Health ministry says posters in English outside apartment buildings in Athens were ‘absolutely false’
Greece’s health ministry is seeking police help against hoaxers who tried to scare foreign tourists out of short-term rental apartments in Athens by inventing a bedbug crisis.
A ministry statement said the posters stuck up outside apartment buildings in the city centre, festooned with fake ministry and Athens municipality logos, were “absolutely false”.
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‘The biggest transformation in our country’s history’
Chris Bowen has been talking about Labor’s plans for reducing emissions, but he’s pressed on the fact that the government has been approving new coalmines and gas projects, which add to global emissions.
The way I see this, David, you can enter into a discussion with your international counterparts which we are doing which is us saying to them, “We will continue to be a reliable energy supplier but we want to work with you on your decarbonisation because we have advantages that you don’t have. We can provide renewable energy.” That is an important conversation to have.
Frankly the approach of others is more a slogan than a policy. We are making the biggest transformation in our country’s history and that involves both domestic policies and strong international engagements, as I will be doing over the next couple of weeks and we have been doing all the way through.
It will be treated in the budget statement of risks and liabilities in the normal fashion. But this is the right policy for the right times to ensure emissions come down and reliability goes up.
Continue reading...Authorities working to chemically eradicate three nests after ‘one of world’s worst super pests’ found in South Murwillumbah
Authorities are rushing to contain the spread of fire ants after the invasive species crossed the Queensland border into New South Wales for the first time since the infestation began in 2001.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries confirmed on Saturday that three red imported fire ant nests had been found in South Murwillumbah, 13km from the Queensland border in the state’s north-east.
Continue reading...Bedbugs were almost eradicated via nationwide campaign in 1960s but thanks to lifting of travel restrictions after Covid-19 pandemic they’re back
South Korea’s government has declared war on bedbugs, amid reports that an infestation is causing panic in a country that had practically rid itself of the nocturnal bloodsuckers.
Starting next week, authorities will carry out inspections of “vulnerable” locations – including public bathhouses and lodging facilities – and immediately disinfect places where the bugs are found.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: With Paris under siege by these tiny, blood-sucking terrors, many on the other side of the Channel are wondering if they’re next – and what can be done
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Good morning. Paris is being overrun by bedbugs, at a time when the country is hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to host the 2024 Olympics. The news has alarmed people living in France and those visiting: in a moment of particularly acute panic, the deputy mayor of the French capital declared that “no one is safe”, which certainly intensified the concern.
A bedbug epidemic on the other side of the Channel has unsurprisingly left many people worried that the hordes of insects are about to hop on a direct train to St Pancras International and invade the UK. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said everything is being done to ensure that the problem does not get out of control, though he has acknowledged that it is a “real cause for concern”. Transport for London is disinfecting seats on buses and tubes every day and Khan is also in contact with Eurostar.
Gaza | A massive Israeli military buildup is continuing along Gaza’s border, as the country’s military confirmed the death toll from Saturday’s Hamas attack – the deadliest militant assault in its history – had passed 1,200 and wave after wave of airstrikes hit the territory.
Labour | Keir Starmer has made a direct appeal for “despairing” Conservative voters to back Labour at the next election, telling them he would repair a Britain broken by 13 years of Tory governments.
Bibby Stockholm | The Home Office plans to return asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge next week following a lengthy evacuation after legionella was found there.
Disinformation | The EU has issued a warning to Elon Musk over the alleged disinformation about the Hamas attack on Israel, including fake news and “repurposed old images”, on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.
Luton airport | A major incident has been declared at London Luton airport after a huge fire broke out at a car park in the terminal, with all flights being suspended.
Continue reading...Education minister says ‘cases are piling up’ and that ‘an immediate response is needed’
France has been forced to shut seven schools over growing concerns over an infestation of bedbugs, the education minister has said.
“Bedbugs were detected at various levels in … I believe 17 institutions, and currently as I speak to you, seven institutions are closed for this reason,” Gabriel Attal told France 5 television.
Continue reading...After French capital hosted fashion week and Rugby World Cup there are concerns the problem will spread
Paris is burning its luggage and bed linen as it battles a “scourge” of bedbugs, stoking fears of infestation around the world as pest controllers report an uptick in inquiries and transport operators and hoteliers seek to assuage concerns.
The city of light is reportedly under siege from the nocturnal bloodsuckers, leading the French transport minister, Clément Beaune, to meet transport operators. “It’s a real nightmare,” says Yacine, a schoolteacher in Paris who declined to give his surname. “I’m so afraid to take the Métro, I don’t go to the cinema – it’s very alarmant.”
Continue reading...Store owner in Shasta county who has elevated conspiracy theories about mosquitoes and vaccines gets seat on local board
Ever since the far-right movement in California’s Shasta county gained control of local government, they have sought to throw out voting machines in favor of hand counting and pledged to defend the second amendment using all “lawful means”.
This week they focused their efforts on a new target: mosquitoes.
Continue reading...Michael Alford, 59, of Harlan county was moving a bag of potting soil when bees attacked him from inside the package
A Kentucky man has died after a swarm of bees attacked him on his porch.
On Monday, the 59-year-old man whom local reports identified as Michael Alford was moving a bag of potting soil in Harlan county when he was stung by a swarm of bees from inside the package, authorities said in a statement.
Continue reading...Researchers identify 88 nests of destructive invasive non-native species near Syracuse in Sicily
An invasive non-native ant species has become established in Italy and could rapidly spread through Europe to the UK with global heating, a study warns.
The red fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has a powerful sting, damages crops and can infest electrical equipment including cars and computers.
Continue reading...London Wildlife Trust asks volunteers to seek out endangered beetles’ strongholds
They were celebrated as “ye country comets” by the poet Andrew Marvell but glowworms are defying light pollution to still shine their lights in the city of London.
Now volunteers and enthusiasts are being sought to count and save the much-celebrated but declining beetles, whose females emit a remarkable bright green bioluminescent beam to attract males.
Continue reading...Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance alone
Seven new leaf insect species, known as “walking leaves”, have been discovered.
The insects exhibit a sophisticated “twigs and leaf-like” camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers.
Continue reading...Beekeepers at site near Toronto in Ontario eventually managed to recapture most of the insects, although some remained on the loose
Police near Toronto have warned drivers to keep their car windows closed after a truck spilled crates carrying five million bees on to a road.
Halton regional police said they received a call about 6.15am on Wednesday reporting the bee crates had come loose from a truck and spilled on to a road in Burlington, Ontario.
Continue reading...Honeypot ant researchers hope to identify compounds that can be used in antimicrobial treatments as western science catches up to Indigenous knowledge
The honey produced by Australian honeypot ants has antibacterial and antifungal properties, researchers have found, in a discovery that brings western science up to speed with Indigenous knowledge.
The Australian honeypot ant, Camponotus inflatus, has been used by First Nations people as a bush food and in traditional medicine for thousands of years, including to treat colds and sore throats.
Continue reading...Nearly 50% of US bee colonies died off last year, although efforts have helped the overall bee population remain ‘relatively stable’
The US’s honeybee hives just staggered through the second highest death rate on record, with beekeepers losing nearly half of their managed colonies, an annual bee survey found.
But by using costly and herculean measures to create new colonies, beekeepers are somehow keeping afloat. Thursday’s University of Maryland and Auburn University survey found that even though 48% of colonies were lost in the year that ended 1 April, the number of US honeybee colonies “remained relatively stable”.
Continue reading...Millions of crickets – or rather shield-backed katydids – migrating across state, after hatching was delayed in spring
Millions of flightless insects known as Mormon crickets have descended across Nevada, alarming residents, blanketing roadways and buildings, and fueling nightmares.
Footage shared on social media and by local news outlets captures six Nevada counties under siege, with thick carpets of bugs moving slowly and efficiently across the state. A local hospital had to deploy brooms and leafblowers to clear the way for patients to get into the building, a spokesperson for the Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, told local news outlet KSL.
Continue reading...Populations of bees, spiders, ground beetles and hoverflies have declined twice as fast on land farmed for crops in the past 30 years, despite funding for more sustainable farming methods
Conservation measures over the past 30 years have failed to stop the decline of insects on British farmland, a new report shows. Populations of bees, spiders, ground beetles and hoverflies have disappeared twice as fast in areas intensely farmed for crops, according to the paper, which looked at citizen science data on more than 1,500 invertebrate species.
Although there was a push to intensify agriculture after the second world war, since the early 90s more sustainable and wildlife-friendly farming practices have emerged, with EU agri-environment funding made available for farmers to plant hedgerows and wild flowers, alongside better regulation of pesticides. However, these have not managed to stem biodiversity loss.
Continue reading...Flies chilled to sub-zero temperatures amputate one or more of their six limbs to protect their internal organs
Flightless snow flies in the US and Canada can amputate their legs to survive as they begin to freeze, researchers have discovered.
Lab experiments in which the flies were chilled gradually to sub-zero temperatures revealed they can detach one or more of their six legs, an apparent “last-ditch tactic” to protect their internal organs from the advancing cold.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Study finds pests could damage crops, and households would incur costs for pesticides, veterinary bills and electrical faults
Failure to stop the spread of an outbreak of invasive fire ants in south-east Queensland could cost the Australian economy more than $1bn a year, including damage to high-value crops, infrastructure and homes.
A previously unreleased cost-benefit analysis, commissioned by a steering committee managing the outbreak of red fire ants and obtained by Guardian Australia, says that eradication of the species provides “much higher returns” than suppression measures that simply limit its spread.
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Continue reading...With 20m people at the highest risk of famine for 25 years, farmers are desperately trying to kill the pests before vast swarms form
The northern “breadbasket” of Afghanistan is battling a potentially devastating outbreak of locusts that threaten to eat their way through up to a quarter of the country’s annual wheat harvest, the UN has warned.
After three years of disappointing, drought-afflicted harvests, Afghan farmers were expecting better this year – a much-needed boost for a country where nearly 20 million people are thought to be at the highest risk of famine in 25 years.
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