Dead whale in Indonesia found with 6 kg of plastic in stomach
JAKARTA: A sperm whale has been found dead in Indonesia with 115 plastic cups and 25 plastic bags in its stomach, raising concern among environmentalists and throwing the spotlight on the country’s rubbish problem.
The items were part of nearly six kilograms (13 pounds) of plastic waste discovered in the 9.5-metre (31-foot) carcass when it washed ashore in Wakatobi National Park, in Southeast Sulawesi province, on Monday. Other debris included flip flops and ripped tarpaulins, the head of Wakatobi tourism, La Ode Saleh Hanan, told AFP on Wednesday. Conservation group WWF Indonesia said on social media its staff found four plastic bottles and 3.26 kilograms of raffia rope, as well as the plastic bags and cups.
The exact cause of the whale’s death is not yet known but there are signs that “plastic waste might have triggered it”, WWF Indonesia marine species conservation coordinator Dwi Suprapti told AFP. Wakatobi district, a picturesque collection of four main islands surrounded by a marine reserve, has urged Indonesia’s central government to help tackle the problem of marine debris. Indonesia is the world’s second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, and a colossal 1.29 million metric tons is estimated to be produced annually.
The problem has grown so bad that Indonesian officials declared a “garbage emergency” last year after a six-kilometre stretch of coast along the island of Bali was swamped with rubbish. The archipelago of more than 17,000 islands has pledged to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 per cent by 2025. It plans to boost recycling services, curb the use of plastic bags, launch cleanup campaigns and raise public awareness. But poor waste-processing infrastructure and low awareness among its 260 million inhabitants prove major obstacles. (AFP)
WHO and Health Ministry probe into mass death of fish in Iraq
BAGHDAD: Laboratory tests conducted on water samples at the reference laboratory in Amman, Jordan, to investigate the cause of the mass death of freshwater fish in the Euphrates river in Iraq, have revealed contamination of the water with a high content of coliform bacteria and heavy metals, and a high concentration of ammonia.
Health experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health and Environment in Iraq say that while these materials are toxic to fish, they pose no threat to human health.
The testing of dead fish has revealed serious issues warranting WHO to conduct a second investigation related to a probable viral infection of fish causing the death of thousands in the river. Results of the second investigation are due next week.
The laboratory investigations have come in response to a request to WHO from the Ministry of Health and Environment to assess the likely effects of the death of the fish on humans and the environment.
As early as November 2 this year, thousands of tonnes of fish had died in the Euphrates river causing significant losses to fish farms and production in the southern part of Iraq, especially in Babel province, 85 kilometres south of Baghdad.
WHO continues to work with its Ministry of Health and Environment counterparts to develop appropriate preventive measures to effectively mitigate and respond to future incidents of this nature. (UNI)
Gunmen kidnap Italian woman in Kenya
NAIROBI: An armed gang abducted an Italian woman from a village in southeast Kenya, shooting and wounding five residents in the raid, police said Wednesday.
“The attackers fired indiscriminately at residents” before kidnapping the 23-year-old, who worked as a volunteer at an orphanage, during the attack after dark on Tuesday evening at Chakama, a small village in the coastal Kilifi county, police said in a statement. Three children were among those injured, with one, a 10-year-old boy, shot in the eye, according to police. The wounded have been taken to hospital and police “deployed to track down the criminals”. The village is about 60 kilometres (40 miles) inland from the coastal town of Malindi, which is popular with Italian tourists and expatriates. Police warned against speculation, that Shabaab militants from Somalia might be behind the abduction. (AFP)