The Kaole Ruins is a small archaeological site that contains historic old stone ruins located in the proximity of the town of Bogomoyo, within the United Republic of Tanzania.

Considered to be dating from the period between 13th and 16th century, most likely the settlement has been built by the ancient Muslum Shirazi people.

The most striking piece of the ruins are the remains of a mosque which was built during the reigning days of the Sultan of Kilwa, sometime around 13th century, long before the town of Bagamoyo received some kind of significance.

There is also another important mosque, which is believed to be built in 15th century, and there are also between 20 and 30 tombs that are dating from the same period.

Nevertheless, the previous, 13th century mosque is easy to be recognized, as there are stairs which lead up to the spot where calls for prayers were once made five times a day, and after walking through the entrance, the layout of the mosque is still very clear.

Considered to be one of the oldest mosques in East Africa, it was constructed partially of coral gray stone, together with the graves which some of them have pillars that are denoting of an important person being entombed.

From the cemetery one can see the baobab tree which is considered to be some 500 years old, and there is the other 15th century mosque, in company with other tombs, from which almost nothing is left.

The Kaole Ruins have been discovered in 1958 by the British scholar and archaeologist, Neville Chittick, together with the professor Samahani M. Kejeri, who made them one really important attraction in the country.

Nowadays, people who are going to the former capital of German East Africa, Bagamoyo, are taking a short trip which is some 5 km (3 mi) long from the center of the city, to see the once thriving trading settlement of Kaole and tell it to those who are willing enough to visit something different in Tanzania.

The Coalition of Ijaw Interest Groups has urged the Federal  Government and Bayelsa State Government to take action on environmental remediation and commercial exploration across Niger Delta States by cleaning up the oiled wasteland.

The groups consist of Ijaw Elders Forum, Lagos; Ijaw Nation Forum; Embasara Foundation; and Ijaw Women Connect.

Others are Ijaw Professionals Association, Lagos; Homeland Chapter Ijaw Professionals Association; and Ijaw Diaspora Council.

They called on the Ministers of Petroleum and Environment to immediately stop the dangerous and destructive environmental pollution slowly killing the people of the region.

Speaking on behalf of the gropus, Mr Efiye Bribena, Secretary, Ijaw Elders Forum, Lagos chapter, said the activities of the oil companies in the region had desecrated the ecosystem and brought about environmental genocide.

A rare butterfly that once thrived in the peatlands of Greater Manchester is now “flourishing” after being reintroduced in 2020, experts say.

The large heath butterfly was once so widespread that it was locally named the Manchester argus.

But its habitat was wrecked by the 19th Century arrival of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

Wildlife experts said they were “optimistic” about the species, which is now “breeding strongly”.

They reintroduced the fluttering insect in 2020 and 2022 in north-west England, with another batch due to be released this summer, a spokeswoman for The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside said.

It followed the restoration of drained peat and vegetation.

Jo Kennedy, co-ordinator at Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership, said: “More than 98% of lowland peatlands in our region have been lost, creating a huge hole in our biodiversity.”

She said experts – including Chester Zoo, Manchester Metropolitan University and Natural England – were “excited to be able to bring the Manchester argus back to Manchester”.

“It’s been a real team effort but, with three releases of butterflies now achieved, the population is breeding strongly and we are really optimistic about its future.”

The butterflies were reintroduced after six pregnant females were collected under licence from an existing population at Winmarleigh Moss near Garstang, Lancashire.

Chester Zoo staff then cared for the butterflies while they laid eggs, before the caterpillars were released.

The precise locations of the reintroductions have not been revealed to help protect the butterflies.

Helen Bradshaw, from Chester Zoo, said the reintroduction was “part of our mission in preventing extinction worldwide”.

“We’re thrilled to see the remarkable resurgence of these rare butterflies in their native habitat after years of hard work and dedication.

“When reintroductions are done right like this they can be hugely successful.”

More than 100,000 have been left without power after strong winds and possible tornadoes swept across parts of the southern US on Wednesday.

Areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana were under severe thunderstorm warnings, including potentially “very large hail and damaging winds”, said meteorologists.

Witnesses reported tornadoes touching down in Alabama.

Storm warnings are still in place for swathes of Alabama and Georgia.

Daily hailstorms have also plagued the southern plains of the US since Saturday.

As of 0715 EST (1115 GMT) on Thursday, more than 106,000 people were still without power in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, according to Poweroutage.us.

Of these, the greatest number – about 47,000 – were in Alabama, where at least two tornadoes are believed to have touched down.

The extent of the damage remains unclear. In the town of Eufaula, mayor Jack Tibbs told local station WSFA-TV that at least one building collapsed and 40 trees were downed by a tornado. No injuries have so far been reported.

Gusty winds and heavy rains are lashing parts of north-west India and southern Pakistan ahead of a fierce cyclone’s landfall on Thursday.

More than 170,000 people have been evacuated so far.

Forecasters have warned that Cyclone Biparjoy – which means “disaster” in Bengali – could destroy homes and crops in its path.

The landfall process is expected to start after 18:00 local time (12.30 GMT).

The cyclone is set to hit near the Jakhau port between Mandvi in Gujarat and Keti Bandar in Pakistan’s Sindh province.

Pakistan’s disaster management agency has warned of storm surges as high as 3-4m (10-13ft) along the coastline from Karachi to Gujarat.

Alok Pandey, the official in charge of relief operations in Gujarat, said on Thursday that the cyclone’s intensity had reduced but that wind speeds were still expected to be at “very dangerous” levels of around 110-125 km/h at the time of landfall.

At least seven deaths were reported amid heavy rains in India this week. The victims included two children crushed by a collapsing wall, and a woman hit by a falling tree while on a motorbike, AFP news agency reported.

In Pakistan, the storm is expected to strike the coast of Sindh province. Authorities have already evacuated 81,000 people from the south-eastern coast and set up 75 relief camps at schools.

Pakistan’s climate change minister Sherry Rehman said that Karachi, the province’s largest city with a population of more than 20 million, was not under immediate threat but emergency measures were being taken.

Meteorologists warned that high tides could inundate low-lying areas along the coasts.

Several parts of coastal Gujarat have witnessed heavy rains and high-speed winds since Wednesday.

Ahead of the cyclone’s landfall, heavy rains and strong winds were reported in Mandvi. Local media outlets shared videos that showed debris flying amid heavy rains in parts of the state.

Gujarat state officials said that 94,000 people had been evacuated from coastal areas so far.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening local time

Several train services have been suspended in Gujarat, while the ports of Kandla and Mundra – two of India’s largest – have stopped operations, authorities said.

Fishing has been suspended along the Gujarat coast, while fishermen in Pakistan’s coastal region have also been warned to stay off the water.

Eighteen national disaster relief teams and 12 state disaster relief teams have been deployed in key areas of Gujarat for relief work.

They will focus on ensuring that essential services remain unaffected or at least restored soon, depending on how strong the cyclone is.

The India Meteorological Department expects Biparjoy to “fall in intensity” after crossing.

Cyclones, also known as hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, are a regular and deadly phenomenon in the Indian Ocean.

Rising surface temperatures across the Arabian Sea in recent years due to climate change have made the surrounding regions even more vulnerable to devastating storms.

Cyclone Tauktae in May 2021 was the last severe cyclone that struck in the same region. It killed 174 people.

Trees have been found growing at record-breaking heights in Scotland’s mountains, according to new research by the University of Stirling.

The highest was a rowan 1,150m (3,773ft) near the top of Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, a Munro in West Affric.

On Braeriach, Britain’s third highest mountain, a sitka spruce was found at 1,125m (3,691ft).

The trees could be a sign of how hilltop woodlands lost over thousands of years might be restored.

In total, the research documented 11 new altitudinal records for tree species in Britain. The research has been published in the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland’s British and Irish Botany journal.

More than 100 volunteers have been excavating in back gardens in what is thought to be the biggest community archaeology project ever carried out in Herefordshire.

Residents of Weobley have dug 26 pits over nine days and are cataloguing what is found.

The event was organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the Weobley and District Local History Society.

“Unexpected” Roman pottery had been found in one dig, said organisers.

The majority of materials uncovered were “relatively modern” but “in among it there are little gems”, said Peter Reavill, historic environment records officer for Herefordshire Council.

“One of the very smallest finds out of all of the test beds is no bigger than my thumbnail, but it is a bit of Roman pottery, which is completely unexpected,” he explained.

“There isn’t a major Roman site near Weobley and this piece of pottery indicates at least the Romans were here.”

The piece, thought to have come from a 2,000-year-old tankard, was discovered in the garden of Kate and Bob Best.

“It looked exactly like modern-day flowerpot,” said Mr Best.

“Apparently you can tell it’s Roman because it’s like chalk, if you rub it across a hard surface, it leaves a sort of a chalk line.”

The scheme had been “great fun”, added Mrs Best.

“We’ve all been a little bit competitive, we’re all looking to see if we can find the earliest piece or the most interesting piece.”