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For centuries, the Haenyeo, South Korea’s legendary “sea women”, have ventured into the cold waters surrounding Jeju Island armed with nothing more than a knife, a floating buoy and their ability to hold their breath. Many continue diving well into their 60s, 70s and even 80s, harvesting abalone, sea urchins, octopus and shellfish without scuba…

Colombia intercepted a boat near the Malpelo sanctuary carrying 1,764 pounds of marine animals; officials are investigating illegal fishing Colombian authorities have intercepted a fishing vessel carrying approximately 1,764 pounds of suspected illegally caught marine animals believed to have been taken from the protected Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, bringing renewed attention to illegal fishing…

International conservation agreements rarely come together quickly. They tend to move through years of scientific review, political disagreement and repeated rounds of negotiation before anyone reaches a final decision. The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area was no exception, an agreement that turned a vast stretch of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica into the largest…

Republic of Minerva, Image: AI Generated What if you could build your own country, write your own laws and never pay taxes again? That was the extraordinary vision behind the Republic of Minerva, a self-declared nation founded on an artificial island in the South Pacific in the early 1970s. Backed by wealthy investors and libertarian…

FILE – Nauru President David Adeang speaks at the opening ceremony of Boao Forum of Asia, in Boao in southern China’s Hainan province on Thursday, March 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Tian Macleod Ji, File) FILE – Nauru President David Adeang speaks at the opening ceremony of Boao Forum of Asia, in Boao in southern China’s Hainan…

For years, dust storms were part of everyday life in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. When the wind picked up, the outback mining city could disappear under choking clouds of red and grey dust, forcing people indoors and bringing the town to a standstill.Today, that problem is a fraction of what it once was. Thanks to a long-running greening…

For more than 2,000 years, the Temple of Kom Ombo on the banks of the Nile stood as one of ancient Egypt’s most important centres of crocodile worship. Dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile-headed god associated with the Nile, fertility and royal power, the temple attracted pilgrims who offered mummified crocodiles as sacred votive gifts. Archaeologists…

Bob Montgomery and Tom Malcolm crossed the finish line on Sunday (Picture: MND NSW) An 82-year-old grandfather and his 18-year-old grandson have completed a nearly 5,300-kilometre cycling journey across Australia to raise money and awareness for motor neurone disease (MND), a condition that has deeply affected their family.Bob Montgomery and Tom Malcolm crossed the finish…

Shroud of Turin, PC: World Imaging / Public domain Nearly 50 years after samples were officially collected from the Shroud of Turin, scientists have used advanced genetic sequencing to reveal just how much biological material the linen cloth has accumulated over the centuries. Researchers applied a technique known as PCR-free next-generation metagenomic sequencing, a method…

humpback whale (representative image) Something unusual may be unfolding in the Southern Ocean. In late June, whale watchers in southwest Western Australia reported a sharp drop in humpback whale sightings, around 60% below normal, just when the whales should have been migrating north to calve and feed. A week later, birdwatchers on Australia’s east coast…