A restive volcano in the central Philippines spewed a column of ash at least 1 km (0.6 mile) into the sky on Sunday, prompting authorities to raise the alert at Mount Bulusan by one notch and remind residents not to enter the danger zone.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised its alert on Bulusan to level 1, or low level of volcanic unrest, from 0 on a five-level scale, which means it is currently in an “abnormal condition.”

In the 24 hours before the eruption, 77 volcanic earthquakes were recorded, the institute said in a statement.

Renato Solidum, the head of the institute, described Bulusan’s eruption as “phreatic”, or steam-driven, which is typical of Bulusan Volcano.

“The precaution is the same, no entry in the 4 km radius permanent danger zone, and of course, one has to be protected form ashfall if there will be ashfall in the area, like wearing of masks or staying indoors,” Solidum told Reuters.

The huge cloud of ash from Bulusan turned the skies grey, as seen in a video shared on Facebook by a resident of Casiguran town on Bulusan’s northern slopes.

Bulusan, among the Philippines’ 24 active volcanoes, last erupted in June 2017, the institute said.

The Philippines is in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.

Mount Pinatubo, on Luzon island in the northern Philippines, erupted in 1991 after lying dormant for 600 years. That eruption buried dozens of villages under tonnes of mud. More than 800 people died, mostly from diseases in crowded evacuation camps.

Bikini Atoll is a small atoll that is comprised of 23 islands, totaling 8.8 square km (3.4 square mi), located in the Pacific Ocean and part of the island nation of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

In the past the atoll had permanent population, which had to be moved due to the 23 nuclear devices which were launched by the United States.

The nuclear testing program lasted between 1946 and 1958 at seven test sites on the reef itself, on the sea, in the air and also underwater. In total, the combined fission yield 42.2 Mt (TNT equivalent – Metric ton) of explosive power. The largest islet within the atoll is Bikini, which in the same time is also the northeastern most.

Together with the Eneu Islet, they were the only islands of the atoll that hosted the permanent population. Comprised of low coral limestone and sand, the islands of Bokonijien, Aerokojlol, and Nam were vaporized during the nuclear tests, and at the moment the average elevation is only about 2 m (7 ft) above low tide level.

While there were locals on the atoll, they were cultivating native foods that included coconut, pandanus, papaya, banana, arrowroot, taro, limes, breadfruit, and pumpkin, as well as other varieties of other trees and plants. 

Nowadays, one can find too the same plants and trees, however, they are still under radiation which is making them unfit for consumption.

Yet, the islanders who once lived here, are not allowed to return, since their voluntary and temporary relocation in 1946. There have been one attempt to return in 1970, where they were reassured that the atoll is perfectly safe. 

About 10 years later, the scientists found an 11-fold increase in the caesium-137 body burdens and determined that the atoll wasn’t safe after all, that caused for another relocation of the residents who have returned.

Today, many displaced residents and their descendants wish to return to their homes, but there have been no surveys of gamma radiation over the past several decades, leaving it unclear if the islands are safe to live upon. 

Still, there is some brightness in the whole story. As it symbolizes the dawn of the nuclear age, despite its paradoxical image of peaceful and earthly paradise, the Bikini Atoll is inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, as the first one from the island nation, an even that happened in 2010. 

As it has many military remains and characteristic terrestrial and underwater landscape elements, it is tangible testimony of the birth of the Cold War and it bears testimony to the race to develop increasingly powerful nuclear weapons.

In the wake of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, the Bikini Atoll site confirmed that mankind was entering a nuclear era, showing the consequences of such weapons. 

A silent proof of the destructive force the bombs had on the Bikini Atoll, definitely should raise greater awareness for those involved in developing bigger and more destructive weapons. 

Even though there is still radiation in the area, the islands since 1996 are open for the unusual diving experience with all the ships of Bikini Atoll’s nuclear fleet, where one can learn more about the history, as well as do some fishing and sunbathing. The definite extraordinary experience from the Marshall Islands.

The Historical Museum of Sughd is a small regional museum of history that is located the second-largest city of the Republic of Tajikistan, Khujand.

Having a wide range of artifacts related to the history of one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces that make up Tajikistan, the Sughd Region, it is definitely worth the visit as one can learn plenty of history that begins from prehistoric time, through the time of Alexander the Great until today.

The Museum was built within the reconstructed southeastern bastion of the city wall, and inside there are plenty of modern marble mosaics that depict the life of Alexander the Great, showing war scenes with their multiple horses, nonetheless, with the basement dioramas of prehistoric life it is quite competitive with the rest of the museums that can be found in the region.

In addition, the exhibit collection also includes some fine textiles and costumes, a traditional home which is showcasing Tajik embroidery and some nowadays rare Tajik handwoven rugs, where the main hall is dominated by a statue of Timur Malik who was the local hero who battled the Mongol onslaught from an island in the river Syr-Darya that flows next to the museum.

As one of the major attractions in the city, the Historical Museum of Sughd is the place where one can learn plenty about the big Sughd Region, and even something more about the small republic from Central Asia.

Greek firefighters on Sunday were battling a wildfire for a second day near two Athens suburbs.

Local media reported some damage to houses as well as vehicles, with 65 fire engines and 283 firefighters still operating in the area.

Authorities said that while the blaze has abated, it’s still ongoing. No official damage estimate was available and would be done once the fire is over, officials said.

Greek authorities on Saturday ordered the evacuation of parts of the southern Athens suburbs of Voula and Glyfada as a precaution when strong winds fanned the blaze and threatened residential areas.

Thick black smoke from the fire could be seen as far as Piraeus, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away.

Officials defended the state’s response to the fire, saying it was prompt but was hampered by the mountainous terrain, high winds which occasionally reached gale force and the fact that there were three separate fires breaking out almost simultaneously.

The fire started in the early afternoon Saturday. According to Deputy Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas, the first fire engines were on the spot 12 minutes after the alarm was given and, eight minutes later, firefighting planes and helicopters, 17 in total, lifted off to join the efforts.

Hot and dry weather, combined with frequent high winds, make Greece especially vulnerable to wildfires during summer.

Last August, wildfires devastated the northern half of the island of Evia, Greece’s second largest. These and other major fires stretched the country’s firefighting capability to the limit and required aid from 24 European and Middle Eastern countries, which sent planes, helicopters, vehicles and hundreds of firefighters.

On Thursday, the European Commission said that more than 200 firefighters and technical equipment provided by European Union countries will be soon deployed to Greece to allow for a swift response to large wildfires.

“We are still in the beginning of summer and our aim is to moderate the harsh consequences of those new phenomena caused by the climate crisis,” said Christos Stylianides, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister. “Summer will be tough…weather forecasts show that, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, a climate crisis hot spot, things will, unfortunately, not be easy.”

A company is seeking to build the country’s first-ever remote air traffic control center, which could handle traffic for multiple airports, on the site of an old Air Force base in Alabama.

Advanced ATC Inc., an air traffic control academy based in Valdosta, Georgia, announced plans to invest about $4.7 million at Craig Air Field, now a public airport in Dallas County, just southeast of Selma.

The company also announced it will establish an international training academy at the site.

The remote tower uses cameras, real-time video and other features, allowing air traffic controllers to remotely accomplish the duties they would previously have carried out in a traditional control tower, the company said.

“Remote towers represent an important and innovative step in airspace modernization efforts in the U.S., and I’m excited to see Advanced ATC establish its pioneering operation at Craig Field,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.

While the technology is gaining a foothold in Europe, it is relatively new to the United States, Dan Cunningham, chief operator officer for Advanced ATC, said.

“Remote tower systems are brand new in the United States,” Cunningham said. He said the tower will be part of their training academy at the site — where they anticipate training students from around the globe — but will need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before handling air traffic in the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration has not approved any remote tower systems for use. But Cunningham said remote towers at two airports are currently going through the evaluation process, and “our process will be the same.”

Advanced ATC officials said the remote tower will be equipped to support aviation expansion and provide air traffic control services for up to 40 airports in the U.S.

“The outlook for small airports to be able to afford ATC service without the requirement to build a $5 million to $10 million control tower is now available with the advancement of camera and satellite technologies changing almost daily,” Cunningham said. “The Selma RTC will be the catalyst for this historic change in the United States.”

The company’s five-year plan seeks to bring as many as 119 jobs to Selma, with a payroll of $8 million. Of those, the company will hire 28 people to operate the facility at Craig Field within the first year, with a payroll of $3.1 million.

Indra, an aviation navigation systems company, will partner with Advanced ATC and contribute staffing, software and logistics for each remote tower system established in North America.

Meanwhile, the international training academy will provide operational training and certifications for between 25 and 50 students each year.

“We are thrilled to reach a win-win agreement and are very anxious to get started making aviation history at Craig Field,” said Advanced ATC President Monica Cunningham.

A crewless robotic boat that had tried to retrace the 1620 sea voyage of the Mayflower has finally reached the shores of North America — this time in Canada instead of the Massachusetts coast where its namesake landed more than 400 years ago.

The sleek autonomous trimaran docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Sunday, after more than five weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean from England, according to tech company IBM, which helped build it.

Piloted by artificial intelligence technology, the 50-foot (15-meter) Mayflower Autonomous Ship didn’t have a captain, navigator or any humans on board — though it might have helped to have a mechanic.

“The technology that makes up the autonomous system worked perfectly, flawlessly,” said Rob High, an IBM computing executive involved in the project. “Mechanically, we did run into problems.”

Its first attempt at the trans-Atlantic crossing to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in June 2021 was beset by technical glitches, forcing the boat to return to its home port of Plymouth, England. 

It set off again from England nearly a year later on April 27, bound for Virginia — but a generator problem diverted it to Portugal’s Azores islands, where a team member flew in to perform emergency repairs. More troubles on the open sea came in late May when the U.S.-bound boat developed a problem with the charging circuit for the generator’s starter batteries.

Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, gained a bit more force as it headed toward Bermuda on Sunday after killing three people in Cuba and causing flooding in parts of Florida.

Alex reached tropical storm force early Sunday after strengthening off Florida’s east coast early Sunday. 

National Hurricane Center forecasters said at 2 a.m. EST (1800 GMT) that Alex’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 65 mph (105 kph) and was centered about 475 miles (765 kilometers) west-southwest of Bermuda.

It was moving to the east-northeast at a brisk 23 mph (37 kph) and was expected to pass near or just north of Bermuda on Monday and a tropical storm warning was in effect there. Forecasters said it could bring 2 to 3 inches (50 to 75 mm) of rain across Bermuda late Sunday and Monday.

National Security Minister Michael Weeks said emergency services were monitoring Alex.

In Cuba, the storm killed three people, damaged dozens of homes in Havana and cut off electricity in some areas, according to authorities. Heavy rainfall continued Saturday, but was diminishing as the weather system moved away from the island.

Parts of South Florida experienced road flooding from heavy rain and wind Saturday. Officials in Miami warned drivers about road conditions as many cars were stuck on flooded streets.