Latest news with #Nuns
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Bracing for the heat: Santa Rosa announces wildfire season has begun
The Brief The Santa Rosa Fire Department on Monday announced the start of the city's wildfire season. The department will begin conducting weed abatement inspections to ensure properties are defensible against wildfires. SANTA ROSA, Calif. - On the heels of a 20-acre grass fire that threatened an RV encampment, the Santa Rosa Fire Department on Monday announced the official start of fire season in the region. In an effort to prevent more destructive fires in the months to come, the department will, in the next two weeks, begin conducting weed abatement inspections at properties throughout the city. Paul Lowenthal, the SRFD Fire Marshal, said he hopes announcing the start of fire season will help residents better prepare themselves and their homes. "We've seen really significant compliance, especially what's here locally. When you look at the Tubbs, Nuns, Glass and Kincade fires that either burned through the city or directly impacted the city and threatened the city, people have changed their behaviors," Paul Lowenthal, Fire Marshal with the Santa Rosa Fire Department, told KTVU. "We've seen an increase with compliance with weed abatement, compliance with defensible space and compliance with overall vegetation management, ultimately making our community safer." The department's weed abatement inspections are part of the city's vegetation management program, which requires property owners to maintain fire-defensible space around a structure. The ordinance requires grass to be cut to four inches or less, as well as the removal of dead plants, grass and weeds, maintaining trees so that no portion is closer than 10 feet from the chimney opening of a neighboring property, and removing the branches of trees up to 10 feet from the ground. Big picture view Santa Rosa has experienced or been threatened by several notable wildfires in recent years, including the Tubbs Fire, the fourth-most destructive blaze in California's history. That fire, which burned in October 2017, destroyed over 36,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma Counties. The Bay Area's wildfire season, as stated by the Western Fire Chief's Association, an organization made of the leadership of firefighting organizations across the western United States, starts in June and can run through November. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, climate change has caused the national window for wildfire season to peak earlier in the year. Between 2003 and 2021, fire season peaked in July, whereas between 1984 and 2002, most wildfires occurred in August. The impact of climate change on wildfires is becoming more and more evident. Two of the most destructive blazes in California's history swept through Southern California in January of this year, well outside the window of the region's wildfire season, May through October. The research organization World Weather Attribution, which studies the influence of climate change on extreme weather events, found that human-caused global warming made the conditions that drove those fires 35% more likely.
Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Watch: Brazilian nun's beatboxing performance breaks the Internet
A Brazilian nun is winning hearts worldwide after demonstrating her beatboxing talent on live television. Sister Marizele Cassiano went viral following her phenomenal appearance on a Catholic TV channel on May 20. The now-viral video shows the nun – dressed in a blue skirt, white blouse, and her traditional white habit – impressively transitioning from singing to beatboxing, continuing with an impromptu dance session with a fellow nun and a priest. Sister Marizele started with a melodic tune before shifting to rhythmic sounds using just her mouth and tongue. Her performance quickly prompted another nun, who joined her with some dance moves, and moments later, a priest in a black robe jumped in, adding to the performance. Speaking to the Associated Press, Sister Marizele said, 'That moment was very spontaneous, because with Sister Marisa, if you start a beat, she will dance.' She also said, 'And I'm used to singing, to beatboxing, so for us it was very simple, spontaneous, and at the same time very surprising to see that it went viral even outside Brazil.' Watch here: A post shared by VIOLA DAVIS (@violadavis) The light-hearted moment immediately caught the Internet's attention, with many viewers comparing the trio to characters from 'Sister Act,' the iconic 90s film where Whoopi Goldberg's character brings soul and rhythm to a convent choir. 'They work with vulnerable young guys, and they use hip-hop to get a connection with them. It's just an amazing job. Congratulations,' a user wrote. 'I love Nuns. They always have an unexpected talent up their sleeves,' another user commented. 'i mean the beat boxing is fire but what about those moves? HEAVENLY' a third user reacted. In 2022, a video of a nun gracefully dancing to the Malayalam song Aayiram padasarangal kilungi in Kerala won hearts on social media. The nun, the headmistress of St Marcellina's Gild High School, performed at her farewell function, reports said.
Sky News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Conclave live: Cardinals begin voting on second day of conclave. Here are key moments to watch for
Conclave day two Cardinals begin new round of voting after failing to elect pope yesterday - and now we wait to see smoke White smoke above Sistine Chapel signals a successor is chosen, but black smoke signals the wait goes on Key timings today Reporting by Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins and Europe producer Simone Baglivo in Vatican City. Updates by Kieren Williams In depth 08:52:01 Nuns arrive in St Peter's Square Before the cardinals were locked in to the Sistine Chapel this morning for the next round of voting, nuns have been arriving at St Peter's Square. Women are barred from the priesthood, meaning only men elect the head of the Catholic Church, a faith of 1.4 billion people. Despite that, they play an important, if less prominent, role in the Catholic Church. 08:40:01 Watch: Moment black smoke rose over Sistine Chapel This was the moment black smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel last night. It signalled the cardinals' failure to elect a new pontiff in the first round of voting. 08:30:01 Cardinals begin next round of voting It's 8.30am, which means the cardinals have begun the next round of voting to elect a new pontiff. The doors of the Sistine Chapel have been sealed and the 133 men are beginning their second round of voting. It is the first of two rounds of voting this morning, with two more taking place this afternoon. If it is successful, we'll see white smoke above the Sistine Chapel. If it isn't, another round of voting will take place, and if that fails too, we'll see black smoke. Stick with us for the latest... 08:15:50 How Pope Francis is playing role in electing his successor While we're all asking who will replace Pope Francis, the late pontiff himself is playing his own role in the process. The cardinals of the Catholic Church aged under 80 are those locked in the Sistine Chapel for the secretive vote. There are 133 of them this time around, and the Pope named 108 of them. He chose many of them from countries such as Mongolia, Sweden and Tonga that had never had a cardinal before. Francis's decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors has both lengthened the amount of time it takes for each vote to be processed and also injected more uncertainty into the vote. Also as a result of his work, this conclave is the most geographically diverse in the faith's 2,000-year history. 08:01:53 Key timings on second day of conclave The cardinals will vote up to four times each day in two sessions - two in the morning and two in the afternoon, with smoke seen at the end of each session. All the following are UK times: The morning voting session runs from 8.30am-11.30am, with two votes taking place during this session. We expect to see smoke - be it black or white - at around 12pm. If the smoke is black, meaning no pope has been elected, the second round of voting today will run from 3.30pm-6.00pm. Again, two rounds of voting will take place - and we'll see smoke at the end of the session. 07:39:49 In pictures: Faithful queue for spot in St Peter's Square Tens of thousands of people waited to see smoke above the Sistine Chapel in St Peter's Square last night - and crowds are gathering again this morning. 07:39:43 Cardinals return for day two of voting Welcome back to our live coverage of the conclave as the wait for a new pope goes on. Last night, black smoke above the Sistine Chapel signalled the 133 cardinals had failed to elect a replacement for Pope Francis in the first round of voting - four hours after they entered the building. At 8.30am UK time this morning, they will return to the Sistine Chapel to continue voting. Up to four rounds of voting can take place each day - two in the morning and two in the afternoon. Last night we expected to see smoke above the chapel at 6pm but it didn't come until 8pm. Vatican sources told Sky News that the delay in yesterday's voting was for two reasons: The sermon by Raniero Cantalamessa, an Italian cardinal, was longer than expected (between 45 minutes and one hour); Several cardinals needed help with the translation. It remains a wide-open election with one of the biggest and most geographically diverse College of Cardinals in history. To win, one man needs to secure a two-thirds majority of the 133 cardinals, or 89 votes, to become the 267th pope. For recent popes, it has generally taken a few rounds of voting to elect a successor. When a successor is chosen, white smoke will rise from the Sistine Chapel. The cardinals began the secretive, centuries-old ritual yesterday afternoon, participating in a rite so theatrical that Hollywood recreated it this year in the Ralph Fiennes-led film. The voting is undertaken secretly and in silence, a process designed to be free from external interference. Large crowds gathered outside the chapel in St Peter's Square yesterday to wait for the first smoke signal and are already returning this morning. Stay with us for the latest throughout the day. 22:55:06 That's all for this evening That concludes our coverage of the first day of conclave. As expected, cardinals sent black smoke out of the Sistine Chapel, meaning no decision has been made on Pope Francis's successor. It means the 133 cardinals have not come to a decision in the first vote of the conclave, and the process continues. There will now be a maximum of four votes a day from tomorrow until a new pope is elected. Still, tens of thousands of believers waited in the Vatican to take in the proceedings, which began with Mass and a march of the cardinals. Cardinals will go to pray in the Pauline Chapel at 7.45am tomorrow - that's 6.45am in the UK. Then they'll go into the Sistine Chapel to vote at 9.30am local time (8.30am UK time). We'll bring you the latest updates as they happen. Until then, goodnight. 22:35:45 'Collective groan' when black smoke emerged There was a "collective groan" when black smoke emerged, our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins, who is at the Vatican, says. She says it had been a "tense few hours" before the black smoke finally emerged from the Sistine Chapel. "As each hour ticked by, the tension rose and if someone clapped or thought they had seen smoke, everyone then peered to try and catch a glimpse of it - but then there was no result hour after hour," she says. "And then people started wondering if we were going to get a pope. And then nerves frayed even further." She says when the black smoke rose there was a "collective groan" and people started leaving St Peter's Square "very quickly". Robbins also says people from around the world had arrived to the Vatican "wanting to be a part of history" and see who would follow Pope Francis. 22:00:09 How did the first round of voting unfold? No pope was elected today. And so cardinals will return to voting tomorrow. Here, we take a look at how today unfolded at the Sistine Chapel... Just after 3.30pm UK time , the 133 cardinals began filing into the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave takes place; After taking their positions in the chapel they placed their birettas on the table as they took a collective oath of secrecy; They then took their individual oath of secrecy; At around 4.43pm, cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, who was the last to enter, took his oath; And at around 4.47pm, the doors to the Sistine Chapel were closed - and the conclave to elect a new pope was under way; Finally, at 8pm UK time, black smoke emerged from chimney - meaning conclave will continue tomorrow.
