An archaeologist has been honoured for her ongoing work investigating crimes at a Nazi extermination camp.

Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls, of Staffordshire University, was presented with the award for her work at Treblinka in Poland.

The medal is the second one to be awarded by the Treblinka Museum.

The museum thanked her for “extensive efforts to honour the victims who were murdered in the camps and to educate future generations.”

More than 800,000 European Jews, Poles, gypsies and political prisoners were killed at the site, between 1942 and 1943.

The Botanic Gardens Saint Vincent are most likely the oldest botanical gardens that can be found in the tropical world, as well as among the oldest ones in the Western Hemisphere, located in the capital city of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Kingstown.

Established in 1765 by General Robert Melville, who at that time was the Governor of the Windward Islands, the British Caribbean Islands, were administered by the British War Office, so that there will be medicinal plants for the military.

Nonetheless, another purpose would be the cultivation and improvement of many plants that are growing wild, accompanied with the import of others from similar climates which would be excellent utility to the public and will greatly improve the resources of the island.

With an area of about 8 hectares (20 acres), the gardens are not exclusively reserved for plants, among which preservation of rare plants is an important role, but also they are the place for conservation of the very vulnerable Saint Vincent Parrot.

Offering attractive and peaceful retreat for the people of the island, as well as the tourists, it is the place for venues such as weddings, photographing, family celebrations, studying and many other special events where people would enjoy.

Giving the sense of public ownership, the gardens are also the place where the Nicholas Wildlife Aviary Complex located that maintains a captive breeding program for the previously mentioned Saint Vincent Parrot, which is also known as the National Bird.

There were renovations that occurred sometime at the beginning of 2012, so that when they will be finished the Botanical Gardens would celebrate the 250th anniversary.

As a matter in fact, in 2015 was that anniversary when it was confirmed that the Botanic Gardens of the Saint Vincent and The Grenadines are definitely one of the most amazing places in the world, as well as the most tranquil ones which offer peace and small piece of history to every visitor.

Aso Rock is an interesting and large rocky outcrop, which is more precisely a monolith, that lies on the outskirts of the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja.

The name derives from the native language which actually means ‘victorious’, and being one of the most notable features of the city, the Aso Rock is 400 meters (1,312 feet) tall, however, the most noticeable objects in the vicinity are the Nigerian Presidential Complex, Nigerian National Assembly, and Nigerian Supreme Court.

Holding a significant importance in the culture and history of the natives, all of the visitors who would like to climb the rock, or even enter some of the caves that can be found around the monolith, they would need to ask, which is often preferable, for permission of the local priests.

Nonetheless, the best time to visit it, is when the government functions are carried out at Aso Rock where people can witness how the government is functioning, and once at the peak, there is an impressive and breathtaking landscape view of Abuja and the surroundings.

A true significant symbol of the new capital of Nigeria, that is becoming more and more popular among the tourists visiting Nigeria.

France was in the midst of its fourth heat wave of the year Monday as the country faces what the government warned is its worst drought on record.

National weather agency Meteo France said the heat wave began in the south and is expected to spread across the country and last until the weekend.

Overall, the southern half of France expects daytime temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) ad won’t drop at nighttime below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit).

The high temperatures aren’t helping firefighters battling a wildfire in the Chartreuse Mountains, near the Alps in eastern France, where authorities have evacuated around 140 people.

Meteo France said this week’s heat wave will not be as intense as the one last month when several regions experienced record-breaking temperatures.

But the high temperatures come during the most severe drought ever recorded, according to the government. Last month was the driest July since measurements began in 1959.

The President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the bank is set to deliver certified wheat and other staple crops seeds to 20 million farmers.

Adesina said this in a document titled, “Averting an African Food Crisis: The African Food Production Facility” and obtained on Monday, August 8, 2022, in Abuja.

He said the initiative, which is part of activities being undertaken by the bank, would tackle food crisis in African countries including Nigeria.

The president said the delivery of seeds and increased access to agricultural fertilisers would be done through the bank’s African Emergency Food Production Facility.

Adesina said that, within the next two years, the facility would allow farmers to produce 38 million additional tonnes of food.

He said that part of the plan was a 30 per cent increment in local production worth an estimated $12 billion.

He also said that it would facilitate better global investment in Africa’s agricultural sector.

Adesina said that the facility would also support enhanced governance and policy reforms.

“Half a dozen more programmes are expected to get underway by September as more governments apply to the facility,’’ he said.

According to him, food aid cannot feed Africa because Africa does not need bowls in hand.

The president said that the African Emergency Food Production Facility had benefited from stakeholder consultations.

He said the price of wheat had soared in Africa by more than 45 per cent since the war in Ukraine began.

Adesina also said fertiliser prices had gone up by 300 per cent while the continent faced a fertilizer shortage of two million metric tonnes.

Adesina further said it would create a platform to advocate critical policy reforms to solve the structural issues that impede farmers from receiving modern inputs.

He said it included strengthening national institutions overseeing input markets.

According to him, the facility had a structure for working with multilateral development partners.

This he said would ensure rapid alignment and implementation, enhanced reach, and effective impact.

The president also said it would increase technical preparedness and responsiveness.

He said it included short, medium, and long-term measures to address both the urgent food crisis and long-term sustainability and resilience of Africa’s food systems.

The mayor of London is being urged to make an 11th hour intervention and halt plans for a new four-lane road tunnel under the River Thames that opponents say would worsen pollution and exacerbate the climate crisis.

Tunnelling equipment is on site on the banks of the Thames, and work on the £2bn Silvertown tunnel is due to start in the coming weeks.

But the scheme has faced widespread opposition from local people, politicians, climate scientists and medical experts who say it would increase traffic and worsen public health in some of the most deprived boroughs in the country.

They also say it will lock in high carbon transport for generations to come.

ScottishPower is planning to build a £150m green hydrogen plant at the Port of Felixstowe to power trains, trucks and ships.

The energy company has drawn up proposals for a 100megawatt plant at the Suffolk port which will provide enough fuel to power 1300 hydrogen trucks from 2026.

The company, owned by €63bn Spanish utilities giant Iberdrola, said demand for the green fuel had stepped up since petrol and diesel prices began to soar last year, emboldening the firm to invest.

It has submitted an application to the government’s Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which provides state backing to develop low-carbon hydrogen projects for the next three years. ScottishPower estimated the whole project could cost between £100m and £150m.

ScottishPower plans to build the facility, which will be around the size of a football pitch, on brownfield land within the port, which is one of the busiest in the UK and a trade hub.

Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable electricity to drive an electrolyser that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas is burned to produce power, emitting only water vapour and warm air, and no greenhouse gases.