Environment

• Wednesday, February 27th 2013 - 05:44 UTC

  Fisheries minister says Japan will never stop hunting whales “it’s part of our culture”

  

  Japan's fisheries minister said Tuesday his country will never stop hunting whales, despite fierce criticism from other nations and violent clashes at sea with militant conservationists.

• Wednesday, February 27th 2013 - 05:38 UTC

  Environmentalists in Argentina manage to suspend Monsanto corn-seed drying facility

  

  Another setback for Monsanto in South America: the Argentine province of Córdoba justice system ordered the suspension of the construction of a corn seed-drying facility in the district of Malvinas Argentinas, 14 kilometres outside the capital city of Córdoba.

• Wednesday, February 27th 2013 - 05:30 UTC

  Colombian astronomers trace the origin of the meteor that crashed in Russia

  

  Astronomers from Colombia have traced the origin of a meteor that injured about 1,000 people after breaking up over central Russia earlier this month.Using amateur video footage, they were able to plot the meteor's trajectory through Earth's atmosphere and then reconstruct its orbit around the Sun.

• Wednesday, February 27th 2013 - 04:55 UTC

  Major global effort involving Interpol launched to eliminate IUU fishing

  

  Interpol Environmental Crime Program, with support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, this week announced the beginning of a massive global movement -- Project SCALE -- to cull illegal fishing and associated crimes.

• Wednesday, February 27th 2013 - 01:22 UTC

  Fish discard clash in Brussels; NE Atlantic has highest discard rate, says UN

  

  Europe's fisheries ministers may dilute plans for a total ban on the practice of discarding fish at sea, as they meet in Brussels. An outright discards ban was widely welcomed when backed by the European Parliament last month, but it is being resisted by France, Spain and others.

• Tuesday, February 26th 2013 - 10:13 UTC

  Ecuador/Chevron dispute enters a new chapter: Correa calls for Latam support

  

  President Rafael Correa said he expects the regional groupings Alba and Unasur to meet urgently and address the “legal aberration” committed by a UN trade law arbitrage tribunal against Ecuador in a case involving US multinational Chevron and decades of environmental damages.

• Monday, February 25th 2013 - 22:06 UTC

  Pod of pilot whales beached in south Chile; 20 dead and 26 saved

  

  At least twenty pilot whales stranded in the south of Chile died while another twenty six from the pod were rescued by local fishermen, Coast Guard personnel and the high tide, reports La Prensa Austral from Punta Arenas.

• Friday, February 22nd 2013 - 17:38 UTC

  Foreign Office pledges more marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean

  

  The Foreign Office said that the UK is striving to ensure that all fishing undertaken in the Southern Ocean is carefully managed and sustainable and that the current FCO focus is supporting international work to establish a network of Southern Ocean Marine Protected Areas.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 05:46 UTC

  Royal penguin being cared in New Zealand after stranding 2.000km from Antarctica

  

  A royal penguin is being cared for at a New Zealand zoo after being found stranded on a beach 2,000km from its Antarctic home. The young male bird, which was dehydrated and starving, is thought to be only the fourth royal penguin to wash up there in more than a century.

• Wednesday, February 20th 2013 - 05:41 UTC

  “Sustainability party” is born in Brazil headed by tireless fighter for Amazon rainforest protection

  

  Former Brazilian environment minister and presidential candidate Marina Silva has launched a new political party with an eye on next year’s presidential elections. The new party is called “Sustainability Network.” It was launched in Brasilia at a meeting of politicians, congressmen and other Silva supporters.