La Palma, Spain (AFP) Sept 19, 2021 The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on Spain’s Canary Islands Sunday, spewing out lava, ash and a huge column of smoke after days of increased seismic activity and forcing the evacuation of around 5,000 local people, authorities said. Cumbre Vieja, which last erupted 50 years ago, straddles a ridge in the south of La Palma island, home to around … Continue reading Volcano erupts on Spain’s Canary Islands

Conakry (AFP) Sept 19, 2021 Guinea’s new junta held a former minister, Tibou Kamara, for several hours after arresting him before dawn on Sunday and ransacking his home, according to his entourage and an official statement. Kamara was industry minister and spokesman in the government of Alpha Conde, who was overthrown in a coup in the West African country on September 5. Kamara was taken … Continue reading Guinea junta detains ex-minister

Kano, Nigeria (AFP) Sept 17, 2021 An emergency official in northeast Nigeria said Friday nine people were killed and 23 others injured in an air strike this week that reportedly hit civilians, in the first official tally of victims. The Nigerian air force confirmed that earlier in the week it sent an aircraft to the area where Boko Haram and Islamic-state affiliates operate, and that … Continue reading Nine killed, 23 injured in Nigerian air strike

Copenhagen (AFP) Sept 20, 2021 Every summer in the Faroe Islands hundreds of pilot whales and dolphins are slaughtered in drive hunts known as the “grind” that residents defend as a long-held tradition. The hunt always sparks fierce criticism abroad, but never so much as last week when a particularly bountiful catch saw 1,428 dolphins massacred in one day, raising questions on the island itself … Continue reading Faroe Islands mass dolphin slaughter casts shadow over tradition

Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 19, 2021 Hong Kong’s political elite began selecting a powerful committee on Sunday which will choose the city’s next leader and nearly half the legislature under a new “patriots only” system imposed by Beijing. The financial hub has never been a democracy – the source of years of protests – but a small and vocal opposition was tolerated after the city’s … Continue reading Hong Kong elite selects powerful new ‘patriots only’ committee

Port Elizabeth, South Africa (AFP) Sept 19, 2021 A swarm of bees has killed 63 endangered African penguins on a beach outside Cape Town, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds said on Sunday. “After tests, we found bee stings around the penguins’ eyes,” said the foundation’s David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian. “This is a very rare occurence. We do not expect … Continue reading Bees kill dozens of endangered penguins in South Africa

Tokyo (AFP) Sept 16, 2021 Japan issued an alert on Friday after a volcano in the southwest of the country erupted, jettisoning large rocks hundreds of metres away from the crater, Kyodo news agency reported. There were no immediate reports of injuries after the eruption of Mount Otake in Kagoshima prefecture, according to Kyodo. The Japan Meteorological Agency set the alert level at three – … Continue reading Japan issues alert after volcano erupts

Copenhagen (AFP) Sept 16, 2021 The Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory of Denmark, said Thursday it would take another look at the practice of dolphin-hunting after the slaughter of more than 1,400 of the mammals earlier this week sparked an outcry. “The government has decided to start an evaluation of the regulations on the catching of Atlantic white-sided dolphins,” the northern archipelago’s prime minister, Bardur … Continue reading Faroe Islands to re-evaluate dolphin-hunting after outcry

Paris (AFP) Sept 16, 2021 France said Thursday its troops deployed in the Sahel region of Africa had killed the head of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) extremist group who was wanted for deadly attacks on US soldiers and foreign aid workers. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi formed ISGS in 2015 after splitting with Al-Qaeda linked jihadists and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State … Continue reading French forces kill IS Sahel jihadist leader wanted by US

Red Fir, United States (AFP) Sept 18, 2021 Firefighters battling to protect the world’s biggest tree from wildfires ravaging the parched United States said Friday they are optimistic it can be saved. Flames are creeping closer to the majestic General Sherman and other giant sequoias, as man-made climate change worsens California’s fearsome fire season. “We have hundreds of firefighters there giving it their all, giving … Continue reading US firefighters optimistic over world’s biggest tree