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Over 100 river dolphins found dead in Amazon

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The carcasses of 120 river dolphins have been found floating in a tributary of the Amazon River over the last week in circumstances that experts suspect were caused by severe drought and heat, Reuters reported today.

It said low river levels during a severe drought have heated water in stretches to temperatures that are intolerable for the dolphins, researchers believe.

Thousands of fish have died recently on Amazon rivers due to a lack of oxygen in the water.

The Amazon river dolphins, many of a striking pink color, are a unique freshwater species found only in the rivers of South America and are one of a handful of freshwater dolphin species left in the world. Slow reproductive cycles make their populations especially vulnerable to threats.

Amid the stench of decomposing dolphins, biologists and other experts in white personal protective clothing and masks continued on Monday to recover the dead mammals from a lake and conduct autopsies on the carcasses to determine the cause of death.

The scientists do not know with certainty that drought and heat are to blame for the spike in dolphin mortality. They are working to rule out other causes, such as a bacterial infection that could have killed the dolphins on a lake formed by the River Tefé before it runs into the Amazon.

At least 70 of the carcasses surfaced on Thursday when the temperature of Lake Tefé’s water reached 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit), more than 10 degrees higher than the average for this time of the year. 

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Pakistan PM Shehbaz offers dialogue with India for ‘peace’

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The Indian Army on Thursday (May 16) said it will pursue confidence building measures to reduce the “alertness level” in line with the May 10 understanding on cessation of hostilities with the Pakistani side.

The remarks by the Indian Army came hours after Islamabad said the India-Pakistan arrangement on stopping the military actions has been extended till May 18.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday extended an offer of talks to India, saying Pakistan is ready to engage “for peace”. Mr. Shehbaz made the comments during a visit to the Kamra air base in the country’s Punjab province where he interacted with officers and soldiers involved in the recent military confrontation with India.

“We are ready to talk with it (India) for peace,” he said and added that the “conditions for peace” include the Kashmir issue.

(The Hindu)

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Plane crash victims’ families file complaint against Jeju Air CEO

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Some families of those killed in a Jeju Air plane crash last December have filed a criminal complaint against 15 people, including South Korea’s transport minister and the airline’s CEO, for professional negligence.

The 72 bereaved relatives are calling for a more thorough investigation into the crash, which killed 179 of the 181 people on board – making it the deadliest plane crash on South Korean soil.

The crash was “not a simple accident”, they allege, but a “major civic disaster caused by negligent management of preventable risks”.

Nearly five months on, authorities are still studying what may have caused the plane to crash-land at Muan International Airport and then burst into flames.

The police had already opened a criminal investigation before this latest complaint, and barred Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae from leaving the country, but no one has been indicted over the incident.

One of the relatives, Kim Da-hye, denounced the “lack of progress” in investigations.

“We are filled with deep anger and despair. Having taken this extraordinary measure of filing a criminal complaint, we will not give up and will continue to pursue the truth,” Mr Kim said in a statement to the media.

Among the 15 people named in the complaint were government officials, airline officials and airport staff responsible for construction, supervision, facility management and bird control.

The complaint filed on Tuesday raises questions around the circumstances of the crash, including whether air traffic control responded appropriately and whether the reinforcement of a mound at the end of the runway violated regulations.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, took off from the Thai capital of Bangkok on the morning of 29 December, and was flying to Muan in South Korea.

Five minutes after the pilots made contact with Muan International Airport, they reported striking a bird and declared a mayday signal.

The pilots then tried to land from the opposite direction, during which the aircraft belly-landed without its landing gear deployed. It later overran the runway, slammed into a concrete structure and exploded.

Earlier this year, investigators said they found bird feathers in both engines of the jet, but did not conclude the extent to which the bird strike was a contributing factor.

Since the incident, some bereaved families have also been targeted by a torrent of conspiracies and malicious jokes online.

These included suggestions that families were “thrilled” to receive compensation from authorities, or that they were “fake victims”. As of March this year, eight people have been apprehended for making such derogatory and defamatory online posts.

(BBC News)

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Gary Anandasangaree appointed Public Safety Minister of Canada

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Sri Lankan-born Gary Anandasangaree has been sworn in as Canada’s new Minister of Public Safety under PM Mark Carney’s cabinet.

A former Minister of Justice and Crown–Indigenous Relations, Anandasangaree will now oversee national security, emergency preparedness, and border protection.

“As I step into this new role, I am grateful to Prime Minister Mark Carney for his trust. I am ready to work with my Cabinet and Caucus colleagues, our partner organizations, and all orders of government to unite, secure, protect, and build Canada,” he has Tweeted.

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