A collapsing glacier in Tibet led to a devastating wall of water and debris roaring through a valley in Nepal, leaving hundreds dead and many hundreds still missing.

Stuart Dunning is a professor of applied geomorphology who researches disaster risk reduction in high mountain a areas nd has closely studied the 2021 Chamoli disaster, a similar event. He’s part of a loose group of 50 or more international experts who come together to pool expertise and provide rapid analysis of events like these.

The Conversation asked him about the science behind this event, and what we can expect in future.

What exactly happened – and how can a collapsing glacier generate such a powerful flood?

The exact sequence of events that sent so much debris and water downstream is something we are still trying to unravel. There are a number of possibilities. One is that a large bedrock landslide took the glacier with it. Another is that a bedrock landslide destabilised the glacier and it fell very shortly after. Another is that the glacier failed first and then the bedrock above failed.

I think the best description is that a rock-ice avalanche began at around 4,800 metres and fell over 1,200 metres. There was enough ice in the initial collapse – and perhaps subsequently picked up – that it could generate the water to turn it into the devastating long runout debris flow. This is far more damaging than a dry rock avalanche.

The flow travelled along the river, so gaining water. It would have been eroding the valley floor and sides as it went. Further downstream, that material will have been deposited across the landscape.

What do we call this event? Is it a glacial outburst flood, a landslide, an ice avalanche… something else?

I’m part of a group of 50 or more hazard experts debating what to term this. It is easy to see why the first reports assumed it was a glacial lake outlet flood, or Glof, since that is perhaps the best known source of such cascades. However, in this case, there was no lake.

For now, I’m calling the whole “event” a hazard cascade or process chain. It started as a landslide of uncertain volumes of rock and ice. Most of that ice melted as a result of fragmentation and friction-generated heat. In other events we have found rounded bits of ice in the deposits that were transported along and then melted out much later.

What can satellite images tell us about what happened – both before and after?

Satellites are invaluable for a wide area picture of where the flood began – which is often in doubt at the start given the remote nature of the terrain – and where it travelled. With satellite data often updating daily, we can look for secondary hazards, such as water building up behind the debris, risking further sudden floods, or large sections of material that looks unstable.

It is the combination of ground data (photos, videos) and seismic data that lets us measure how fast it moved, how deep it was, how “watery” it was, which is then combined with the wide area satellite data.

How is climate change shaping the threats posed by Himalayan glaciers?

In general, ice is thinning and retreating. What that leaves throughout the Himalayas are glacial lakes (not an issue for this event) and slopes that are often unstable. This is combined with thawing permafrost, sometimes described as the “glue” holding bedrock together.

So, climate change plays a role – perhaps an increasing one – alongside other preconditioning factors such as earthquake damage to rock, rapidly uplifting mountains that gravity wants to bring down. And these events are more devastating because there are more people living in these landscapes than at any time in history.

There are more “reported” hazard cascades like this, but, extreme events are just that, extreme and rare, our knowledge back in time is not always strong enough to say with absolute certainty that we have crossed a threshold and there will be more disasters of this kind or even bigger.

What made this event so destructive – and what could have made it less deadly?

Events become disasters when they exceed our ability to cope. Little could withstand a wall of mud, rock and water moving at that speed. Anything on the valley floor, or up on the lower valley sides as the flow washed around corners was at risk.

Rock avalanches happen regularly above the glaciers in Alaska. Some travel a few kilometres. The difference is they do not fully turn into fluid and people are not living immediately down-valley from them. In the Himalayas, steep, retreating glaciers are not that far from communities.

What did people and authorities get right, and what could be done differently next time?

It’s harder to reduce the risk posed by hazard cascades from a landslide than for, say, a glacial lake outburst flood. For a Glof you know where the source of the flood will be and you broadly know how much water there is, so you can pre-model and map where a flood may go.

There are thousands of slopes of this kind in the region so it’s difficult to monitor and predict. So far, we have not any spotted obvious precursors.

The Nepalese did what was possible. There was a gauge that captures flow from many valleys – you simply can’t monitor every stream. When the rapid rise in water level was noticed, my understanding is that alerts were sent out.

This is where next time becomes key. For an earthquake the advice is “drop, cover, roll”. What do you do for these events? Some people will have minutes, some hours. Some should simply get to a high concrete building while for others, a nearby building would not be safe and heading uphill is the answer. So, the advice is challenging and nuanced for those closest to the hazard.

One thing we might be able to do is increase the time people have to act. Seismic “noise” can cover wide areas, so there are ongoing efforts try to interpret those signals as rapidly as possible to distinguish earthquakes from landslides – and we know a flood itself generates seismic signals.

I think that is where some great advances can be made alongside targeted in-situ monitoring and working with exposed populations in pressured landscapes used for housing, agriculture and often hydropower. We also have to accept some areas are just too hazardous to live in.

Lillie Yale, 14, has become the first UK patient to have a dissolvable heart implant fitted to treat atrial septal defect (ASD). The device, known as Memosorb, acts as a scaffold for the heart to heal the hole itself before disappearing completely. Lillie’s mother Becci Nichols said doctors at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital went “above and beyond” for her daughter, as a traditional metal implant would mean Lillie giving up rugby, which she hopes to play professionally one day (Becci Nichols/PA)

PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump administration has begun work on a project to build a stretch of border wall in southern Arizona along part of a Native American tribe’s reservation, pushing ahead with one of its signature projects despite protests from the tribe.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the area is a dangerous smuggling route and that building the wall will close a longstanding security gap. But members of the Tohono O’odham Nation, whose membership spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, have accused the administration of trespassing and say the construction will damage land sacred to the tribe.

The wall segment is part of a $46 billion dollar effort by the Trump administration to fill the border with 30-foot (9-meter) steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technology designed to stop undocumented immigration and smuggling.

But as building efforts have ramped up, the administration has run into opposition from landowners, environmental groups, and Native American tribes who say construction is violating property rights and desecrating sacred indigenous sites.

The Tohono O’odham Nation said in a statement Tuesday that about 20 Customs and Border Protection officers, working with contractors, went onto the tribe’s land early that morning to begin construction.

Drone videos published by nation officials show roughly 14 vehicles and an industrial drill at one of the sites.

A federal judge permitted the government to move forward with construction earlier this month, but the tribe says the contractors are violating tribal codes and trespassing to access the border wall site.

The Tohono O’odham Nation, which has 37,000 members including thousands who live in Mexico, sued the federal government in June in an attempt to block construction of the border wall. The tribe argued that the wall would cause “significant devastation” on the reservation, including the destruction of mountain peaks sacred to the tribe, and would alter boundaries of their nation.

US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., an appointee of former President George W. Bush, ruled in favor of the government, noting that the border wall wpi;d be built on a 60-foot (18-meter) wide buffer zone of federally owned land called the Roosevelt Reservation.

“Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation,” the judge wrote in his opinion.

CBP defended the need for the wall in a statement Tuesday, saying the desert spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation is a corridor for drug smuggling.

“The project will close one of the most dangerous smuggling and trafficking corridors on the Southwest border: remote desert that has facilitated decades of drug loads, migrant deaths, and cartel activity,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott.

Tribal officials said they’re exploring further legal actions in an effort to remove contractors.

SLSCO Ltd., the Texas-based construction company building the section in Arizona, has secured over $390 million in funding from the Department of Homeland Security to build the border wall since 2023.

TAMPA BAY, Fla. (AP) — City officials on Thursday approved a $2.3 billion deal for a new Tampa Bay Rays ballpark funded by public and private money.

The 4-3 vote by the Tampa City Council came three months after a tentative agreement was reached for a stadium, which would include $967 million in tax money.

Rays Chief Executive Officer Ken Babby said in a statement that the stadium project will “deliver lasting benefits” for the region.

“The Tampa Bay Rays are grateful for the leadership and support of the City Council members to approve an investment that, when accompanied by the private funding guaranteed by the Rays, will secure the future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay while creating a landmark destination neighborhood that will serve our region for generations,” Babby said Thursday.

Hillsborough County Commissioners will vote on the project Friday morning.

The Rays ownership reached an agreement earlier this year with Hillsborough College to build the stadium and mixed-use entertainment district on the campus and to renovate some of the school’s buildings. The property is located next to the New York Yankees’ spring training facility and across a highway from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Rays have said they hope to have the new stadium built within three years.

Since the team took the field in 1998, the Rays have played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, except for moving home games to the Yankees’ George M. Steinbrenner Field in 2025 following hurricane damage at the Trop. The Rays’ lease runs through at least the 2028 season. The team returned to the Trop last month for the start of this season.

A proposed $1.3 billion redevelopment deal for a new ballpark adjacent to the Trop fell through last year, raising new questions about the future of the team, which was bought last September by Patrick Zalupski’s ownership group.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

A Jewish man who repeatedly kicked a Catholic nun has been acquitted based on his insanity defence – but has been ordered to be committed to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years.

The violent assault in April on a 48-year-old nun walking in her habit in Jerusalem‘s Old City sent shock waves across Israel and its many Christian communities.

The attacker, who has not been named, shoved the elderly woman causing her to collapse to the floor hard, and began to walk away when he doubled back and repeatedly kicked the nun.

The assault that left severe bruising on the nun occurred in front of the Cenacle, a building on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion considered holy to both Christians and Jews, the latter of whom regard it as the burial place of the biblical figure King David. 

A judge at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court today ruled that there was evidence that a Jewish man from a settlement in the occupied West Bank committed the actions he was charged with.

However, he was entitled to an insanity defence after the district psychiatrist found he was psychotic at the time of the attack.

The director of The French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, where the nun is a researcher, said that he hoped the psychiatric hospitalisation would be carried out in full ‘so that public safety can be assured, our colleague can recover psychologically, and people can live in and visit Jerusalem without fear, regardless of their belonging to any community’.

But Friar Olivier Poquillon added he regretted the decision not to impose a criminal penalty.

The attacker, who has not been named, shoved the elderly lady causing her to collapse to the floor hard, and began to walk away when he doubled back and repeatedly kicked the nun who 

The assault occurred in front of the Cenacle, a building on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion considered holy to both Christians and Jews, left the nun with heavy bruises to her face

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‘At the moment of the incident, his judgment was nevertheless sufficient for him to deliberately choose a Catholic nun as his victim from among all the people present,’ he said.

Clergy and advocates say verbal abuse and spitting have grown increasingly common in the densely packed historic heart of Jerusalem. 

There, Christians, Jews and Muslims cross paths daily, mostly uneventfully, as they visit some of the holiest sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

But the violent beating of the nun was seen as a rare and worrisome escalation in the volatile environment that people of all faiths have been experiencing in nearly three years of war. 

Yisca Harani, who founded the organization Religious Freedom Data Center to track harassment of Christians, said even mentally unstable people can be influenced to act by the prevailing discourse around them.

‘He is still someone who is the product of either the ignorance or the incitement that is around him,’ she said. 

‘Even if he is mentally unstable, he was fed with all that anti-Christian material that is around us now.’

Harani’s organization has tracked a near-tripling of incidents in Jerusalem from four years ago to the last three months recorded – about one a day now – virtually all by Jewish religious nationalists.

Their hostility to Christians is grounded in the history of persecution of Jews in Christian-majority European countries, in faith practices they see as idol-worshipping, and in seeing their presence as an affront near areas historically sacred to Jews, like the Western Wall, experts say.

In April, an Israeli Defence Force soldier was filmed destroying a statue of Jesus Christ in a southern Lebanon village, an act that drew widespread condemnation 

At the time of the attack, Israel’s foreign ministry condemned the ‘shameful act’ in a statement on X, and said Israel remained committed ‘to safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths’. 

In April, an Israeli Defence Force soldier was filmed destroying a statue of Jesus Christ in a southern Lebanon village, an act that drew widespread condemnation.

The IDF said it viewed the incident with ‘great severity’ and that the conduct of the two soldiers related to the incident was ‘wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops’. 

Ambassador George Deek, Israel’s new special envoy to the Christian world, said that earlier this month, Israeli police appointed an English-speaking officer to be a first point of contact for Christians in case of incidents, ‘so there will be a rapid response’.

‘We are going to come up with practical solutions to how we can minimise or stop, if possible, the phenomenon,’ Deek said. ‘We take these issues very seriously.’

But her journey began on the playgrounds and football pitches of South Hetton.

The former Lionesses captain grew up in the County Durham mining village, between Durham and Sunderland, where she first kicked a ball around with her father, Len, and developed the competitiveness that helped take her to the top of the game.

Speaking to Palatinate in 2021, Houghton said: “I love the fact I’m from the North East.

“A lot of my career, the foundations of who I am today, are because of how I’ve grown up and the people I’ve been surrounded by.”

That local grounding gave South Hetton a lasting connection with one of the region’s greatest sporting success stories.

Where Steph Houghton began

Houghton began playing football as a toddler in the family yard and at the village park, with her father — an electrician and former semi-professional footballer.

She later played against boys and girls at South Hetton Primary School, where she became the first girl to represent the school football team.

Her schoolyard determination was clear early on.

BBC Sport reported that playing with boys helped Houghton develop as a footballer, and she told the broadcaster: “Playing with the boys made me a better footballer; it made me more competitive and made me want to win even more.

“You were playing against the boys and wanted to prove how good you were.”

(Image: Zac Goodwin / PA)

She remained connected with South Hetton Primary School after reaching the international stage, returning to speak with pupils when her schedule allowed.

Former headteacher Lucy Griffiths told the BBC that Houghton gave children someone tangible to aspire to because she had “sat in their classrooms” and “played on their pitch”.

From South Hetton to Sunderland

A summer coaching school organised by Sunderland led to Houghton being selected for the club’s Centre of Excellence.

She had already shown promise with grassroots side Boldon Girls, the club listed by England Football as her first grassroots team.

Houghton went on to break into Sunderland’s first team as a teenager, initially as a striker.

BBC Sport reported that she began her senior career at her hometown club in 2002, before later adapting through midfield and into the defensive position in which she became internationally renowned.

She left Sunderland for Leeds United in 2007, later played for Arsenal and joined Manchester City in 2014.

Her career included WSL titles, FA Cups and League Cups, while her leadership became central to Manchester City’s rise in the women’s game.

England captain and role model

Houghton made her England debut against Russia in March 2007 and finished her international career with 121 caps and 13 goals.

She was England captain for eight years, led the Lionesses at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, and played for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.

Her three goals at the tournament included the winner against Brazil at Wembley — a moment which propelled her into the national spotlight.

The National Football Museum said she became a “dependable defender and resolute leader” for club and country, while her career helped inspire a generation of players in County Durham and beyond.

A South Hetton sporting story

Houghton retired from professional football in 2024, ending a career that turned a South Hetton schoolgirl with a ball at her feet into one of England’s most respected captains.

Her connection to the village remains an important part of that story.

For young players in South Hetton, the path from the primary-school pitch to Wembley, World Cups and international captaincy is no longer simply a dream — it is a journey already made by one of their own.

NHS Western Isles said it took patient confidentiality and information security “extremely seriously” after a patient received a scam email.

A Scottish health board has confirmed that a patient was targeted with a scam email asking for photos and videos of themself following a breast screening appointment.

NHS Western Isles said that the fraudulent email claimed to be from a health professional and that it was requesting the images “for assessment”.

The health board said that it was reviewing the incident and that it took patient confidentiality and information security “extremely seriously”, reports BBC Scotland.

According to NHS Western Isles, the scam email originated from a non-NHS email address. The health board has now urged other patients to be alert to similar emails.

A spokesperson for the health board said: “NHS Western Isles would like to reassure the public that breast screening services do not contact patients using personal or non-NHS email addresses.

“Patients may be contacted by letter or telephone regarding breast screening appointments, results, or follow-up arrangements, but NHS staff would never ask patients to send photographs or videos by email.

“If you believe you have shared personal information or images in response to a scam, you should contact Police Scotland on 101 and seek appropriate support and advice.”

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Jude Bellingham, Jose Mourinho and Harry Kane all stand in Arsenal‘s way as they seek to go one better than last season’s Champions League final defeat.

The Premier League winners have been handed a tricky looking path to the knockout stages – along with rivals Manchester City – following a draw overseen by Gunners legend Thierry Henry in Monaco which could also prompt a return to England for Mason Greenwood.

Mikel Arteta’s side will be keen to dispel the heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to Paris Saint-Germain however, there will no be no easy route to the final at the home of Atletico Madrid.

While 24 out of the 36 sides will qualify from the league format, Arsenal will need to acquire the required points from a tricky looking list. 

Bellingham and Mourinho’s Real Madrid will head to north London, along with the transfer target they missed out on in Vinicius Junior. Declan Rice and Co will jet to Bavaria to face prolific former Tottenham striker Kane’s Bayern Munich. Clashes against Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille and Napoli will also provide a stiff test while relatively more straightforward challenges await in the shape of Azerbaijan minnows Sabah and Slavia Prague.

Manchester City, entering the tournament without Pep Guardiola at the helm for the first time in a decade, may also be cursing UEFA’s computer.

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal (left) will face Real Madrid in one their Champions League eight fixtures to reach the knockouts

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Enzo Maresca’s (right) Man City have been dealt tough games including vs PSG and Barcelona

Enzo Maresca‘s side will take on champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad and make a trip to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona. 

Portuguese duo Sporting Lisbon and Porto also feature, along with Napoli and Leipzig. AEK Athens and Lens complete a what is a seriously daunting-looking list.

It will be a trip down memory lane for neighbours United, who return to the competition following a two-year absence. Michael Carrick‘s side will entertain Bayern Munich, in a repeat of the epic 1999 final, while Roma – memorably crushed 7-1 in 2007 – will also visit Old Trafford.

There may well be some away days to relish for the club’s supporters, with their list featuring trips to Sporting Lisbon, Atletico Madrid and Cesc Fabregas’ Como. United, currently on 293, will become the first English team to play more than 300 games in the competition, with Villarreal, Leipzig and Sabah completing their schedule.

Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool may well be pleased with how things played out in Monte Carlo. They will host Atletico Madrid, Porto, Villareal and Lens and travel to Inter Milan, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce and LASK.

Europa League champions Aston Villa, who started their season with a 4-0 pasting at Brighton and Hove Albion, will also host PSG and travel to Barcelona, like City. Borussia Dortmund, and Greenwood’s Fenerbahce and Viking will travel to Birmingham while Emery’s side will go to Club Brugge, Galatasaray and Slavia Prague.

Bradford-born Greenwood’s last appearance in England was in January 2022 for Manchester United. He was subsequently suspended after being arrested on suspicion of rape and did not play for the club again. After charges were dropped a year later, he was loaned to Getafe before joining Marseille on a permanent deal. The 24-year-old moved to the Turkish club this summer. Greenwood may also head to London to face Shakhtar Donetsk, who are playing their home matches at Stamford Bridge thanks to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Mourinho, Bellingham and Co will also be due at Chelsea’s home, along with Sporting Lisbon and AEK Athens. UEFA rules dictate a minimum of five per cent of tickets should go to away supporters but there is no maximum, meaning the Ukrainians could secure much-needed funds from their stint at their temporary residence.

Liverpool will be happier than Arsenal and City with their Champions League fixtures

Fenerbahce’s Mason Greenwood will play on English soil for the first time since January 2022 

Elsewhere, Fabregas will return to Barcelona with Como, while Mourinho will head back to Roma, where he was sacked after two years in 2024.

Fans of Celtic may well have been left wondering what might have been following their spectacular second-leg collapse to LASK. The Austrians, who overcame a four-goal deficit against the Glaswegians in a disastrous play-off for Martin O’Neill’s side, will host Liverpool and travel to the Bernebeu to face Real Madrid.

Following the completion of the League Stage, those in 25th to 36th place will be eliminated, while those from ninth to 24th will play two-legged knockout play-offs in February. The top eight automatically progress to the Round of 16, which will take place in March.

Bournemouth, Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion will learn their opponents in Friday’s Europa League and Europa Conference draws.