organizations.

“If we don’t recycle the rare materials they contain, we’ll have to mine them in countries like China or Congo,” Leroy said.

Defunct cell phones are just the tip of the 44.48 million-ton iceberg of global electronic waste generated annually that isn’t recycled, according to the 2020 global e-waste monitor.

Many of the five billion phones withdrawn from circulation will be hoarded rather than dumped in the trash, according to a survey in six European countries from June to September 2022.

This happens when households and businesses forget cell phones in drawers, closets, cupboards or garages rather than bringing them in for repair or recycling.

Up to 5 kilograms (8 pounds) of e-devices per person are currently hoarded in the average European family, the report found.

According to the new findings, 46% of the 8,775 households surveyed considered potential future use as the main reason for hoarding small electrical and electronic equipment.

Another 15% stockpile their gadgets with the intention of selling them or giving them away, while 13% keep them due to “sentimental value.”

The Manchhar Lake reached its normal level of 115 RL as floodwater receded further after its release into the Indus River, on Saturday.

However, the flood situation remained the same at Jaffarabad, Wahar, and Council Bobak areas.

Pakistan Army GOC Hyderabad Major General Dilawar Khan reviewed ongoing rehab work where agriculture department officials briefed the GOC.

As per the information, Larkana-Hyderabad Indus Highway traffic has been resumed after 40 days. As relief work has been going on in flood-affected areas.

Singh’s government has set up teams for the survey and rehabilitation of damaged houses.

Earlier, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro confirmed reports that the floodwater in Manchar lake receded further after its release into the Indus river continued at a faster pace. He added that the situation on the right bank of the Indus would normalise soon.

Jabi Boat Club, is a family entertainment center designed to offer water based recreational facilities for the people of Abuja and its environs as well as tourists, reaching out to all ages and inclinations.

The state-of-the-art water based sporting facilities makes the Jabi Lake a compelling place to visit for both families and individuals with the flair for water sports and recreation.

Located along the shores of the popular and largest lake in Abuja; Jabi Boat Club caters to adventurous, fun and experience seekers.

With various water themed events, a wide range of water crafts and World-class Woodhouse restaurant and bar; Jabi Boat Club is the first of its kind in the capital city of Nigeria.

Aconcagua is a mountain which is the highest one in the Southern and Western Hemispheres, and it is located in the Andes Mountains, in the Mendoza Province, in the western part of the Argentine Republic.

With an elevation of 6,961 meters above the sea, it is listed in the group of seven highest mountains of each of the continents, also known as the Seven Summits list, in addition to being the highest point of Argentina.

Being part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park, the area is protected since 1983 due to the fact that it contains the highest peak in all of the Americas, which in turn makes it quite popular among the adventurist mountaineers.

Nobody really knows how the mountain was named, even though there are some possible origins from the native Quechuan language, which are all connected somehow with the present name of the Aconcagua River.

The height of the mountain is explained with the fact that it represents an extinct volcano that was active until some 10 million years ago, which in turn explains the rocks around Aconcagua’s flanks.

The first recorded ascent was in 1897 by a European expedition which was led by the British mountaineer Edward FitzGerald, who was unsuccessful, but on 14 January, the expedition’s guide, the Swiss mountaineer Matthias Zurbriggen successfully “conquered” Aconcagua.

Since then, the mountain gained great popularity among the enthusiasts that are excited by conquering the rocky slopes, and the youngest yet person to reach the summit was the American kid Tyler Armstrong who was only nine years old we he ascended Aconcagua in 2013.

The flora is limited to mostly yellow firewood, yareta and goat horn, in addition to the open pastures that can be found up to 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) altitude.

On the other hand, the fauna is limited to mostly birds that inhabit the mountain, among which the condor, the purple eagle and Agachona snipe are the most interesting ones. Still, the mountain rats and the red fox are one feature of Aconcagua that can be seen frequently roaming around.

The temperatures vary, but they are most of the time in the extreme, in addition to the low humidity, low oxygen levels and very fierce winds.

According to the official numbers, about 60 percent of the mountaineers that try to climb to the top are successful, since it is not a highly technical climb, many mistakenly believe that it will be an easy ascent.

Unfortunately, due to the dangers, there are hundreds of mountaineers who lost their lives here, mostly because of complications of altitude sickness, even though heart attacks, falling down, hypothermia and similar causes have been known to kill those unfortunate ones.

With several climbing routes, Aconcagua should always be taken with high precautions when trying to ascend it, nonetheless, once conquered it is certain that it is going to fulfill the soul of those brave enough who put their lives in great danger.