Updates: polution; hunting; animal slaughter; climate change

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Returning cheetahs to India

The contentious reintroduction of cheetahs into the wild has suffered a serious setback when three adults and three cubs died in the last eight months

The fatalities have prompted criticism of Project Cheetah, a £4.8 million international project that sent 20 animals from Africa to India's Kuno National Park early this year. Some conservationists claim that not enough space was set aside for cheetahs, while others claim that the project was built up too quickly.

However, project scientists argued that many fatalities were to be expected at the outset of the research and predicted that the death toll would soon settle. “If you are going to reintroduce an animal to the wild, you have to do it very carefully,” said Professor Sarah Durant, of the Zoological Society of London, adding “And it is clear that things are not going well. The program seems rushed.”

A fragile animal

Cheetahs are the world's fastest land mammals, capable of reaching speeds of up to 100 km per hour. There are five subspecies, and all have seen significant population declines due to climate change, human hunting, and habitat destruction.

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, surviving populations of East African, South African, and Northeast African cheetahs are currently fragile. The other two are highly endangered: the Northwest African cheetah and the Asiatic cheetah.

The Asiatic subspecies of cheetahs became extinct in India in past century, with the last reported local animals being shot by Maharajah Ramanuj Singh Deo in 1947. This cheetah is now only found in Iran.

In comparison, there are approximately 6,500 African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), and there have been successes in recovering numbers in South African semi-managed wildlife reserves.

After eradicating its cheetahs, India began efforts to re-establish a population by utilizing Southern African cheetahs. However, the Indian Supreme Court first stopped these actions, arguing that because it was not a native species, its introduction violated international conservation standards.

Eight cheetahs from Namibia

The court's decision was overturned in 2020, and Project Cheetah was launched with great fanfare, including assistance from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first animals arrived in Kuno last September: eight cheetahs transferred from Namibia, followed by 12 more from South Africa in February.

However, three of the Kuno cheetahs and three newborn cubs died by late May of this year. Two adults died of organ failure, and a third died during a violent mating session. The cause of the cubs' deaths is unknown at this time. While cubs in the wild have a low survival rate due to lion and hyena predation, those born in protected reserves have a good survival rate.

According to Adrian Tordiffe, a veterinarian at South Africa's University of Pretoria and a consultant for the project, the deaths of the three adults were not surprising given the high stress of transfer. "The fact that we had multiple deaths in a short period is not unusual in that it is a high-risk period."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... six-die-wi

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Thousands of dead fish

The Gulf Coast waters in the US are becoming warmer due to the climate crisis which may have been a contributing factor to the occurrence

After temperatures rose to 33 degrees Celsius (92 degrees Fahrenheit), thousands of fish were found dead on the shore of Quintana Beach in Brazoria County in Texas.

After an investigation was launched by officials, it was found that the cause was "a low dissolved oxygen event" as said by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Kills and Spills Team statement on Facebook from the Quintana Beach County Park.

The statement read: "The species most impacted was Gulf menhaden. Fish kills like this are common in the summer when temperatures increase. If there isn't enough oxygen in the water, fish can't 'breathe.' Low dissolved oxygen in many cases is a natural occurrence."

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration added that "Gulf menhaden have the largest fishery yield in the Gulf of Mexico and support the second largest fishery by weight in the United States".

According to the sea life facility manager at Texas A&M University at Galveston, Katie St. Clair, the waters of the Gulf Coast are increasingly becoming warmer due to the climate crisis which may have been a contributing factor to the occurrence.

"As we see increased water temperatures, certainly this could lead to more of these events occurring, especially in our shallow, near-shore or inshore environments," St. Clair told the New York Times on Sunday.

Axios' Andrew Freedman stressed that the North Atlantic basin, which includes the Gulf, is witnessing a record warm temperature, especially this time of year, which is unusual. Even hurricane forecasters are expressing urgent concern.

Per the Quintana Beach County Park Facebook post, the beach was "cleared with the exception of a spattering of fish that the machinery couldn't get" as of Sunday. "High tides over the next couple of days should sift the rest down into the sand and bury them."

A massive amount of dead fish have been washing up on the shores of the world from the US to Europe and all the way to Australia as a result of the human-driven climate crisis.

Back in March, millions of dead and rotting fish clogged a river near a rural town in Australia's outback. "These fish deaths are related to low oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia) as flood waters recede," the government said in a statement.

"The current hot weather in the region is also exacerbating hypoxia, as warmer water holds less oxygen than cold water, and fish have higher oxygen needs at warmer temperatures," the statement added.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... to-low-wat

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Erbil declares drought

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Erbil governor on Sunday declared drought in the province for the second year in a row due to lack of precipitation

Governor Omed Khoshnaw announced the condition at a press conference in Erbil after he had a meeting with the province’s water authorities to discuss ways to tackle the issue.

“Erbil will experience drought this year as well,” Khoshnaw said, adding the assessment was made by the relevant authorities based on groundwater and rainfall evaluations during the year.

Khoshnaw said this year’s rainfall has provided some drought relief to farmers but is not sufficient to alleviate the condition in the entire province. Erbil has witnessed 250ml of rainfall during the rainy season, half of what is necessary to overcome the dry condition.

In a bid to tackle the drought during the summer season in Erbil, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has allocated nearly 20 billion dinars (around $15 million) for nearly 20 projects that had been proposed by the local authorities, the governor said.

The budget will be spent on digging new water wells, maintaining existing ones, as well as covering other technical expenses for the months of July, August, and September, Khoshnaw said.

He extended his gratitude to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his government for the support they had provided.

The regional capital’s cities, towns, and neighborhoods rely on wells inside the province and water treatment plants on the Greater Zab River to access clean water for both household use and irrigation.

Erbil already has three treatment plants on the basin, commonly known as Ifraz 1, Ifraz 2, and Ifraz 3, which combined provide about 60 percent of the local supply. To lessen the strain on the existing ones, Erbil has a plan to build a new water treatment plant.

Exacerbated by climate change, drought has impacted many parts of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in recent years.

Iraq is ranked by the United Nations as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to the adverse effects of climate change. Thousands have already been displaced, particularly in the southern parts, by drought, desertification, and increased salinity in the rivers.

The KRG has built a number of dams in the region to bolster its water security.

Prime Minister Barzani on Saturday laid the foundation of Bastora Dam as part of the government's efforts to strengthen water security and boost agricultural and tourism sectors in Erbil.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/31 ... ear-in-row

[Anthea]

Honeybees die in US

Beekeepers lose almost half of their managed colonies, with a 48% loss in 2022

America's honeybee hives have the second-highest mortality rate on record, with beekeepers losing over half of their managed colonies, an annual bee survey revealed.

Beekeepers are, nevertheless, managing to survive by using labor-intensive and expensive procedures to establish new colonies. According to a poll released on Thursday by the Universities of Maryland and Auburn, the number of honeybee colonies in the United States "relatively stabilized" despite the loss of 48% of colonies in the year that ended on April 1.

More than 100 of the food crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus, and melons, are pollinated by honeybees, which are essential to the food supply. According to scientists, a mix of parasites, pesticides, malnutrition, and climate change continues to cause significant die-offs.

Last year's yearly loss of 48% was higher than the loss of 39% the year before and the 12-year average of 39.6%, but it is still lower than the death rate of 50.8% predicted for 2020-2021, according to the survey funded and administered by the nonprofit research group Bee Informed Partnership. More than three-fifths of the beekeepers polled stated their losses were more than that, despite beekeepers' assurances to the surveying scientists that a 21% loss during the winter is acceptable.

“This is a very troubling loss number when we barely manage sufficient colonies to meet pollination demands in the U.S.,” said former government bee scientist Jeff Pettis, president of the global beekeeper association Apimondia that wasn’t part of the study. “It also highlights the hard work that beekeepers must do to rebuild their colony numbers each year.”

The overall bee colony population is comparatively steady because commercial beekeepers split and restock their hives, finding or buying new queens, or even starter packs for colonies, said University of Maryland bee researcher Nathalie Steinhauer, the survey’s lead author.

He further added that the process is expensive and time-consuming. “The situation is not really getting worse, but it’s also not really getting better,” Steinhauer said. “It is not a bee apocalypse,” he concluded.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... ed-in-2022

[Anthea]

Australia’s Paralyzed Parrots

When the patient arrives, it can barely move its body. Sometimes it can’t blink. Vibrant green wings falter as the parrot tries—and fails—to fly. A nurse props up the bird’s limp, violet-blue head on a makeshift cushion and slides a bowl of nectar in front of its bright red beak. It is just one of dozens of rainbow lorikeets being treated for a mysterious paralyzing illness at this wildlife hospital in eastern Australia

Thousands of the birds are afflicted every year in the region, where they are a fixture in backyards, chattering away as they feast on Moreton Bay figs, gum tree blossoms and countless other plants. Around 40 percent of rainbow lorikeets that present with a severe case of this unexplained paralysis won’t survive. For those that do, rehabilitation can take months.

Cases of what is called lorikeet paralysis syndrome (LPS) have been increasing over the past decade, says veterinarian Claude Lacasse of the RSPCA Wildlife Hospital in the eastern Australian city of Brisbane. It is now considered one of Australia’s most significant wildlife diseases. But scientists are baffled as to what is causing it.

Lacasse has partnered with several researchers to try solving the mystery. So far, they’ve ruled out hundreds of human-made chemicals such as pesticides, as well as various infectious diseases. Their current hypothesis is that LPS is caused by a plant the birds are eating, something that flowers or fruits between late spring and early fall—when cases always rise.

But researchers have no idea which plant or plants might be involved, why the disease is getting worse or whether climate change is playing a role (by, for example, increasing the spread of plant pathogens).

For now, the priority is figuring out everything the sick lorikeets are eating. “We’re approaching this like a veterinarian investigating a patient,” says wildlife health and conservation professor David Phalen of the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, who, along with Lacasse, is leading the research into LPS. “Only it’s not just one patient. It’s a whole flock.”

Native to Australia’s eastern seaboard, rainbow lorikeets dwell in forest and scrubland and in leafy coastal suburbs. They are the country’s most common backyard bird. The charismatic parrots typically drink the nectar of the fragrant blossoms of native trees and shrubs. But widespread habitat loss, heavy rains that damage blossoms and severe wildfires have increasingly driven lorikeets to other food sources, including fruit, seeds and, strangely, even meat. This increasing variety in their diet is one reason it’s so difficult to identify what’s making them sick.

To take on the mystery, Phalen and his team set up a citizen science project on iNaturalist, a social network for biodiversity observations, asking people in LPS hotspots to take photographs of wild lorikeets feeding on plants.

Molecular ecologist Rachele Wilson, an adjunct research associate at Griffith University near Brisbane and now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Queensland, came across a paper Phalen and Lacasse had written and realized she could complement the search efforts using a technique called DNA metabarcoding—which in this case involves testing DNA in sick birds’ droppings to match it to specific plant DNA “barcodes.” In 2022 Wilson completed a proof-of-concept study with eight lorikeet samples. These data, combined with iNaturalist observations, suggest the birds are feeding on more than 130 plant species, at least 30 of which are potentially toxic.

Wilson, Phalen and their colleagues are now working on a study with samples from another 40 LPS-affected birds and comparing them with droppings from healthy lorikeets. The researchers are not just looking at plant DNA this time but also at fungal, bacterial and animal DNA to allow for the possibility that the birds are ingesting a venomous insect or spider in fruit, or a toxin produced by fungus or bacteria found on a plant. “It’s possible it’s not the plants themselves but a plant pathogen,” Wilson says.

Some of the most toxic biological compounds known to exist are produced by fungi, says Simon Cropper, an ecologist based in Melbourne, Australia, who is also volunteering his time with the LPS project. And a 2021 study in Nature Climate Change showed that climate change is increasing the spread of plant pathogens, including fungi, around the world. Several fungal diseases can affect the Brisbane area’s Moreton Bay figs, although it’s not yet clear whether any of these could be the culprit behind LPS.

It’s possible climate change could also be playing a role by driving rainbow lorikeets to seek out unusual food sources. Climate change can cause devastating misalignments when animals that pollinate specific plants fall out of touch with seasonal cues. And though Cropper hasn’t seen anything in the scientific literature about this happening in Australia’s northeastern state of Queensland, where Brisbane is located, he says he does see it in wildlife in the southeastern state of Victoria. Animals “are broadening their foraging range and going into more traditionally uninviting and unnatural areas to try to get food and keep alive,” he says.

Another twist in the paralysis mystery is that flying foxes—a type of fruit bat that is usually nocturnal—are also being found with symptoms resembling LPS. “Basically, bats are the lorikeets of the night,” says Jane Hall, wildlife health project officer at Taronga Conservation Society Australia, a nonprofit whose experts investigate wildlife mortality events and are involved in LPS research. “Whatever the lorikeets are feeding on in the daytime, the bats are feeding on in the nighttime,” she says. “So it’s really interesting that the bats are presenting with similar clinical signs.”

According to the Queensland government, flying foxes eat flowers, fruit and leaves from more than 100 native plant species. “If it turns out that there’s some overlap between what the [sick] flying foxes and the lorikeets are feeding on, that might give us another clue into what might be causing this,” Phalen says. He hopes all the information being gathered by the lorikeet and bat paralysis investigative teams will eventually start to coalesce and that the culprit will soon be found. With climate change causing more extreme weather events and intensely hot summers, the need to find what’s paralyzing the iconic rainbow lorikeet—and potentially other species—is of urgent concern.

“They’re amazing birds,” Phalen says. “They’re smart. They’re entertaining to watch. They’re beautiful. It’s hard to see them as sick as they are. But at the same time, they’re battlers.”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... obal-en-GB

[Anthea]

Geliyê Godernê tree cutting

Tree cutting for "security" reasons is continuing in the Godernê Valley (Geliyê Godernê), located in the triangle of Pasur (Kulp), Licê (Lice) and Farqîn (Silvan) districts of Amed province. The valley will also be submerged under the waters of the Silvan Dam, which was built for "security" reasons

The Amed Ecology Association, the Amed Bar Association and the Agriculture and Forestry Service Branch of the Union of Public Employees appealed to a court for a suspension of the execution. However, it was rejected by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office without even being submitted to the Administrative Court. The prosecutor's office rejected the application, arguing that cutting trees is not a "crime".

Ahmet Inan, from the Amed Bar Association Urban and Environmental Law Commission, spoke to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) about the rejection by the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the ongoing tree cutting.

Dams will destroy history

Inan said that Geliyê Godernê was a perfect natural area, adding that there are Assyrian and Armenian rock artifacts, ancient rock caves and rock art in the region. Inan remarked that history would be destroyed if the region remained under dam waters, insisting that the ongoing tree cutting in the region would ensure it.

Inan noted that officials dynamited some parts of Geliyê Godernê to obtain building sand. He said: “The trees that were cut down are given to village guards with a tender. More than 100 hectares of area in the region have been destroyed."

Legal attempts fail

Inan revealed that together with Amed Ecology Association, they filed a criminal complaint about the tree cutting in March. However, no action has been taken against any tree-cutting in Kurdistan, and they could not get any results from their legal applications.

Inan emphasized that the tree cutting in the region caused the destruction of both livestock and agriculture. Inan said: “It also means the destruction of the habitat. It is the most fundamental factor that will even change the migratory route of birds and change the humidity and climate of the region.

No administrative decision for tree cutting

Inan continued: “Village guards take advantage of the tree cutting. If there is a legal basis for it, we will initiate legal action against it. We could launch action for annulment. However, there is not even an administrative decision about cutting down trees here. It was given to the relatives of village guards by a tender, so we can't do anything other than file a criminal complaint.”

80 percent public space

Inan pointed out that more than 80 percent of Geliyê Godernê was public space and private property was very limited. He added that the tree cutting was a crime and unacceptable.

Thousand years of historic bridge

Inan said that the bridge in Geliyê Godernê had a thousand-year history and there was also rock art in the region which can be declared a historical site.

Power plant in main water source

Inan added that there was also a Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) project in Sarım Stream in the region. Inan unveiled that the power plant would be built in the main water source that flows into Geliyê Godernê. Inan said: “We have also filed action for annulment. As the Bar Association, we are doing our best. We will continue to protect nature.”

'Point of no return'

Inan concluded: “Those who are cutting down trees will also need this air and water. Everything can be recovered, but the disruption of ecological balance is going to a point of no return. Therefore, we call on all the authorities here, the people living, lawyers and ecologists to express their concern over this issue.”

https://anfenglishmobile.com/ecology/ge ... ting-68027

[Anthea]

Bugs invade New York

An invasion of small flying bugs is the latest omen that some New Yorkers are taking as a herald of the end times, three weeks after suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires engulfed the city

Beginning on Wednesday, New Yorkers have reported small insects moving in cloud-like swarms across sections of Manhattan and Brooklyn, making it difficult to breathe in some situations.

Because of their small size, it's difficult to distinguish if the insects are white or green. Their species is unknown, but they have come alongside another, lighter, outbreak of Canadian smoke.

Some suggest that they are pyrophilous, or "fire-loving," species, which include plants, fungi, and animals that benefit from fire. Pyrophilous insects include at least 25 families of insects from the orders Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera.

One of them, Microsania imperfecta, has been found to respond positively to a smoke stimulus for mating and resources. According to the Encyclopedia of Entomology, “Smoke appears to affect mating behavior, serving as a mating swarm marker. Higher populations occurred during winter than in summer."

Others believe the insects are not pyrophilous but rather evidence of a healthy environment.

According to Louis Sorkin, a visiting scientist in the section of invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, based on the images he was provided, these insects were not pyrophilous. In an e-mail, Sorkin explained that these are "aphids not gnats/midges/flies,” however, he was not able to confirm his finding.

According to David Grimaldi, curator and entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History, the bugs trapped in people's hair are aphids, which are normally wingless but can transform into winged forms when populations get congested and food quality diminishes.

“When a population becomes very large … the emergence of winged morphs is impressive,” he explained. “The good news? It means we have a healthy environment! No pesticides!”

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... dfire-smog

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The Prigozhin Convoy:

This is huge. It is not just that the Prigozhin insurrection was ‘taken seriously’ by the West. It was its’ ‘last Hail Mary’ in respect to Russia

“Everything must change for everything to remain the same”, is the famous quotation pronounced by Tancredi, Prince Salina’s nephew, in the Sicilian novel The Leopard.

In Russia – like Sicily – everything has changed; at least, thus say the Western commentators. ‘Systemic cracks in Moscow have opened’, yet everything in Russia remains the same.

Prigozhin moves to Belarus to build a Wagner off-shoot that can defend the Belarus southern border, and position itself adjacent to Kiev; the Wagner cadre is absolved of mutiny and, with a tweak to its legal status, largely continues ‘business as usual’.

Whilst Putin roundly condemned the “mutiny plotters” as people full of ‘malignity and evil intentions’, he did not identify these plotters with “the majority of Wagner Group soldiers and commanders” -- who Putin insisted, “are also Russian patriots, loyal to their people and their state”.

Putin was, however, less generous, when treating the “the enemies of Russia – the neo-Nazis in Kiev, their Western patrons and other national traitors” who would have benefitted, had the coup succeeded: “They miscalculated” (implying clearly, they had ‘calculated’ aforehand.)

Perhaps, he had something like this in mind – as The GrayZone reported in the US:

“Expecting a bloodbath and seismic political upheaval, corporate networks like CNN had budgeted wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘coup that wasn’t’ - filling cable news ‘green rooms’ with rent-a-generals, K Street think-tankers, and war-hungry former diplomatic corps hacks:

For just over 12 hours, everyone from former ambassador McFaul, to Zelensky to neocon pundit, Anne Applebaum, exploded with seemingly libidinal excitement about a supposed “civil war” that was certain to feature “Russians … killing Russians”, along with “lots of casualties” - and Putin “probably hiding somewhere”.

“On Saturday afternoon however, news broke across the US that Prigozhin had struck a deal with President Lukashenko - to end his protest and go into exile. Thus ended a largely bloodless affair that ultimately saw fewer documented deaths than the 6th January, ‘Capitol Riot’”.

Was there more to this affair than meets the eye? The head of the Russian National Guard, Gen. Viktor Zolotov, speaking after President Putin on Friday, seemed to think so:

He noted with “certainty” that Prigozhin’s mutiny “was inspired by Western special services - whose foreign ‘inspiration’ had become overlaid by Prigozhin's own inflated ambitions”.

General Zolotov only said that whether Western agents may, or may not, have been directly involved in conducting the operation is being fully investigated. No doubt, ‘uncle’ Lukashenko from Minsk, will get the truth from Prigozhin, his friend of twenty years standing.

Yet, whether fuelled by Western inspiration or inflated ambition, Prigozhin’s insurrection faded within hours. No support was forthcoming either from the political class, or from within the military.

The Russian military action along the defensive lines in Donbass remained wholly unaffected. (If there were any pro-western, Russian ‘Fifth Columnists’ in league with, and ready to support the insurrection, this has not been disclosed. There is little evidence of such).

Prigozhin himself avowed on Monday that his short-lived mutiny never had been intended to overthrow Russia’s government, but had been launched merely to register 'a protest’ over what he said was its ‘ineffectual conduct’ of the war in Ukraine.

We can have some assurance however, that the ‘mutiny’ was taken much more seriously than subsequently claimed by the West, because it is plain that the Western MSM had been briefed -- ‘nudge-nudge’ -- that an ‘earthquake’ was about to erupt in Russia. And the Ukrainians say they had been told by British and US officials to ‘hold their fire’ for the time being.

The NY Times reported too, that Joe Biden and the ‘Gang of Eight’ Congressional leaders (who, must by law and only under ‘extraordinary circumstances’ (when the President thinks “it is essential to limit access” to information about a covert action, 50 U.S.C. § 3093(c)(2))) were briefed as early as Wednesday.

The Biden White House now, however, is spinning that that ‘Western officials’ were “taken by surprise”. Secretary Blinken issued an urgent cable on Friday night [June 23], telling officials around the globe not to speak about the Prigozhin ‘mutiny’.

The impression among those who received the directive, wrote Axios, was that “the unusual cable ... showed the level of alarm in the Biden administration …”.

‘Everything Changes’ -- the West was betting heavily on the change that the dismemberment of Russia would portend, but after the Wagner convoy halted 100 km short of Moscow, ‘everything reverted to the same’. Wagner men have something of a legendary status in Russia -- Russians generally support both Wagner and the regular State forces.

They were not confronted. Reportedly messages on Friday from external Telegram channels urged Muscovites to take to the streets in protest against the government. But Russians rather, preferred to support Russia -- even the Communists joined in.

The Western media and ‘experts’ however, are spinning hard that everything did change: That cracks had emerged; that some of the officer cadres, the US says, may have supported the insurrection; and that Prigozhin had “captured” a main city in Russia: Rostov-on-Don.

This is all untrue. Prigozhin sauntered into Rostov -- walked to the military HQ -- and was filmed chatting on the balcony with a number of generals there. Citizens generally milled around, unconcerned (many videos are online).

This is huge. It is not just that the Prigozhin insurrection was ‘taken seriously’ by the West. It was its’ ‘last Hail Mary’ in respect to Russia. After the failure of its ‘financial war’; the failure of its attempt to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing; its failure to coerce the Rest of the World to join sanctioning Russia; and then, the unexpected failure of the Ukrainian ‘offensive’ to make a make breakthrough against the Russian defensive lines, fomenting chaos in Russia became the ‘last chance of last chances’.

What will the Biden ‘camp’ do now? Many questions that no one wants to pose; few answers. The attempt to spin a 12-hour, failed coup as somehow a Western ‘win’ however, will possess but a momentary shelf-life.

https://english.almayadeen.net/articles ... ng-remains

[Anthea]

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Extinction Rebellion block holes

Golf courses across Spain have had their holes blocked in protest of the excessive water usage

Climate activists announced Sunday that they had filled the holes on 10 golf courses throughout Spain to protest the sport's excessive water consumption during Europe's terrible drought.

Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists filled up the holes with cement and seedlings overnight in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, the Basque Country, Navarra, and the Balearic Island of Ibiza to protest "the waste of water during one of Europe's worst droughts ever."

The group is notorious for stunts that warn of the dangers of the environment. In a statement, they underlined that "Golf has no place in a world without water."

Some notes were left on the closed holes reading: "Alert: drought! Golf closed for climate justice."

Citing Spanish NGO Ecologists in Action, XR underlined that "Just one hole of a golf course consumes more than 100,000 liters of water a day to maintain the surrounding green."

"In Spain, 437 golf courses are irrigated every day," it added, alleging that they have "a consumption level higher than that of the populations of Madrid and Barcelona combined, for an entertainment enjoyed by barely 0.6 percent of the population."

The group denounced "the irresponsibility and sheer cynicism of letting this type of elitist pastime continue as Spain dries up and the rural world loses millions due to the lack of water for their crops."

According to experts, sections of Spain, the world's largest supplier of olive oil and a crucial supply of fruit and vegetables for Europe, are the driest they've been in a thousand years, with the protracted drought reducing reservoirs to half their usual capacity.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... courses-in

I would much rather have olive oil, fruit and vegetables, cannot eat a golf ball

[Anthea]

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Fukushima's wastewater

China, among other neighboring countries, expresses concern about releasing wastewater into the sea due to the presence of tritium residues

Twelve years ago, in March, Japan was struck by the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, of magnitude 9.1, which triggered a tsunami that led to the killing of more than 18,000, wiping entire towns off the map.

The giant wave surged over defenses and flooded the reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, as more and more radiation leaked from the plant, prompting the total evacuation of the zone. It was considered the second-greatest disaster after Chernobyl.

Over a decade later, workers at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, located on the country's east coast, are prepared to release "treated" wastewater from the nuclear radiation into the sea.

Today, Japan is set to be granted approval to discharge more than a million cubic meters of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the Pacific Ocean, a controversial plan that marred ties with neighboring countries, including China.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi is scheduled to visit Japan on Tuesday to provide a final report on the "safety of the process" and meet with officials, most notably Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. It is worth noting that a domestic nuclear regulator is also planning to release a crucial assessment.

Both studies are poised to give backing to Tokyo Electric Power Co. to begin releasing the water — equivalent in volume to about 500 Olympic-size swimming pools — into the sea.
'Not Japan’s private sewer'

In response to the mentioned plan, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, last month, the ocean is “not Japan’s private sewer.”

He also cautioned that the proposed release holds risks for the country’s neighbors and Pacific Island nations, calling it a selfish move “that puts the common interests of all humanity in jeopardy.”

Additionally, safety concerns about Japanese cosmetics brands went viral on Chinese social media platforms in light of the developments.

Concurrently, demand for sea salt has skyrocketed in South Korea as people hoard the condiment out of concern that the discharge of wastewater may contaminate the future supply.

While the Seoul administration hasn't openly objected to Japan's intentions, a survey conducted in May by the Yomiuri newspaper and South Korea's Hankook Ilbo revealed that 84% of respondents were against the discharge. The nation’s opposition Democratic Party held a demonstration on Saturday, which it said was attended by an estimated 100,000 people, as per Yonhap News.

The 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum, which includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, has encouraged Japan to take other options into consideration and asked for more discussions on the hazards.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/env ... -bloomberg

[Anthea]

Multiple drone attacks on Moscow

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin confirmed on Tuesday that Ukraine has made another attempt to attack Moscow and the Moscow Region with drones, announcing that the attacks were repelled by Russian air defense forces

Earlier in the day, emergency services told Sputnik that two drones were downed in the Russian capital near the village of Valuyevo, with no casualties or damage.

Another drone was shot down near Kubinka in the Moscow Region, Sputnik reported.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsiya, announced restrictions on arrivals and departures at Vnukovo Airport until 05:00 GMT. The Russian news agency cited a source as saying that 14 flights were redirected from Vnukovo Airport to other airports.

Rosaviatsiya pointed out that other airports in Moscow and the Moscow Region are operating as usual.

"Today, another attempt was made by Ukrainian drones to attack New Moscow [a Moscow district] and the Moscow Region. At the moment, the attacks have been repelled by air defense forces, all detected UAVs have been eliminated," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

He noted that no human casualties were recorded after the drone attack, adding that emergency services are working at the scene of the incident.

Later, emergency services told Sputnik that two additional drones have been shot down by air defense systems in the Russian capital, with no casualties reported.

"Two more UAVs were shot down by air defense systems in New Moscow [a Moscow district] near the village of Krivosheevo, there were no casualties," the services said.

On its part, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that "an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack by five drones on targets in Moscow region and New Moscow has been foiled this morning."

"Four Ukrainian UAVs on the territory of New Moscow were shot down by air defence forces," the ministry confirmed on its Telegram channel, adding that "another UAV was suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed on the territory of Odintsovo district, Moscow region."

Elsewhere, it indicated that "there were no casualties or damage as a result of the foiled terrorist attack."

In response, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova slammed Kiev's attempt to attack the area where civilian infrastructure facilities are located, including an airport, as another act of terrorism.

"An attempt by the Kiev regime to attack the area where civilian infrastructure facilities are located, including an airport, which, by the way, also receives foreign flights, is another act of terrorism," Zakharova wrote on Telegram.

"Considering that [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy commits these terrorist attacks with purchased weapons supplied by the West or with Western funds, then this is international terrorism," she indicated.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... elled:-mod

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Heatwave in Kurdistan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The temperature in the Kurdistan Region is expected to rise by two to four degrees Celsius on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to a statement released by the weather forecast department of the Ministry of Transport and Communications

A temperature of over 41 degrees Celsius is predicted in the majority of the provinces, while in the Garmiyan independent administration, this is expected to rise to over 44 degrees Celsius, the statement added.

The temperature may be between 36-40 degrees Celsius in the mountainous regions, such as Balakayati and Penjwen.

The heatwave is expected to continue until next Saturday, when the temperature may drop two to three degrees Celsius.

"The heatwave will not be accompanied by dust and the sky will be sunny," Dilan Rashad, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Communications, told Kurdistan 24.

"We advise citizens to avoid sun exposure from noon to evening, especially those with chronic illnesses," Rashad added.

Moreover, he revealed that they expect the highest temperature to reach 48 degrees Celsius in certain areas of the Garmiyan and Halabja Provinces.

Heatstroke is one of the leading causes of death during the summer in the Kurdistan Region. Citizens are advised to stay hydrated at all times and limit the amount of time they spend outdoors.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/31 ... tan-Region

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China bans Japanese food

As Japan is making plans to discharge treated nuclear wastewater into the ocean, China's customs issued a statement on Thursday saying that it would ban food imports from 10 different Japanese prefectures

Plans to discharge treated wastewater comes after the IAEA greenlighted the initiative, saying that it meets global standards.

Director General Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday that the plan was "consistent with relevant international safety standards … [and] the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water to the sea would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment."

However, the plan was met with criticism by several regional neighbors, including Beijing who said that a report issued by the IAEA failed to take into consideration the views of experts who partook in the review of the plan and that the release of treated wastewater may thus pose a serious health hazard

Some Japanese fishermen have also expressed opposition to the plan, saying that fish may suffer from contamination in case the water is released.

On Friday, China's customs authority said it would "ban imports of foodstuffs from ten Japanese prefectures including Fukushima" over safety concerns.

It announced plans to conduct stringent radiation tests on food from the rest of Japan, noting that "China Customs will maintain a high level of vigilance."

"Japan still has many problems in terms of the legitimacy of ocean dumping, the reliability of the purification equipment, and the completeness of the monitoring plan," China said on Friday.

In March 2011, Fukushima suffered one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters since Chornobyl after a tsunami rocked the islands.

Japan is planning to release about 1.33 million cubic meters of groundwater, rainwater, and water that was used for cooling the three damaged reactors at the Fukushima site.

To remove the radioactive elements, plant operator TEPCO treated the water using its ALPS processing systems, which China has expressed doubt regarding the reliability of the systems.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/hea ... water-rele

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Sustainable future for Kurdistan
Wladimir van Wilgenburg

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Evin Ghazi Harris, a co-founder of the ZeroWaste Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), founded in 2021, is dedicated to raising awareness about the perils of climate change and environmental pollution among the residents of the Kurdistan Region

“We have decided to take this initiative to create a sustainable future for Kurdistan, as you can see, not only in Kurdistan, but in all of the world. Climate change is a dangerous issue and we have to take immediate action today in order to save the future,” she told Kurdistan 24.

“So we have done several activities such as planting campaigns, cleanup activities, and education campaigns. My main focus is on that because through raising awareness, you can change the mentality of the people.”

Up until now, a significant number of citizens in the Kurdistan Region continue to litter when disposing of trash, exacerbating the issue. Much of the littering is done by picnickers that frequently leave behind substantial amounts of trash in the natural surroundings of the Kurdistan Region.

“They don’t clean the place after an outdoor visit. So we have to change this mentality in order to make a positive change in our community.”

“We have to change the policy from the first step to raise awareness of the dangers behind what will happen in 10 years in Kurdistan and how to create a caring community. So I have started by raising awareness in elementary school in universities for the young people and sharing my skills and experience to add value to their skill as well.”

Last year, the then-US Consul General Robert Palladino participated in a cleanup effort together with ZeroWaste and other volunteers, which was supported by the American Corners and the US consulate.

Ghazi Harris hoped this “motivated and inspired others to do similar activities as well. So my main goal here is to inspire others and to be a role model for young people in my community.”

She added that in other countries there are many volunteering activities to cleanup and advertisements to protect the environment. “But here in Kurdistan we don't have that many environmental activities.”

Moreover, ZeroWaste has developed an action plan to reach out to other organizations, not just in Erbil, but also other cities in Kurdistan to work together and protect the environment.

ZeroWaste has also worked with a recycling company. “We have placed some space in public places just for plastics. So they have collected all the plastics and they will recycle it again to be used for the construction.”

Furthermore, the organization plans to do more cleanup activities in the future.

In April, ZeroWaste also published a Kurdish story book for new and future generations of children that will add value to their knowledge about the environment.

“This book contains stories of children who are making a difference in Kurdistan. It explores the story of two friends and how they are striving to enact change in their community or champion a cause they are passionate about. This is the perfect book for any young person looking for ideas and inspiration to make a change in the environmental sector.”

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/31 ... -Kurdistan

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Erbil stray dog campaign

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Erbil Province on Saturday launched its first campaign dedicated to controlling the rampant increase in the number of stray dogs

Previously, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw on July 3 announced at a press conference that the work of building a shelter outside Erbil to combat the growing population of stray dogs has been completed and the collection of stray dogs will start on July 8.

Khoshnaw also said that collecting stray dogs will begin in all districts of Erbil Province.

“The dogs will be treated and vaccinated so they don't mix with other untreated dogs,” he added.

Moreover, the Erbil Governor appointed Hemin Muhammed as the shelter director.

The shelter costs 450 million dinars ($346 million), and it is located on 20 acres of land—15 kilometers from Erbil's center.

Unofficial figures show there are more than 21,000 stray dogs in Erbil Province. More than 300 cases of attacks by stray dogs have been registered in the past four months in the province.

The largest number of stray dogs in Erbil Province are in the Daratu sub-district.

Rawand Qadir, the head of the Daratu sub-district, announced on Saturday in a press conference the commencement of a campaign to collect stray dogs.

“We intend to announce the campaign along with animal rights groups, and the campaign will continue until we completely reduce the number of stray dogs,” Qadir stated.

https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/31 ... population