Month: October 2022

It's like a needle in a haystack: how do you find one entangled whale in a vast expanse of ocean? Then how do you free the 20-tonne giant from a maze of constraints when it is panicked, sometimes angry, often injured, and always determined to evade you? That's a riddle that marine rescuers like Wayne Phillips have to solve on an increasingly regular basis. Each year, an estimated 40,000 humpback whales leave the freezing waters of Antarctica on the world's longest mammal migration. They make their way up Australia's east and west coasts to the tropics before returning, calves in tow, a couple of months later. For most Australians, the so-called "humpback highway" from May to November is a fun and exciting spectacle. Bu...

With the upcoming coronation of King Charles III, the Canadian province of Quebec is reviving a debate on the country's ties to the British monarchy. On Wednesday, Canadian parliamentarians overwhelmingly voted no to severing ties with the monarchy, after Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet introduced a motion that sparked a conversation in the House of Commons about the monarchy. His move follows the refusal of 14 recently elected Quebec politicians to recite an oath of allegiance to the King during their swearing-in to the provincial legislature, as required by Canadian law. Speaking to reporters, Mr Blanchet admitted that he had expected his motion to fail, but he said it would show Quebecers that federal politicians "prefer to support the K...

Russia has carried out its annual nuclear exercises, with its President Vladimir Putin watching them via video link from a big white room at the Kremlin. His government announced that ballistic and cruise missiles were launched in the Far East and Arctic. While the US was informed of the drills, they come at a time of heightened tensions with the West over his his invasion of Ukraine. Without providing any evidence, Russia has accused Ukraine of plotting to use a "dirty bomb" - an explosive device mixed with radioactive material. Western countries have widely rejected those allegations as false, and Ukraine has warned that Moscow itself could be preparing such an attack. Will Belarus join the war? IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGE...

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is being urged to raise UK defence spending by a key eastern European ally. Estonia, which borders Russia, has hosted British troops on rotation for years. Its foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu told the BBC it was "vital" all Nato countries spend 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. Mr Sunak has not matched a pledge, set by predecessor Liz Truss, to meet that target by 2030. The new prime minister, who replaced Ms Truss in Downing Street this week, has previously described such targets as "arbitrary". However, he also said he believed in "investing in our armed forces" during his campaign to be Tory leader over the summer. The UK currently spends just over 2% of GDP - a measure of the...

Three men have been convicted for supporting a plot to kidnap the governor of the US state of Michigan. A jury found Joseph Morrison, 28, his father-in-law Pete Musico, 44, and Paul Bellar, 23, guilty of gang membership, firearms violations and providing material to support terrorism. The militiamen face up to 20 years in prison. They are among 13 men who were arrested in October 2020 for the plot to kidnap Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Prosecutors said the men, who are members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, targeted Ms Whitmer because of the Covid-19 restrictions she imposed early in the pandemic. They planned to take her at gunpoint to stand "trial" on treason charges and hoped the abduction would start...

Deep inside the Arctic Circle, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is home to the world's northernmost permanent settlement, Longyearbyen, which is estimated to be heating at six times the global average. So what is being done to save it? Svalbard's church is a blood-red wooden building with bright white trim - the most northerly place of worship in the world. Its priest, Siv Limstrand, has been here for only three years but is shocked by the impact of climate change she has witnessed in that time. "Every Sunday when we gather for worship, a part of our intercessions is always about climate change and its threats," explains Limstrand. "We know that the clock is ticking." Image caption, Siv Limstrand Life on Svalbard feels about ...