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How the mournful songs of icebergs reverberate around the world

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Icebergs produce some of the loudest natural noises in the oceans. Can we learn anything about their birth, life and death by listening in?

From the surface, the ice shelves of Antarctica are vast, white deserts – almost featureless save for a few ruts and crevices. Occasionally, cracks as long as a small country can widen and a piece breaks off, forming huge icebergs that drift out into the Southern Ocean.
Hemmed in by the sea ice that forms around the continent, and caught in vast traffic jams of fellow floating ice, the progress of these giant frozen slabs is slow. For months at a time, they barely move. Stand on one of these tabletop-shaped ice giants and only the occasional creak betrays their movement. But underwater, another story unfolds – the icebergs are singing.
When played at frequencies audible to human ears, it could easily be mistaken for whale song. But in fact, the noise is produced by the grinding and scraping of the craggy underside of these icebergs on the seafloor and as they rub against each other. The resulting song can be detected thousands of miles away in the far-off waters of the Indian Ocean.
“An iceberg plate works as a tuning fork,” says Alexander Gavrilov, a professor at the Centre for Marine Science and Technology at Curtin University in Australia. “The song frequencies depend on iceberg’s dimensions.”

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International

Nigeria military kills 16 civilians in air strike ‘mistake’

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At least 16 civilians in Nigeria’s north-western Zamfara State have been killed in a military air strike, apparently after being mistaken for criminal gangs.
Residents told local media the victims were members of local vigilante groups and civilians defending themselves from armed gangs notorious for kidnapping people for ransom.
The strikes targeted militant gangs in Zurmi and Maradun areas and the state governor, Dauda Lawal, offered his condolences to the community.
The military has acknowledged conducting air strikes, which it said had dealt “a decisive blow to bandits terrorising villages in the area”.

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International

A chef’s guide to Boston’s best clam chowder

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Jeremy Sewall has cooked at eateries around the world, but home in Boston, he’s known for his clam chowder. Here are his top local bowls, from Neptune Oyster to Yankee Lobster.

New England Clam chowder – a stick-to-your-ribs cream-based clam and potato stew – is beloved all over the United States, but synonymous with the city of Boston.
Clear broth-style chowders or stews made by the New England region’s Indigenous peoples date back hundreds of years, including tribes in what is now Massachusetts. Quahogs, a type of local clam, along with other shellfish, fish and native ingredients like corn and beans were primary ingredients in early-recorded renditions of the chowder, which later incorporated traditions brought by English settlers, who swapped corn and beans for potatoes. And since 1836, chowder – or chowdah, as it’s often pronounced in Boston – has been proudly served at the city’s Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the US. Over the decades, New England-style clam chowder has become woven into the very fabric of the city’s culinary identity.
Though Boston’s food scene has become world-class and international, clam chowder is still found on menus all over town, from the city’s finest eateries to the concession stands at Fenway Park, the iconic Red Sox ballpark. But not all creamy clam chowders are made equal. To highlight Boston’s most extraordinary bowls, we spoke to Jeremy Sewall, chef and partner of Row 34 in Boston’s atmospheric Seaport.

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More school places for children with Send needs

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The need for an increase in school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) has been highlighted by a new Swindon council report.
In the past year, demand for the services has risen at a greater rate in Swindon than the national average, with particular concern expressed about the lack of provision in the south and east of the borough.
Councillors who sit on the council’s adults’ and children’s overview and scrutiny committee will learn how the borough is matching up to an increasing demand for special provision at the committee’s meeting next week.
The report has been prepared after councillors agreed a motion put forward by the Conservative shadow member for education and children, councillor Jake Chandler.
It said: “There are currently over 2,720 children with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP) in Swindon.

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