Oil-rich Norway may divest from fossil fuels

Google – AFP, 28 February 2014

A Greenpeace activist in a polar bear costume protests outside Norwegian

 company Statoil's office in Moscow on April 25, 2013 against its plans to drill 

in the Arctic (AFP, Yuri Kadobnov)

Oslo — Oil-rich Norway said Friday in an ironic twist that it would consider pulling its enormous state oil fund out of overseas investments in fossil fuels.

Norway, where oil revenue accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy, has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, which has invested the nation's oil wealth in a range of stocks, bonds and other vehicles -- including major oil and gas companies.

An independent panel of experts will report back to parliament in 2015 on the likely consequences of the fund -- which is worth almost $840 billion (610 billion euros) -- divesting from coal, oil and gas businesses, the rightwing ruling coalition said Friday.

It was not clear whether any pull-out would affect all fossil fuel extraction companies, or whether it would also include power companies.

"It is important to look at this issue from every angle before going ahead with changes," said Svein Flaatten, finance spokesman for the conservative party.

Norway's Government Pension Fund, as it is officially known, owns about 1.3 percent of global market capitalisation.

The world's largest natural gas platform Aasgard-B being towed on April 17, 2000

 from Kvaerner Rosenberg Shipyard near Stavanger on the first stage of its journey

to its North Sea destination (Scanpix/AFP, Alf Ove Hansen)

Its top 10 stock holdings include almost 29 billion kroner ($4.8 billion, 3.5 billion euros) in Anglo-Dutch multinational Shell, 22.1 billion kroner in BG and 20.2 billion kroner in BP.

Despite its misleading name, the fund is in fact intended to shore up the Scandinavian nation's welfare state into the future.

In December the opposition Labour Party first sparked a debate on the fund going greener when it proposed selling off its investments in "dirty" coal-based energy.

Several financial experts have claimed that the "oil fund", as it is commonly called, is doubly exposed to investment risks.

A price drop in the fossil fuel sector would mean less state money poured into the fund and also lower returns on the stock market, as oil and gas account for 8.4 percent of the fund's stock holdings.

A large proportion of state revenue in Norway is derived from oil and gas production, and the state also owns a coal mining operation on the Arctic Svalbard archipelago.

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"Connecting The Dots" - Feb 1, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New

Green energy revolution in the Gulf?
Solar power sparks innovation in oil-rich Qatar
Saudi Arabia reveals plans to be powered entirely by renewable energy

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version) 

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much….”

"2013 - What Now ?" – Jan 6, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… New ideas are things you never thought of. These ideas will be given to you so you will have answers to the most profound questions that your societies have had since you were born. Inventions will bring clean water to every Human on the planet, cheaply and everywhere. Inventions will give you power, cheaply and everywhere. These ideas will wipe out all of the reasons you now have for pollution, and when you look back on it, you'll go, "This solution was always there. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't we do this sooner?" Because it wasn't time and you were not ready. You hadn't planted the seeds and you were still battling the old energy, deciding whether you were going to terminate yourselves before 2012. Now you didn't…. and now you didn't.

It's funny, what you ponder about, and what your sociologists consider the "great current problems of mankind", for your new ideas will simply eliminate the very concepts of the questions just as they did in the past. Do you remember? Two hundred years ago, the predictions of sociologists said that you would run out of food, since there wasn't enough land to sustain a greater population. Then you discovered crop rotation and fertilizer. Suddenly, each plot of land could produce many times what it could before. Do you remember the predictions that you would run out of wood to heat your homes? Probably not. That was before electricity. It goes on and on.

So today's puzzles are just as quaint, as you will see. (1)How do you strengthen the power grids of your great nations so that they are not vulnerable to failure or don't require massive infrastructure improvement expenditures? Because cold is coming, and you are going to need more power. (2) What can you do about pollution? (3) What about world overpopulation? Some experts will tell you that a pandemic will be the answer; nature [Gaia] will kill off about one-third of the earth's population. The best minds of the century ponder these puzzles and tell you that you are headed for real problems. You have heard these things all your life.

Let me ask you this. (1) What if you could eliminate the power grid altogether? You can and will. (2) What if pollution-creating sources simply go away, due to new ideas and invention, and the environment starts to self-correct? (3) Overpopulation? You assume that humanity will continue to have children at an exponential rate since they are stupid and can't help themselves. This, dear ones, is a consciousness and education issue, and that is going to change. Imagine a zero growth attribute of many countries - something that will be common. Did you notice that some of your children today are actually starting to ponder if they should have any children at all? What a concept! ….”

Greek shipping tycoons threaten to set sail over tax privileges

Austerity-hit government has called an end to preferential tax treatment for industry built by tycoons including Aristotle Onassis

The Guardian, Helena Smith in Athens, Wednesday 26 February 2014

Greek shipowners have reacted with anger over a move to scrap preferential
tax rates for their industry. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

They are some of the richest people in Greece, the owners of the world's largest commercial fleet with bank accounts and property portfolios that, even by the standards of the super-rich, elicit awe. But in the high-risk business of trading the high seas, Greek ship-owners – in line with international maritime tradition – have also been granted special tax status on their vessels.

This week, the cash-strapped government in Athens insisted the preferential treatment – enshrined in the Greek constitution and respected by every government since the 1940s – was finally over. And shipowners are up in arms.

As it tries to steer Greece out of its worst recession on record, prime minister Antonis Samaras' fragile two-party coalition has suddenly found itself at war with the influential plutocrats who control one of the few thriving sectors of the Greek economy.

The imposition of extra taxes amounted to nothing less than a "constitutional deviation" warned Theodore Veniamis, the president of the Union of Greek Shipowners. "A negative climate has been created for any type of business investment in Greece," he said.

Samaras' conservative-dominated alliance rushed legislation through parliament, imposing a triple tax on ships managed out of Greece, as the 300-seat House held its last session before the Christmas break in December.

This week, the country's merchant marine minister said that the levy was an emergency measure that would last no longer than the next three years.

But while ordinary Greeks have been hit by a barrage of taxes since the debt-stricken nation was forced to accept international aid to avert bankruptcy, the country's famously secretive shipping community is digging in its heels.

The new tax law overturned a previous accord, signed after several months of talks last year, that had allowed ship-owners to make voluntary tax payments to help the nation's economic recovery. Most of the shipping companies run out of Athens' port of Piraeus – the industry's base in Greece – had agreed to back the voluntary scheme.

But with unemployment at a record 28%, the highest in the European Union, and worsening social and economic marginalisation, the legislation has won praise. In its fourth year of bailout funds from the EU and International Monetary Fund, Greece faces fiscal shortfalls this year and next. Samaras has refused to take further unpopular spending cuts to plug the gap.

In a rare display of concord with the government, the shadow minister for development in the radical left main opposition Syriza party told the Guardian: "It's a positive step."

Yet the strength of reaction from shippers appears to have taken the Samaras administration aback. The industry, which provides up to 200,000 jobs and sustains close to 500,000, has warned that the new tax regime could force it to move elsewhere – potentially wreaking havoc on the economy.

"The fear is that the lack of trust between the maritime community and our legislators may lead to an exodus from the Greek flag and perhaps Greece itself," warned Haralambos Fafalios, who chairs the London-based Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee.

As a pillar of the Greek economy, shipping rivals tourism in attracting foreign exchange: experts estimate it has brought over ¤140bn (£115bn) into the country in the past decade alone.

"The shipping industry is a significant contributor to Greece in terms of jobs, cash and economic activity, and it stands to lose all three if it changes the regime for attracting shipping companies to the country," said Vassilis Antoniades, managing director of the Boston Consulting Group, which recently conducted an in-depth study into the impact of shipping on the Greek economy. "To a great degree the Greek economy thrives on the shipping industry."

Since the 1960s, shipping tycoons, such as Aristotle Onassis (pictured), have established airlines, shipyards, refineries and hotels in Greece. Indicative of their pre-eminent role in a sector now worth about $660bn (£400bn), this year Greek shipowners placed a record number of orders to build new vessels in shipyards around the world, outstripping any of their global competitors.

With earnings from shipping accounting for around 7% of GDP, fears are growing that the government's step could ultimately be counter-productive – even if, in poverty-stricken Greece, many also accept that may also seem rampantly unfair.

"There are alternatives with other countries offering competitive tax regimes. People will simply register their ships elsewhere," said shipping expert David Glass, who said that the sector had been unfairly reviled. "Shipowners give a lot to this country. They've built half the hospitals on the islands. They're the ones building schools and handing out over 50,000 meals to the needy every month. People forget that."

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

".... The Illuminati

One more. "Kryon, what about the Illuminati?" OK, I'll tell you, for these things are already known by many.

Everything you thought about the Illuminati of the past is correct. This was not conspiracy, but fact. However, in the light of what I just said above, it could not sustain itself in an energy where everyone talks to everyone, and has since gone dormant.

The Illuminati was based in Greece, and it started by controlling the most potent economic attribute that could manipulate the strings of commerce on the earth - shipping. Once they had control of shipping, what followed was financial markets. This, then, worked its way to insurance, world stock markets and banking. This was prevalent for decades, right up to the mid '80s.

I have a question for the elders in the room. Look back in your lifetime, dear ones. What was the stock market like when you were younger? If you remember, you will say it had incremental changes up and down, except for occasional major shifts - which, by the way, were also controlled. It was steady, up or down. It didn't vacillate wildly, with hundreds of point-shifts from month to month. It never did. That's what a controlled market looks like. Now take a look at your current stock market. Does it look controlled? It is not! It is free-wheeling and it can go wherever it is driven by normal financial activity.

This should tell you something, dear ones. The Illuminati is no longer in control. It lost in banking, in tobacco, and it's about to lose in big pharma and insurance because awareness lets people know what is controlled and what is not. Awareness of truth will trump any other energy, and integrity will win some major battles.

So, did the Illuminate die? No. They simply lost their method of control.

The Future of the Illuminati

Now, I want to tell you something that you didn't expect and something I've reported only one other time. What about all of the money that the Illuminati has? There are trillions and trillions of euro in banks, under their control, waiting. What are they going to do with it and where are they going to use it? It's still here. They're waiting.

This group is waiting for something to happen that they know is going to happen, for they see it coming as much as I do. However, I would like to tell you something that they don't expect. With awareness comes generational shift. Those in charge of this money will not always be elders. The indigos eventually will have it.

They are waiting for something to happen in Africa - the building of a new civilization, a continent that has nothing to unlearn. Once Africa is cured, once it's ready, a new civilization can be created from the ground up. Africans will be ready to learn everything about building a foundation for the most advanced civilization ever and will do it with the most modern and inventive systems available. Eventually, this new continent will even beat the economics of China.

This is the prediction and always has been, and the Illuminati's money will fund it. Did I say the Illuminati will fund it? [Kryon laugh]The Illuminati's money will fund it, but there is a difference from the past, dear ones. The ones who inherit the positions in the Illuminati will be a different consciousness. Listen, they are not suddenly going to be the ones who have the good of everyone in their hearts - hardly. They want to make money, but what they will see instead is a way to make a great deal of money through this investment. In the process, it will automatically help hundreds of thousands, and they will be at the beginning, the foundation, that builds the new Africa. The new African states of unification eventually will create a continent stronger than any of the others, and it will have one currency. The resources alone will dwarf anything in the world.

"Wow, Kryon, how long is that going to take?"

The Humans in the room control that and those listening later and reading. When you leave this room, what are you going to do? Go home, report this, rub your hands together, and wait for it to happen? It won't. For the Humans in the room and the old souls hearing and reading have got work to do, and I've told you this before. You've got work to do.

There's an alliance that you're going to have to create with one another and with another group - the young people of Earth. The youth of this earth are changing the way things work. Can you see it? You're not supposed to sit around and watch them either, because they need you, old soul.

It's time for you to align with the indigos and the concepts of the youth of the planet. Do not think for a moment that their age shows their wisdom. These two attributes are not commensurate with one another; they're not linear. These young people may be older souls than you are! Don't think that because they've got technology that you don't understand that you can't be one with them. Their technology is social networking, the very thing we are talking about, where everyone can talk to everyone. The new consciousness on the planet starts in two areas - the children and the old souls. ..."

Sea Shepherd challenges shark kill policy in Australia

DutchNews.nl, (AFP), 26 February 2014

A small group of people take part in an anti-shark cull protest coinciding

with the visit to South Africa of a Western Australian politician, on February 5,

2014, in Cape Town (AFP/File, Rodger Bosch)

Sydney — Militant environmental group Sea Shepherd on Wednesday said it is seeking a Supreme Court injunction to halt a controversial shark culling policy in Western Australia.

The group, best known for battling Japanese whalers in the Antarctic, has teamed up with Sharon Burden, the mother of a shark attack victim, to apply for a judicial review of the decision, claiming it involves the unlawful killing of a protected species.

"Sea Shepherd Australia believes that the tender process was unlawful, that the WA state government has been acting unlawfully, that the taking and killing of protected animals was illegal," it said in a statement.

"The law contemplates some sort of process being in place to protect these protected animals and that process has been scotched."

The controversial policy to catch and kill sharks off popular west coast beaches was given the green light in January after six fatal attacks in the past two years.

It is aimed at reducing the risks to water users and allows baited drum lines with hooks designed to capture large sharks to be set one kilometre (0.62 miles) offshore at busy Western Australian beaches for a trial period until April 30.

A dead juvenile great white shark that was killed in Sussex Inlet, south of

Sydney, in January 2012 is shown in this New South Wales Department of

 Primary Industries photo (NSW Dept of Primary Industries/AFP/File,

NSW Dept of Primary Industries)

Any shark longer than three metres (10 feet) snagged by the lines and deemed to be a threat -- including great white, bull and tiger sharks -- is being destroyed.

Sixty-six sharks were caught in the first three weeks, according to the West Australian newspaper, which Wednesday said there were fears among fisheries officers that sharks impaled on hooks were attracting bigger sharks to coastal areas.

The cull move has angered conservationists with rallies held at sites around the country over the past few weeks. Opponents claim the trial flies in the face of international obligations to protect the great white shark.

"We are seeking an injunction to remove the drum lines immediately on the basis that a judicial review needs to be conducted as to the way the shark mitigation programme was rolled out," Sea Shepherd said.

Sharks are common in Australian waters and experts say attacks are increasing in line with population growth and the popularity of water sports.

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Western Australia shark cull condemned as futile after attacks fall

Indian navy chief resigns after submarine accident: govt

Google – AFP, 26 February 2014

A Indian kilo-class submarine is anchored off the shore of Mumbai, on

February 14, 2001 (AFP/File, Sebastian D'souza)

New Delhi — India's navy chief resigned on Wednesday after a submarine accident off the coast of Mumbai saw two sailors missing and another seven injured, the defence ministry said.

"Taking moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents which have taken place during the past few months, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi today resigned," a ministry statement said.

The seven sailors suffered breathing problems after trying to contain the smoke which filled the living quarters of the INS Sindhuratna during a training exercise, according to the navy.

Another two crew members have not yet been found on the Russian-built submarine, which was still seaworthy after the incident and was returning to port in Mumbai, the statement said.

The incident comes after 18 naval crew were killed in August last year when the fully-armed Russian-built INS Sindhurakshak exploded in flames and sank in a military shipyard in Mumbai.

The disaster was thought to be the Indian Navy's worst since the sinking of a frigate by a Pakistani submarine during a war with its neighbour in 1971.

Last month another submarine, INS Sindhughosh ran aground while returning to Mumbai harbour. No loss of life or damage was reported.

Australia returns asylum-seekers to Indonesia in lifeboat

Google – AFP, 25 February 2014

File photo taken on Februay 8, 2014 shows a now-empty Australian lifeboat,

 which carried asylum seekers turned back by the Australian navy, docked at

western Java island (AFP/File, Timur Matahari)

Cilacap — A lifeboat carrying asylum-seekers has washed up on Indonesia's main Java island, with those on board saying Australian authorities transferred them to the vessel and turned it around, officials said Tuesday.

It was the latest asylum-seeker turn-back by Canberra under its military-led operation aimed at stopping an influx of would-be refugees who board rickety boats in Indonesia and make the perilous sea crossing to Australia.

It was the second occasion this month that one of the orange, hard-hulled boats purchased by the Australian navy has washed up on Java. The asylum-seekers on the first occasion also reportedly claimed the Australians had turned them around.

In the latest incident 26 asylum-seekers and five Indonesian crew were detained by Indonesian authorities at Karangjambe beach on Java's south coast Monday, local navy officer Suwarto told AFP.

The boat was carrying would-be refugees from countries including Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Egypt, said Suwarto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"The orange lifeboat which originated from Australia... became stranded on a coral reef near the beach," he said, adding it appeared to have sprung a leak.

Local immigration official Imam Prawira added: "The migrants told us Australian authorities had put them into the lifeboat and turned them around." It was not clear how close they were to Australia when they were turned around.

Authorities in the Kebumen district of Central Java province also found a television, navigation equipment, batteries, floats and food in the boat, Suwarto said.

The issue of asylum-seekers has strained relations between Australia and Indonesia, which were already under pressure due to a row over spying, with Jakarta criticising Canberra's hardline policies.

Ties were further soured when Canberra apologised to Jakarta for breaching Indonesian waters during its people-smuggling crackdown.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison last month confirmed for the first time that boats were being turned around as part of the government's military-led Operation Sovereign Borders.

Under the operation, asylum-seekers can also be turned round in their original vessels if it is safe to do so.

No boats have made it to Australia since December 19 -- the first time in six years that January has passed without a single boat arrival.

Hundreds of asylum-seekers have died making the dangerous sea voyage from Indonesia to Australia in recent years.

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Live shark washes up on Wadden island

DutchNews.nl, Monday 24 February 2014

A Starry smooth-hound shark has been washed up alive on the Wadden
Sea island of Vlieland.

A Starry smooth-hound shark has been washed up alive on the Wadden Sea island of Vlieland.

The shark was found at the weekend and taken to the Noordwester nature centre after efforts to release it back into the North Sea failed. The shark has now has been placed in a tank for monitoring.

The shark, just over one metre long, is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is the biggest live shark ever to wash up on the Dutch coast.

Experts from the Noordwester centre will on Tuesday talk to officials from the Dolphinarium in Harderwijk about what to do next. The shark is too big to remain in the Noordwester tank, Nos television reports.

UN urges nations to take in 100,000 Syrian refugees

Google – AFP, 21 February 2014

Syrian refugees pictured in a refugee camp near the city of Marea, on the 

outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on February 19, 2014 

(Mohammed Al-Khatieb/AFP/File, Mohammed Al-Khatieb)

Genève — The UN refugee agency on Friday urged countries outside the Middle East to open their doors to 100,000 Syrians who need to find a haven outside their conflict-hit region.

The call from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees follows an earlier appeal to developed countries to grant a new home to 30,000 of the most vulnerable Syrians driven from their country.

With no sign of an end to the brutal three-year conflict between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces, tens of thousands more will need help in the near future, it said.

"UNHCR anticipates that in the coming years, there will be increasing numbers of vulnerable Syrian refugees who will be in need of resettlement, relocation, or other forms of humanitarian admission," said spokesman Dan McNorton.

"We appeal to the international community to continue providing longer-term solutions for Syrian refugees who are most urgently in need," he told reporters.

The agency said it aimed to find a haven for the 100,000 new refugees during 2015 and 2016.

But it is still working to place the initial 30,000 before the end of this year.

Twenty countries have so offered more than 18,800 slots for resettlement or a long-term temporary permit.

Germany has done the most to shoulder the load, agreeing to take in 10,000 on a federal programme and 1,500 under schemes in individual states.

Canada has pledged 1,300, Sweden 1,200, Norway 1,000, and countries including Australia, Austria, Finland and France have agreed to take in 500 each.

UNHCR said it was likely to reach the total of 30,000 thanks to an open-ended number of slots proposed by the United States, already the world's top destination for refugee resettlement.

The figures are a shadow of the number of Syrian refugees in the Middle East.

All told, there are some 2.4 million Syrians spread across the region.

According to UNCHR figures, there are some 932,000 in Lebanon, 613,000 in Turkey, 574,000 in Jordan, 223,000 in Iraq, and 134,000 in Egypt.

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Indonesia Launches World’s Biggest Manta Sanctuary

Jakarta Globe – AFP, February 21, 2014

Environmentalists on Feb. 20 welcomed the creation of the 46,000-square-kilometre
 protection zone in Raja Ampat, an area at risk from both overfishing and climate
change. (AFP Photo)

Indonesia on Friday became home to the world’s biggest manta ray sanctuary covering millions of square kilometres, as it seeks to protect the huge winged fish and draw more tourists to the sprawling archipelago.

New legislation gives full protection to the creatures across all the waters surrounding Southeast Asia’s biggest country, which for years has been the world’s largest shark and ray fishery.

Protection group Conservation International hailed the “bold” move and said it was influenced by a recent government-backed review that showed a single manta ray was worth one million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifetime.

This compares to between $40 and $500 if caught and killed, the group said.

Many foreign tourists come to Indonesia every year to dive in some of the world’s most biodiverse waters and manta rays are a favorite sight.

The gentle beasts have wingspans up to 25 feet, which they flap to propel themselves through the water.

“Indonesia now has the second-largest manta ray tourism industry in the world, with an estimated annual turnover of $15 million,” said Agus Dermawan, a senior official from the ministry of marine affairs and fisheries.

“Given the huge area of reefs and islands in our country, if managed properly, Indonesia could become the top manta tourism destination on the planet.”

Indonesia is one of the few places in the world where tourists can easily see both species of manta rays, the oceanic and reef varieties. The new legislation protects both.

Taking tourists out to view rays and other creatures provides livelihoods for many people working in popular dive spots across Indonesia, such as Raja Ampat off the northwest tip of New Guinea island and around the resort island of Bali.

In recent years their numbers of rays have declined rapidly, however, due to voracious demand in China for their body parts for use in traditional medicine.

The new legislation protects manta rays within Indonesia’s 5.8 million square kilometres of ocean, banning fishing of the rays and their export.

It came a year after the local government in Raja Ampat announced the creation of a 46,000-square-kilometre shark and ray sanctuary.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies both species of manta ray as vulnerable.

Agence France-Presse

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Giant manta ray sanctuary declared by Indonesia

Laos dam plan threatens existence of rare dolphin

Google – AFP, 20 February 2014

A dolphin is seen swimming in the Mekong River, in Kratie province, some 300 km

northeast of Phnom Penh, on March 24, 2012 (WWF-Cambodia/AFP/File, Gerry Ryan)

Phnom Penh — A dam which Laos plans to build across the Mekong River could wipe out critically endangered dolphins in downstream Cambodia, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned on Thursday.

If built, the controversial Don Sahong dam in southern Laos would be just a kilometre upstream of the main stretch of water favoured by the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin, WWF said in a statement.

With an estimated 85 adults, Cambodia hosts one of the largest populations of the species -- which is recognisable by its bulging forehead and distinctive blunt beak.

Conservationists have called for the suspension of the hydropower scheme, saying any restriction of the waterway will curb the number of fish swimming downstream and cut off the dolphins' main food source.

"If the Don Sahong dam is built, it will lead to the extinction of Mekong (Irrawaddy) dolphins," Chhith Sam Ath, WWF-Cambodia's country director, told reporters.

"Dolphins are very important for Cambodia. They attract tourists, they are a national treasure."

The dolphins face several other threats from the dam, the conservation group added, explaining explosives used in its construction could damage their highly sensitive hearing which they use to navigate.

The likely worsening in water quality, an increase in boats using the river and wider habitat degradation would further pressure the population, WWF said in a statement.

A man is seen handling a net tangled on the tail of a dead dolphin, along the Mekong

 river, in Kratie province, some 300 km northeast of Phnom Penh, on December 16,

2005 (WWF Cambodia/WWF Canon/AFP/File)

Landlocked communist Laos agreed in January to hold further consultations with neighbouring countries before it starts building the dam.

Apart from the threat to the dolphins, wider fears for the livelihoods of tens of thousands of downstream fishermen and warnings of major environmental damage have also been raised.

WWF has urged Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to call for a moratorium on the dam at the Mekong River Commission's summit in April.

The Cambodian government in 2012 approved a dolphin protection zone in a 180-kilometre-long (110 mile) river stretch from eastern Kratie to the border with Laos.

Freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins exist in three river systems in Southeast Asia, with Cambodia hosting the largest population.

Asylum seeker dies at Australian Papua New Guinea detention camp

Deutsche Welle, 18 February 2014

One person has been killed in violence that followed the escape of asylum seekers from an Australian offshore immigration detention center in Papua New Guinea. Detainees have mounted a series of protests in recent weeks.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday that one person had died and at least 77 people had been injured in violence at the detention center on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

Morrison said the deceased had received a head injury when detainees broke out of the camp through a perimeter fence late on Monday. Clashes were said to have erupted once the asylum seekers were clear of the camp, with one escapee also sustaining a gun shot.

"This is a tragedy but this was a very dangerous situation where people decide to protest in a very violent way and to take themselves outside the centre and place themselves at great risk," Morrison said in a statement. The detainees were said to have clashed with Papua New Guinea police.

The incident on Monday evening followed similar scenes a day earlier, when 19 detainees were injured and a further eight arrested. Trouble had arisen initially after detainees were told they would be settled either in Papua New Guinea or returned to their homeland.

The asylum seekers had been told they would not be accepted by Australia, nor offered any "third-country option."

Manus is one of two of Australia's offshore immigration detention centers intended to house those arriving principally from Indonesia, the other one being on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot's government has come under mounting criticism for its tough stance on immigration, and the treatment of asylum seekers who are processed at facilities away from the Australian mainland.

Last month, detainees at an immigration detention center in Australian territory of Christmas Island sewed their lips together as part of a hunger strike to protest about conditions.

rc/jr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

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Western Australia shark cull condemned as futile after attacks fall

US researcher slams ‘revenge killings’ after report shows Australia had below-average number of attacks in 2013

theguardian.com, Australian Associated Press, Tuesday 18 February 2014

The shark cull in Western Australia has been labelled ‘archaic’. Photograph: AAP

Western Australia’s shark cull has been condemned as futile by international experts as it emerged that attacks in Australia have fallen to their lowest level in five years.

There were 10 shark attacks in Australian waters in 2013 – the lowest annual total since nine in 2008 and lower than the 12.3 average attacks per year during the past 10 years (2003-2012), according to researchers at the University of Florida.

Australia’s two fatalities in 2013 are in line with its 1.4 yearly average over the same time period.

George Burgess, of the university’s International Shark Attack File, who also revealed that Florida led the world in shark attacks last year with 23, said WA’s controversial shark cull would not result in fewer attacks.

“Even if one ignores that an endangered species is involved, the archaic reaction can only be characterised as revenge killings,” Burgess said.

“Although infrequent, shark attacks are high-profile events that excite the emotions of human beings and often impact a community.

“Killing 10 sharks after a death is not the answer as it does not result in reduced attacks.’’

His comments came as more details emerged about the WA cull. Seventeen tiger sharks have been caught on drum lines and killed, the state’s Department of Fisheries said. Nine sharks have also been found dead on the drum lines.

In total, 66 sharks have been caught – 23 in the south-west and 43 in the metropolitan area. Sixty-three were tiger sharks, two were mako and one was a blacktip.

A local contractor has disposed of 13 tiger sharks more than three metres in length and has released six smaller sharks since January 25.

Department crews have disposed of four tiger sharks since February 1 and released 34, of which 28 were tagged to assist with research and shark tracking.

Under the policy, bull, tiger and great white sharks longer than three metres that are caught on drum lines within one kilometre of parts of the WA coast are being shot dead and discarded at sea.

The WA fisheries minister, Ken Baston, said results showed the methods were working well. “We have caught and destroyed a number of large sharks within one kilometre of selected beaches at a time of year when our beaches are crowded,” he said.

The ISAF acknowledged that Western Australia, with six deaths in the past four years, remained a “shark-attack hot spot”.

Overall, in 2013 the world experienced the lowest number of shark attacks since 2009, although last year’s 10 fatalities were above average.

The US had the most attacks, 47, but it was lower than its 2012 total of 54.

Thousands have gathered on Manly beach in Sydney to protest against WA's
shark culling policy. Source: AAP

Related Article:

Manly protesters want shark cull scrapped