Trash bird

Local residents can get 1kg of rice for each kg of plastics or recyclable waste, and each of them can exchange a maximum amount of 10kg of waste. Since the programme was rolled out in early September, authorities have collected more than 1 tonnes of trash for recycling. Pham Ngoc Minh, Vice President of the district’s Fatherland Front Committee, said apart from environmental protection, the programme aims to support local residents amidst COVID-19. The exchange is held weekly and will last until December, she said, adding that the programme is financed by organisations and businesses in HCM City. According to the official, more than 4 tonnes of rice have been mobilised for the programme so far. Along with rice, residents can get other necessities like cooking oil and salt, and plants. Not only residents in District 1 but also those in other localities can also join the programme, Minh said. … [Read more...] about HCM City: Residents swap trash for rice in fight against plastics

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended the filing of charges in court against two Customs examiners and two appraisers in the illegal importation of hazardous solid waste from Canada in 2013 and 2014. In a Dec. 4, 2020, resolution, a DOJ panel of prosecutors said it found probable cause to indict Bureau of Customs (BOC) examiners Benjamin Perez Jr. and Eufracio Ednaco, appraisers Matilda Bacongan and Jose Saromo for violation of Republic Act No. 6969, or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990. The panel cleared Juan Miguel Cuna, undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and three other officials of criminal charges for the same offense involving solid waste shipments. The three other Environmental Management Bureau officials cleared by the DOJ were Irvin Cadavona, Geri Geronimo Sañez and Renato Cruz. The DOJ also dismissed the complaint for violation of RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and … [Read more...] about DOJ orders 4 Customs execs charged over trash

POCONÉ, Brazil: A fire has been burning since mid-July in the remote wetlands of west-central Brazil, leaving in its wake a vast charred desolation bigger than New York City. A team of veterinarians, biologists and local guides arrived in late August to prowl the bumpy dirt road known as the Trans-Pantanal Highway in pickup trucks, looking to save what injured animals they could. Jaguars were wandering the blackened wasteland, they said, starving or going thirsty, with paws burnt to the bone, lungs blackened by smoke. They saw bodies of alligator-like caiman, jaws frozen in silent screams, the last act of creatures desperate to cool off before being consumed by flames. This massive fire is one of thousands of blazes sweeping the Brazilian Pantanal - the world's largest wetland - this year in what climate scientists fear could become a new normal, echoing the rise in climate-driven fires from California to Australia. READ: Search crews scour charred Oregon landscape, … [Read more...] about Burned jaguars, fire tornadoes: Blazes in Brazil wetland deliver climate warning

ADELAIDE, Australia: At Paradise Primary School, boxes and boxes of koalas are lined up on the floor of a gymnasium. Volunteers and veterinarians tend to the animals, all victims of damaging bushfires that swept through South Australia in late December. This makeshift emergency triage centre for wounded koalas has been a site of both tears and triumph over the past few weeks. Death has never been far away as the team at Adelaide Koala Rescue (AKR) has responded to hundreds of calls to help animals burnt, displaced and starving as a result of the fires. But for dozens of the koalas left here now, home is calling. There have been staggering losses to Australia’s wildlife this summer, as bushfires ripped through more than 10 million hectares of land. Experts predict that some 1.25 billion animals, including mammals, birds and reptiles, have been killed nationwide. The number reaches into the trillions when insects and other invertebrates, all essential to delicate … [Read more...] about Koala bushfire victims start to return home amid wider fears for Australia’s wildlife

CRIME drama Bloodlands has already got viewers hooked. Starring James Nesbitt as DCI Tom Brannick, the four-part drama has a stellar supporting cast to boot. Bloodlands cast: Who stars in the BBC drama? James Nesbitt as Tom Brannick Nesbitt landed the part of Adam Williams in ITV comedy-drama Cold Feet in 1996, his breakthrough role. He has since starred in various TV shows, including Murphy's Law, The Canterbury Tales and Jekyll. He also has had roles in Danny Boyle's movie Millions and Woody Allen's Match Point. Lisa Dwan as Tori Matthews Lisa Dwan is an Irish star of stage and screen. In the theatre world, Dwan is known for her performances of Samuel Beckett’s work. On screen, she has starred in spy thriller The Tailor of Panama, as well as a TV film adaptation of Oliver Twist. Lorcan Cranitch as Jackie Twomey You may recognise Irish actor Cranitch from his role as DI Littlejohn in the Sky Atlantic series, Fortitude. He also appeared as a villain … [Read more...] about Bloodlands cast: Who stars in the BBC drama?