عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

In the Gaza Strip Pet a Lion, Declawed

Palestinian children look through the bars of a cage at the declawed lioness at the Rafah Zoo in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2019. (AFP)
Palestinian children look through the bars of a cage at the declawed lioness at the Rafah Zoo in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2019. (AFP)
TT
TT

In the Gaza Strip Pet a Lion, Declawed

Palestinian children look through the bars of a cage at the declawed lioness at the Rafah Zoo in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2019. (AFP)
Palestinian children look through the bars of a cage at the declawed lioness at the Rafah Zoo in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2019. (AFP)

A zoo in the war-battered Palestinian enclave of Gaza is promoting itself as offering the chance to play with a lion, who has been declawed but still has its teeth.

The 14-month lioness, called Falestine, is supposed to be placid enough to meet visitors to the park in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

"I'm trying to reduce the aggression of the lioness so it can be friendly with visitors," said Mohammed Jumaa, 53, the park's owner.

It is the latest unconventional animal care practice in Gaza, where a few dilapidated zoos compete for business, said an AFP report on Wednesday.

Fayez al-Haddad, the veterinarian who operated on Falestine two weeks ago, watched her behavior closely Tuesday as she was briefly taken out of her cage to be near local residents, including children.

"The claws were cut so that they would not grow fast and visitors and children could play with her," Haddad said.

There is no specialized animal hospital in Gaza so the operation was carried out at the zoo, which lacks the proper facilities.

He denied that it was cruel to the animal.

"We want to bring smiles and happiness to children, while increasing the number of visitors to the park, which suffers from high expenses."

"(The lioness) does not lose its innate nature."

But the Paw Project, an NGO which rehabilitates big cats, charges that declawing is inhumane and can maim the felines.

The cramped zoo in Rafah has five lions, including three cubs, along with a few birds and other animals.

It was destroyed during an Israeli army bulldozing operation in Rafah in 2004, before Jumaa re-established it two years ago.

A group of laughing children were watching from the other side of a low fence as Falestine was briefly shown out of her cage Tuesday for the first time since her operation.

She interacted and played with zoo keepers, though for now guests were kept slightly apart as AFP watched.

At times the lioness looked stressed, trying to scratch its nonexistent claws on a tree.

12-year-old Anas Abdel Raheem insisted he wasn't scared as he leaned on the fence.

"I am happy because I played with the lion and it did not bite me or tear my clothes," he told AFP.

"My friends saw the pictures I posted on Facebook and WhatsApp."

Haddad warned, however, that the claws grow back within six months.

"Lions will not give up their offensive instincts."

Gaza is home to two million Palestinians but has been blockaded by Israel for more than a decade.

There are a number of small zoos, each with poor conditions.

Last month, a litter of lion cubs froze to death at one.

In 2016, the last animals were evacuated from what had been dubbed “the world's worst” zoo, also in southern Gaza.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

China Has Slashed Air Pollution, but the ‘War’ Isn’t Over 

This picture taken on February 11, 2026 shows pedestrians walking along an overpass as traffic snarls in Beijing. (AFP)
This picture taken on February 11, 2026 shows pedestrians walking along an overpass as traffic snarls in Beijing. (AFP)
TT
TT

China Has Slashed Air Pollution, but the ‘War’ Isn’t Over 

This picture taken on February 11, 2026 shows pedestrians walking along an overpass as traffic snarls in Beijing. (AFP)
This picture taken on February 11, 2026 shows pedestrians walking along an overpass as traffic snarls in Beijing. (AFP)

Fifteen years ago, Beijing's Liangma riverbanks would have been smog-choked and deserted in winter, but these days they are dotted with families and exercising pensioners most mornings.

The turnaround is the result of a years-long campaign that threw China's state power behind policies like moving factories and electrifying vehicles, to improve some of the world's worst air quality.

Pollution levels in many Chinese cities still top the World Health Organization's (WHO) limits, but they have fallen dramatically since the "airpocalypse" days of the past.

"It used to be really bad," said Zhao, 83, soaking up the sun by the river with friends.

"Back then when there was smog, I wouldn't come out," she told AFP, declining to give her full name.

These days though, the air is "very fresh".

Since 2013, levels of PM2.5 -- small particulate that can enter the lungs and bloodstream -- have fallen 69.8 percent, Beijing municipality said in January.

Particulate pollution fell 41 percent nationwide in the decade from 2014, and average life expectancy has increased 1.8 years, according to the University of Chicago's Air Quality Life Index (AQLI).

China's rapid development and heavy coal use saw air quality decline dramatically by the 2000s, especially when cold winter weather trapped pollutants close to the ground.

There were early attempts to tackle the issue, including installing desulphurization technology at coal power plants, while factory shutdowns and traffic control improved the air quality for events like the 2008 Olympics.

But the impact was short-lived, and the problem worsened.

- Action plan -

Public awareness grew, heightened by factors like the US embassy in Beijing making monitoring data public.

By 2013, several international schools had installed giant inflatable domes around sport facilities to protect students.

That year, multiple episodes of prolonged haze shrouded Chinese cities, with one in October bringing northeastern Harbin to a standstill for days as PM2.5 levels hit 40 times the WHO's then-recommended standard.

The phrase "I'm holding your hand, but I can't see your face" took off online.

Later that year, an eight-year-old became the country's youngest lung cancer patient, with doctors directly blaming pollution.

As concerns mounted, China's ruling Communist Party released a ten-point action plan, declaring "a war against pollution".

It led to expanded monitoring, improved factory technology and the closure or relocation of coal plants and mines.

In big cities, vehicles were restricted and the groundwork was laid for widespread electrification.

For the first time, "quantitative air quality improvement goals for key regions within a clear time limit" were set, a 2016 study noted.

These targets were "the most important measure", said Bluetech Clean Air Alliance director Tonny Xie, whose non-profit worked with the government on the plan.

"At that time, there were a lot of debates about whether we can achieve it, because (they were) very ambitious," he told AFP.

The policy targeted several key regions, where PM2.5 levels fell rapidly between 2013 and 2017, and the approach was expanded nationwide afterwards.

"Everybody, I think, would agree that this is a miracle that was achieved in China," Xie said.

China's success is "entirely" responsible for a decline in global pollution since 2014, AQLI said last summer.

- 'Low-hanging fruits' gone -

Still, in much of China the air remains dangerous to breathe by WHO standards.

This winter, Chinese cities, including financial hub Shanghai, were regularly among the world's twenty most polluted on monitoring site IQAir.

Linda Li, a running coach who has lived in both Beijing and Shanghai, said air quality has improved, but she still loses up to seven running days to pollution in a good month.

A top environment official last year said China aimed to "basically eliminate severe air pollution by 2025", but the government did not respond when AFP asked if that goal had been met.

Official 2025 data found nationwide average PM2.5 concentrations decreased 4.4 percent on-year.

Eighty-eight percent of days featured "good" air quality.

However, China's current definition of "good" is PM2.5 levels of under 35 micrograms per cubic meter, significantly higher than the WHO's recommended five micrograms.

China wants to tighten the standard to 25 by 2035.

The last five years have also seen pollution reduction slow.

The "low-hanging fruits" are gone, said Chengcheng Qiu from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Qiu's research suggests pollution is shifting west as heavy industry relocates to regions like Xinjiang, and that some cities in China have seen double-digit percentage increases in PM2.5 in the last five years.

"They can't just stop all industrial production. They need to find cleaner ways to produce the output," Qiu said.

There is hope for that, given China's status as a renewable energy powerhouse, with coal generation falling in 2025.

"Cleaner air ultimately rests on one clear direction," said Qiu.

"Move beyond fossil fuels and let clean energy power the next stage of development."

Varieties

Sydney Man Jailed for Mailing Reptiles in Popcorn Bags 

Investigators recovered 101 Australian reptiles from parcels destined for Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Romania. (AFP file)
Investigators recovered 101 Australian reptiles from parcels destined for Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Romania. (AFP file)
TT
TT

Sydney Man Jailed for Mailing Reptiles in Popcorn Bags 

Investigators recovered 101 Australian reptiles from parcels destined for Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Romania. (AFP file)
Investigators recovered 101 Australian reptiles from parcels destined for Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Romania. (AFP file)

A Sydney man who tried to post native lizards, dragons and other reptiles out of Australia in bags of popcorn and biscuit tins has been sentenced to eight years in jail, authorities said Tuesday.

The eight-year term handed down on Friday was a record for wildlife smuggling, federal environment officials said.

A district court in Sydney gave the man, 61-year-old Neil Simpson, a non-parole period of five years and four months.

Investigators recovered 101 Australian reptiles from seized parcels destined for Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Romania, the officials said in a statement.

The animals -- including shingleback lizards, western blue-tongue lizards, bearded dragons and southern pygmy spiny-tailed skinks -- were posted in 15 packages between 2018 and 2023.

"Lizards, skinks and dragons were secured in calico bags. These bags were concealed in bags of popcorn, biscuit tins and a women's handbag and placed inside cardboard boxes," the statement said.

The smuggler had attempted to get others to post the animals on his behalf but was identified by government investigators and the New South Wales police, it added.

Three other people were convicted for taking part in the crime.

The New South Wales government's environment department said that "the illegal wildlife trade is not a victimless crime", harming conservation and stripping the state "and Australia of its unique biodiversity".

Varieties

Two Snowboarders Dead after Austrian Avalanche

A member of the CRS Alpes Grenoble mountain rescue team operates as he searches for potential buried victims during an avalanche emergency response rescue mission in an off-piste area of the Ecrins massif, French Alps on January 29, 2026. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)
A member of the CRS Alpes Grenoble mountain rescue team operates as he searches for potential buried victims during an avalanche emergency response rescue mission in an off-piste area of the Ecrins massif, French Alps on January 29, 2026. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)
TT
TT

Two Snowboarders Dead after Austrian Avalanche

A member of the CRS Alpes Grenoble mountain rescue team operates as he searches for potential buried victims during an avalanche emergency response rescue mission in an off-piste area of the Ecrins massif, French Alps on January 29, 2026. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)
A member of the CRS Alpes Grenoble mountain rescue team operates as he searches for potential buried victims during an avalanche emergency response rescue mission in an off-piste area of the Ecrins massif, French Alps on January 29, 2026. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP)

Two snowboarders have been confirmed dead after their bodies were recovered following an avalanche in western Austria over the weekend, police said Monday.

Avalanches across the Alps have claimed several victims in recent days following heavy snowfall.

An avalanche struck two 37-year-old off-piste snowboarders on the Stubai glacier in Tyrol province, burying them under the snow, police said in a statement.

The two Austrian men were reported missing after they had not returned from their snowboarding trip, prompting a large-scale search operation that included dogs and drones.

The buried snowboarders were located on Sunday night, but emergency services "could only confirm the death of the two men", Reuters quoted the statement as saying.

A level-four avalanche risk warning -- out of five -- is currently in place in the area following heavy snowfall in recent days.

In neighboring Italy, two skiers were killed on Sunday and another was in serious condition after an avalanche struck a slope near Courmayeur.

Avalanches have already killed several dozen people across the French, Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps so far this season.