Latest news with #SeanSinico
DW
31-05-2025
- General
- DW
250 million bees escape after truck overturns in US – DW – 05/31/2025
Millions of bees escaped when a truck carrying a load of hives overturned. Authorities warn people to stay away from the area to avoid swarms of the stinging insects. A commercial truck carrying an estimated 70,000 pounds (31,751 kilograms) of honeybee hives overturned in western United States, releasing millions of bees, authorities said on Friday. The accident happened in northwestern Washington state, close to the Canadian border near Lynden, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office said in social media posts. About 250 million bees are estimated to have escaped from the truck. "250 million bees are now loose," wrote Whatcom County Sheriff on its social media page. "AVOID THE AREA due to the potential of bee escaping and swarming." From passion to profit: The sweet success of beekeeping To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Goal to save as many bees as possible Roads in the region have been closed as bee experts help with the clean-up. "Thank you to the wonderful community of beekeepers: over two dozen showed up to help ensure the rescue of millions of pollinating honey bees would be as successful as possible," according to the sheriff's office. The plan is to allow the bees to return to their hives and find their queen bee in the next day or two, it added. The goal is to save as many of the bees as possible. How important are bees for humans? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What role do they play in food production? Honeybees play a key role in pollination and food production. They pollinate over 100 crops, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Bees and other pollinators have been facing numerous threats and declining for years. Experts blame insecticides, parasites, disease, climate change and lack of a diverse food supply for their decline, which could have major implications for agriculture and food security. Edited by: Sean Sinico
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China to resume seafood imports from Japan
China has agreed to resume the import of seafood from Japan after a two-year ban over the discharge of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, Tokyo said on Friday. The agreement between the two countries was reached in a meeting held in Beijing on Wednesday, Japan's Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. He said the export to China will begin once China takes "necessary procedures." The exact procedures were not detailed by Japan. The agreement is based on China's participation in the water sampling missions as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that the agreement calls on Japan to register fishery processing facilities with the Chinese authorities. The agreement also requires inspection and certification of the seafood, confirming the absence of radioactive substances such as caesium-137. Nikkei also reported that China is expected to officially announce the resumption of exports from areas that lie outside the Fukushima region soon. In 2023, China stopped importing Japanese seafood over the release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. It said the released water posed a risk to the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. The Fukushima Daiichi plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led to meltdowns in three of its reactors, causing large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate. Japan started releasing the treated wastewater into the sea in 2023 and said the discharge met international safety standards and data from the IAEA monitoring was publicly available. But China still decided to halt the import of Japanese seafood at the time. Edited by Sean Sinico
DW
30-05-2025
- Business
- DW
China to resume seafood imports from Japan – DW – 05/30/2025
China has reached an agreement to resume imports of Japanese seafood that were halted over Fukushima water discharge. China has agreed to resume the import of seafood from Japan after a two-year ban over the discharge of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, Tokyo said on Friday. What do we know about the deal between China and Japan? The agreement between the two countries was reached in a meeting held in Beijing on Wednesday, Japan's Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said. He said the export to China will begin once China takes "necessary procedures." The exact procedures were not detailed by Japan. The agreement is based on China's participation in the water sampling missions as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Nikkei newspaper, which reported the news earlier, said that the agreement calls on Japan to register fishery processing facilities with the Chinese authorities. The agreement also requires inspection and certification of the seafood, confirming the absence of radioactive substances such as caesium-137. Nikkei also reported that China is expected to officially announce the resumption of exports from areas that lie outside the Fukushima region soon. Why did China ban the import of seafood from Japan? In 2023, China stopped importing Japanese seafood over the release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. It said the released water posed a risk to the fishing industry and coastal communities in eastern China. Japan to dump radioactive water To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Fukushima Daiichi plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led to meltdowns in three of its reactors, causing large amounts of radioactive water to accumulate. Japan started releasing the treated wastewater into the sea in 2023 and said the discharge met international safety standards and data from the IAEA monitoring was publicly available. But China still decided to halt the import of Japanese seafood at the time. Edited by Sean Sinico
DW
22-05-2025
- DW
European police seize thousands of looted cultural goods – DW – 05/22/2025
Law enforcement and customs officials from 23 countries took part in an operation called Pandora IX. Authorities recovered thousands of artefacts, including artworks, coins, paintings and archaeological finds. Officials recovered around 38,000 valuable cultural objects and arrested 80 suspects in 23 countries in the fight against the international theft of cultural property, Europol announced on Thursday. Spain's Guardia Civil coordinated the international investigation, codenamed Pandora IX and carried out throughout 2024, involving law enforcement and customs officials from 23 countries. The recovered artifacts included artworks, coins, musical instruments, paintings and archaeological finds, with 258 cases reported by the participating countries. Artefacts from Roman and Punic periods recovered Europol, which is based in The Hague, said the operation was the ninth edition of Operation Pandora, which targets the trafficking of cultural goods and was set up in 2016. Investigations are continuing, and further arrests could be expected, Europol said. "Authorities also confiscated 69 metal detectors and 23 tools commonly used for illegal excavations, underlining the persistent threat of looting to cultural sites," it explained. The Italian carabinieri had seized more than 300 items, including coins, metal and ceramic fragments such as arrowheads and spearheads dating back to the Roman and Punic periods, Europol added. The artifacts were being offered for sale online and were discovered in a private apartment. In Spain, the Guardia Civil dismantled a criminal group involved in archaeological looting as they recovered 2,500 archaeological, primarily Roman, coins minted in the Celtiberian city of Tamusia. Those artifacts had been looted from protected archaeological sites in the province of Caceres using metal detectors and were being sold illegally through social media platforms. Meanwhile, a passenger flying from Spain's Palma de Mallorca to Germany was found to be carrying 55 ancient coins and a ring. A subsequent investigation led to an indictment for crimes of plundering underwater wrecks and other archaeological sites. In that case, a total of 64 objects of historical value and 1,576 ancient coins were confiscated. In Greece, the Department of Cultural Heritage and Antiquities of Athens recovered five Byzantine icons. Acting on intelligence and using special investigative techniques, including an undercover officer, three individuals were arrested while attempting to sell the icons for € 70,000. Cyberinvestigators contributed to operation In addition to on-the-ground operations, cyberpatrols were carried out during the operation to identify potential illicit online sales of cultural property. The virtual investigations led to the opening of new cases, with a total of 4,298 cultural goods seized as a result of the cyberpatrols. Edited by: Sean Sinico
DW
19-05-2025
- DW
UK charges 3 Iranians with espionage – DW – 05/17/2025
Three men arrested earlier this month in what police called a "very complex and fast-moving investigation" were charged with spying for Iran. A fourth suspect was released without charge. Three Iranian nationals have been charged with suspected espionage for Iran's intelligence services, UK police said on Saturday. The three were all arrested on May 3 in London, with the Metropolitan police calling it "a very complex and fast-moving investigation." They are due to appear in a London court later on Saturday, with the offences allegedly having taken place from August 2024 to February 2025. A 'complex and fast-moving investigation' The three suspects, all with addresses in London, were charged with "engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service between 14 August 2024 and 16 February 2025," the police said in a statement. "The foreign state to which the charges relate is Iran." The arrests came amid heightened concerns about Iranian activities on UK soil. "These are extremely serious charges under the National Security Act, which have come about following what has been a very complex and fast-moving investigation," said Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter-Terrorism command. "Since the men were arrested two weeks ago, detectives have been working around the clock," he added. There was a further charge for one suspect for "surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research... intending to commit acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom." Meanwhile, the other two were also charged with "surveillance and reconnaissance with the intention that acts, namely serious violence against a person in the United Kingdom, would be committed by others." A fourth man was arrested on May 9 as part of the investigation, but has now been released without charge, the police added in their statement. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has previously said it was "disturbed" to learn Iranian citizens had been arrested by British authorities. Edited by Sean Sinico
