How do you stop wild elephant attacks? In India, it’s with text messages
Elephant attacks are becoming more common in India.
India has a problem with conflicts between humans and elephants. As humans squeeze the elephants into smaller and smaller territories, the conflicts are more violent and happen more often.
But in one community, Valparai, Tamil Nadu, wildlife experts are using monitoring and technology to keep people — and elephants — safe. They monitor the elephants' movement, and then communicate their location via local TV stations and text messages to anyone within two kilometers of the reported elephant location.
If people find themselves with elephants in the vicinity, they can also activate a flashing red LED light with something as simple as a missed phone call. Global Voices has the story.
(Editor's note: The Global Scan can be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Just register and sign up today.)
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India has a problem with conflicts between humans and elephants. As humans squeeze the elephants into smaller and smaller territories, the conflicts are more violent and happen more often.
But in one community, Valparai, Tamil Nadu, wildlife experts are using monitoring and technology to keep people — and elephants — safe. They monitor the elephants' movement, and then communicate their location via local TV stations and text messages to anyone within two kilometers of the reported elephant location.
If people find themselves with elephants in the vicinity, they can also activate a flashing red LED light with something as simple as a missed phone call. Global Voices has the story.
(Editor's note: The Global Scan can be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Just register and sign up today.)
How Hamas was able to build a tunnel network under Israel's nose
When Israel started its offensive against the Gaza Strip, it's plan and goal was to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israeli territory. But when they got into their operation, they quickly discovered that their greatest threat wasn't the rockets — but was rather the network of tunnels Hamas had built through the Gaza Strip and even into southern Israel.
According to Foreign Policy, Israeli intelligence knew about the tunnels inflitrating into Israel, but was caught unaware by the extent of the underground tunnels built through Gaza. So far, Israeli army officials have discovered at least 40 raises — and sources told FP this stands up as one of the greatest Israeli intelligence failures in years.
The daughter of a Jewish-Palestinian couple knows the current conflict like few others
Claire Hajaj knows what it's like to be a Jew, trying to live in Israel — it's something she learned from her Mom. But Hajaj also knows what it's like to be a Palestinian — it's something she learned from her Dad. Against the odds, Hajaj's parents met and fell in love in the shadow of the Arab-Israeli wars of the 1960s — and they stayed married for 25 years. So Hajaj saw what both communities went through.
She turned that into a new book, "Ishmael's Oranges," which is based on her parents' love story. PRI's The Takeaway talked to Hajaj about her experience growing up, and her views on the current crisis in Gaza.
The mystery of Tunisia's new oasis
Southern Tunisia's newest tourist attraction is an inexplicable lake that's being called Gafsa Beach. No one knows where the water for the more than 30-foot-deep lake came from, and it seems to be stagnant, too. But that hasn't kept people away. Pangea Today looks at possible sources of the water, and possible risks that people may experience from going swimming in the new lake.
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London, fed up with alcohol-fueled crime, is pushing forward a new program to electronically monitor drunks under court supervision. The program would outfit certain people convicted of alcohol-related crimes with electronic ankle bracelets that would monitor their alcohol intake. If they violate the terms of their probation, they can be hauled before the court.
PRI's The World talked to Steve O'Connell, a member of London's General Assembly who tested out the new device, about how it worked, and how it felt. He wore the monitoring device for two days and said it wasn't very comfortable.
What we're seeing on social
Weather around the world
Canada's far north is burning — and that smoke is making its way south and southeast to more heavily populated parts of Canada and the US. More than 2.6 million acreas have been burned in this year's especially difficult fire season. LiveScience has a photo from a passing NASA satellite as the fires burn near the town of Yellowknife.
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