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UK: Escaped Tortoise Causes Railway Disruption

Solomon was going to be taken to a vet in Staines before his owner came forward (viral social media photo)
Solomon was going to be taken to a vet in Staines before his owner came forward (viral social media photo)
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UK: Escaped Tortoise Causes Railway Disruption

Solomon was going to be taken to a vet in Staines before his owner came forward (viral social media photo)
Solomon was going to be taken to a vet in Staines before his owner came forward (viral social media photo)

An escaped tortoise caused disruption for train services as it launched a low-speed escape attempt after trespassing on the railway.

The runaway reptile, named Solomon, was caught on the tracks near Ascot in Berkshire as he crawled along the rail towards Bagshot.

It led to the disruption of four services, The Independent reported.

Engineers picked the tortoise up and put it on the next passing train, with arrangements to drop it off at a vet in Staines.

A Network Rail Wessex Spokesperson wrote on X: “On Friday (19 July), there was a trespasser of an unusual nature on the tracks at Ascot as an escaped tortoise called Solomon was moving ‘at pace’ (according to the incident report) towards Bagshot.

“Network Rail teams arranged for the next train heading into Ascot from Aldershot to stop shortly to allow the tortoise to be rescued, getting the shellebrity onto the train to bring it into the station.

“Arrangements had been made to drop off the tortoise at a vets in Staines, however the owner was able to come and collect Solomon.

“We are sorry to any passengers who were disrupted during this incident. While we are delighted that this story has a happy ending and can reassure passengers that our everyone home safe, every day ambitions extend to pets, we must remind everyone that the railway is dangerous.

“Trains need several football pitches to stop from full speed and there are less obvious dangers such as the, always on, electrified third rail.

“We also ask that our lineside neighbours ensure that their fencing is secure to prevent human, or animal incursions onto the track.”

The internet erupted with memes of Solomon being seemingly detained by rail staff and others asking if it was going faster than national rail services in the region.

Another asked: “Why are my train delays never caused by things like this? (also who loses such a huge pet tortoise)”.

Network Rail suggested the owner’s home is next to the rail track and that the tortoise may have got through a gap in their fence.

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Tunisia's Sandy Beaches Eaten away by Coastal Erosion

A man looks on as a digger spreads sand on a beach in the tourist town of Hammamet as authorities fight to protect the coast from rising sea levels and erosion. FETHI BELAID / AFP
A man looks on as a digger spreads sand on a beach in the tourist town of Hammamet as authorities fight to protect the coast from rising sea levels and erosion. FETHI BELAID / AFP
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Tunisia's Sandy Beaches Eaten away by Coastal Erosion

A man looks on as a digger spreads sand on a beach in the tourist town of Hammamet as authorities fight to protect the coast from rising sea levels and erosion. FETHI BELAID / AFP
A man looks on as a digger spreads sand on a beach in the tourist town of Hammamet as authorities fight to protect the coast from rising sea levels and erosion. FETHI BELAID / AFP

In Tunisia's seaside town of Hammamet, bulldozers diligently shovel sand from a nearby desert onto a popular beach in an attempt to stop it from disappearing due to erosion.
"This beach is the postcard image of Hammamet," said environmentalist Chiheb Ben Fredj peering nostalgically at the town's iconic Yasmine beach.
"It has been seared in our minds since our childhood," he added, as laborers worked to restore the central Tunisian waterfront to its former sandy glory, reported Agence France Presse.
Like many other coastal areas in North Africa, severe erosion has led to many of Hammamet's sandy beaches vanishing in recent years, taking a toll on the holiday hotspot about 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of the capital Tunis.
Coastlines across the world are in a constant natural flux, with the seas claiming and depositing sediment.
But human activity, including coastal property development and offshore sand mining, significantly accelerates beach erosion.
Among other impacts, construction and coastal defenses in one area can stop sediment from traveling along a coastline, leaving existing beaches deprived of new material.
Studies have also shown the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures and sea levels, exacerbate the phenomenon.
Tourism draw
In the Mediterranean, where the British National Oceanography Centre says sea levels have risen at a higher rate over the past 20 years than the entirety of the 20th century, shorelines are changing rapidly.
The sea is also warming 20 percent faster than the rest of the world, according to the United Nations.
Tunisia's coastline has been a major asset for the Mediterranean country with a struggling economy, as it aims to host some 10 million tourists this year.
Tourism accounts for up to 14 percent of the country's GDP, providing tens of thousands of jobs in a country where unemployment tops 16 percent and 40 percent among young people.
Tunisia has already lost more than 90 kilometers of beaches to erosion, according to official figures from last year.
Of the country's 570 kilometers of sandy beaches suitable for swimming, 190 kilometers are at imminent risk of disappearing, according to Tunisian reports.
A majority of the beaches most affected by erosion are located near cities.
Tunisia's environmental groups, as well as the government's Coastal Protection and Development Agency (APAL), blame the rapid erosion mostly on human activity and construction on the coast, which they say is further aggravated by climate change.
"Construction projects have not been designed to respect coastal dynamics," an APAL official told AFP.
'Not sustainable'
To save the Hammamet beach, one of Tunisia's worst-affected according to the World Bank, authorities last month began trucking in around 750 lorry loads filled with sand from the inland desert province of Kairouan, about 110 kilometers away.
APAL, which operates under the environment ministry, was in a race against time to refill the beach before the peak of tourist season.
But while the rebuilding of beaches, known as beach nourishment, may be a quick fix, "it's not a sustainable solution", said Ben Fredj.
"This sand may not last long," added the secretary general of the Environmental Education Association.
"It can be swallowed in a few days in the event of a storm", he said, as was the case in the summer of 2023.
The process can also prove expensive.
Coastal authorities estimated the cost of restoring sand to three beaches in Hammamet, Monastir and Sfax at 3.9 million Tunisian dinars ($1.25 million).
But for locals, restoring their priceless seafront is worth the money.
The Yasmine beach "is a showcase for Hammamet," said Narjess Bouasker, who runs the town's Menara hotel and leads the regional hotel federation.
"We must take back our beach that the sea has swallowed," she said, calling for a balance between safeguarding the landscape, cherished by locals and foreign visitors alike, and fighting coastal erosion.
"For us, the priority is not to touch the beauty of the city," she said.
Bouasker said she has seen increasing awareness among authorities, but refilling beaches with sand is still a gamble.
"We don't know how the sea will react", she added.