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Alien species taking over at ‘unprecedented rate’ causing ‘extinction threat’ | World | News
Scientists have claimed that invasive alien species are taking over at an unprecedented rate, potentially causing an extinction threat to both animals and humans.
They said their cost to the world economy was estimated to be around £336billion a year, a figure four times higher than it was in the 1970s.
They said the latest horrifying figure was just the “tip of the iceberg”, but that there was still time to act.
For hundreds of years animals, plants, and organisms have been introduced to other ecosystems.
While not all of these have been invasive, the boom in travel in the 20th and 21st centuries means that more invasive species are taking over.
Of the 37,000 alien species that have been documented by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) around 3,500 have become invasive.
These aliens are now present on every continent on Earth, including Antarctica.
Furthermore, they are considered one of the main causes of biodiversity loss alongside pollution, climate change, and direct exploitation.
The scientists behind the report estimate that invasive species are contributing to 60 percent of global extinctions. Governments around the planet have now committed to protecting 30 percent of the Earth’s land and sea for nature by 2030.
Speaking to PA about the situation, Professor Helen Roy, of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said: “We really believe that this assessment is one of hope.
“There are things that people can do to tackle the threat of invasive alien species.
“They can be mitigated, prevented, through effective management and we really stress that the most important management is prevention, preventing the species from reaching new areas in the first place.
“But if they do reach new areas, then being prepared and having early detection and rapid response is absolutely critical.”
Professor Roy and other scientists have warned members of the public to be on the lookout for invasive species such as the Asian hornet so they can be eradicated.
She said: “We are talking in this particular context, not about those range-expanding species that are native, but about invasive alien species that are being moved by humans at really unprecedented rates and then we’re mixing them together in different ways.
“Of course, extinction is such an important thing to be considering, but also it’s really important to think about the extinction of interactions when one species is displacing another or reducing its numbers to such very low abundance.
“We are causing ecological changes that perhaps will lead to really quite unpredictable outcomes in terms of the functioning of these ecosystems and the benefits we receive from them.”
The first photos of the late tech mogul Mike Lynch’s superyacht being raised from the depths have surfaced. The main boom and anchor from the Bayesian were retrieved from the ocean floor following the devastating sinking of the ship off the coast of Sicily, Italy, in August last year.
Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among the seven fatalities when the 56-metre vessel went down. Fifteen individuals, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.
Salvage crews used a diamond cutting wire on the boom, sail and furling gear near the mast, hoisting them onto Hebo Lift 2, a versatile floating barge equipped with diving and remotely-operated underwater vehicle systems, as well as a support tug.
A remote-controlled submersible was then deployed to sever one of the ship’s anchor chains, enabling it to be raised. The recovered pieces will be transported to the nearby town of Termini Imerese, where Italian prosecutors investigating the sinking are based.
Additional specialist equipment needed for the eventual lifting of the Bayesian will be loaded onto the 5,695-gross-tonne Hebo Lift 10, reputed to be one of the most potent maritime cranes in Europe.
Salvage experts from Dutch companies Hebo and SMIT Salvage are ramping up the use of remote-controlled tools following the death of a diver during underwater operations on May 9, reports the Mirror.
Additional equipment and crew are being sourced from across the continent, including an extra remote-controlled submersible to aid in the salvage operation. Efforts have been successful in securing the Bayesian’s tank vents and openings, significantly reducing the risk of pollution during the ongoing operations, with no environmental damage reported so far.
Salvage teams have initiated the process of positioning steel lifting slings and other necessary gear beneath the Bayesian. The next phase involves removing the vessel’s complex rigging, towering 72-metre mast, spreaders, and any remaining sails to ensure a safe lifting operation.
Marcus Cave, representing the British salvage company TMC Marine at the helm of the operation, remarked on Tuesday: “Over the past 10 days, the team has developed alternate methods to undertake certain tasks for this project.
“This will minimise diving activity and increase the use of equipment that is controlled directly from the floating work platforms. Whilst this change will increase the time it will take to complete this project; it will continue to prioritise the safety of those working on this complex lifting and recovery operation.”
Around 70 specialist personnel have converged on the quaint fishing village of Porticello from various parts of Europe to partake in the recovery efforts that kicked off earlier this month. Concurrently, inquest proceedings in the UK are delving into the tragic deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, alongside Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, aged 70, and his wife Judy Bloomer, 71 – all of whom were British nationals.
The other victims of the tragic sinking were American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, along with Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was employed as a chef on the boat. Mr Lynch and his daughter reportedly resided near London, while the Bloomers were based in Sevenoaks, Kent.
The business magnate established software behemoth Autonomy in 1996 and was exonerated in June of the previous year of committing a colossal fraud related to the sale of the company to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The ill-fated boat trip was intended as a celebration of his acquittal in the US case.
Bella May Culley is being held in a women’s prison in Georgia (Image: Facebook)
British teenager Bella May Culley faces a lengthy prison sentence if found guilty of smuggling drugs into Georgia. Ms Culley, 18, from Billingham, County Durham, was arrested after 12kg of cannabis and 2kg of hashish were found in luggage at Tbilisi Airport on May 13. She is sharing a cell with two other inmates at Women’s Penitentiary Number Five. Her dad, Niel Culley, 49, has reportedly been denied permission to visit her since he arrived in Georgia on May 14, according to MailOnline.
A court in Tbilisi heard last week that Ms Culley is pregnant, with authorities carrying out a medical examination to confirm if the claim is true. Her lawyer is reported by Teesside Live as saying Ms Culley was “terrified and confused” by her first time in court, which led to the decision she would exercise her right to remain silent. The case raises a number of unanswered questions, including who Ms Culley was referring to as “Clyde” in a previous comment on social media.
Who is ‘Clyde’?
In a video posted on her TikTok account, Ms Culley reportedly boasted of leading a “Bonnie and Clyde” lifestyle, in reference to the notorious US couple known for their murders, kidnappings and bank robberies in the 1930s.
During a TikTok video uploaded on April 1, she can be heard saying: “Blonde or brunette? Erm how about we get up to criminal activities side by side like Bonnie n Clyde making heavy figures and f***ing on balconies over the world.
“I don’t care if we on the runnnnn baby long as I’m next to uuu.”
The clip doesn’t make clear who is meant by “Clyde”, if anyone at all.
Bella May Culley was backpacking in Asia before she flew to Georgia (Image: Facebook)
Who is ‘Russ’ or ‘Ross’?
There are also questions surrounding the identity of a mysterious man Ms Culley is said to have met in Asia before her arrest.
Her granddad, William Culley, said she spent time in the Philippines with a man called Ross or Russ before travelling to Thailand.
Mr Culley said she went to the Philippines to see a lad there who she used to go out with a couple of years ago but was now working out there.
He said the man was possibly working for his father’s company in the Philippines, but he has since wondered if that was true.
How did Bella May Culley get into this situation?
Ms Culley’s family has denied she was involved in drug smuggling. Her granddad has said she was “sucked into something, somehow”.
He told reporters: “She’s got sucked into something, somehow. She’s not an international drug trafficker. Can she even tell them who’s given her the drugs to take over?
“I bet she [can’t]. These people keep out of the way. It’s all just very strange and at the moment we just don’t have any answers. We don’t know what to think.”
Mr Culley has suggested his granddaughter was taken advantage of during a holiday with friends.
A family friend told The Sun Ms Culley was “completely exploited” after getting mixed up with British drug dealers while backpacking.
They said: “This is totally out of character for her. I know, because she’s a close friend of my daughter. She’s just a normal 18-year-old. She’s not some hardened criminal.”
General Jemal Janashia, former head of Georgia’s national bureau, said he felt sorry for Ms Culley, whom he suggested had been “clearly used and manipulated”.
Who is the father of her unborn baby?
Ms Culley claimed in court that she is pregnant, but the public has not been informed who the father of the unborn child is.
Georgia-based lawyer Mariam Kublashvili told MailOnline she has met with Ms Culley but is not representing her.
Ms Kublashvili told the same publication that Ms Culley requested warm clothing, fresh fruit and tuna during her prison visit.
The tuna request led the legal eagle to believe Ms Culley was experiencing pregnancy cravings. She reportedly was told by Ms Culley that medical tests haven’t been carried out.
Ms Culley also suggested she had met with a doctor but the language barrier meant they couldn’t understand each other.
Was Georgia her intended final destination?
At this stage, it is also unknown whether Ms Culley was travelling to Georgia or was meant to get on a connecting flight to another destination.
Her lawyer is said to have told MailOnline that her client ended up in Georgia without really knowing what she was doing.
The lawyer said that if convicted, then Ms Culley faces a 15 year minimum term to life in prison.
However, Ms Culley’s age and possible pregnancy would be mitigating factors if she were to plead guilty and assist with an investigation.
Did she know what was in the luggage?
This is arguably one of the most important questions of all and one investigators will no doubt be asking Ms Culley.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the drugs found have a street value of £200,000.
When Ms Culley was told about the severity of the alleged crime, her lawyer said she was “visibly shaken”.
China wants to get involved with huge Russian projects in the Arctic, according to one of Vladimir Putin‘s ministers. Energy chief Sergey Tsivilyov said that Chinese firms were exploring the possibility of participating in Russia‘s largest independent gas producer, Novatek’s new liquid natural gas (LNG) projects, according to the TASS news service. The company is currently focused on delivering two major schemes in the Arctic: Arctic LNG 2 and Murmansk LNG. The former is located in northern West Siberia and has a planned capacity of 19.8 million metric tonnes per annum.
The facility has been hit by US sanctions, but has started production at its second train, despite being unable to sell liquefied natural gas from the first train, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Murmansk LNG, meanwhile, is expected to have two lines that will yield 6.8million tonnes per year each. In addition, China, as well as India, are interested in being looped in on the Snezhinka international Arctic station, which is being built on the Yamal Peninsula in north west Siberia.
The project’s website states that it was created on the initiative of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University) and is a “year-round and fully energy autonomous complex based on renewable energy sources and hydrogen energy.”
It adds: “The goal is to test and demonstrate nature-saving technologies of life support, robotics, telecommunications, medicine, biotechnology, new materials, and artificial intelligence solutions.”
The station could become more of a collaborative endeavour between BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, Russia‘s Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunkov hopes, according to reports today.
He said: “In compliance with the Arctic zone development strategy, we have been creating the Snezhinka international research station – an autonomous scientific and educational complex using renewable energy sources.
Chekunkov added: “The project is being implemented by MIPT jointly with the Ministry of Education and Science, Yamal’s government. China and India have demonstrated interest in the project. Therefore, we hope that it may become international, it may be a project of the BRICS countries.”
It comes after Reuters reported that officials from Washington and Moscow have held discussions about the US helping to revive Russian gas sales to the continent, citing eight sources familiar with the talks.
The EU’s REPowerEU Plan aims to wean member states off Russian energy.
Gas imports have so far decreased from 45% in 2021 to 19% in 2024.
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