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New Technique to Generate Electricity From Raindrops

A pedestrian walks through heavy rain in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, July 3, 2019, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
A pedestrian walks through heavy rain in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, July 3, 2019, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
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New Technique to Generate Electricity From Raindrops

A pedestrian walks through heavy rain in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, July 3, 2019, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
A pedestrian walks through heavy rain in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, July 3, 2019, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

Huge efforts had been made to harvest energy from rainfalls, but, they often failed due to many obstacles. These efforts include the traditional hydroelectric power mainly used in the heavy electromagnetic generators that lose efficiency when water supplies drop.

Among the suggested alternatives were the nanogenerators (a type of technology that converts energy into electricity) using a solar panel that captures energy from rain droplets.

A study published around two years ago in the ACS Nano journal reported that researchers developed a hybrid lightweight low-cost solar panel that can be installed on roofs. They used different types of plastic and transparent polymers to separate the nanogenerators and solar cells on the panel. However, this technique had a major drawback- its maximum power was less than one watt per square meter.

A recent report released by the Nature journal on February 5, said researchers at The University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI) have created a new technique that uses the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film that captures more energy when fixed on an aluminum electrode and an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode.

The idea behind this technique is that the PTFE is able to accumulate a surface charge as it's continuously hit by water droplets, which then act as a 'bridge' that connects two electrodes: an aluminum electrode and an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode.

The droplet bridge, in turn, creates a closed-loop surface so that all of the collected energy can be released – droplets act as resistors, and the surface coating acts as a capacitor. This approach could eventually be applied anywhere the water hits- a solid surface like the hull of a boat, the inside of a water bottle, or the top of an umbrella.

According to researchers, the new method could generate enough power from a single droplet of rain to light up 100 LED bulbs.

In a report published on the Sciencealert website on February 16, Senior Author Wang Zuankai from the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), said: "Our research shows that a drop of 100 microliters of water released from a height of 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) can generate a voltage of over 140V, and the power generated can light up 100 small LED lights."

For his part, Chemist Xiao Cheng Zeng, from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln explained that "The significance of this technology is the much enhanced electric power per falling rain droplet, which makes the device much more efficient to convert energy from a falling droplet to electricity."

There's plenty of work still to do to get this project ready for practical use, however, Zeng hopes to have a prototype ready in the next five years.

"From a scientific perspective, the idea is outstanding," said Dr. Mohammed Hamdi, professor of renewable energies at the Benha University, Egypt, noting that the main challenge is the application of this idea on a large scale in order to assess its efficacy and economic feasibility.

"The implementation of this technique on a big scale would save billions of dollars spent on the building of dams used in electricity generation, as long as we can generate it directly from rain droplets," he stressed.

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Bad Blood with China? Blinken Buys Taylor Swift Album in Beijing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) talks with Yuxuan Zhou during a visit to Li-Pi record store in Beijing on April 26, 2024. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) talks with Yuxuan Zhou during a visit to Li-Pi record store in Beijing on April 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Bad Blood with China? Blinken Buys Taylor Swift Album in Beijing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) talks with Yuxuan Zhou during a visit to Li-Pi record store in Beijing on April 26, 2024. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) talks with Yuxuan Zhou during a visit to Li-Pi record store in Beijing on April 26, 2024. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken snapped up a Taylor Swift album along with one by classic Chinese rocker Dou Wei during an unexpected detour to a Beijing record store on Friday after talks in China meant to ease superpower tensions.

En route to the airport after a visit that included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Blinken popped into the LiPi record store in the Chinese capital's arts district where the owner handed him an album by Dou Wei, which he bought along with Swift's 2022 record "Midnights".

One of the aims of Blinken's trip has been to emphasize the importance of what the State Department calls "people-to-people ties" as part of efforts to improve relations.

In the Beijing record store, he described mega pop star Swift, whose hits include "Bad Blood" from her fifth album in 2014, as a successful American export.

Blinken, an avid musician and guitar player, described music as "the best connector, regardless of geography", and said he loved vinyl records because of the liner notes.

Asked by the shop owner what music he was into, Blinken, who is 62, said he loved everything but added: "I’m a bit stuck in the '70s."

Varieties

Herds of Endangered Hippos Trapped in Mud in Drought-Hit Botswana

This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Herds of Endangered Hippos Trapped in Mud in Drought-Hit Botswana

This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta on the outskirts of Maun on April 25, 2024. (AFP)

Herds of endangered hippos stuck in the mud of dried-up ponds are in danger of dying in drought-struck Botswana, conservation authorities told AFP Friday.

Southern Africa has been affected by severe drought, caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has threatened harvests and plunged millions into hunger. Several countries in the region have recently declared a state of national disaster.

Near the vast wetlands of the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, the dried-up Thamalakane River has forced herds of hippos to head for natural water reserves close to the tourist town of Maun.

"The river system dries up and animals are in a compromised situation," said Lesego Moseki, spokesperson for Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) in Botswana's capital Gaborone.

Botswana is home to one of the world's largest populations of hippos living in the wild, estimated at between 2,000 and 4,000 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"The riverine vegetation is poor and the hippo in Ngamiland (northwestern district) depends on the water flowing through the Okavango Delta systems," Moseki added. They were still looking into the how many hippos had died in the pools, he said.

Hippos have thick but sensitive skin, meaning they need to bathe regularly to avoid sunburn and usually live in humid areas.

Without water, they can become aggressive and approach villages. Local authorities are calling for hippos to be relocated to reserves to avoid conflict with humans.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.

Varieties

Bangladesh Children Sweat at Home as Heatwave Shuts Schools

Rickshaw pullers rest from the heat in Dhaka -- the United Nations said this week Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
Rickshaw pullers rest from the heat in Dhaka -- the United Nations said this week Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
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Bangladesh Children Sweat at Home as Heatwave Shuts Schools

Rickshaw pullers rest from the heat in Dhaka -- the United Nations said this week Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP
Rickshaw pullers rest from the heat in Dhaka -- the United Nations said this week Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023. MUNIR UZ ZAMAN / AFP

Classes are canceled across Bangladesh due to searing heat, but high school student Mohua Akter Nur found the soaring temperatures at home left her in no state for homework.
Millions of pupils were told to stay home this week as the South Asian nation swelters through one of its worst heatwaves on record, with temperatures 4-5 degrees Celsius (7.2-9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the long-term average.
Few schools in the capital Dhaka have air conditioning, and trying to conduct classes would have been futile, said AFP.
But the government's decision to shutter schools was no relief to 13-year-old Nur.
Her cramped one-room home in the megacity, shared with her younger brother and parents, feels almost as suffocating as the streets outside.
"The heat is intolerable. Our school is shut, but I can't study at home. The electric fan does not cool us," she told AFP.
"When the power went out for an hour or two, it felt terrible."
'Unbearable'
Nur's mother Rumana Islam was laying down in a corner of their home after a sleepless night, coated in sweat after cooking for her family.
"Last year was hot, but this year is too hot -- more than ever. Just unbearable," she said.
"In villages, you can step out and cool yourself under the shade of trees.
"There is some breeze coming from the farmland. But here in Dhaka, all you can do is sit at home."
Temperatures across the country have reached more than 42C (108F) in the past week.
The heat prompted thousands of Bangladeshis to gather in city mosques and rural fields, praying for relief from the scorching heat that forecasters expect to continue through the weekend.
Bangladesh authorities expect to reopen schools from April 28, before temperatures are expected to recede.
Extensive scientific research has found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
The United Nations said this week Asia was the region most affected by climate and weather hazards in 2023, with floods and storms the chief causes of casualties and economic losses.
Millions of people across South and Southeast Asia have again sweltered through unusually hot weather this week.
Bangladesh and its 171 million people are already at the forefront of the global climate crisis, regularly battered by powerful cyclones and floods of increasing frequency and severity.
'Like you are burning'
The latest bout of extreme weather has spurred an outbreak of diarrhoea in the country's south, due to higher temperatures and the resulting increased salinity of local water sources.
Around the tenement building where Nur's family lives, alongside dozens of other low-income families, adults tried to block out the worst of the heat by dozing fitfully in their homes through the afternoon.
"The heat is so intense that it's tough to be out driving in these conditions," said 40-year-old Mohammad Yusuf, who like Nur's father and many of their neighbors, makes ends meet as a driver.
"You can get some respite when the air conditioner is on," he said. "But when you are outside, it feels like you are burning".

Varieties

End of the Road? Philippine Jeepneys Face Uncertain Future 

In this photo taken on April 5, 2024, jeepneys commute along a street in Manila. (AFP)
In this photo taken on April 5, 2024, jeepneys commute along a street in Manila. (AFP)
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End of the Road? Philippine Jeepneys Face Uncertain Future 

In this photo taken on April 5, 2024, jeepneys commute along a street in Manila. (AFP)
In this photo taken on April 5, 2024, jeepneys commute along a street in Manila. (AFP)

The first jeepneys rolled onto the streets of the Philippines just after World War II -- noisy, smoke-belching vehicles initially made from leftover US Jeeps that became a national symbol.

Seven decades later, the colorfully decorated vehicles face an existential threat from a plan to replace them with modern mini-buses.

Easy to fix and cheap to ride, the vehicles grew in size and length to become the backbone of the country's transport system, carrying passengers, goods and even visiting popes.

But the government's plan to phase out jeepneys in an effort to modernize the country's chaotic public transport network has put the future of the iconic vehicles in doubt.

"It was a heavy blow," Leonard Sarao, operations supervisor of jeepney maker Sarao Motors, told AFP.

Sarao Motors was one of the first companies to produce jeepneys after founder Leonardo Sarao Sr gave up driving horse-drawn buggies to make motorized public transport in the early 1950s.

Production at the family-owned company's sprawling facility in the capital Manila peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, with workers making 50 to 60 jeepneys per month.

Demand began to fall over the following decades as other transport options became available. By 2014, Sarao Motors was producing as few as 10 jeepneys per month.

But it was the government's launch of the jeepney phase-out program in 2017 that slammed the brakes on production.

The now drastically downsized workforce produces one jeepney every four to six months, said Sarao, the grandson of Sarao Sr.

"We've had customers that have been around since the '50s, so they've been purchasing jeepneys, making their fleet bigger," said Sarao, 31.

"With this new program there have been a lot of doubts or fears that if they purchase a brand new jeepney will they still be able to use it a couple of years down the road?"

'We can't afford the price'

While Sarao Motors can produce modern jeepneys that meet the government's environmental and safety specifications, they are "three to four times the price of a traditional jeepney", Sarao said.

In the seven years since the phase-out program was launched there have been multiple delays in its implementation due to protests and Covid-19.

Operators now have until April 30 to join a cooperative and then gradually replace their fleet with modern vehicles that are safer, more comfortable and less polluting.

Cooperatives will be able to access bank financing and receive a government subsidy for each vehicle to ease the financial burden of the transition.

But drivers opposed to the plan argue that buying a new vehicle will bury them in debt and they will not be able to earn enough money to repay their loans and make a living.

"It's difficult for us to get a modern jeepney... we can't afford the price," said Julio Dimaunahan, 57, who operates a jeepney in Manila and has joined a cooperative.

"Even now our pockets are hurting because of the little profits we get as operators," he said pointing to increased competition from motorbike-hailing services.

Jeepney operator Flocerfida Majadas, 62, said she was worried about the future of her drivers if she were to go broke.

"Our concern is that we may not be able to pay our liabilities," Majadas said, referring to bank loans.

"If we're not able to pay, the bank will repossess the modern jeepneys. If the bank repossesses them what will happen to our staff?"

Cheap and easy to fix

While jeepneys now vie with buses, vans and motorbikes for passengers, they are still a common sight and sound in the archipelago nation.

Often brightly painted and with an exhaust that sounds like a trumpet, jeepneys cost passengers as little as 13 pesos (23 cents) to ride and their second-hand diesel truck engines are easy to fix.

"Once a customer buys a jeepney from us any mechanic in the provinces or the far-flung regions can fix it," Sarao said.

But the modern mini-buses the government would like to replace them with are more high-tech, with European emission standard engines or electric motors, WiFi, CCTV and air-conditioning.

"If it breaks down, where will we get the money to fix it?" asked Dimaunahan.

Sarao said his family's company could not compete with the capacity of overseas manufacturers to mass produce vehicles.

But he said jeepneys made by Sarao Motors were cheaper than the imported mini-buses and higher quality.

"The way we do things here is everything is hand-made so at least we do quality control of these units to make sure the panels don't fall off, the welds are completed," he said.

"When you speed things up that's where things can go wrong."

'Spirit of the jeepney'

Teodoro Caparino, who has been driving a jeepney for 35 years, hopes the government will decide to fix existing jeepneys rather than replace them with "Chinese-made vehicles".

"Our families will starve if we do not get to drive our jeepneys... all we know is driving," Caparino, 60, said.

While the jeepney in its current form might be nearing the end of the road, Sarao said he hoped the "essence" of the vehicle would survive.

"It may look bigger, it may look wider and longer, but as long as the essence of how it's supposed to look like or the spirit of the jeepney is still there, I still think it's going to be the jeepney."

Varieties

Philippine Settlement Submerged by Dam Reappears Due to Drought

The ruins in the middle of Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija province are a tourist draw. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
The ruins in the middle of Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija province are a tourist draw. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
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Philippine Settlement Submerged by Dam Reappears Due to Drought

The ruins in the middle of Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija province are a tourist draw. JAM STA ROSA / AFP
The ruins in the middle of Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija province are a tourist draw. JAM STA ROSA / AFP

A centuries-old settlement submerged by the construction of a dam in the northern Philippines in the 1970s has reappeared as water levels drop due to a drought affecting swathes of the country.
The ruins in the middle of Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija province are a tourist draw, even as the region swelters in extreme heat.
Parts of a church, municipal hall marker and tombstones began to resurface in March after several months of "almost no rain", said Marlon Paladin, a supervising engineer for the National Irrigation Administration.
It is the sixth time the nearly 300-year-old settlement has resurfaced since the reservoir was created to provide irrigation water for local farmers and generate hydro-power.
"This is the longest time (it was visible) based on my experience," Paladin told AFP.
The reservoir's water level has fallen nearly 50 meters (164 feet) from its normal high level of 221 meters, figures from the state weather forecaster show.
The months of March, April and May are typically the hottest and driest in the archipelago nation, but conditions this year have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
About half of the country's provinces, including Nueva Ecija, are officially in drought.
Tourists wanting a close-up of the ruins pay around 300 pesos ($5.00) to fishermen for a short boat ride out to the temporary island in the middle of the reservoir.
Nely Villena, who lives in Pantabangan municipality, regularly visits a viewing platform overlooking the dam to see the ruins.
"The view is better when the water level is low. If the water is too high... all I can see is water," Villena, 48, told AFP, as a strong wind whipped across the water, providing relief from the scorching heat.
'Badly need water'
The actual air temperature in Nueva Ecija has reached around 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) most days this week, with the heat index hovering above the "danger" level of 42C.
The heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.

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KAUST, NEOM Unveil World's Largest Coral Restoration Project

KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA
KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA
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KAUST, NEOM Unveil World's Largest Coral Restoration Project

KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA
KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in collaboration with NEOM, has started working on the first nursery of the KAUST Coral Restoration Initiative (KCRI), a statement from KAUST said on Thursday.

According to the statement, KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. The primary nursery is already operational, and a second facility is being developed, both located in the Red Sea.

KCRI is funded by KAUST, a world-class graduate research university in Saudi Arabia, which was recently ranked as the number one Arab University by Times Higher Education.

The newly built nursery, on the coast of NEOM in northwest Saudi Arabia, will transform coral restoration efforts with a production capacity of 40,000 corals annually. Functioning as a pioneering pilot facility, researchers will leverage it as the blueprint for large-scale coral restoration initiatives.

Most importantly, this facility serves as a precursor to a more ambitious project: the world's largest and most advanced land-based coral nursery. This nursery, located at the same site, is an advanced coral nursery that will boast a ten-fold larger capacity to nurture 400,000 corals annually. With construction quickly progressing, the project is anticipated to reach completion by December 2025.

Home to 25% of known marine species despite covering less than 1% of the sea floor, coral reefs are the bedrock of numerous marine ecosystems. "This is one reason why scientists are so concerned about the rising rate of mass bleaching events, with experts estimating up to 90% of global coral reefs will experience severe heat stress on an annually by 2050," the statement said. With the frequency of such events on the rise, solutions for coral recovery will be "crucial for a healthy ocean.”

In alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and its efforts to bolster marine conservation, this major initiative leverages KAUST's research into marine ecosystems and serves as a platform for trialing innovative restoration methods. Set on a 100-hectare site; the initiative will deploy 2 million coral fragments, marking a significant step in conservation efforts.

According to the statement, KCRI aligns with KAUST's overarching strategy, showcasing its dedication to catalyzing positive societal and global outcomes.

Beyond environmental restoration, the project offers educational benefits, further reinforcing its alignment with the broader strategic goals outlined in Vision 2030.

"Recent events provide a stark reminder of the global crisis that coral reefs face. Our ambition is, therefore, to pioneer a pathway to upscale from the current labor-intensive restoration efforts to industrial-scale processes required to reverse the current rate of coral reef degradation,” said KAUST President Prof. Tony Chan.

“As a significant output of KAUST's new strategy, the university is contributing the world-leading expertise of our faculty, who are working on technologies to bring this vision to fruition."

NEOM's CEO, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, said the initiative demonstrates NEOM's dedication to sustainability and finding innovative solutions for global environmental challenges.

NEOM, as a "pioneer in sustainable development" recognizes the importance of reviving coral reefs in partnership with KAUST. Through their longstanding collaboration, they aim to raise awareness about the significance of coral reefs as crucial marine environmental systems and emphasize the need to preserve them for future generations.

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China Launches 3-member Shenzhou-18 Crew to its Space Station

Shenzhou-18 manned spaceflight mission astronauts commander Ye Guangfu (R), Li Cong (C), and Li Guangsu wave during the see-off ceremony before the launch in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 25 April 2024. EPA/WU HAO
Shenzhou-18 manned spaceflight mission astronauts commander Ye Guangfu (R), Li Cong (C), and Li Guangsu wave during the see-off ceremony before the launch in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 25 April 2024. EPA/WU HAO
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China Launches 3-member Shenzhou-18 Crew to its Space Station

Shenzhou-18 manned spaceflight mission astronauts commander Ye Guangfu (R), Li Cong (C), and Li Guangsu wave during the see-off ceremony before the launch in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 25 April 2024. EPA/WU HAO
Shenzhou-18 manned spaceflight mission astronauts commander Ye Guangfu (R), Li Cong (C), and Li Guangsu wave during the see-off ceremony before the launch in Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, 25 April 2024. EPA/WU HAO

China launched a three-member crew to its orbiting space station on Thursday as part of its ambitious program that aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.
The Shenzhou-18 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China atop a Long March 2-F rocket at 8:59 p.m. (1259 GMT).
The spacecraft’s three-member crew will relieve the Shenzhou-17 team, which has been manning China’s Tiangong space station since last October.
The China Manned Space Agency, or CMSA, held a send-off ceremony — complete with flag-waving children and patriotic tunes — for the Shenzhou-18 crew earlier on Thursday, as the three astronauts prepared to enter the spacecraft.
The trio is made of Commander Ye Guangfu, 43, a veteran astronaut who took part in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021, and fighter pilots Li Cong, 34, and Li Guangsu, 36, who are spaceflight rookies.
They are expected to reach the space station about six-and-a-half hours after liftoff, The Associated Press reported.
China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely because of US concerns over the Chinese military’s involvement in the program. This year, the station is slated for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions.

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China Evacuates Entire Town as Record Rains Lash its South

A general view shows the swollen Beijang River in Qingyuan, in northern Guangdong province on April 24, 2024. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)
A general view shows the swollen Beijang River in Qingyuan, in northern Guangdong province on April 24, 2024. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)
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China Evacuates Entire Town as Record Rains Lash its South

A general view shows the swollen Beijang River in Qingyuan, in northern Guangdong province on April 24, 2024. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)
A general view shows the swollen Beijang River in Qingyuan, in northern Guangdong province on April 24, 2024. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)

Relentless rains, hail and winds of near hurricane intensity battered southern China, forcing the evacuation of an entire town of more than 1,700 people in the province of Guangdong, media said on Thursday.
Buses and helicopters ferried to safety all the residents of the township of Jiangwan in the Shaoguan region as a new round of floods arrived, the reports said, citing local authorities.
"I have never seen such heavy rain in my life, nor have people older than me," said Jiang, a 72-year-old resident who gave only his surname, according to state-run China Daily.
Power lines were downed and mobile telephone networks disrupted across the region, as the rains set off dangerous mudslides, inundated homes and destroyed bridges, Reuters reported.
Since the arrival of powerful storms last week, scenes of havoc have played out across the province, once dubbed the "factory floor of the world", as dozens of local rainfall records have been shattered for the month of April.
In a restaurant in the provincial capital of Guangzhou this week, customers gazed in horror as winds became hurricane-like gales and tore down trees, while fast-moving sheets of rain pounded the street outside, videos on social media showed.
The province prone to summer floods had its defenses tested in June 2022 with the heaviest downpours in six decades, which forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
The latest storms, which have killed at least four people, were brought by the El Nino weather phenomenon and a stronger-than-normal subtropical high, a semi-permanent high pressure system circulating north of the equator.
The associated warmer temperatures drew in more moisture-laden air from the South China Sea and even as far away as the Bay of Bengal, weather officials said, leading to more rain and winds.

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Shawarma Restaurant in Cairo Brings Taste of Home for Displaced Palestinians

General view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo
General view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo
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Shawarma Restaurant in Cairo Brings Taste of Home for Displaced Palestinians

General view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo
General view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo

A Palestinian businessman displaced by the war in Gaza is bringing a taste of home for fellow refugees with a Shawarma restaurant he has opened in Cairo, Reuters reported.
"The Restaurant of Rimal Neighborhood" offers Shawarma, a Middle Eastern dish of thinly-sliced meat, and other Palestinian and Arab dishes.
"The name comes to eternalize Rimal, my neighborhood, and to eternalize my homeland too," said Basem Abu Al-Awn.
"It is also to replace the restaurant I once had in Gaza. Two restaurants of mine, in addition to my house and the houses of my relatives, were destroyed," he said.
Abu Al-Awn hopes his time outside Gaza will be temporary and he is determined to return to the enclave once the war between Israel and Hamas is over.
"I will return, even if I have to set up a tent near the rubble of my house. We are going back to Gaza and we will rebuild it," he told Reuters.
Rimal was Gaza City's busiest shopping center, with large malls and main bank offices before Israeli forces reduced most of it to rubble. It was also home to Gaza's most famous Shawarma places.
"The taste is the same, people tell us it tastes as if they are eating it in Gaza," said Ahmed Awad, the new restaurant's manager.
"The Egyptians who get to try our place keep coming back. They tell us the taste is nice and is different from the Shawarma they usually get," Awad said.
Gaza Shawarma spices are unique and scarce in Cairo, so credit goes to Awad's father, who mixes those available to give the dish a special Palestinian taste.
Many thousands of Palestinians have arrived in Gaza since the war began last October.

Awad, his wife, and four children arrived in Cairo three months ago. In Gaza, he used to work in restaurants specializing in oriental and Western dishes.
With an end to the war looking like a distant prospect, Awad urged Palestinians not to give up.
"I advise them to work, and take care of their lives, their houses and everything may have gone but no problem, it will come back again," he said. "Once things are resolved we will return home, work there, and rebuild our country."
Palestinians now stranded in Cairo include businessmen, students and ordinary families who say they seek some kind of temporary legal residency to pursue investment and study plans until a ceasefire is in place.
Palestinian and Egyptian leaders reject the permanent settlement of Palestinians outside their land.
Om Moaz, from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, had been struggling to pay for a rented house and treatment for her husband and daughter in Cairo. She began working from home, offering Palestinian food through social media.
She found there was a strong demand from both Egyptians and Palestinians.
"Some were in the war and came to Egypt. So they started ordering my food. And thank God, it's a successful business and hopefully, it continues," she said.

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Overcrowded Venice Introduces 1st Payment Charge for Tourists

FILE PHOTO: A web app to pay the entrance fee for Venice is seen on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken in the control room where monitors are used to check the number of tourists entering and leaving the city in Venice, Italy January 26, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A web app to pay the entrance fee for Venice is seen on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken in the control room where monitors are used to check the number of tourists entering and leaving the city in Venice, Italy January 26, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Illustration/File Photo
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Overcrowded Venice Introduces 1st Payment Charge for Tourists

FILE PHOTO: A web app to pay the entrance fee for Venice is seen on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken in the control room where monitors are used to check the number of tourists entering and leaving the city in Venice, Italy January 26, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A web app to pay the entrance fee for Venice is seen on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken in the control room where monitors are used to check the number of tourists entering and leaving the city in Venice, Italy January 26, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Illustration/File Photo

Venice became the first city in the world on Thursday to introduce a payment system for tourists in an effort to thin the crowds that throng the canals during the peak holiday season.
Signs warning day-trippers about the new 5-euro ($5.35) charge were set up outside the train station and near an entry footbridge, telling visitors they had to pay before diving into Venice's narrow alleyways.
April 25 is a national holiday in Italy and is the first of 29 days this year when people must buy a ticket if they want to access the lagoon city from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
Reservations are meant to be made online but there is also a booth on hand for those who don't have smartphones.
Although there are no turnstiles at the city gateways to make sure people have a pass, inspectors will be making random checks and issue fines of between 50 and 300 euros to anyone who has failed to register.
"No one has ever done this before," Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told reporters earlier this month. "We are not closing the city ... we are just trying to make it livable."
Some 20 million people visited Venice last year, a city official said, with roughly half of them staying overnight in hotels or holiday lets - an influx which dwarfs the resident population currently put at around 49,000.
People with hotel reservations and visitors aged under 14 do not need to pay the entry fee, but still need to register beforehand. Residents, students and workers are exempt.
Venice narrowly escaped being placed on UNESCO's "World Heritage in Danger" list last year partly because the UN body decided that the city was addressing concerns that its delicate ecosystem risked being overwhelmed by mass tourism.
Besides introducing the entry charge, the city has also banned large cruise ships from sailing into the Venetian lagoon and has announced new limits on the size of tourist groups.
"The phenomenon of mass tourism poses a challenge for all Europe's tourist cities," said Simone Venturini, who is responsible for tourism and social cohesion on the city council.
"But being smaller and more fragile, it is even more impacted by this phenomenon and is therefore taking action earlier than others to try to find solutions," he told Reuters.
Ticketing this year is in an experimental phase and Venturini said that in future Venice might start charging more at certain times of the year to look to discourage arrivals.