The US decision to leave UNESCO again puts a spotlight on what the agency does
The restoration of the historic city's iconic Al-Nouri Mosque and Al-Hadba Minaret was just one of many programs run by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is in the spotlight because the United States is leaving it once again.
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Radioactive wasp nest found at site where US once made nuclear bombs
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Workers at a site in South Carolina that once made key parts for nuclear bombs in the U.S. have found a radioactive wasp nest but officials said there is no danger to anyone. Employees who routinely check radiation levels at the Savannah River Site near Aiken found a wasp nest on July 3 on a post near tanks where liquid nuclear waste is stored, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy. The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said. The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. No wasps were found, officials said. The report said there is no leak from the waste tanks, and the nest was likely radioactive through what it called 'onsite legacy radioactive contamination' from the residual radioactivity left from when the site was fully operational. The watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch said the report was at best incomplete since it doesn't detail where the contamination came from, how the wasps might have encountered it and the possibility there could be another radioactive nest if there is a leak somewhere. Knowing the type of wasp nest could also be critical — some wasps make nest out of dirt and others use different material which could pinpoint where the contamination came from, Tom Clements, executive director of the group, wrote in a text message. 'I'm as mad as a hornet that SRS didn't explain where the radioactive waste came from or if there is some kind of leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of,' Clements said. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. The tank farm is well inside the boundaries of the site and wasps generally fly just a few hundred yards from their nests, so there is no danger they are outside the facility, according to a statement from Savannah River Mission Completion which now oversees the site. If there had been wasps found, they would have significantly lower levels of radiation than their nests, according to the statement which was given to the Aiken Standard. The site was opened in the early 1950s to manufacture the plutonium pits needed to make the core of nuclear bombs during the start of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Now the site has shifted toward making fuel for nuclear plants and clean up. The site generated more than 165 million gallons (625 million liters) of liquid nuclear waste which has, through evaporation, been reduced to about 34 million gallons (129 million liters), according to Savannah River Mission Completion. There are still 43 of the underground tanks in use while eight have been closed.
Toronto Sun
5 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Explosion at Nebraska biofuel plant killed 3 people, including 2 kids, officials say
Published Jul 30, 2025 • 3 minute read Firefighters battle a fire after an explosion in an industrial area in Fremont, Neb., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Photo by Chris Machian / AP FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Three people missing since a huge explosion tore through a Nebraska biofuels plant are confirmed dead, officials said Wednesday, as firefighters have battled smoke and flames smouldering in the wreckage for nearly a day. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'Right now this has moved to a recovery effort,' Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said at a news conference. The fire has prevented crews from getting close enough to the Horizon Biofuels plant to search for the missing people inside, the mayor said earlier Wednesday. Photos taken after Tuesday's blast show the plant's tall tower torn off, exposing mangled metal and ripped siding. Debris littered the ground, and nearby residents say the blast shook their homes. The plant makes animal bedding and wood pellets for heating and smoking food, using tons of wood waste. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below. FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Fire and heavy smoke were still pouring out of a Nebraska biofuels plant Wednesday morning, preventing firefighters from getting close enough to search for three people missing in a huge explosion a day earlier, officials said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Photos taken after Tuesday's blast at the Horizon Biofuels plant show its tall tower — marked by a distinctive sunbeam logo of the former owner, Golden Sun Feeds — torn off, exposing mangled metal and ripped siding. Debris littered the ground, and nearby residents say the blast shook their homes. 'We had a fire going all night, even through the rain,' Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg said early Wednesday in an interview with the radio station KFAB in Omaha. 'You have the feed mill area, you have the office area just under flames, basically it has not stopped,' Spellerberg said. He said authorities believe the three missing people might have been in the office when the explosion happened at around noon Tuesday. Fremont Fire Chief Todd Bernt said first responders were up against 'heavy smoke and a lot of flames' when they first arrived at the facility, which is surrounded by other manufacturing and food processing plants. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The plant makes animal bedding and wood pellets for heating and smoking food, using tons of wood waste, and Bernt said they believe the facility stores wood and some alcohol-based materials. A 2014 fire at the building had damaged the electrical system but left the structure intact, according to reporting by the Fremont Tribune. Taylor Kirklin, who lives about a half mile (0.8 kilometres) from the building, said her whole house shook Tuesday. She said the explosion was so loud that she thought someone had crashed a car into her family's dog kennel business on the property. 'I got up and looked outside and there was a huge plume of smoke,' she said. 'We were really unsure when the explosion happened which plant it was, because there are so many in that area.' Dodge County Attorney Pamela Hopkins, who also serves as the county coroner, said law enforcement and first responders were busy securing the scene Tuesday afternoon and had not yet contacted her in her role as coroner. She added that she was hoping not to get that call. 'Right now, we're focused on the safety of the community and getting the situation under control — keeping the scene secure,' Hopkins said. She declined to comment further. Fremont, a city of about 27,000 and the sixth-largest in Nebraska, is 32 miles (52 kilometres) northwest of Omaha. MLB Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Celebrity Soccer
Toronto Sun
9 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Fireworks workshop explodes in central Thailand, killing at least 9
Published Jul 30, 2025 • 1 minute read This photo released by Suphan Buri Provincial Public Relations Office, shows the damage by an explosion at a fireworks factory in Suphan Buri province, Thailand, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Suphan Buri Provincial Public Relations Office via AP) AP BANGKOK (AP) — An explosion at a fireworks workshop in central Thailand killed at least nine people on Wednesday, local officials said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The blast occurred in Suphan Buri province, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Bangkok in the heart of the country's central rice-growing region. The cause was not immediately known. The Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Foundation reported nine deaths and said two people were taken to hospital in critical condition. The provincial government's public relations department said one person had been injured. The number of people missing was not immediately clear. Police Senior Sergeant Major Pinyo Chanmanee said the explosion took place in a building used to produce fireworks. It was not clear if it was licensed to do so. Video and photographs from the scene showed shattered wooden buildings in green rice fields. A similar incident in the same area in January 2024 killed around 20 people. In July 2023, a large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 100, according to officials. Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Columnists MLB Tennis
