The Pacoche Marine Reserve in Ecuador documented 786 hundred dead bird species in the first week of June, as well as in areas that were regarded as environmental refuges occurring simultaneously with the presence of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that has already killed hundreds of thousands of seabirds in the region.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

According to the Ministry of the Environment, one of the most trustworthy theories is that the "El Niño" phenomenon is the reason for "the lack of food supply" for various species, including birds. The tropical Pacific's seas are home to El Niño, the king of climatic phenomena affecting the waters of the Tropical Pacific. Its arrival, scheduled for November or December in Ecuador, means extreme warming of the oceans.

According to Luis Cumba, undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment, "There are no signs that the deaths are caused by a viral process, which affects all migratory birds." The environmental authorities have found 783 migratory bird carcasses as of the first week of June. According to Paolo Piedrahita, a research professor at the Higher Polytechnic School of the Coast, birds rely only on the fish that the seas produce for nourishment.

When the ocean, or in this case the coastline, is warmed by the incidence of El Niño, the supply of fish decreases. In addition, marine species, even with a slight variation in sea temperature, modify their behavior, affecting their predators, such as birds.

Amid the alert thousands of black cormorants are reportedly appearing on the Ecuador beaches. Most of them come from Peru, where researchers are on the alert for the presence of the coastal El Niño.
"These migrations correspond to oceanographic events related to the variation of the surface temperature of the sea," adds Piedrahita. These trips can last hours, days, or weeks, but the problem occurs when the birds cannot find food in the regions where they fly. For this reason, he warns that the massive appearance of birds is not 'normal' either, since the distribution ranges of birds are established according to where they can "reproduce and feed directly from the sea."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Migratory birds dying on coasts of Ecuador and Peru appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Thousands of protesters in the streets of Peru's capital faced volleys of tear gas and pellets on Tuesday, hours after President Dina Boluarte called for a cease of almost two months of riots.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

The crisis is a result of continued political turbulence in Peru. Former President Pedro Castillo, Peru's first Andean leader, ordered the dissolution of parliament in December to shorten the third impeachment trial against his fledgling government. Instead, he was indicted by lawmakers, the National Police arrested him before he could find sanctuary, and Boluarte, who had been his vice president, was installed.

Since then, 56 people have died amid the unrest involving Castillo's supporters, 45 of whom died in direct clashes with security forces, according to Peru's government. None of the deaths have been in Lima yet.

Large groups of people from Andean regions have been going to the capital demanding Boluarte's resignation, dissolution of congress, and new elections.

The post Protesters in Peru demand resignation of President Boluarte appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

A court in Peru ordered Tuesday the release of Hodaya Monsonego, an Israeli woman who has been held in the country for two years over allegations of attempted drug smuggling, Israel's Foreign Ministry announced this week.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Monsonego, a 25-year-old with special needs, was arrested at a local airport in May 2019 after authorities discovered more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of cocaine in her bag. Following a three-month-long legal proceeding, she was held at a women's prison for 279 days. In May 2020, she was released to house arrest in Lima.

Monsonego's family claimed that she was taken advantage of by a friend she was traveling with because of her disability. They launched a social media campaign in Israel to raise awareness of her situation.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was personally involved in efforts to return Monsonego home.

Upon hearing of her release, Lapid said: "In my first week in office, I appointed a special team to handle Hodaya's release and worked closely with them. We will not celebrate until we see her land in the country, although the news is cause for joy.

"I consider helping young people with special needs to be my life's mission," said Lapid, who has a daughter with special needs.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Special-needs Israeli woman jailed in Peru for 2 years to return home appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

On Wednesday, Sun d'Or – a subsidiary of ‎Israel's national air carrier El Al – announced that it would be sending out a flight to bring Israelis in ‎Scandinavia home. ‎Some 100 Israelis arrived in Lapland a week ago. ‎

 Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The good news for Israelis in Scandinavia comes after Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday ‎announced that he had reached a deal with Israel's national air carrier El Al to fly home several hundred Israelis who are currently stranded in Peru due to Israel's coronavirus-related travel ban, with the government footing the bill.

‎"The necessary resources have been allotted and an agreement was reached about the company ‎sending out a first place to bring home young Israelis who were there before the travel ban was put in ‎place home," Katz said. ‎
‎"Now, representatives of the Foreign Ministry will coordinate with the company [El Al] and Peruvian ‎authorities to agree on a specific date for the flight. The young people will be flown back to Israel at no ‎cost to them, thereby illustrating the principle of caring for each other in a time of national crisis, which ‎Israel embraces. ‎
‎"Now we are working on securing funds and arranging a second plane. I thank El Al for agreeing to my ‎request and to join the national mission," Katz said. ‎

Some 1,000 Israelis are currently in Peru. The first flight is scheduled for Thursday morning. The Israeli ‎Embassy in Lima has undertaken to coordinate with local authorities to arrange police escorts to the ‎flight. ‎
El Al said that the Foreign Ministry would liaise between the company and the Peruvian authorities. ‎

‎"As the national air carrier, El Al has a long history of helping in times of emergency, one that continues ‎now, as well." ‎

The post Israelis stranded abroad to be airlifted – for free appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The quake, at a moderate depth of 114 kilometers (71 miles) struck at 2:41 a.m., 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of the village of Lagunas and 158 kilometers (98 miles) east-northeast of the larger town of Yurimaguas. Earthquakes that are closer to the surface generally cause more destruction.

The Peruvian government's emergency department tweeted that it registered a magnitude of 7.2, and that the quake was felt in the city of Callao, and the capital, Lima.

The post Magnitude-8 earthquake strikes north-central Peru appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The U.S. Treasury on Friday slapped sanctions on Maj. Gen. (ret.) Israel Ziv and three firms he controls, accusing him of using an agricultural consulting firm as a cover for weapons sales worth $150 million to the South Sudan government while also arming opposition groups there.

In a statement, the U.S. Treasury said that "While Ziv maintained the loyalty of senior ‎South Sudan government officials through bribery and ‎promises of security support, he has also reportedly ‎planned to organize attacks by mercenaries on South ‎Sudanese oil fields and infrastructure, in an effort ‎to create a problem that only his company and ‎affiliates could solve."

Ziv formerly headed ‎the IDF's Operations Directorate, and after ‎retiring from the military, he founded security consultation firm Global CST.

In an interview with Army Radio Sunday, Ziv said he had never trafficked in weaponry and called the charges against him "ludicrous, baseless and completely divorced from reality."

"We have an amazing agricultural project there ... that many communities depend on. Tens of thousands of people are employed through this project and it feeds the South Sudan market. So anyone who claims this project is a cover should come see it," he said.

Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House has championed international arms embargoes against South Sudan to pressure President Salva Kiir to end the country's civil war and humanitarian crisis.

Two South Sudanese nationals, Obac William Olawo and Gregory Vasili, were named alongside Ziv in Friday's U.S. Treasury sanctions notice. Neither was immediately available for comment.

"This is not the first time the [U.S.] administration has used sanctions to enforce its foreign policy," Ziv said.

"I am approachable. ... I want to believe in the decency of the administration. And they are welcome to come, to check, to investigate. We will open up everything for them," he said.

The i24 News website reported that Ziv has been on ‎the U.S. Treasury's radar for some time, after being flagged in 2009 over his dealings in Latin America, ‎especially in Colombia, ‎Panama and Peru.

South Sudan, Africa's newest state, ‎gained independence from Sudan ‎in 2011. Just two years later, the country erupted into conflict after Kiir sacked Riek Machar as vice president. Ethnically charged fighting soon spread, shutting down oil fields and forcing millions to flee.

At least 383,000 South Sudanese have died as a result of the war, through combat, starvation, disease or other factors, according to a recent study by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers.

Under pressure from governments in East Africa and from United Nations and Western donors, Machar's group signed a peace accord with other rebel factions and the government in September that will see him restored to the role of vice president in the country.

The post Ex-IDF general denies arming South Sudan amid US sanctions appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.