Latest news with #ElPaís
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Experts issue warning as invasive snakes torment island creatures: 'They advance as if they were on the front of a battle zone'
Invasive snakes are spreading throughout Ibiza, Formentera, and the surrounding islets, according to El País. Several species of native creatures have already gone locally extinct. In 2003, snakes were found on a shipment of ornamental trees bound for Ibiza. Now, over 20 years later, they're wreaking havoc. "They advance as if they were on the front of a battle zone," Oriol Lapiedra, a researcher studying the snakes, told El País. "You have to imagine the snakes as if they were an actual wave, devouring what they find." Last year, over 3,000 snakes were found, increasing a thousandfold from 2023. The snakes have even managed to swim to the islets outside Ibiza, ensuring that nowhere is safe for their native prey. Experts informed El País that field mice, shrews, and geckos have become locally extinct as a direct result of their spread. And another animal might be next in line for the chopping block. The Ibiza wall lizard is a crucial pollinator for its ecosystem. Because of the snakes, a majority of the island is now uninhabitable for the species. As the former head of the food chain, it hasn't adapted to having a predator. Their spread is indicative of a larger pattern worldwide. A 2023 United Nations report found that human activity has introduced over 37,000 invasive species into non-native environments, costing the global economy over $423 billion. Zebra mussels, for instance, have invaded the Colorado River, threatening local marine life and water supplies. And the ash borer beetle has colonized most of the United States, leaving millions of dead trees in its wake. Specifically, these snakes' invasion of Ibiza has disrupted its delicate ecosystem. Lapiedra told El País that they pose an even greater threat to the islets, where the ecosystems are smaller. It's a conservation nightmare. Instead of focusing on eradication — the snakes are too widespread for that option to be viable — scientists are trying to find ways for the snakes and the Ibiza wall lizards to coexist peacefully. According to El País, Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Natural Environment and the Barcelona Zoo are launching a breeding program for the lizard species. Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Yes — always Yes — often Yes — sometimes No — never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. It could keep the species alive while researchers work to create safe havens for the existing lizards. If the population remains stable, Ibiza wall lizards may be able to develop defense mechanisms against the snakes, restoring some balance. To fight this battle at home and help your local ecosystem thrive, consider rewilding your yard with native plant species. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Local Spain
2 days ago
- Local Spain
'Impossible to sleep': How fun-loving Spain is even too noisy for locals
"The only thing that makes us different from other countries is that we are noisier," Spanish writer Ignacio Peyro wrote recently in daily newspaper El País. "We have as many words for party... as the Inuit for snow," he quipped. When foreigners enter a crowded Spanish bar for the first time, they often mistake the deafening hubbub for a fight. The cities sound even louder in the summer as the heat pushes revellers into the street in bar terraces, patron saint festivals and Pride marches with their accompanying loudspeakers and fireworks. In historic neighbourhoods of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, where many homes lack air conditioning and opening the windows is essential to cool down, getting a decent night's sleep is mission impossible. An exasperated Toni Fernández, who has been living opposite a bar in Madrid's party-prone Chueca for 15 years, knows that all too well. "If you sleep light, it's impossible," the 58-year-old hairdresser told AFP, saying he dreamed of moving "when I can, which will be soon". "The Portuguese have a different culture of speaking much more softly. I myself realise I speak loudly" when in Spain's Iberian neighbour, said Fernández. For Yomara García, a lawyer who is president of the association Jurists Against Noise, those who speak out against the cacophony are labelled "whingers, anti-social, hypersensitive". "The right to personal privacy, the inviolability of the home, commonly called the right to rest... is a right that takes precedence" over "the misnomer right to leisure", said García. The latter "is not a fundamental right", she told AFP at an acoustics congress in the Mediterranean city of Málaga, a tourist hotspot often painted red by boisterous partygoers. People attend a silent meditation session in Madrid. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) 'This is Spain' Legal action over the racket now extends well beyond bars and has seen anti-noise associations sprout across the country. Concerts at Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium have been suspended after residents' complaints, while courts dedicated to the popular racquet sport of padel and patron saint festivals also attract ire. The complaints have even targeted school playgrounds in Barcelona, prompting the regional parliament of Catalonia to declare them exempt from noise regulations. Madrid's Silence Centre, run by the Dominican Catholic order, offers an oasis of tranquillity to around 50 weekly users in the hustle and bustle of the Spanish capital. The place was an oddity when it opened in 2011, but now "there is a huge supply of spaces for a retreat, silence, meditation," its director Elena Hernandez Martin told AFP. Ana Cristina Ripoll, a philosophy teacher who finds refuge in the centre, believes the attitude towards noise in Spain has changed little. "I don't think there's any awareness," said Ripoll, 59, recalling how some metro users "got angry" when she asked them to turn down the music blaring from their mobile phone. "There are even people who tell you: 'This is Spain'," she said.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Is the U.S. involved in plot to remove Colombia's Petro?
Opinion The South American country of Colombia has had a long history of political violence, attempted and successful political assassinations and deeply embedded corruption. At one time, the country was known pejoratively as the 'cocaine capital of the world,' and the illicit white powder still remains a critical sector of the Colombian economy. It has also been labelled the 'murder capital of the world,' though both guerrilla and murderous paramilitary activities have subsided in recent years. Still, deadly drug cartels, a powerful military and an influential business community have all played significant roles in shaping Colombian democratic politics in the last few decades. One should also not forget the willingness of official Washington to interfere in Colombian political, economic and security affairs. Columbia's Gustavo Petro, left, celebrates with former Bogota's Mayor Antanas Mockus after winning a runoff presidential election in Bogota, Colombia, in 2022. There are questions about U.S. involvement in a recent coup attempt against Petro. So, I'm not shocked to hear about the latest episode on Colombia's precarious political situation — that is, the attempted coup d'état (supposedly involving drug cartels and armed criminal syndicates) against the country's leftist president, and former guerrilla member, Gustavo Petro. What we don't know, though, is the precise nature of the role, if there was any, of U.S. President Donald Trump's involvement in the scheme to remove Petro. According to the respected Spanish newspaper El País, it was former Colombian foreign minister Álvaro Leyva who actually plotted the overthrow of the Petro government. Evidently, audio recordings of Leyva reveal that he had sought support from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to somehow use 'international pressure' to get Petro to step aside. There are also references on the recordings that Leyva spoke with U.S. Republican Party politicians (including members of Congress from Florida) and political operatives. How close any of these individuals are to Trump's inner circle is anyone's guess — though Trump's team is in complete denial mode. It is no secret that Trump wouldn't be saddened by the abrupt removal of the left-leaning Petro. Recall that it was Petro who initially refused to accept Colombian deportees from the U.S. back in January. Of course, he quickly had a change of heart when Trump threatened to impose stiff tariffs on Colombian imports and visa restrictions on its citizens. In addition to its ideological aversion to Petro, the Trump White House has also differed sharply with the Colombian government on a wide array of policy matters (such as China, migration and Israel). But it has mostly parted company with Petro on how best to combat the drug trade in Colombia (a key supplier of cocaine to the U.S.). As for the Leyva coup plan itself, it was intended to unfold rapidly so as to replace Petro with Vice-President Francia Márquez. However, she has been quick to deny any involvement in the plot. Still, her relationship with Petro is no doubt dysfunctional (and has been for months) and thus her days in office are likely numbered. In an interview with El País, Petro said that 'Leyva has betrayed me in the worst way.' He subsequently told reporters in Spain the following: 'The scheme proposed by Álvaro Leyva is nothing but a conspiracy with drug trafficking and the far-right, apparently Colombian and American, to overthrow the President of change in Colombia.' It is important to note that Leyva was fired as Petro's foreign minister in 2024 over allegations of misconduct over a contract involving government passports. Leyva has since disparaged Petro as a polarizing figure (who refused to hire his son) and said that he had evidence that Petro had participated in erratic governmental decision-making, sought to do an end-run around the Colombian Congress and even alleged that he has a serious drug addiction. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. It is worth remembering that Colombia is slated to hold presidential elections in May 2026, which Petro is certain to seek re-election. Incidentally, all of the opposition presidential candidates have rallied around Petro and called for Leyva to come clean with his involvement in the sordid scheme. This is not the first time, though, that Petro has raised the issue of coup-plotters and his unlawful removal from power. He has been saying it from the moment that he was inaugurated in August 2022 — even claiming that he had a huge target on his back. There needs to be more light shed on what, if any, discussions took place between Leyva and members of the Trump administration. Call me a cynic, but this would not be the first time that the U.S. tried to insert itself covertly into the politics of governmental destabilization in Latin America. And it won't be the last. Peter McKenna is professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Daredevils run with charging bulls at Pamplona's famous San Fermín festival
Most runners wear the traditional garb of white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief. The expert Spanish runners try to sprint just in front of the bull's horns for a few death-defying seconds while egging the animal on with a rolled newspaper. Advertisement Thousands of spectators watched from balconies and wooden barricades along the course. Millions more follow the visceral spectacle on live television. The festival kicked off Sunday with the traditional 'chupinazo' firework blast after which revelers doused one another with red or sparkling wine. While gorings are not rare, many more people are bruised and injured in falls and pileups with each other. Medics rush in to treat the injured and take the seriously hurt to a hospital. On Monday, Spanish newspaper El País reported that a few revelers had been injured, but it wasn't clear if their injuries were from gorings. Unofficial records say at least 15 people have died in the bull runs over the past century. The deadliest day on record was July 13, 1980, when four runners were killed by two bulls. The last death was in 2009. Advertisement The rest of each day is for eating, drinking, dancing and cultural entertainment, including bull fights where the animals that run in the morning are slain in the bull ring by professional matadors each afternoon. The festival isn't without its detractors. On Saturday, animal rights activists marched through Pamplona wearing horns and splotched with fake blood in protest against the San Fermin bull runs. Some held up signs saying 'bullfights are a sin.' The festival was made internationally famous by Ernest Hemingway's classic 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises,' about American bohemians wasting away in Europe. Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.
Miami Herald
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
U.S., Colombia withdraw ambassadors amid accusations of coup plotting
The United States and Colombia have recalled their respective ambassadors amid tensions surrounding an alleged plot to oust President Gustavo Petro in which two Florida congressmen were implicated. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he ordered the recall of John T. McNamara, the acting ambassador in Bogotá, on Thursday 'following baseless and reprehensible statements from senior Colombian government officials.' The State Department also called Colombia an 'essential strategic partner' but said it would pursue 'other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship.' In response, Petro said he would call back Ambassador Daniel García-Peña from Washington in order to 'brief us on the progress of the bilateral agenda to which I committed myself from the beginning of my government.' Although Rubio did not elaborate on the alleged 'reprehensible' statements, Colombian newspaper El Tiempo on Thursday published a letter allegedly sent to the U.S. House Committee on Ethics calling for an investigation into House Republicans, including Florida lawmakers Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, Rep. María Elvira Salazar, and Rep. Carlos Antonio Gimenez. The letter was signed by 30 Colombian representatives. In it, the congressmen expressed 'deep concern' about the lawmakers' conduct and said that 'any unjustified interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country undermines' the principles of mutual respect between nations. Representatives Díaz-Balart and Gimenez were mentioned alongside Trump advisors including Rubio in recordings leaked to the Spanish newspaper El País that purport to show Petro's former Foreign Minister, Álvaro Leyva, seeking U.S. pressure to oust his old boss. 'I was in the United States with a top-tier figure: Mario Díaz-Balart. The Díaz-Balarts are the ones behind the Secretary of State,' Leyva allegedly told an unknown person in the recording. (Rep. Salazar was not mentioned in the recording but Colombian lawmakers accused her of making public comments aimed at delegitimizing Petro). According to El País, the White House never considered Leyva's proposal, and Díaz-Balart dismissed the claims, saying he meets with all kinds of groups including officials in Colombia's current government. 'I laugh at so many fabrications, nonsense, and hypocrisy. It reminds me of the saying 'every fool with his own agenda'', he said. Gimenez sloughed off the accusations as a 'media circus by Gustavo Petro and his henchmen' and said they shouldn't complain if the U.S. denies later denies them visas. Concrete evidence of an actual coup plot remains elusive and analysts see the rhetoric from Colombia's government as problematic. 'The only proof that we have [of a coup plot] are Leyva's recordings… We do not even have real evidence of this happening from Leyva associates, which is problematic because it is not clear if these individuals were actively conspiring, especially as many of them have strongly denied these allegations,' said Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, a consultancy. 'The U.S. Congress doesn't want to remain silent nor let this slide,' he added. The recall of ambassadors is the most severe escalation yet in the tense relationship between Trump and Petro that has been brewing for months. Guzmán points to a number of factors deteriorating the relationship including Petro's treatment of the opposition; lack of political protection for presidential candidates; Colombia joining the BRICS development bank, and rising coca cultivation which could lead to U.S. aid cuts to combat drug trafficking. The analyst said that Petro's impulsive foreign policy has made 'Colombia increasingly isolated and less credible' with its ally the United States. His current Foreign Minister, Laura Sarabia, also announced her resignation on Thursday. Senator Paola Holguín from the opposition Democratic Center party told the Miami Herald that Petro's 'repeated disrespectful statements, lack of commitment to fighting drug dealing and terrorism, and the alignment of our country with anti-democratic regimes and U.S. rivals are creating growing hardships' between the two countries. Meanwhile, Petro's supporters demand U.S. politicians respect Colombia's sovereignty and its democratically elected president. 'Calling him a narco-terrorist and drug addict is more than an insult; it's also an unacceptable fallacy; it's an affront to our nation and its sovereignty,' wrote Senator María José Pizarro Rodríguez of Petro's Historic Pact for Colombia political party on X. Colombia and the U.S. have built strong bonds over two centuries but the relationship has been strained in the past — namely over Cold War politics and the war on drugs. This latest diplomatic row, however, is disconcerting for those who study the relationship. 'We are very worried over the current state of the diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Colombia,' said Holguín. 'The U.S. has been our main commercial partner, a great ally in our fight against narcotrafficking and terrorism, and an important humanitarian supporter.' Benjamin Gedan, Director of the Wilson Center's Latin America Program, echoed the concerns, stating, 'For decades, Colombia has been the most strategic U.S. partner in the region, so it is troubling to see yet another diplomatic crisis.'
