
-
Deutsche Bank asset manager DWS fined 25 mn euros for 'greenwashing'
-
UK drawing up new action plan to tackle rising TB
-
Nigerian president sacks board of state oil company
-
Barca never had financial room to register Olmo: La Liga
-
Spain prosecutors to appeal ruling overturning Alves' rape conviction
-
Heathrow 'warned about power supply' days before shutdown
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre 'stable' after car crash
-
Myanmar quake survivors plead for more help
-
Greece to spend 25 bn euros in 'drastic' defence overhaul: PM
-
Maresca non-committal over Sancho's future at Chelsea
-
WHO facing $2.5-bn gap even after slashing budget: report
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tells tax trial did not seek to defraud
-
Chinese tourists pine for Taiwan's return as Beijing jets surround island
-
Singapore detains teenage boy allegedly planning to kill Muslims
-
What is the 'Qatargate' scandal roiling Israel?
-
AI coming for anime but Ghibli's Miyazaki irreplaceable, son says
-
Swedish insurer drops $160 mn Tesla stake over labour rights
-
Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut
-
Rubio heads to Europe as transatlantic tensions soar
-
Like 'living in hell': Quake-hit Mandalay monastery clears away rubble
-
'Give me a break': Trump tariffs threaten Japan auto sector
-
US approves $5.58 bn fighter jet sale to Philippines
-
Tsunoda embracing pressure of Red Bull debut at home Japanese GP
-
'Outstanding' Hay shines as New Zealand seal Pakistan ODI series
-
El Salvador's Bukele flaunts 'iron fist' alliance with Trump
-
Stock markets mixed as uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
China probes for key target weak spots with 'paralysing' Taiwan drills
-
'Top Gun' and Batman star Val Kilmer dies aged 65: New York Times
-
US lawmakers seek to rename street for Hong Kong's jailed Jimmy Lai
-
Greece to spend big on 'historic' military shake up
-
Trump faces first electoral setback after Wisconsin Supreme Court vote
-
Hay shines as New Zealand beat Pakistan for ODI series win
-
Israel says expands Gaza offensive to seize 'large areas'
-
Curry drops 52 as Warriors win, Jokic bags career-high 61 in Denver loss
-
South Korea mobilising 'all resources' for violence-free Yoon verdict
-
Myanmar quake victim rescued after 5 days as aid calls grow
-
Real Madrid coach Ancelotti tax fraud trial set to begin
-
Warner showcases 'Superman' reboot, new DiCaprio film
-
'Incredible' Curry scores 52 as Warriors down Grizzlies, Bucks edge Suns
-
Asian markets edge up but uncertainty rules ahead of Trump tariffs
-
Nintendo's megahit Switch console: what to know
-
Nintendo to unveil upgrade to best-selling Switch console
-
China practises hitting key ports, energy sites in Taiwan drills
-
Oil, sand and speed: Saudi gearheads take on towering dunes
-
All eyes on Tsunoda at Japan GP after ruthless Red Bull move
-
'Image whisperers' bring vision to the blind at Red Cross museum
-
Hay shines as New Zealand make 292-8 in Pakistan ODI
-
Other governments 'weaponising' Trump language to attack NGOs: rights groups
-
UK imposes online entry permit on European visitors
-
How a Brazilian chief is staving off Amazon destruction

New Zealand's Maori King calls for whales to be given personhood
The King of New Zealand's Indigenous Maori people made an impassioned call Thursday for whales to be granted the same legal rights as people in a bid to protect the hallowed yet vulnerable species.
Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau te Wherowhero VII said that majestic marine mammals should be given inherent human rights, such as having a healthy environment, to allow the restoration of their populations.
"The sound of our ancestor's song has grown weaker, and her habitat is under threat, which is why we must act now," King Tuheitia said in a rare public statement.
New Zealand has previously passed laws granting legal status to natural features such as rivers and mountains that are important to the Maori people.
The Mount Taranaki volcano and Whanganui River, both in New Zealand's North Island, are seen by the Maori as both ancestors and of spiritual importance. They were both granted personhood in 2017.
The status has since been invoked to slow or overturn development projects and to force consultation with local groups.
King Tuheitia said granting whales the same status would act as "a cloak of protection for our taonga (treasure), our ancestor -- the whales".
The statement was jointly issued with the high chief of the neighbouring Cook Islands, Travel Tou Ariki.
The leaders are advocating for Indigenous knowledge to be combined with science for a "more holistic approach" to whale conservation.
Establishing protected marine areas would be a "crucial" step, they added.
- 'Vital role' -
The leaders want Polynesian nations who share "a love for the vast Pacific Ocean" to help.
"We can no longer turn a blind eye," high chief Travel Tou Ariki said. "Whales play a vital role in the health of our entire ocean ecosystem. Their decline disrupts the delicate balance that sustains all life in Te Moana (the sea)."
"We must act with urgency to protect these magnificent creatures before it's too late."
Whales are some of the largest mammals on earth, with blue whales measuring up to 100 feet (30.5 metres) and weighing up to 200 tonnes, the same as roughly 33 elephants.
Yet their size doesn't protect them.
Six of the 13 great whale species are classified as endangered or vulnerable, according to conservation group the World Wildlife Fund.
The Maori, like other Polynesian groups, are believed to have originated from islands around modern-day Tahiti, but currently make up about 17 percent of New Zealand's population, or about 900,000 people.
The arrival of Europeans to New Zealand in 1642 brought colonisation, anti-Maori discrimination and pitched warfare that was eventually stopped through the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.
The treaty, signed between the British and hundreds of Maori chiefs, is seen as the founding document of New Zealand and established British control over the country.
But it also granted the Maori the same rights as British subjects and authority over "taonga" or treasures that can be intangible.
P.Martin--AMWN