Politics
Greek wildlife suffers as climate changes
A badly burned tortoise that survived a Greek wildfire wriggles in an Athens animal clinic despite lots of painkillers, one of the latest victims of climate change that is playing havoc with the country’s wildlife.
Most of the scorched scales on its back had to be removed with forceps.
“It was really depressed and had its mouth open trying to breathe because of the smoke” when volunteers brought it in, said vet Grigorios Markakis.
Even though “it’s much better” now, the prognosis is not good, he told AFP. “If the whole shell is burned, imagine what happened inside… All the internal organs will be dysfunctional.”
Markakis, 28, cares for orphaned, injured or sick creatures, from hedgehogs to snakes to storks, from a first aid station of the Greek wildlife protection group Anima.
The NGO has seen a surge in animal admissions — largely because of climate change, which scientists say is driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves worldwide, fuelling wildfires and generating other dangers for wildlife.
Greece suffered several major forest fires this summer amid high temperatures, especially around Athens and in the western Peloponnese.
The government said around 45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) have burned this year.
“These fires are now harder to suppress and often wipe out vast areas of critical habitat, killing animals directly and displacing many more,” said Nikos Georgiadis, from the World Wildlife Fund Greece.
“Prolonged droughts, rising temperatures, and forest dieback all degrade habitats, reduce food and water availability, and make survival more difficult for many species,” he told AFP.
Thirsty vultures
Anima staffer Anna Manta said “more and more animals” are being brought to them because of the prolonged heat.
“Most get exhausted or they are forced to leave the nests really, really early,” she told AFP. Birds “just jump off the nests… because they get roasted alive”, she told AFP.
In July, when Greece suffered a searing heatwave with temperatures above 40C, Anima admitted 1,586 animals. In June it was 2,125 — nearly 300 more than during the same period last year.
“Last year we thought that it was the worst year we had ever seen… And then we had June,” Manta said.
The centre has received many young emaciated and exhausted vultures.
“Down in Crete, they can’t find water. Most of them go to the sea to drink water. They get poisoned because their body cannot process salt,” said Manta.
The team treats them with medicine and fluids for a few days, before taking them to outdoor cages to socialise. They are released back into the wild after six months.
One such juvenile griffon vulture had just received IV fluids into a vein. Afterwards an employee carried it out — with a pained look on her face because lice from the weak bird were crawling onto her.
“Climate change affects also the microorganisms, the parasites, the diseases, by affecting their transmission,” said Markakis.
“The transmission is probably easier because these microorganisms can live for longer periods,” he said.
‘It was magic’
Perched on a computer monitor was a long-eared owl. When Anima president Maria Ganoti began typing, the bird turned and looked down at the keyboard with its big orange eyes.
Later, it turned again to stare when people brought in a shoebox with a quail attacked by cats, followed by a fox hit by a car — an increasing phenomenon.
Georgiadis said the root cause of such incidents was habitat degradation and “the expansion of urban areas close to or into forests, (which) pushes foxes and other animals to venture into cities”.
Before Markakis took the injured fox to the operating table, he told how one of his “best life moments” was treating and releasing a cub that had severe head injuries back into the wild.
“I just gave it a last look, I opened the door (of its cage) and it immediately disappeared — without even a thank you!” he laughed. “But it was magic.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued a significant statement aimed at easing regional tensions, assuring that Iran will not launch missile strikes or take aggressive action against neighbouring countries.
The president said the decision was taken with the approval of the Interim Leadership Council, stressing that Iran’s policy of non-aggression will remain in place as long as no attacks are carried out on Iranian territory.
Commitment to Peace
In a message shared on social media, Pezeshkian said Iran harbours no hostility toward regional countries and expressed regret over the recent tensions affecting neighbouring states.
“We harbor no hostility toward regional countries and apologize for the recent situation with our neighbors,” the president said.
Sovereignty Will Be Protected
While calling for peace, Pezeshkian also emphasized that Iran’s sovereignty and national security would not be compromised.
He added that diplomatic efforts and mediation aimed at ending the ongoing conflict should be led by the countries that initiated the confrontation.
Regional De-escalation Efforts
The statement comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East following military exchanges involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, prompting calls from several countries for de-escalation and dialogue to restore regional stability.
DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.
Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.
The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.
The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.
Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.
Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.
The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.
Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.
India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.
“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”
At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.
Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.
The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
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