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Australia Welcomes Draft UNESCO Decision to Keep Great Barrier Reef Off Danger List

(FILES) In this underwater photo taken on April 5, 2024, marine biologist Anne Hoggett snorkels to inspect and record bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometres (167 miles) north of the city of Cairns. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
(FILES) In this underwater photo taken on April 5, 2024, marine biologist Anne Hoggett snorkels to inspect and record bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometres (167 miles) north of the city of Cairns. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
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Australia Welcomes Draft UNESCO Decision to Keep Great Barrier Reef Off Danger List

(FILES) In this underwater photo taken on April 5, 2024, marine biologist Anne Hoggett snorkels to inspect and record bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometres (167 miles) north of the city of Cairns. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
(FILES) In this underwater photo taken on April 5, 2024, marine biologist Anne Hoggett snorkels to inspect and record bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometres (167 miles) north of the city of Cairns. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Australia welcomed a draft UNESCO decision not to list the Great Barrier Reef as an endangered site, its assistant tourism minister said on Saturday, despite ongoing struggles of the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem with coral bleaching.

The reef, which has suffered several mass coral bleaching events in recent years, is not currently on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list of world heritage sites that are in danger, although UN scientists have previously ⁠recommended that it ⁠should be added.

Australia's government has lobbied for years to keep the reef - which contributes more than A$9.0 billion ($6.25 billion) to the economy annually - off the list, as it could damage tourism at the site, which receives more than ⁠2 million visitors each year.

Assistant Tourism Minister Nita Green said the decision overnight by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre "recognizes Australia's continued efforts to protect and manage this important icon,” Reuters reported.

"Australia welcomes UNESCO's decision to not list the reef as endangered, and recognize all of the work that's been going into protecting the reef," Green said in televised remarks from the capital Canberra.

The reef, home to 400 ⁠types ⁠of coral and 1,500 species of fish, stretches for some 2,400 km (1,500 miles) off the coast of the northern state of Queensland.

Since 2016, it has experienced five summers of mass coral bleaching, when large sections of the reef turn white due to heat stress, putting them at greater risk of death. Climate change is a primary driver of rising sea temperatures which cause coral bleaching, according to the Queensland government.

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NCW, NEOM Celebrate First Striped Hyena Birth

Striped hyenas play an important ecological role by feeding on carcasses and carrion - SPA
Striped hyenas play an important ecological role by feeding on carcasses and carrion - SPA
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NCW, NEOM Celebrate First Striped Hyena Birth

Striped hyenas play an important ecological role by feeding on carcasses and carrion - SPA
Striped hyenas play an important ecological role by feeding on carcasses and carrion - SPA

The National Center for Wildlife (NCW), in collaboration with NEOM, has documented the first birth of a striped hyena following the reintroduction of two breeding pairs into NEOM Nature Reserve. The birth is a positive indication of the hyenas’ successful adaptation to the reserve and their ability to reproduce in the wild.

According to a press release issued by the NCW, the birth marks another milestone in NCW’s wildlife breeding and reintroduction programs, which include dedicated efforts for predator species aimed at restoring their natural roles within ecosystems.

Prior to the release, two pairs of striped hyenas were selected and underwent a rehabilitation program at one of NCW’s wildlife care facilities, SPA reported.

The program included veterinary examinations, health monitoring, and preparation for their transition into the wild. A specialized NCW team also conducted a field assessment of the reintroduction site to verify its readiness and ecological suitability for the hyenas.

NCW CEO Dr. Mohammed Qurban said: "This is the first striped hyena birth following their reintroduction, and it marks an important milestone in the center’s wildlife breeding and reintroduction programs.”

He emphasized that reintroducing species into their natural habitats represents an advanced stage in establishing populations capable of surviving and reproducing in the wild and restoring their ecological roles.

Striped hyenas play an important ecological role by feeding on carcasses and carrion. Their populations have declined in parts of their natural range due to several threats, particularly hunting and poisoning.

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Chile-led Team Maps Antarctic Plant Genome in Step Towards Climate-resilient Crops

FILE PHOTO: A frozen section of the Ross Sea at the Scott Base in Antarctica on November 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Ralston/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A frozen section of the Ross Sea at the Scott Base in Antarctica on November 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Ralston/Pool/File Photo
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Chile-led Team Maps Antarctic Plant Genome in Step Towards Climate-resilient Crops

FILE PHOTO: A frozen section of the Ross Sea at the Scott Base in Antarctica on November 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Ralston/Pool/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A frozen section of the Ross Sea at the Scott Base in Antarctica on November 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mark Ralston/Pool/File Photo

A team led by Chilean researchers has produced the most complete genetic map yet of one of only two flowering plants that grow naturally in Antarctica, potentially helping the development of crops resistant to extreme weather.

Colobanthus quitensis has long attracted scientific interest because it can survive the freezing temperatures, lack of water and high levels of ultraviolet radiation in Antarctica, one of the planet's coldest and driest environments.

As record heat and extensive drought have increased the urgency of ⁠debate in many ⁠parts of the world over how to adapt agriculture, the scientists said they are now equipped to start assessing whether the plant's traits could be transferred to agricultural crops through gene-editing techniques.

The study, published in Oxford University Press journal "Genome Biology and Evolution," ⁠assembled all 40 chromosome-scale scaffolds that make up the plant's genetic blueprint under a project known as Polarix.

"We were able to sequence and assemble the entire genome," said Eduardo Castro, an associate researcher at Chile's Cape Horn International Center and lead author of the study alongside Claudio Meneses of Chile's Pontifical Catholic University.

"The idea is not to create transgenic plants. The idea is to edit the genome of a plant with ⁠nutritional ⁠value," Reuters quoted Castro as saying.

Identifying individual genes is easier once a genome has been mapped, but it can still take time. When that has been done, Castro said that scientists could need between five and 10 years to develop commercial applications.

A team in California supported the Chilean scientists, who said their work built on previous efforts by the Korea Polar Research Institute. That work produced only a partial version of the genome and was not published.

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Stubborn Vulture Reportedly Plucked from Plane's Wing before Greece Flight

A vulture flies over the Iraty mountains, southwestern France on July 2, 2026. (Photo by Gaizka IROZ / AFP)
A vulture flies over the Iraty mountains, southwestern France on July 2, 2026. (Photo by Gaizka IROZ / AFP)
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Stubborn Vulture Reportedly Plucked from Plane's Wing before Greece Flight

A vulture flies over the Iraty mountains, southwestern France on July 2, 2026. (Photo by Gaizka IROZ / AFP)
A vulture flies over the Iraty mountains, southwestern France on July 2, 2026. (Photo by Gaizka IROZ / AFP)

A vulture who refused to budge had to be removed from the wing of a flight awaiting takeoff on the Greek island of Crete, in order to avoid potential damage to the plane, a local newspaper reported Monday.

The Patris daily said the incident occurred late Sunday at the island's Iraklio airport, when the fire service was called in to remove the large scavenger.

It pictured the bird tucked inside a jacket held by a firefighter. The report did not specify where the flight was headed.

Birds are routinely sucked into aircraft engines, occasionally causing serious accidents.

Last week, the US National Transportation Safety Board said bird remains had been found in the engine of a Ryanair plane that saw a blade break off on July 10, shattering a cabin window and partially sucking a passenger outside.

Four suspected bird strikes to the plane's engine had been reported by flight crews in the 12 months preceding the accident, but no damage was found in subsequent maintenance, the report said.