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A30 world news
Dialuna 15 augustus 2022
German minister decries ecological catastrophe in Oder River

(AP) — Germany’s envi- into the Baltic Sea. Ten tons samples were being sent to
ronment minister said the of dead fish were removed foreign laboratories to be
mass die-off of fish in the from it last week, but Mok- tested for about 300 sub-
Oder River is an ecologi- swa said the cause of the mass stances.
cal catastrophe and it isn’t die-off still has not yet been
clear yet how long it will determined. Both ministers said they were
take the river to recover. focused now on doing what
“So far, at least 150 samples they can to limit the damage
Steffi Lemke spoke Sunday at of water from the Oder River to the river’s ecosystem.
a news conference alongside have been tested. None of the
her Polish counterpart, Anna studies have confirmed the Lemke suggested that Ger-
Moskwa, after a meeting in presence of toxic substanc- man authorities were not
Szczecin, a Polish city on the es. At the same time, we are alerted quickly enough after
Oder River. testing fish. No mercury or dead fish were detected in
other heavy metals have been Poland and said communica-
The Oder runs from Czechia found in them,” she said. tions between the two coun-
to the border between Poland tries should be improved.
and Germany before flowing She said some Oder water

Major wildfire in Spain forces the evacuation of 1,500

(AP) — A large wildfire reported. sition has registered 43 large
in northeast Spain grew wildfires, which are those
rapidly overnight and was Those who fled took shelter that have burned at least 500
burning out of control in three different sports cen- hectares (1,250 acres). That is
Sunday, forcing the evacu- ters in nearby towns. four times the amount of the
ation of eight villages and previous year and a record for
1,500 people in Zaragoza Firefighters said the outlook the last decade.
province, firefighters said. for taming the blaze depends
on the weather, but gusty The European Forest Fire
The head of the local Aragon winds up to 60 kilometers Information System says
government, Javier Lamban, (37 mph) were predicted. 248,674 hectares (615,000
said Sunday that the situa- acres) have burned in wild-
tion was critical in the town Drought and extremely high fires so far this year in Spain.
of Añon de Moncayo and the temperatures in the Mediter- That’s almost four times the
priority for the 300 firefight- ranean country are turning country’s full-year average
ers fighting the blaze was to 2022 into the worst year of of 66,965 hectares (165,000
protect human lives and vil- The wildfire, which began forest chief said. It’s estimat- the century in terms of fires. acres) since 2006, when re-
Saturday, developed a 50-ki-
ed burned surface could be
lages. So far this year, the Spanish cords began.
lometer (31-mile) perimeter up to 8,000 hectares (20,000 Ministry for Ecological Tran-
in less than 24 hours, the local acres), state news agency EFE
UK drops prosecution of protesters over slain woman’s vigil

(AP) — British authori- home from a friend’s house
ties have quashed plans to in London. Her killer, Wayne
prosecute protesters who Couzens, was a serving Met-
attended a vigil for a mur- ropolitan Police officer. He
dered woman in breach pleaded guilty to murder and
of pandemic lockdown is serving life in prison with
rules — a killing, and a no chance of parole.
response, that ignited a
storm of criticism of the Public anger at the police
London police force and force for harboring a killer
its attitude toward wom- in its ranks was compounded
en’s safety. by what many saw as heavy-
handed policing of the subse-
The Crown Prosecution Ser- quent vigil. Police banned the
vice said Sunday that cases gathering because it breached
against six people over the coronavirus restrictions, but
March 2021 vigil in memory hundreds gathered anyway
of Sarah Everard had been on Clapham Common, near
dropped because “our legal where Everard was abducted.
test for a prosecution was not Prince William’s wife Kate used coronavirus restrictions politan Police chief Cressida
met.” was among those who at- to ban the vigil. Dick to step down in Febru- “It is to be hoped that the Met
tended and left flowers. ary. will now turn its focus and
The six had faced possible Everard’s murder was one of resources towards protecting
fines of up to 10,000 pounds Scuffles broke out when po- a string of killings in London Pippa Woodrow, a lawyer women from violence rather
($12,100) for breaking CO- lice officers tried to break up that prompted calls for more for some of the defendants, than seeking to silence those
VID-19 restrictions in place the vigil after several hours. protection for women and said she was delighted “that who speak up against it, and
at the time. Organizers took the police girls. Allegations of misogyny this ordeal is over and that towards rebuilding the trust
force to court, and in Febru- and bungled investigations the (prosecution service) has damaged by their decisions in
Everard, 33, was abducted, ary a judge ruled that police undermined confidence in recognized they should never this case,” Woodrow told The
raped and killed as she walked acted unlawfully when they the police and forced Metro- have been prosecuted.” Observer newspaper.