Environment

Friday, August 21st 2026 - 06:17 UTC
Falklands’ Gentoo Penguin Postcard Rate Booklet Stamps

The new airmail postcard rate stamps from the Falkland Islands feature a beautiful and unusual photograph of a Gentoo Penguin taken by Sara Jenner. The stamps are available in booklets of 10 stamps. Currently the postcard rate in the Falklands is £1.60.
Wednesday, August 19th 2026 - 08:45 UTC
Australia launches program to vaccinate colonies of little penguins against avian influenza

According to ABC News Australia wildlife conservation agencies in the state of Victoria have launched a program to vaccinate little penguins against the H5 strain of avian influenza. Over the next few weeks, experts plan to capture and vaccinate more than 5,000 birds in colonies on Philip Island and St. Kilda.
Tuesday, August 18th 2026 - 06:56 UTC
Petrobras confirms oil off the Amapá coast but cannot yet estimate the volume

Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras confirmed on Monday the presence of oil in the Morpho exploratory well, located in ultra-deep waters off the northern state of Amapá, in the Foz do Amazonas basin. The company cautioned that it cannot yet estimate the volume found or the viability of commercial production.
Monday, August 17th 2026 - 07:45 UTC
Rains in Caracas leave three dead and destroy tents housing earthquake survivors

At least three people died in Caracas as a result of torrential rains that fell between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday, which also caused flooding, brought down trees, cut power supplies and destroyed camps sheltering families left homeless by the double earthquake of June 24.
Friday, August 14th 2026 - 22:34 UTC
Peru rehearses its response to a magnitude 8.8 quake off Lima and Callao

Peru held the year's second national multi-hazard drill on Friday, an exercise testing evacuation protocols and the response capacity of the public and the authorities to a possible magnitude 8.8 earthquake centered off the central coast of Lima and Callao.
Friday, August 14th 2026 - 08:40 UTC
Argentina restricts access to an Andean plain after damage caused by a pickup truck

Authorities in the Argentine province of San Juan will keep access to Pampa del Leoncito restricted until the end of the month, after a vehicle drove across the white clay plain, located at 1,500 meters above sea level at the foot of the Andes, despite a ban on traffic, leaving ruts up to 25 centimeters deep.
Thursday, August 13th 2026 - 06:55 UTC
The main land crossing between Argentina and Chile passes its winter closure record

The Cristo Redentor international crossing, which links the Argentine province of Mendoza with Chile's Valparaíso Region through the Andes, has now been closed for close to a month because of a snow and wind storm, surpassing the winter closure record set in 2023. Authorities on both sides estimate it could reopen next week, depending on weather conditions.
Wednesday, August 12th 2026 - 23:05 UTC
Falklands pause Loligo squid fishing for two weeks over low biomass

The Falkland Islands Fisheries Department announced on Wednesday that fishing within the Loligo Box will be paused for around two weeks as a precautionary measure, following low Loligo squid biomass in the area.
Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 10:51 UTC
At least 132 dead in the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western Colombia

At least 132 people were killed and 570 injured by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western and central Colombia on Monday, according to the latest report submitted by the Colombian Association of Capital Cities at 7:00 p.m. local time. Authorities warned the figure is preliminary and that rescue work is continuing.
Tuesday, August 11th 2026 - 10:11 UTC
Colombia and Venezuela quakes are unconnected despite similar magnitude, experts say

The magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck western and central Colombia on Monday has a different tectonic origin from the earthquakes recorded in Venezuela in June, despite comparable magnitudes, said Viviana Dionisio, a seismologist with Colombia's National Seismological Network.