Strange Foam and Dead Fish Wash Ashore at 2 Australian Beaches as Surfers Fall Sick 

This image made from video provided by Australian Broadcasting Corp., shows foam washing up on beach Monday, March 17, 2025, in Waitpinga, near Adelaide. (Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP) 
This image made from video provided by Australian Broadcasting Corp., shows foam washing up on beach Monday, March 17, 2025, in Waitpinga, near Adelaide. (Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP) 
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Strange Foam and Dead Fish Wash Ashore at 2 Australian Beaches as Surfers Fall Sick 

This image made from video provided by Australian Broadcasting Corp., shows foam washing up on beach Monday, March 17, 2025, in Waitpinga, near Adelaide. (Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP) 
This image made from video provided by Australian Broadcasting Corp., shows foam washing up on beach Monday, March 17, 2025, in Waitpinga, near Adelaide. (Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP) 

An Australian state closed two beaches after dead fish and an unusual off-white foam washed ashore while surfers reported feeling unwell, officials said on Tuesday.

A microalgal bloom created by unusual weather conditions was suspected to have sickened humans and marine life as well as creating the foam that has covered hundreds of meters (yards) of coastline, South Australian Environment Protection Authority principal scientific officer Sam Gaylard said.

“It is very concerning,” Gaylard told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“It is unusual at this scale. At this time of year, when the weather conditions allow, we do occasionally get isolated blooms, but something of this scale is definitely a little bit unusual,” Gaylard added.

Waitpinga Beach and neighboring Parsons Beach, both south of the South Australia state capital Adelaide, have been closed to the public since Monday in response to a “fish mortality event in the area,” the Department for Environment and Water said in a statement.

“The beaches will be re-opened as soon as possible,” the department said.

Dozens of dead fish have reportedly been washed ashore.

Surfers have been complaining since the weekend of getting sore eyes, sore throats and coughing after contact with the water, said local Anthony Rowland, who surfed at Waitpinga on Saturday.

“While we were out there, we started coughing,” Rowland said, referring to his surfing comrades. He said he was overwhelmed by the response from other surfers after posting his experience online.

“Lots of people reached out – so many people have said they’re had exactly the same symptoms,” Rowland said.

Marine scientists took water samples from the foam, which is a byproduct of the toxic organisms' decay, on Monday, but it could take until the end of the week to identify the organism, Gaylard said.

A bloom of microalgae – microscopic, single-celled organisms – could have been caused by a recent extended period of hot and dry weather with little wind and low tides, Gaylard said.

A swell has picked up in the area since Sunday, and the turbulence could break up the algae while generating more foam, he said.

“At the moment, we’re not sure how long this will last,” Gaylard said.



Police Investigate Disappearance of Melania Trump’s Statue in Her Native Slovenia

 This Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 photo shows the bronze statue representing Melania Trump that was sawed off and taken away, in the village of Rozno, Slovenia, near Malenia Trump's hometown of Sevnica. (AP)
This Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 photo shows the bronze statue representing Melania Trump that was sawed off and taken away, in the village of Rozno, Slovenia, near Malenia Trump's hometown of Sevnica. (AP)
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Police Investigate Disappearance of Melania Trump’s Statue in Her Native Slovenia

 This Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 photo shows the bronze statue representing Melania Trump that was sawed off and taken away, in the village of Rozno, Slovenia, near Malenia Trump's hometown of Sevnica. (AP)
This Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 photo shows the bronze statue representing Melania Trump that was sawed off and taken away, in the village of Rozno, Slovenia, near Malenia Trump's hometown of Sevnica. (AP)

Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of US first lady Melania Trump that was sawed off and carried away from her hometown.

The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melanija Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

Police spokeswoman Alenka Drenik Rangus said Friday that the police were informed about the theft of the statue on Tuesday. She said police were working to track down those responsible.

According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawed off at the ankles and removed.

Franja Kranjc, who works at a bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes with Melania Trump's name in support of the first lady, said the stolen statue won't be missed.

“I think no one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA,” he said. “So I think its OK that it's removed.”

The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017. The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance with the first lady.