The King George Falls are twin waterfalls which are located on the river that shares the same name, King George River, and they are located in the northern part of the State of Western Australian, within the Commonwealth of Australia.

Being one of the greatest spectacles that can be seen in this vast state, there is no clear information about the height of the waterfalls, nonetheless, it is considered that they are between 80 and 100 meters (262 and 328 feet) in height.

As the water plunges downwards over the soaring red sandstone cliffs, there is the possibility for people to get as close as possible to the staggering force of the water, and get a freshwater shower.

The rocks that surround it, are considered to be some 2,000 million years old, and there are not that many options for people to come and see this astonishing natural feature of Western Australia.

As a matter in fact, there is the possibility to take a cruise boat alongside the King George River, or the second option would be a quite scenic flight over the coast, allowing everyone to see the magnificence the nature has created.

Certainly the best time to see the falls is in April and May when the river is at the highest possible level after the good rains, making the falls to give a thundering sound and almost scary vibes.

Still, the river is of very high cultural significance to the Balanggarra People, who consider the falls to be male and female, as they are twin falls.

As King George Falls are enjoyed all year round, despite the recommended visiting months, they still are considered to be one of the greatest treasures Australia has to offer to the world, even though there are far more popular places in this enormous nation.

The drought-hit Panama Canal will maintain restrictions on the passage of ships for one year, a measure that has already led to a marine traffic jam as boats line up to enter the waterway linking two oceans.

The canal is facing a shortage of rainwater needed to transfer ships through locks that function like water elevators, an engineering marvel that moves six percent of the world’s maritime commerce up and over the isthmus between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The canal’s sub-administrator Ilya Espino, told AFP that unless heavy rains fall in the next three months, “we are looking at a period of one year” of restricted access.

That period will give clients “a year to plan” how to adapt, she said late Thursday.

Each ship moving through the canal requires 200 million liters of freshwater to move it through the locks, provided by two artificial lakes fed by rainfall in a surrounding watershed. The lakes also supply drinking water to half the country of about 4.2 million people.

However, Panama is facing a biting drought, made worse by the El Nino warming phenomenon, which has forced canal administrators to restrict the waterway to ships with a maximum draft (water depth) of 13.11 meters (43 feet).

In 2022, an average of 40 ships crossed through the canal a day, a number which has now dropped to 32 to save water.

Bavaria in southern Germany on Sunday was pounded by powerful storms and rain.

Heavy rainfall in the Straubing region caused many streets and basements of homes to flood, according to a statement from the Niederbayern Police Department.

Due to the storm, some roads in the area were blocked by fallen trees.

In the town of Ratzing, a house was struck by lightning, causing a fire on the upper floor.

The flames quickly spread, making the house uninhabitable. The homeowner also sustained minor injuries while trying to put out the fire.

According to Bayerischer Rundfunk TV, in the town of Bad Bayersoien, 150 houses had their roofs blown off and numerous vehicles were damaged by the storm and hail.

In the Kammer district of Traunstein, a crane toppled onto a house due to the storm. Although the building’s roof sustained significant damage, reportedly no one was injured.

In the town of Kissing in the Aichach-Friedberg region, the roof of a senior citizens group home was blown off by the storm, and over 100 residents were evacuated.

Chinese weather forecasters on Monday warned several provinces to expect torrential rain and flash floods over the next two days as unrelenting downpours wreak havoc on the country.

More than three thousand people were evacuated in northwestern Hunan province over the weekend as heavy rain was unleashed on Sangzhi, Shimen and Yongshun counties, and Zhangjiajie City, according to state media.

Sangzhi recorded the heaviest rainfall this year, with maximum precipitation reaching 256 mm (10.07 inches) overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.

It was the most extensive and widespread rain in Sangzhi since 1998, CCTV said.

China has been gripped by weeks of rains and floods amid an unusually wet summer. In late July, storms from Typhoon Dokusri caused record rains to hit China in over a decade, with Beijing experiencing its heaviest rainfall in 140 years.

China’s government has called for more precautions against flooding as Typhoon Saola now makes it way across the South China Sea, with forecasts expecting it to land at Guangdong province as early as this Friday.

China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management organised a video conference this past Saturday, warning that heavy rainfall in many parts of the country may cause geological disasters including mountain torrents and floods in some small and medium-sized rivers, state media People’s Daily reported.

There is also uncertainty over Typhoon Saola’s path, said China Meteorological Administration, but it will bring heavy rainfall in the coastal areas including Fujian and Zhejiang provinces from Wednesday to Friday.

Fujian has launched an emergency response to Saola, ordering fishing boats in some waters to return to harbours in the vicinity and all personnel on board to evacuate ashore by Wednesday noon, local media reported on Monday.

Days ahead of the controversial expansion of London’s road charging scheme for the most polluting vehicles, businesses in the British capital remain wary despite the mayor unveiling further subsidies.

The extension of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to all of Greater London on Tuesday has sparked a wider public backlash as Britons grapple with a cost-of-living crisis fuelled by decades-high inflation and low economic growth.

Alongside that, a third of London businesses are concerned that the £12.50 ($16) daily toll set to be applied across the city will have a negative impact on their employees, according to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

Around 40 of those based in the suburbs — where the scheme is being expanded to — believe it will increase their costs, it found.

“We’ve been urging the mayor of London to do a lot more so that businesses, particularly small businesses, are not hammered,” James Watkins, of the LCCI, told AFP.

He said bosses were “relieved” after under-fire Labour mayor Sadiq Khan announced increased financial support for owners of more polluting vehicles affected by his ULEZ extension.

“It’s important because firms were worried for their workers,” Watkins added.

Under the new support measures, owners of older petrol or diesel vans — many thought to be self-employed and small-business operators — can receive £7,000 in scrappage reimbursement, compared with the previous £5,000.

Meanwhile, every Londoner will now be eligible for grants of up to £2,000 to scrap their non-compliant vehicle.

NASA is exploring the potential for a supersonic jet that could take commercial passengers from London to New York in 90 minutes.

The US space agency’s Quesst mission was launched in 2016, primarily to design an aircraft with technology that reduces the loudness of a sonic boom: that’s what we hear on the ground when a plane travels faster than sound.

They are so powerful that operating an aircraft capable of producing them above populated areas is banned.

NASA’s project has resulted in X-59, a Concorde-like research jet designed by defence contractor Lockheed Martin that can cruise at 937mph at an altitude of 55,000ft without generating an unacceptable noise level.

It hopes to run test flights over US cities in 2024 and gather data on locals’ response to the sound, with the hope it could inform changes to aviation rules.

This week, NASA’s Glenn Research Center revealed it had investigated the business case for supersonic travel, potentially allowing for a jet to zip over the Atlantic at between 1,500 and 3,000mph.

Today’s large airliners fly at roughly 600mph, and a London to New York flight takes around eight hours on average.

Now, companies including Boeing and Rolls-Royce have been contracted to come up with a potential roadmap for making such trips a reality – including design concepts for supersonic passenger planes.

Mary Jo Long-Davis, manager of NASA’s hypersonic technology project, said: “The design concepts and tech roadmaps are really important to have in our hands when the companies are finished.

“We are also conscious of the need to account for safety, efficiency, economic, and societal considerations.

“It’s important to innovate responsibly so we return benefits to travellers and do no harm to the environment.”

A new online tool that shows the locations and heights of more than 650,000 trees in Jersey has been launched by the government.

The Jersey Tree Map allows users to explore the island’s green canopy and learn about its benefits.

The map was created using aerial photographs and a LIDAR laser mapping survey taken in 2021.

Users can zoom in to see individual trees or get an estimate of the overall tree coverage in different areas.

The map, which covers trees more than 9ft (3m) tall, features other free map layers, such as recycling centres, school catchment areas and speed limits.

Minister for the Environment Deputy Jonathan Renouf said the map was a positive way to showcase Jersey’s “rich natural history” and its environmental future.

He added: “The Jersey Tree Map provides a benchmark against which we can measure how well we continue to protect and enhance Jersey’s natural heritage.”

The government said the map was more accurate for single trees in open spaces than for groups of trees or woodland, and that some manmade objects or larger shrubs might be incorrectly shown as trees.