The height attained by the plume of last Saturday’s volcanic eruption in Tonga is an indication of its immense force. Scientists in the United Kingdom studying weather satellite data estimate it to be about 55 kilometres (35 miles) above the Earth’s surface.

This is where the stratosphere and mesosphere layers of the atmosphere meet. According to Dr. Simon Proud of RAL Space, these are “unheard-of altitudes” for a volcanic plume. Mount Pinatubo erupted with the greatest force in the second half of the twentieth century in 1991. Its plume is estimated to have reached a height of 40 kilometres.

However, Dr. Proud, who is linked with the UK National Centre for Earth Observation, cautioned that today’s more accurate satellites could have provided a greater altitude for the Philippines occurrence.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright

According to his lawyers, a French tourist who has been detained in Iran since 2020 on suspicion of espionage has gone on trial. Benjamin Brière, 36, was arrested after flying a drone near the Iran-Turkmenistan border.

If convicted, he faces prison time, however, his Iran-based lawyer has hinted that officials are considering putting him in a prisoner exchange. Mr. Brière has been on hunger strike since December, which has left him quite fragile, according to another of his lawyers.

Mr. Brière’s lawyer in Paris, Philippe Valent, and Mr. Brière’s sister both stated that a verdict might be given on 22^nd January. He is being prosecuted behind closed doors in the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, Iran’s easternmost city.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright

The world’s oldest man has died in Spain. Saturnino de la Fuente García  died a month before he turned 113. She died Tuesday morning at her home in the northern Spanish city of Lyon. He was a shoe maker.

He died on February 8, just as his family was about to celebrate his birthday. In September last year, he was named the Guinness Book of World Records’ oldest man in the world. His wife is Antonina Barry.

He had previously said in an interview that ‘leading a quiet life without hurting anyone’ was the secret of his longevity. He had a son. But that son died in infancy. He has seven daughters, relatives said. At the age of five, Satinino became ill and survived the Spanish flu epidemic.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright

Lisbon’s City Hall has been fined €1.25 million ($1.4 million, £1 million) for handing on demonstrators’ contact information to foreign embassies where they were picketing.

According to Portugal’s data commissioner, the mayor’s administration violated demonstrators’ personal data 225 times between 2018 and 2021. Former Socialist Mayor Fernando Medina’s administration shared their information with numerous embassies, including Russia’s. He has apologised for the violations.

According to the data commissioner, several of the violations occurred mere months before the incident became public, when several of the demonstrators expressed their concerns with the city council. The mayor’s office is claimed to have given information about the organisers of 52 protests to embassies across the world, including Russia’s, Cuba’s, and Israel’s.

Pic Courtesy: google/ images are subject to copyright