California deploys 400 goats and sheep as ‘firefighters’ to eat an invasive weed fuelling wildfires and threatening native ecosystems | World News

As California prepares for another intense wildfire season, an unlikely team of firefighters has taken to the fields of northeast Fresno. Around 400 goats and sheep have been deployed to graze across 180 acres of land overrun by yellow star-thistle, an invasive plant that not only crowds out native vegetation but also creates dry fuel…

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53 dolphins stranded in just two days in Massachusetts due to receding tides, now rescuers have safely returned 19 to the sea | World News

A dramatic two-day rescue operation unfolded along the Massachusetts coast after 53 bottlenose dolphins became stranded on the tidal flats of Cape Cod, prompting marine wildlife teams to race against time to save the animals. The latest rescue saw 19 dolphins successfully returned to the sea after they stranded between Brewster and Wellfleet, just a…

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US student visa rules are changing on September 15: Who could be affected and how

Trump administration introduces fixed visa stay limits for foreign students (Representative Photo) The United States has overhauled its student visa framework, replacing the decades-old “Duration of Status” (D/S) system with fixed periods of admission for F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors.According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the changes are aimed at curbing visa…

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Scientists deploy robot birds in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park to lure a critically declining local sage-grouse population away from an airport and revive its numbers | World News

Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming has turned to an unusual conservation strategy to save one of its fastest-declining bird populations: robot birds. Park officials and wildlife experts have deployed lifelike robotic greater sage-grouse that mimic the species’ elaborate courtship dances, puff out their chests and broadcast recorded mating calls in an effort to attract…

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American oystercatchers were largely wiped out in New England: After a $10 million conservation push across 16 states, their numbers rose 45% along US coasts | World News

They are the size of a football with bright orange bills, long legs, yellow-beady eyes and can fly up to 2,000 miles. While they populate American beaches today, once there was a time when American oystercatchers had been wiped out from New England.By the turn of the 20th century, these birds had gone extinct in…

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Inside the ancient Greek theatres where wooden stages rolled in and out for every performance | World News

Long before modern theatres began using motorised stages and rolling sets, ancient Greek theatre builders appear to have solved the same problem using wood, stone tracks and simple wheels. New research from a team at Kumamoto University in Japan has strengthened the case that theatres from the Hellenistic period used large, moveable wooden stage structures…

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Illinois farmers are making up to $200,000 a year without growing more crops as solar companies offer long-term leases worth up to $2,000 per acre | World News

Illinois farmers have long relied on corn and soybean harvests to generate income, but a growing number are now finding an equally profitable opportunity without planting additional crops. Renewable energy developers are offering long-term leases to build utility-scale solar farms, with payments reaching as much as $2,000 per acre each year. For landowners leasing around…

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