Outgoing U.S. ambassador to Germany defends troop withdrawal plan


FILE PHOTO: Richard Grenell U.S. Ambassador to Germany attends the "Rally for Equal Rights at the United Nations (Protesting Anti-Israeli Bias)" aside of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States is planning to withdraw troops from Germany because Americans are against “paying too much” for other countries’ security, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said late on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to remove 9,500 troops from Germany, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.


The move would reduce the U.S. contingent to 25,000.

Richard Grenell, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Germany on June 1, told Bild Live late on Wednesday: “American taxpayers no longer feel like paying too much for the defence of other countries.”


“There will still be 25,000 soldiers in Germany, that’s no small number,” he added, according to a German translation of his remarks.

The troop move is the latest twist in relations between Berlin and Washington that have often been strained during Trump’s presidency. Trump has pressed Germany to raise defence spending and accused Berlin of being a “captive” of Russia due to its partial reliance on Russian energy.

Trump’s decision to cut U.S. troop levels in Germany blindsided a number of senior national security officials, according to five sources familiar with the matter, and the Pentagon had yet to receive a formal order to carry it out, Reuters has learned.


Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Tom Brown

Full text of Philonise Floyd's statement to U.S. Congress

(Reuters) - Here is the text of the prepared testimony to a U.S. congressional hearing on Wednesday of Philonise Floyd, whose brother George Floyd’s death under the knee of a white police officer roused worldwide protests against racial injustice:


George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd is joined by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump during a recess in the hearing on the House Judiciary Committee on Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S. June 10, 2020. Michael Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS

“Chairman Jerrold Nadler and members of the Committee:

“Thank you for the invitation to be here today to talk about my big brother, George. The world knows him as George, but I called him Perry. Yesterday, we laid him to rest. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’m the big brother now. So it was my job to comfort our brothers and sisters, Perry’s kids, and everyone who loved him. And that’s a lot of people. I have to be the strong one now, because it’s what George would have done.

“And me being the big brother now is why I’m here today. To do what Perry always did for us – to take care of the family and others. I couldn’t take care of George the day he was killed, but maybe by speaking with you today, I can help make sure that his death isn’t in vain. To make sure that he is more than another face on a T-shirt. More than another name on a list that won’t stop growing.


“George always made sacrifices for his family. And he made sacrifices for complete strangers. He gave the little that he had to help others. He was our gentle giant. I was reminded of that when I watched the video of his murder. He was mild mannered; he didn’t fight back. He listened to the officers. He called them ‘sir.’ The men who took his life, who suffocated him for eight minutes and 46 seconds. He still called them ‘sir’ as he begged for his life.

“I can’t tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch something like that. When you watch your big brother, who you’ve looked up to your whole life, die. Die begging for your mom.

“I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason. I’m here today to ask you to make it stop. Stop the pain. Stop us from being tired. George’s calls for help were ignored. Please listen to the call I’m making to you now, to the calls of our family, and to the calls ringing out in the streets across the world. People of all backgrounds, genders and race have come together to demand change. Honor them, honor George, and make the necessary changes that make law enforcement the solution – and not the problem. Hold them accountable when they do something wrong. Teach them what it means to treat people with empathy and respect. Teach them what necessary force is. Teach them that deadly force should be used rarely and only when life is at risk.

“George wasn’t hurting anyone that day. He didn’t deserve to die over twenty dollars. I am asking you, is that what a black man’s life is worth? Twenty dollars? This is 2020. Enough is enough. The people marching in the streets are telling you enough is enough. Be the leaders that this country, this world, needs. Do the right thing.


“The people elected you to speak for them, to make positive change. George’s name means something. You have the opportunity here to make your names mean something, too.

“If his death ends up changing the world for the better. And I think it will. I think it has. Then he died as he lived. It is on you to make sure his death isn’t in vain. I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Perry while he was here. I was robbed of that. But, I know he’s looking down on us now. Perry, look at what you did, big brother. You’re changing the world. Thank you for everything. For taking care of us when you were on Earth, and for taking care of all of us now. I hope you found mama and can rest in peace and power.”


Compiled by Scott Malone

Kremlin dismisses Japan's objection to geological survey in Okhotsk Sea
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday it had a sovereign right to carry out work in the Sea of Okhotsk off Russia’s far eastern coast after a Japanese official objected to Moscow conducting a geological survey there.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga described Russia’s survey as unacceptable and in conflict with Tokyo’s position on four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, the Japan Times cited him as saying.

“Russia has a sovereign right to carry out any research on its territory,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a conference call on Friday.

The geological survey in the Sea of Okhotsk, near the disputed islands, began on June 18 and is set to last for three months, Russian news agencies reported.

Japan calls the four Russian-held islands, off its main northern island of Hokkaido, the Northern Territories. Known in Russia as the Southern Kuriles, the islands were seized by Soviet forces in the closing days of World War Two.

The territorial issue has blighted relations between Russia and Japan for decades and has prevented them from signing a formal peace treaty ending World War Two.

Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Gareth Jones

Coronavirus lockdowns increase poaching in Asia, Africa

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and MICHAEL CASEY

June 21, 2020

1 of 11
This November 2014 photo provided by the Wildlife Trust of India shows a leopard caught in a trap in a forest in Karnataka, India. Authorities in India are concerned a 2020 spike in poaching not only could kill more endangered tigers and leopards but also species these carnivores depend upon to survive. (WTI via AP)


NEW DELHI (AP) — A camera trap photo of an injured tigress and a forensic examination of its carcass revealed why the creature died: a poacher’s wire snare punctured its windpipe and sapped its strength as the wound festered for days.

Snares like this one set in southern India’s dense forest have become increasingly common amid the coronavirus pandemic, as people left jobless turn to wildlife to make money and feed their families.

Authorities in India are concerned this spike in poaching not only could kill more endangered tigers and leopards but also species these carnivores depend upon to survive.

“It is risky to poach, but if pushed to the brink, some could think that these are risks worth taking,” said Mayukh Chatterjee, a wildlife biologist with the non-profit Wildlife Trust of India.

Since the country announced its lockdown, at least four tigers and six leopards have been killed by poachers, Wildlife Protection Society of India said. But there also were numerous other poaching casualities — gazelles in grasslands, foot-long giant squirrels in forests, wild boars and birds such as peacocks and purple morhens.

In many parts of the developing world, coronavirus lockdowns have sparked concern about increased illegal hunting that’s fueled by food shortages and a decline in law enforcement in some wildlife protection areas. At the same time, border closures and travel restrictions slowed illegal trade in certain high-value species.

One of the biggest disruptions involves the endangered pangolin. Often caught in parts of Africa and Asia, the anteater-like animals are smuggled mostly to China and Southeast Asia, where their meat is considered a delicacy and scales are used in traditional medicine.

In April, the Wildlife Justice Commission reported traders were stockpiling pangolin scales in several Southeast Asia countries awaiting an end to the pandemic.

Rhino horn is being stockpiled in Mozambique, the report said, and ivory traders in Southeast Asia are struggling to sell the stockpiles amassed since China’s 2017 ban on trade in ivory products. The pandemic compounded their plight because many Chinese customers were unable to travel to ivory markets in Cambodia, Laos and other countries.

“They are desperate to get it off their hands. Nobody wants to be stuck with that product,” said Sarah Stoner, director of intelligence for the commission.

The illegal trade in pangolins continued “unabated” within Africa but international trade has been disrupted by port closures, said Ray Jansen, chairman of the African Pangolin Working Group.

“We have witnessed some trade via air while major ship routes are still closed but we expect a flood of trade once shipping avenues reopen again,” Jansen said.

Fears that organized poaching in Africa would spike largely have not materialized — partly because ranger patrols have continued in many national parks and reserves.

Emma Stokes, director of the Central Africa Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said patrolling national parks in several African countries has been designated essential work.

But she as heard about increased hunting of animals outside parks. “We are expecting to see an increase in bushmeat hunting for food – duikers, antelopes and monkeys,” she said.

Jansen also said bushmeat poaching was soaring, especially in parts of southern Africa. “Rural people are struggling to feed themselves and their families,” he said.

There are also signs of increased poaching in parts of Asia.

A greater one-horned rhino was gunned down May 9 in India’s Kaziranga National Park -- the first case in over a year. Three people, suspected to be a part of an international poaching ring, were arrested on June 1 with automatic rifles and ammunition, said Uttam Saikia, a wildlife warden.

As in other parts of the world, poachers in Kaziranga pay poor families paltry sums of money to help them. With families losing work from the lockdown, “they will definitely take advantage of this,” warned Saikia.

In neighboring Nepal, where the virus has ravaged important income from migrants and tourists, the first month of lockdown saw more forest-related crimes, including poaching and illegal logging, than the previous 11 months, according to a review by the government and World Wildlife Fund or WWF.

For many migrants returning to villages after losing jobs, forests were the “easiest source” of sustenance, said Shiv Raj Bhatta, director of programs at WWF Nepal.

In Southeast Asia, the Wildlife Conservation Society documented in April the poisoning in Cambodia of three critically endangered giant ibises for the wading bird’s meat. More than 100 painted stork chicks were also poached in late March in Cambodia at the largest waterbird colony in Southeast Asia.

“Suddenly rural people have little to turn to but natural resources and we’re already seeing a spike in poaching,” said Colin Poole, the group’s regional director for the Greater Mekong.

Heartened by closure of wildlife markets in China over concerns about a possible link between the trade and the coronavirus, several conservation groups are calling for governments to put measures in place to avoid future pandemics. Among them is a global ban on commercial sale of wild birds and mammals destined for the dinner table.

Others say an international treaty, known as CITES, which regulates the trade in endangered plants and animals, should be expanded to incorporate public health concerns. They point out that some commonly traded species, such as horseshoe bats, often carry viruses but are currently not subject to trade restrictions under CITES.

“That is a big gap in the framework,” said John Scanlon, former Secretary-General of CITES now with African Parks. ”We may find that there may be certain animals that should be listed and not be traded or traded under strict conditions and certain markets that ought to be closed.”
___
Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Christina Larson contributed from Washington.

On Twitter follow Ghosal: @aniruddhg1 and Casey:@mcasey1
___


The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

A cash cliff spells trouble for U.S. unemployed, and everyone else
Jonnelle Marte, Ann Saphir

(Reuters) - Judith Ramirez is bracing for July. That’s when the hotel housekeeper and her electrician husband - who have both been out of work for three months - expect their combined unemployment benefits to drop by more than half, and their deferred $1,500 monthly mortgage payment on their Honolulu home to come due.


Judith and Jose Ramirez, a housekeeper and an electrician who were both temporarily laid off from their jobs at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel due to the business downturn caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, pose with their daughters Mary Amber, 1, and Mary Ashley, 5, outside their home in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Garcia
It’s a cash cliff millions of Americans face this summer as the emergency benefits — which lifted U.S. consumer incomes by a record 10.8% in April — expire. The loss of that safety net looms in the weeks ahead, well before a sustained recovery is likely to take hold from the sudden and deep recession brought on by the novel coronavirus. Personal income dropped 4.2% in May, data Friday showed.

The $600 supplement Congress added to weekly unemployment benefits is due to expire July 31.

Without new support, recipients face a substantial loss of income - particularly devastating for those like the Ramirez family who worked in hard-hit sectors like hospitality where new jobs are scarce. During high unemployment and a still-raging pandemic, the end of enhanced jobless benefits could drag on consumer spending, set off a wave of missed rent and mortgage payments and translate to a slower recovery, economists said.

That’s a great concern for Rachel Finchum, 55, who lost her job at a Nashville-based T-shirt printing company after 18 years. She has sought forbearance on her mortgage but is worried about what will happen when the government programs run out.


“I’m very scared to think I may not be able to make my bills,” Finchum said. “With my future so uncertain, I have a house payment and bills based on 18 years of what I was making.”
BENEFITS LIFTED SPENDING

As the novel coronavirus pandemic exploded in March and local authorities shut down large parts of the U.S. economy, the Trump administration and Congress softened the blow by moving quickly to roll out a patchwork of emergency aid.

The centerpiece: stimulus checks for most households and more generous unemployment benefits for tens of millions of newly jobless Americans.

The combined cash aid provided $3 in support for every $1 in lost income in April, Oxford Economics’ Gregory Daco estimated. And until it expires on July 31, the extra $600 weekly unemployment payment on average makes up for income lost due to unemployment and reduced hours, he said.


Indeed about two-thirds people eligible for unemployment benefits can collect more in benefits than they earned while working, researchers from the University of Chicago found.

For low-wage workers like Ramirez, the help was particularly critical. Households across the board slashed spending as coronavirus-related restrictions began in March. But after the government began issuing stimulus checks, lower-income households resumed spending much faster than higher income households, with much of the cash going to basics like utilities and groceries, said Michael Stepner of Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights.

Outlays by low-income households are now only about 3% below pre-crisis levels, versus minus 13% for high-income households.


When the extra benefits run out, jobless benefits will revert to their typical pre-pandemic levels, low by design to encourage people to look hard for work. In 15 states, the maximum unemployment benefit would replace less than half of the median earnings for a worker with a high school diploma, according to Kathryn Anne Edwards, a labor economist for the RAND Corporation.

That may pressure some people short on cash to risk their health to take a low-paying job at a restaurant or delivery company, which may expose them to the virus, said Julia Coronado, president of MacroPolicy Perspectives and a former Federal Reserve economist. “That’s a very terrible choice for our policymakers to be telling people they need to make,” she said.


Slideshow (13 Images)

And with unemployment expected to stay high and businesses in some sectors unable to open, many won’t be able to find even those jobs, she said.

The drop-off in support is also a problem for the economy as a whole, reducing GDP by 2.5% in the second half of 2020, estimated Jason Furman, a Harvard professor who ran the Council of Economic Advisors under President Barack Obama.

Congress may consider at least a partial extension of the benefits, but the uncertainty is making some families cautious about their spending, said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics.

“Lower-income households are worried that the pandemic will re-intensify and disrupt their incomes further,” said Zandi. “They are also unsure of how much - if any - more help is coming from Washington D.C.”

Ramirez, 40, spent a month chasing down her unemployment benefits after she stopped working in late March. When the payments finally started arriving, Ramirez banked them to build a cushion.

Knowing that the benefits are going to be reduced dramatically and unsure of when they’ll get back to work, Ramirez and her husband are living frugally. To save money on groceries, they wake up at 5 a.m. about once a week to get in line at a nearby food bank.


Ramirez will likely have reduced hours if she gets her job back in August, her manager told her. The hotel that employed her husband is still shut down.

“We need to have a backup,” said Ramirez, whose daughters are ages 1 and 5. “I have children to feed.”

For Finchum in Nashville, there is no prospect of a return to her old job. Her employers were nearing retirement so decided to close the business down when the pandemic struck.

“The stimulus package has been a life saver,” she said.

SOME Scientists can't find the G-spot either!

SOME  Doctors say there's no evidence the elusive zone actually exists

SOME Doctors say there's no proof of a region that could create powerful orgasms 

TELL THAT TO PORN STAR CYTHEREA 

The erogenous zone was named after German gynaecologist Ernst Gräfenberg

Medics from Istanbul said evidence for its presence was ‘scant, insufficient and weak’ 

WHAT IS SCANT INSUFFICIENT AND WEAK IS THEIR RESEARCH ON ONLY 17 WOMEN 

By STEPHEN ADAMS MEDICAL EDITOR FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 27 June 2020

It has proved frustratingly elusive for more than 70 years, but scientists say they have finally worked out why men can’t find the ‘G-spot’ – it isn’t there.

Doctors say there’s no proof women have a small, super-sensitive region that could create particularly powerful orgasms when aroused.

The erogenous zone was named after German gynaecologist Ernst Gräfenberg, who first suggested the existence of a dense network of nerve endings in the 1950s. But a new study of 17 middle-aged women has found no evidence of such a spot, but ‘a fairly even distribution’ of nerves instead.

SOME Doctors say there’s no proof women have a small, super-sensitive region that could create particularly powerful orgasms when aroused (file photo

Writing in the International Urogynaecology Journal, a team of medics from Istanbul said the ‘anatomical evidence for the presence of the G spot’ was ‘scant, insufficient and weak’.

lthough Dr Gräfenberg – who also invented the IUD coil contraceptive – suggested the existence of the zone, he was too modest to name it after himself.

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The expression was coined by American sexologists in the 1980s and quickly gained popularity – as well as spawning a new way of marketing sex toys and treatments.

Even though it had been discussed for decades, the first evidence for the existence of the G-spot came just eight years ago, following the examination of a single 83-year-old woman. The man who published that discovery subsequently invented a procedure dubbed a ‘G-spotplasty’ intended to increase sexual satisfaction, despite scepticism from some colleagues.

The erogenous zone was named after German gynaecologist Ernst Gräfenberg, who first suggested the existence of a dense network of nerve endings in the 1950s

Although G-spot therapies have become a multi-million dollar business, Devan Stahl, from Michigan State University, has said there is ‘virtually no evidence that these therapies work outside a placebo effect’.

And those who believe the G-spot is a myth say the notion makes women feel needlessly insecure. A survey for Cosmopolitan magazine found half of women feel inadequate or frustrated feeling others can orgasm in a way they can’t.

It also found that 22 per cent of men said finding the woman’s G-spot is the number one goal of sex.

Since the 2012 report, several other studies have failed to produce conclusive evidence a single G-spot exists.

Barry Komisaruk from Rutgers University in New Jersey, who led one study, said: ‘It’s not like pushing an elevator button or a light switch. It’s not a single thing.’

Australia and New Zealand to jointly host Women’s Fifa World Cup 2023
 TPE admin June 26, 2020


Australia and New Zealand will host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Fifa has announced.

The joint bid got the nod ahead of Colombia, which was the only other rival in the running after Brazil and Japan dropped out of the race earlier in June.

The 2023 version will be the first in the women’s game to feature 32 sides – up from the current 24.

The competition is scheduled to take place from July to August 2023.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: “The bidding process was highly competitive. We would like to thank both of the bidders for their remarkable work. It was really, really well prepared.”

The Australia and New Zealand bid received 22 of the 35 votes cast by the Fifa Council members, with Colombia getting 13 votes. Football Association chairman Greg Clarke voted for Colombia as did the other eight Uefa members.

Infantino said he was “surprised” by Uefa members voting for Colombia, despite the lower score in Fifa’s technical evaluation of each bid. Colombia received a score of 2.8 out of 5.0, while Australia and New Zealand was marked 4.1

“These (technical bid) reports have to mean something,” said Infantino.

Uefa said its members voted for Colombia as it “represented a strategic opportunity for the development of women’s football in South America”.


Infantino also suggested the women’s tournament could be staged every two years and is keen for South America and Africa to stage it.

Infantino also announced a funding boost for the sport.

“We have decided to award $1bn (£805m) to the development of women’s football in the coming four years,” he said.

“We experienced last year in France a fantastic Women’s World Cup. It broke all records. It brought women’s football to a truly global stage.”

Joint Bid:

The joint bid from Australia and New Zealand promised “an unprecedented level of investment” in the tournament.

This will be the first World Cup hosted across two of football’s continental confederations (Australia are in the Asia confederation, while New Zealand are part of Oceania).

Chris Nikou, president of Football Federation Australia (FFA) said the forthcoming competition will be “ground-breaking”.

He added: “Not only will it be the first ever co-confederation hosted Fifa World Cup and the first ever Fifa Women’s World Cup in the Asia-Pacific region, but we will unlock the huge potential for growth in women’s football in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The president of New Zealand Football, Johanna Wood, said: “We believe we have been given a treasure, and we will look after that treasure.

“We will work towards putting women’s football even more front and centre on the world stage.”

The countries have proposed to stage matches at up to eight grounds in Australia:

-Stadium Australia, Sydney (the final), capacity: 70,000
-Sydney Football Stadium, capacity: 42,512
-Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, capacity: 30,052
-Brisbane Stadium, capacity: 52,263
-Perth Rectangular Stadium, capacity: 22,225
-Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, capacity: 18,435
-Newcastle Stadium, capacity: 25,945
-York Park, Launceston, Tasmania, capacity: 22,065

And five stadiums in New Zealand:

-Eden Park, Auckland (opening game), capacity: 48,276
-Wellington Stadium, capacity: 39,000
-Christchurch Stadium, capacity: 22,556
-Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, capacity: 25,111
-Dunedin Stadium, capacity: 28,744

INDIA
Karnataka farmer walks 15km to repay loan amount 

of 4 cents

 TPE admin June 27, 2020


A farmer in the hilly Shimoga district of Karnataka was made to walk 15 kilometres to repay a loan amount due – a mere 3 rupee 46 paise (USD$ 0.046 or 4 cents).

Amade Lakshminarayana, an areca grower from Baruve village in the deep forests of the Western Ghats got a call from the Canara Bank branch at a nearby small town, Nittur, asking him to rush immediately to repay the loan amount.

They gave him no further details.

A panicked Lakshminarayana walked 15 kilometres to reach the bank as there is no bus services due to lockdown.

When he reached the Bank, the officials told him that his due amount was a paltry 3 rupee 46 paise. The shocked farmer immediately paid the amount to clear the loan.

According to him, he had taken Rs 35,000 agriculture loan from the bank. Out of that Rs 32,000 was waived off by the government and he had repaid remaining Rs 3,000 a few months ago.

“When the bank called me to rush urgently. I panicked. There is no bus service due to lockdown. I don’t have any vehicle, not even a bicycle. I reached the bank by foot to clear my outstanding amount of paltry Rs 3 and 46 paisa. The bank’s inhuman act has hurt me”, he said.

Local Canara Bank manager L Pingva said that auditing was underway in the branch and to renew his loan he had to clear the outstanding amount of Rs 3 and 46 paisa. They also needed his signature, he added.

This news has gone viral inviting widespread condemnation by one and all. They feel that there was no need for the bank to force him to walk 15 kilometres whatever may be the reason

Justin Trudeau takes son out for ice cream as Canada eases pandemic restrictions

 TPE admin June 25, 2020


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took his son out for ice cream on Wednesday in his first family outing since Canada started easing out of its pandemic lockdown.

It was also Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec province.

Wearing masks, the Canadian leader and his six-year-old son Hadrien were cheered at Chocolats Favoris in Gatineau, Quebec.

According to a pool report, Trudeau said the shop tapped into a federal emergency wage subsidy and business loan in order to weather the pandemic, and “avoid being frozen out of the frozen treat market.”

Hadrien is said to have bounced with excitement, settling on a vanilla cone with a cookie topping while dad bought a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate for himself.

Father and son then headed out to the patio, where they doffed their masks to eat their cones.

Canada’s provinces and territories declared states of emergency mid-March, closing schools and non-essential businesses in response to the pandemic.

New record set for Earth’s longest lightning in both distance and duration

 TPE admin June 26, 2020


A single lightning flash stretched more than 700 kilometres across Brazil last year – equivalent to the distance between Boston and Washington DC – has created a new world record for the longest reported distance of lightning, the UN’s weather agency has announced.

A World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) committee of experts said two new world records for the longest reported distance and the longest reported duration for a single lightning flash were set in Brazil and Argentina.

The new records for extreme lightning bursts, or ‘megaflashes’, during 2019, are more than double the size and duration of the previous record flashes.

A lightning flash that developed continuously over northern Argentina on March 4, 2019 lasted a whopping 16.73 seconds.

A second flash stretched more than 700 kilometres (400 miles) across southern Brazil on October 31 last year. This was equivalent to the distance between Boston and Washington in the US, or between London and Basel in Switzerland.
The previous megaflash distance record was 321 km (199.5 miles) in June 2007 across the US state of Oklahoma, and the previous continuous duration record was 7.74 seconds, reached in August 2012 in southern France.

The new record-breaking strikes, captured by the American Geophysical Union ahead of International Lightning Safety Day on June 28, were recorded by equipment carried on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, and their orbiting counterparts from Europe and China.

The records were described by Professor Randall Cerveny, chief rapporteur of Weather and Climate Extremes for WMO, as “extraordinary.”

“Environmental extremes are living measurements of what nature is capable of, as well as scientific progress in being able to make such assessments,” he said.

“It is likely that even greater extremes still exist, and that we will be able to observe them as lightning detection technology improves.”

Cerveny said the technology could help scientists better understand the whole science of lightning, and potentially save lives: “This will provide valuable information for establishing limits to the scale of lightning – including megaflashes – for engineering, safety and scientific concerns.”

The WMO reiterated the dangers of lightning, and the many lives it claims every year. Lightning flashes have led to major loss of life.

In 1975, 21 people in Zimbabwe were killed when a single flash hit the hut in which they were sheltering, and 469 people were killed in Dronka, Egypt in 1994, when lightning tragically struck a set of oil tanks, causing burning oil to flood the town.
The official advice from the agency is to follow the 30-30 rule: if the time between flash and thunder is less than 30 seconds, stay inside, and wait 30 minutes after the last observed flash, to resume outdoor activities.

Just yesterday thunderstorms and lightning killed over 110 people in India’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.