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Indonesia Police Arrest Six for Komodo Dragon Smuggling

A komodo dragon is displayed by nature and conservation agency officials and police officers after being seized from suspects attempting to smuggle it into Thailand, during a press conference at the regional police headquarters in Surabaya on April 15, 2026. (Photo by JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP)
A komodo dragon is displayed by nature and conservation agency officials and police officers after being seized from suspects attempting to smuggle it into Thailand, during a press conference at the regional police headquarters in Surabaya on April 15, 2026. (Photo by JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP)
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Indonesia Police Arrest Six for Komodo Dragon Smuggling

A komodo dragon is displayed by nature and conservation agency officials and police officers after being seized from suspects attempting to smuggle it into Thailand, during a press conference at the regional police headquarters in Surabaya on April 15, 2026. (Photo by JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP)
A komodo dragon is displayed by nature and conservation agency officials and police officers after being seized from suspects attempting to smuggle it into Thailand, during a press conference at the regional police headquarters in Surabaya on April 15, 2026. (Photo by JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP)

Indonesian authorities said Wednesday they have arrested six people allegedly involved in smuggling endangered Komodo dragons native to the archipelago and destined for Thailand.

Two suspects were arrested in February in the port city of Surabaya on the east coast of Java island as they got off a ship with three live Komodo dragons -- the world's largest living lizard.

Further investigation led to four more arrests in the weeks that followed, AFP reported.

Police said the animals had been obtained from "suppliers or hunters" in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province, where they are native to a handful of small islands.

The suspects are accused of buying the dragons for 5.5 million rupiah (about $320) apiece and selling them for six times the price, apparently to be shipped to clients in Thailand.

According to East Java police, the suspects have smuggled and traded at least 20 Komodo dragons since January last year, and pocketed some $33,000.

They face up to five years in prison and a fine.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Komodo dragon as endangered, with a global population of about 3,400, including juveniles.

The fearsome reptiles, which can grow to three meters (10 feet) in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms (200 pounds), are threatened by human activity and by climate change destroying their habitat.

Poachers collect them to be sold as pets or display animals.

Komodo dragons in the wild are found only in Indonesia's World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and on neighboring Flores island.

Police said Wednesday they had also arrested two suspects for smuggling 140 kilograms of pangolin scales from the northwestern province of Riau to Surabaya.

Pangolins are among the world's most endangered species, and their scales are prized in countries like China and Vietnam, where they are used in traditional remedies even though they provide no scientifically proven medicinal benefit.

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Varieties

Sinabung Volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island Erupts without Reports of Casualties

In this photo released by the Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Sinabung releases volcanic materials into the air during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Badan Geologi via AP)
In this photo released by the Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Sinabung releases volcanic materials into the air during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Badan Geologi via AP)
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Sinabung Volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island Erupts without Reports of Casualties

In this photo released by the Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Sinabung releases volcanic materials into the air during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Badan Geologi via AP)
In this photo released by the Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Sinabung releases volcanic materials into the air during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Badan Geologi via AP)

Mount Sinabung on Indonesia erupted Monday, spewing a column of black ash and smoke 3,500 meters (11,482 feet) from the top of the mountain into the sky over Sumatra island.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, evacuations or disruptions to flights in the region. But residents, visitors and tourists were advised to refrain from activities in nearby villages in Karo district in North Sumatra province and areas within 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) of the summit.

Roads, vehicles and buildings in several villages in Karo affected by the eruption were covered in gray ash. Local authorities distributed masks to residents to protect themselves.

Officials raised the volcano alert level to “Watch,” the second-highest level for volcanic activity, which expanded the safe zone around the 2,600-meter (8,530-foot) mountain.

“This eruption is considered an initial eruption, and it is possible that a larger eruption could occur,” Lana Saria, chief of Indonesia’s Geological Agency, said in a statement Monday.

The agency previously recorded visual evidence of Mount Sinabung's increased activity in mid-August including dozens of earthquakes and expanded the recommended radius for public activities.

About 30,000 people have been forced to leave their homes around Sinabung in the past few years because of volcanic activity.

Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 280 million people with frequent seismic activity and Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes. The country is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Varieties

Coral Bleaching Occurring Too Frequently for Reefs to Recover, Scientists Say

Fish swim in a coral reef in waters off Koror, Palau, on August 30, 2026. (AFP)
Fish swim in a coral reef in waters off Koror, Palau, on August 30, 2026. (AFP)
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Coral Bleaching Occurring Too Frequently for Reefs to Recover, Scientists Say

Fish swim in a coral reef in waters off Koror, Palau, on August 30, 2026. (AFP)
Fish swim in a coral reef in waters off Koror, Palau, on August 30, 2026. (AFP)

Coral reefs are experiencing bleaching events so frequently that they no longer have time to recover before the next one strikes, with global coral cover now well below normal levels and at risk of irreversible decline, scientists said on Monday.

The world's coral reefs sustain a quarter of all marine life, make coastlines more resilient and provide food and livelihoods for millions of people, but their survival has been threatened by pollution and increasingly frequent mass bleaching caused by soaring ocean heat.

The gap between bleaching events once stretched for decades, but now averages just five or six years, a group of ‌scientists known as the ‌Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network said in a report based ‌on ⁠more than 40 ⁠years of data from nearly 37,000 reef sites in 120 countries and territories.

"If we give them enough time, they have the capacity to recover," lead author Manuel Gonzalez Rivero said. "But we haven't seen that amount of time being allowed. In fact, the frequency of those bleaching events has pretty much doubled."

Bleaching occurs when corals expel the colorful algae living in their tissues. Without the algae delivering nutrients to the corals, they become pale and vulnerable to starvation and disease. While a ⁠bleached coral is not dead, ocean temperatures need to cool off if ‌it is to have any hope of recovery.

The ‌report's release comes as Pacific leaders gather in Palau on Monday for the annual Pacific Islands Forum. ‌The leaders are expected to coordinate climate priorities before the COP31 climate conference later this ‌year.

Its findings provide further evidence of the impact that climate change is having on fragile coral reef ecosystems, with hard coral cover shrinking 9.5% below the historical average over the 2020-2024 period.

"We had 40 years of coral cover around the world that had remained relatively unchanged until 2010," Gonzalez Rivero said. "Since 2010 ‌there has been a very steep change."

'STAIRCASE OF DECLINE'

Scientists recorded the world's first mass bleaching event in 1998 and three more ⁠have occurred since 2010.

When ⁠temperatures fall, the reefs can recover relatively quickly. Over 2017-2019, reefs gained 6% coral cover, nearly offsetting the 6.6% loss from the 2016 bleaching event.

The latest bleaching in 2023 was the most extensive on record, impacting 77% of the world's coral reef areas, part of what Gonzalez Rivero described as a "staircase of decline".

With El Niño weather patterns intensifying and ocean surface temperatures reaching a record high of 21.1 degrees Celsius (69.98°F) on August 22, another bleaching event could strike the world's reefs this year, he said.

"It is very likely given the temperatures."

Rapid cuts in emissions and the management of local threats — including unsustainable fishing and excessive coastal development — could limit further losses, the report said.

"We must act now to halt this decline and invest in solutions that reduce pressures and build resilience," said David Obura, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

"Delayed action risks locking in irreversible losses."

Varieties

Italy Taking Action Against Paid Beaches

A view of the colorful houses and boats in the harbor of Marina Corricella on Procida Island, Italy. (Shutterstock)
A view of the colorful houses and boats in the harbor of Marina Corricella on Procida Island, Italy. (Shutterstock)
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Italy Taking Action Against Paid Beaches

A view of the colorful houses and boats in the harbor of Marina Corricella on Procida Island, Italy. (Shutterstock)
A view of the colorful houses and boats in the harbor of Marina Corricella on Procida Island, Italy. (Shutterstock)

Authorities are cracking down harder on illegal structures on Italy’s beaches as exorbitant prices are charged for umbrellas and lounge chairs.

In Ostia, the city beach of the capital Rome, several privately operated beach resorts have been closed on the orders of the city administration, according to dpa.

In the middle of peak season, two commercial beach resorts are currently being demolished. A public beach, which will be freely accessible to everyone at no cost, is to be built in their place. Similar efforts are underway in other regions, such as Liguria and Apulia.

Along Italy’s 7,500-kilometer Mediterranean coastline, there are thousands of privately operated beach resorts that rent out lounge chairs and umbrellas—a tradition that has developed over decades.

Currently, the average rental fee for two lounge chairs and an umbrella is about 40 euros per day. Now, however, authorities in several regions are taking action against the practice of allowing people access to the beach only if they pay for it. Another source of frustration is that high fences and walls block access in many places.

Yet, just as elsewhere in Europe, the coastline in Italy actually belongs to the state. By law, the shoreline should be freely accessible to everyone, everywhere, at no cost. However, more than half of the beaches are leased to private operators.

Officially, there are more than 7,300 so-called “Stabilimenti Balneari” in Italy. Most of them are family-run businesses.

The authorities’ stricter approach is also linked to a 2006 EU directive, the implementation of which in Rome has been repeatedly postponed.

According to the directive, government concessions for beach sections must be put out to tender on a regular basis because the land is public property. This process is now set to begin in 2027.