landmines

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Meet Patron, Ukraine's Latest War Hero

President Zelensky awards Jack Russell terrier a medal for his mine-sniffing work

(Newser) - A very special awards ceremony was held over the weekend in Kyiv to honor the nation's newest hero amid the Russian invasion: a 2 1/2-year-old dog named Patron, reports the BBC . A medal was bestowed upon the Jack Russell terrier at a Sunday news conference by none other than...

Russia Has Deployed Another New Menace in Ukraine

These, other munitions mean Russia will continue to kill and maim after fighting ends

(Newser) - While its invasion has not gone to plan, Russia may have successfully deployed an array of new-age weaponry in Ukraine. Last week, an ordnance disposal team near Kharkiv found a new menace: the POM-3, a little-known antipersonnel mine that can be dispersed in droves using the Zemledilie-I mine-laying rocket launcher....

He's Helped 'Save Many Lives.' He's Also a Rat
Retired 'HeroRAT'
Dies at Age 8
UPDATED
Jan 11, 2022 11:00 AM CST

Retired 'HeroRAT' Dies at Age 8

Magawa sniffed out land mines in Cambodia until punching his last time card last year

(Newser) - Update: "A hero is laid to rest." So read the announcement Tuesday on the death of Magawa, the rat that became a legend in Cambodia for his award-winning work in sniffing out land mines. Belgian charity Apopo notes in its release that Magawa, 8, had seemed in generally...

10 Killed 'in Cold Blood' in Mine-Clearing Camp

Taliban denies responsibility for attack on HALO Trust group in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The Taliban is denying responsibility for an attack in Afghanistan this week that left 10 members of a mine-clearing group dead and at least 16 injured, though the Afghan Interior Ministry is saying the hard-line movement was indeed responsible. In a statement , the HALO Trust, the organization made famous after...

Unusual Heat Wave Sets Off Chaotic Chain Reaction

Wildfires, mass evacuations, and detonating land mines in the Middle East

(Newser) - Wildfires around the Middle East triggered by a heat wave hitting the region have killed two people, forced thousands of people to leave their homes, and detonated land mines along the Lebanon-Israel border, state media and officials said Saturday. The areas hit by the heat wave are Syria, Lebanon, Israel,...

Princess Diana Did It in 1997. Now It's Harry's Turn

Prince visits land-mine field in Angola, just as his mom did more than 2 decades ago

(Newser) - In 1997, Princess Diana visited a land-mine field in Angola, dressed in protective clothing and headwear, to draw the world's eyes to the ongoing humanitarian crisis of land mines planted in past conflicts, and to the people still being hurt or killed by them. Now, more than two decades...

Man Drives 65 Miles With Landmine Buckled Into Passenger Seat

He thought it was a cannonball

(Newser) - Police in Hot Springs, Arkansas, evacuated about 20 homes after a man mistook a Civil War-era landmine for a cannonball and took it home this week. The US Air Force Bomb Squad has safely detonated the landmine, the AP reports. Matt Bell says he was doing excavation work when he...

Prince Harry 'Irritated' Over Nations Ignoring Landmines

Has 'bee in his bonnet' about mine-supplying nations not being mine-clearing nations

(Newser) - Prince Harry is "irritated" that nations responsible for supplying landmines aren't doing more to help clear them, according to the head of a British mine-clearing charity. The prince reportedly expressed these sentiments after visiting Angola to witness the work of the Halo Trust first-hand, the BBC reports. His...

Landmine Kills 10 Girls in Afghanistan

Girls were out collecting firewood

(Newser) - Ten young girls have been killed and two others were injured in a landmine explosion in eastern Afghanistan. The local governor says the girls, aged between nine and 11, were killed when one of them hit the mine with an axe as they were out collecting firewood, the BBC reports....

Syria Studding Refugee Routes With Mines

Human Rights Watch cites eyewitness near Turkey, Lebanon

(Newser) - Earlier reports accused Syria of planting landmines along its Lebanese border, and according to witnesses, the practice shows no sign of waning. Mines are being placed along the routes refugees typically use to flee into neighboring Lebanon and Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today, citing eyewitness reports. One former...

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