Washington (AFP) May 20, 2021 The US Justice Department said Thursday that it had seized 68 lions, tigers and lion-tiger hybrids as well as a jaguar from the former animal park of Joe Exotic, the star of the Netflix hit “Tiger King.” Justice Department officials on Monday raided the Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma for ongoing Endangered Species Act violations. They said the current … Continue reading US justice seizes tigers, lions from ‘Tiger King’ park

Goma, Dr Congo (AFP) May 23, 2021 Tourists who were near the crater when the Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic Congo erupted are safe, the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) said Sunday. Nor were the rare mountain gorillas in the Virunga National Park threatened by the eruption, the institute added. “The tourists present yesterday at the crater are safe and sound”, … Continue reading Tourists and gorillas ‘safe’ after DRC volcano eruption

Paris (AFP) May 22, 2021 The head of France’s armed forces has slammed a UN report into an air strike in central Mali which killed 19 civilians, saying it was biased and delegitimised the operations of the French-led Barkhane force there. “Very clearly this (report) comprises an attack on the French army, the Barkhane operation (and) on the legitimacy of our engagements,” General Francois Lecointre … Continue reading French army chief slams UN ‘bias’ in report on Mali strike

Washington DC (UPI) May 21, 2021 The authors of a new research paper want scientists and policy makers to start considering the sustainability implications of global sand use. Though not as overtly destructive as oil or coal, sand, the authors argue, is a valuable finite resource – the extraction of which can cause considerable environmental damage. Sand may seem plentiful, but as a key ingredient … Continue reading Scientists consider true costs of sand, call for sustainability effort

Washington DC (UPI) May 21, 2021 The world’s largest iceberg, estimated to be 80 times the size of Manhattan, has broken off from Antarctica. The iceberg, called A-76, measures about 105 miles in length and is over 15 miles wide. It broke from the western side of Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, the European Space Agency said. The iceberg is slightly larger than … Continue reading Massive iceberg 4 times the size of NYC breaks off in Antarctica

Paris (ESA) May 21, 2021 With alarm bells ringing about the rapid demise of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, satellite data have revealed how the intrusion of warmer Atlantic waters is reducing ice regrowth in the winter. In addition, with seasonal ice more unpredictable than ever, ESA’s SMOS and CryoSat satellites are being used to improve sea-ice forecasts, which are critical for shipping, fisheries … Continue reading Arctic sea ice succumbs to Atlantification

Ahmedabad, India (AFP) May 20, 2021 A major new storm was brewing in the Bay of Bengal off India’s east coast on Thursday, forecasters warned just days after the biggest cyclone to hit the west of the country in decades left at least 120 people confirmed dead. Scientists say cyclones in the densely-populated region, currently reeling from coronavirus, are becoming both more frequent and stronger … Continue reading New India cyclone warning as death toll rises

Beijing (AFP) May 21, 2021 A skyscraper in southern China that caused panic when it started to shake earlier this week will stay closed for the foreseeable future, the owner of the building said, as the cause of the swaying is investigated. The 300-metre (1,000-foot) SEG Plaza in the southern city of Shenzhen near Hong Kong began shaking in the early afternoon on Tuesday, prompting … Continue reading China’s ‘shaking building’ to stay closed for inspection

Important as it is to continually acquire new customers, it’s every bit as vital for businesses to nurture existing clientele. The E-Commerce Times talked with several experts in customer engagement to get their thoughts about why it’s critical to cultivate current customers — and how to encourage them to stick around.http://dlvr.it/S09JCT Continue reading It Pays to Nurture Your Existing Customers

Ottawa (AFP) May 19, 2021 Canada’s health agency on Wednesday announced restrictions on the use of popular pesticide imidacloprid, but stopped short of banning this and two others shown to harm insects and birds. Imidacloprid belongs to a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids that are blamed for the collapse of bee colonies worldwide and suspected of disrupting memory and flight abilities of insects and birds.http://dlvr.it/S05Sdf Continue reading Canada retricts popular pesticide but stops short of ban