Türkiye Confronts Growing Wildfires on Tourist Coastshttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5301755-t%C3%BCrkiye-confronts-growing-wildfires-tourist-coasts
Türkiye Confronts Growing Wildfires on Tourist Coasts
This photograph shows smoke rising from wildfires in Fethiye, in the province of Mugla, southwestern Türkiye on July 30, 2026. (AFP)
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Türkiye Confronts Growing Wildfires on Tourist Coasts
This photograph shows smoke rising from wildfires in Fethiye, in the province of Mugla, southwestern Türkiye on July 30, 2026. (AFP)
Hundreds of Turkish firefighters on Thursday battled to contain wildfires spreading near key tourist regions on the country's Mediterranean coast.
Authorities expressed particular concern over fires around the city of Antalya and the Aegean Sea resorts of Fethiye, where flames gathered new strength on Thursday, and Ayvalik.
TRT public television showed a man carrying his sheep on his shoulders away from one fire.
The national forestry office said firefighters had intensified the battle started Wednesday outside Fethiye where strong winds had reignited the flames.
Balikesir province governor Ismail Ustaoglu said 850 firefighters, five water-bombing planes and six helicopters were tackling a blaze at Ayvalik, opposite the Greek Aegean island of Lesbos.
Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said earlier that 115 wildfires had been reported since Wednesday, with all but five brought under control.
Türkiye was hit by major forest fires in 2025 amid a prolonged drought. Access to forests and other high-risk areas has been closed since the start of the summer holiday season.
South Korea Launches New Bid to Guide Crowd-pulling Shark to Seahttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5331824-south-korea-launches-new-bid-guide-crowd-pulling-shark-sea
South Korea Launches New Bid to Guide Crowd-pulling Shark to Sea
Visitors watch a 3.5-meter shark trapped in an artificial waterway in the southeastern port city of Busan on October 7, 2026. Jung Yeon-je / AFP/File
South Korean authorities began a new attempt Wednesday to coax a shark-turned-viral sensation back to sea, with falling temperatures in the Busan canal where it is stranded raising concerns for its survival.
The dusky shark -- affectionately nicknamed "Bukhangi" by fans -- was spotted last month in an artificial waterway in the southeastern port city, with climate activists linking its appearance to climate change, said AFP.
The three-meter shark, a species typically found in tropical climates, has since amassed a huge following, drawing more than 1.6 million people to the Busan canal for a glimpse in person -- bringing an unexpected boon to the local economy.
South Korean authorities twice tried unsuccessfully to steer Bukhangi back to sea -- using water jets and then nets -- before launching a third attempt Wednesday as the water grows colder.
"The operation began at 10 am this morning, and we are not entirely sure when it's going to end -- given our previous attempts were not successful," an oceans ministry official told AFP.
Officials initially opted to wait for the shark to leave on its own, but growing overall concerns for its well-being prompted a third attempt, she added.
In a separate statement, the ministry said the limited water depth in the artificial waterway also prompted authorities to decide to launch their third attempt.
Busan authorities livestreamed the operation as curious onlookers gathered along the canal for another glimpse of the shark.
For Wednesday's operation, authorities fixed nets to floating pontoons, to be moved gradually as the shark heads towards the open sea.
Once it passes, the nets will block its return to the waterway, they said.
The shark has also been celebrated for its unexpected boost to the local economy, with Busan Mayor Chun Jae-soo thanking it for generating publicity he said would otherwise have cost "trillions".
But environmental groups say the shark's appearance should be seen as a warning of the climate crisis, rather than a spectacle or economic boost.
They link its arrival to warming seas, saying rising temperatures are pushing warm-water fish northward -- and subtropical sharks in pursuit.
Japan Launches Spacecraft to Mysterious Moons of Marshttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5331434-japan-launches-spacecraft-mysterious-moons-mars
People watch the launch of the H3 rocket, carrying the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft, at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on October 20, 2026. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
Japan Launches Spacecraft to Mysterious Moons of Mars
People watch the launch of the H3 rocket, carrying the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft, at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on October 20, 2026. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
A Japanese spacecraft rocketed toward Mars on Tuesday on a quest to explore its mysterious moons and bring back samples.
Five of the world’s space agencies joined forces for the five-year mission that will attempt to land a robotic prospector plus a rover on Phobos, the larger and closer of Mars’ two pint-sized moons.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which is leading the bold sampling effort, launched the spacecraft before dawn from the country's main spaceport on Tanegashima Island.
Officials declared success an hour later when the spacecraft separated as planned from the rocket's upper stage. Flight controllers burst into applause and jumped to their feet, shaking hands and embracing.
No one has managed to get samples from Mars or its moons yet While NASA has successfully landed nine spacecraft on Mars over the past 50 years and China scored a 2021 touchdown, no one has ever reached Phobos or its sidekick Deimos. And no one has managed to fetch samples from Mars, let alone its moons.
If successful, bits of dust, soil and rocks from Phobos will arrive on Earth in 2031.
“There’s a lot of adrenaline and a lot of excitement and a lot of wow,” said NASA astrophysicist Tom Statler, who’s involved with the project.
Japan has an edge going in, with two asteroid sample returns already under its cosmic belt.
Mars' moon Phobos is a lumpy, little rock Phobos is a lumpy, potato-shaped rock just 22 kilometers (14 miles) or so across. Examining pieces of it can explain how Mars’ moons — and possibly moons elsewhere — came to be.
Dubbed MMX for Martian Moons Exploration, the $578 million mission features a hefty 5-ton spacecraft that should reach Mars by late next summer. It will sync up with Phobos’ tight orbit around the red planet, before ejecting the French-German rover that’s named Idefix after the white terrier in the Asterix comics.
No bigger than a microwave oven, Idefix will plop onto Phobos by itself, bouncing for several minutes before coming to a halt in the moon's extraordinarily low gravity.
Employees of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and others celebrate as a Japanese spacecraft launched aboard an H3 rocket successfully separated as planned, at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture, southern Japan, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2026. (Naoki Hiraoka/Kyodo News via AP)
What happens after European Idefix rover lands The four-wheeled rover is designed to right itself if it lands upside down. All bets are off, though, if it sinks into soft soil or gets wedged between rocks, said the French Space Agency’s Julien Baroukh. Once the rover’s solar panels are deployed, the vehicle can no longer right itself, he added, which is why it will move at a glacial 1 millimeter per second (0.04 inches per second).
Idefix will serve as a “scout for safety,” according to Baroukh, as it prowls around Phobos for 100 days. Japanese flight controllers want to avoid powdery soil and rough terrain when the mothership — a four-legged stationary lander — descends to the surface to gather samples in late 2028 or 2029.
The lander will spend just two hours on Phobos, drilling and vacuuming up at least 10 grams (one-third of an ounce) of material, before launching back into space. It will study Deimos during a series of flybys before leaving the Martian neighborhood in 2030 and hustling back to Earth for a 2031 sample delivery in the Australian desert.
It’s a treacherous undertaking, with wreckage littering the path.
The moons’ names aren’t exactly comforting: Phobos is Greek for fear and Deimos means dread. They’re the twin sons of the god of war Ares — Mars in Roman mythology.
Scientists hope to learn how Mars' 2 moons formed Russia stumbled in all three of its Phobos attempts as well as many other Mars endeavors. In its only other Mars mission, Japan failed to get a spacecraft into orbit around the red planet.
Even NASA has had its share of flops in a bid to answer the burning question: Did life ever exist on Mars?
By studying Mars’ moons, scientists hope to learn whether Phobos and Deimos formed in the aftermath of an ancient collision between Mars and a battering space rock. It’s also possible that the moons might be stray asteroids that became ensnared in Mars’ gravity.
Either way, scientists anticipate finding traces of Mars on Phobos, making the samples an irresistible two-for-one that should help demystify planetary and moon formation, and perhaps even the recipe for life. The findings will help shape future Mars missions, including those by astronauts, said NASA’s acting planetary science director Lindsay Hays.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We are part of the first sample return mission from the Martian system,” The Associated Press quoted the German Space Agency's rover chief Markus Grebenstein as saying.
Japan isn’t the only one looking to claim the scientific riches packed into the Martian system’s rocks and dirt. China plans to launch a sample return mission to Mars in 2028, while NASA is still debating how to retrieve the more than 30 sample tubes collected by the Perseverance Mars rover, the new champion for off-Earth driving.
Japan and China could be neck-and-neck in getting samples back from the Martian system. Both are targeting 2031.
Japan is investing $350 million in this mission. NASA is contributing $87 million, the French Space Agency about $68 million, the German Space Agency about $56 million and the European Space Agency some $17 million.
Too Much of a Good Scent? Hanoi Curbs Iconic Treeshttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5331426-too-much-good-scent-hanoi-curbs-iconic-trees
Hoa sua, or "milk flower" trees, as Hanoi considers relocating some trees after residents complain their fragrance is too strong, in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 17, 2026. REUTERS/Thinh Nguyen
Too Much of a Good Scent? Hanoi Curbs Iconic Trees
Hoa sua, or "milk flower" trees, as Hanoi considers relocating some trees after residents complain their fragrance is too strong, in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 17, 2026. REUTERS/Thinh Nguyen
Vietnam's capital Hanoi has launched a large-scale program to prune hundreds of its iconic blackboard trees and is considering relocating some after their distinctive fragrance proved too much for some residents.
Known in Vietnamese as hoa sua, meaning "milk flower", and also known as pulai and devil's tree elsewhere in Asia, blackboard trees can grow as tall as 60 meters (197 feet). The name reflects the traditional use of its wood for school items, as does its scientific name, Alstonia scholaris.
Blackboard trees have lined Hanoi's boulevards since they were introduced during French colonial rule in the late 19th century. They were later planted across the capital, and Hanoi now has about 14,400 of the trees, according to the city government.
At dusk, the trees release a pungent, sweet scent from their greenish-white flowers, peaking in September and October. Long associated with the arrival of autumn in Hanoi, they have inspired hit songs and poetry for decades.
But many of the city's nearly 9 million residents say the fragrance is overpowering.
"I simply cannot stand the smell," said Hanoi resident Nguyen Ha Long, 43, who said he stopped his evening runs because the scent gave him migraines.
After years of complaints and smaller interventions, local authorities have launched their largest pruning campaign yet, stripping the flowers from about 7% of Hanoi's blackboard trees during a five-day blitz ending on Tuesday.
Officials also plan to relocate trees from streets where they are most heavily concentrated, adding to the impact of major public works projects underway in Hanoi that are rapidly reshaping the city's landscape as the ruling Communist Party chases ultra-fast economic growth.
Not everybody backs the move.
"I absolutely love the scent of blackboard trees. The stronger the fragrance, the more I love it," said Nguyen Thu Trang, 37, who lives on central Nguyen Du, a street lined with blackboard trees and which was also the setting of the best-selling novel "The Sorrow of War".
"My family has lived here for over 30 years, and we all love the scent. I feel deeply saddened seeing the city prune them," she added, according to Reuters.
"The smell is not toxic," said Tran Cong Khanh, head of Vietnam's ethnomedicine research center, echoing views expressed by three other Vietnamese scientists interviewed by Reuters, who however recommend limiting concentrations in densely populated areas because the pollen, like that of other plants, can trigger allergic reactions.
The debate has been widely reported by local newspapers, despite public health rarely ranking among Vietnamese residents' top concerns.
By contrast, air pollution, which often makes Hanoi one of the world's most polluted cities during winter, has generally attracted less public attention.
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