Latest news with #massdeaths
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
North East shellfish die-off 'catastrophic' for fishing community
The mass-deaths of shellfish off the Teesside and North Yorkshire coast in 2021 has had a "catastrophic" impact on the mental health of the fishing community, a report has found. Thousands of crustaceans washed up dead along the area's beaches and a working group made up of councillors from across the region said the incident had affected fishers' livelihoods, as well as local tourism. No definitive cause for the die-off has been found but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was likely to be due to naturally occurring harmful situation had an "extremely negative" impact on communities, a meeting on Friday heard. The aftermath of the event was a "fight for survival" for the districts' ecosystem and communities, said the report by a working group made up of councillors from Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton councils."Clearly, the impact on fishing communities has been catastrophic in certain areas," it said."Most areas along the coast in both directions from the Tees Mouth have experienced a fall-off in catch, the marine environment has been adversely affected in certain areas, and the number of vessels involved in inshore fishing has significantly diminished."Meanwhile, a senior environmental officer said the lobster population was recovering, though it was "not back to where it was".The crab population is "still a long way from that," the officer told a council suggested the creation of a hatchery to restore crab populations in the area should be explored. In 2023, North Yorkshire Council supported calls for a public inquiry into the crustacean die-offs and a public inquiry was formally requested by the working group in July Defra advised that an inquiry was unlikely to provide substantial new insights due to the length of time since the initial the meeting, a council environmental officer said there had been "clearly no appetite" in Government for a public working group called for financial support for the affected fishers and a reduction of red tape to help improve responses to future events, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. North Yorkshire councillor Phil Trumper said: "Other areas, such as farming, get financial support and we should be pushing the Government on that."One of the recommendations of the final report, which was also put forward to North Yorkshire Council's executive committee, proposed "financial support for ventures that might aid the recovery of marine ecosystems". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Free Malaysia Today
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people awaiting aid trucks in Gaza
The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass deaths of Palestinians who were seeking aid in past weeks. (EPA Images pic) GAZA : Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians today as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory's health ministry said, adding that dozens of others were wounded. Medics said residents said Israeli tanks fired shells at crowds of desperate Palestinians awaiting aid trucks along the main eastern road in Khan Younis. They said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, with at least 20 of them in critical condition. There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on the incident. Witnesses said Israeli tanks fired at least two shells at thousands of people awaiting aid trucks. Nasser Hospital wards were crowded with casualties, and medical staff had to place some on the ground and in corridors due to the lack of space. The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass deaths of Palestinians who were seeking aid in past weeks, including near sites operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Local health officials said at least 23 people were killed by Israeli gunfire yesterday as they approached a GHF aid distribution site in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The GHF stated in a press release late yesterday that it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about Monday's reports of shootings. In previous incidents, it has occasionally acknowledged troops opening fire near aid sites, while blaming militants for provoking the violence. Israel has put responsibility for distributing much of the aid it allows into Gaza into the hands of the GHF, which operates sites in areas guarded by Israeli troops. The UN has rejected the plan, saying GHF distribution is inadequate, dangerous and violates humanitarian impartiality principles. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli allies. US ally Israel's subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, while internally displacing nearly Gaza's entire population and causing a hunger crisis. The assault has also triggered accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. Eye on Iran The escalation is taking place as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip watch the exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran, which began with Israel launching major strikes on Friday. Residents of the Gaza Strip have circulated images of wrecked buildings and charred vehicles hit by Iranian missiles in Israeli cities, and some were hopeful the wider conflict could eventually bring peace to their ruined homeland. 'We live these scenes and pain daily. We are very happy that we saw the day when we saw rubble in Tel Aviv, and they are trying to get out from under the rubble and the houses that were destroyed on top of their residents,' said Gaza man Saad Saad. Others said Iran's response was greater than many, including Israel, had expected. 'We saw how Iran, despite (showing) a lot of patience on the harm of the Israeli occupation and its frequent attacks and the assassinations carried out on Iranian soil, … it lost patience and the time has come for Iran to teach the Israeli occupation state a lesson,' said another Gaza man, Taysseir Mohaissan. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, fears have grown of a regional war dragging in outside powers. Despite efforts by the US, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal. Hamas leaders have repeatedly thanked Iran for its military and financial support to the group in its fight against Israel, including during the current war.
