NEWS WITHOUT BORDERS
theSun ONMONDAY | MAY 10, 2010
Flights
cancelled
BEEFATALITIESMOUNT
THE
recent trend of bees dying in great numbers over
the winter continued this season with nearly 34%of man-
aged American honeybee colonies dying off from last
October to April. Beekeepers said the deaths were
mainly due to badweather, starvation and because some
bees were already weak before winter set in. Some
apiaries said a portion of the deaths were due to the
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which has devastated
hives across the United States and Canada over the past
few years. The cause of CCD is still unknown. The latest
fatalities compare to a 29% loss during the previous
winter and a nearly 36% loss during the winter of 2007-
2008, the Apiary Inspectors of America and the Agricul-
tural Research Service say. Researchers warn such losses
are not economically sustainable for beekeepers.
DWINDLINGSHRINE
LARGE
stretches of the famed Jordan River, in which
Jesus is said to have been baptised, may have no water
left for pilgrims to immerse in by next year, according to
a report by Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian scientists.
Water diversion far upstream over the past five decades
has reduced the once roaring waterway to a mere
trickle in some places. What was once the narrowest
stretch of the river has now become its widest. Despite
efforts by Jordan and Israel to curb the flow of pollution
into the biblical river, raw sewage and chemicals from
agricultural runoff are now about the only thing flowing
into it. The report says that if no wastewater were to
enter the lower Jordan River, it would entirely dry up.
Visiting Christians are discouraged from re-enacting or
conducting baptisms there because of the current level
of contamination.
UGANDANMONKEYCULL
THE
plan to kill monkeys on a group of islands in the Ugan-
dan portion of Lake Victoria has brought outrage from
conservation and environmental groups. The Ssese Islands
are a popular tourist attraction because there are more
monkeys there than humans. But farmers say their tradi-
tional methods of scaring off the primates no longer work.
Local official David Balironda said that there is a bounty of
one dollar for each tail of a dead monkey brought in. Local
member of parliament RuthNvumetta said that themonkeys
have become more troublesome because their forest habi-
tats have been cut down to expand lucrative palm planta-
tions.
LATINRUMBLINGS
GUATEMALAN
officials restricted air traffic over the coun-
try because of ash clouds that suddenly began to spew from
two separate volcanoes. An eruption of Santiaguitoproduced
a column of volcanic debris that soared more than 8,100m
into the Central American skies. Disaster officials said falling
ash damaged local crops but caused no human injuries. The
eruption was followed by renewed activity within Fuego
volcano, locatednear Guatemala’s colonial capital of Antigua.
A third active volcano, Pacaya, was releasing gas.
EARTHQUAKES
A SHARP
quake centred near the Peru-
Chile border toppled
power poles in the
Peruvian city of
Tacna. While there
were no immediate
reports of injuries
or
fatalities,
r e s i d e n t s
across the
region
f l e d
o u t d o o r s
during the
shaking.
• Earth move-
ments were also felt in central Chile,
Haiti, the NorthernMariana Islands,
Taiwan, western Japan, western
Sumatra and southern Utah.
LIGHT POLLUTION
A GROUP
formed to preserve the
character of England’s countryside
is working to limit the expansion of
what it calls unnecessary light
sources that pollute the night sky.
The Campaign to Protect Rural
England (CPRE) says its survey of
1,745 people conducted with the
BritishAstronomical Association shows
that 50% percent of the respondents
say their sleep has been disrupted by
nighttime light sources. – Universal Press
Syndicate
EARTHREPORT
WEEK ENDINGMAY 7
> Icelandic ash clouddisrupts air
traffic in Spain, Portugal andFrance
09
LISBON
: Hundreds of flights at airports fromLisbon to
Munichwere cancelled yesterday and some European
airspace was closed because of a volcanic ash cloud from
Iceland that caused air travel chaos last month.
All flights to the city of Porto in northern Portugal and the
Azores were suspended, with normal operations expected to
resume by 0600GMT today, airport officials there said.
In all more than 200 flights were grounded in Portugal,
including 71 at Lisbon’s airport, where Pope Benedict XVI is
due to arrive tomorrow for a four-day visit to the country.
The Vatican said yesterday the pontiff’s tripwas still on
schedule despite the air traffic disruptions.
“At the present time, we expect no change to the
programme” of the pope’s visit, Vatican spokesman Father
Federico Lombardi told AFP.
The volcanic ash cloud’s unwelcome return affected air
travel across much of southern Europe, especially in France
and Italy, and extended into Austria andGermany.
The airspace around the southernGerman city of Munich
was closed at 1300GMT, cancelling flights there and at other
airports including Stuttgart, authorities said.
“Due to the high level of contamination fromvolcanic ash,
there have been no flights taking off or landing at Munich
airport,” said the DFS air safety agency, adding themeasures
would be in force “until further notice.”
Neighbouring Austria has partially closed its airspace until
today, hampering traffic at airports inVienna, Innsbruck, Linz
and Salzburg, the air authority Austro Control said.
The coordinator of air traffic control across Europe said it
expected about 24,500 flights to take place yesterday, around
500 less than the average for this time of year.
Eurocontrol added that “transatlantic flights continue to be
affected by the ash cloud”, withmany suffering delays as they
skirt the edges of the volcanic plume.
Authorities reopened Italy’s skies in the north to air traffic
at 1400GMT after shutting down its airspace earlier for about
six hours as the ash cloud hovered over the peninsula,
cancelling nearly 300 flights at Milan airports.
On Croatia’s Adriatic coast the ash cloud forced officials to
close airports at Split and Zadar at 1200GMT.
In France, the airspace remained open yesterday but at
least 70 flights bound for southern Europe were grounded at
airports in Paris, Lyon, andNice, the nearest international
airport to Cannes which is to host its flagship international
film festival in three days’ time.
The Frenchweather service warned that the volcanic ash
cloud could drift over southern France today and that it could
continue to affect Europe’s skies for several months. – AFP