Whaling and dealing
Japan has offered not to hunt endangered humpback whales in return for being allowed to hunt minke whales for meat from four coastal towns. The offer, made on Monday at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, was rejected by opponents of whaling.
Burning shame
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The Canadian government is being sued by Friends of the Earth for failing to meet its international legal commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Canada鈥檚 emissions are more than 34 per cent above the target level agreed under the Kyoto protocol. Last month the government set a target of 20 per cent below 2006 levels by 2020, which would still leave Canada almost 40 per cent above the Kyoto target for 2008 to 2012.
Space sensation
NASA inaugurated its shuttle launch simulator at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 25 May. The 44-seat simulator is designed to give visitors a taste of a vertical launch as the shuttle speeds to 28,000 kilometres per hour. Effects include bone-rattling vibrations and the ear-shattering roar of engines.
9/11 compensation claims
New York鈥檚 chief medical examiner has ruled that the death in 2002 of a lawyer who fled the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks was due to inhalation of dust and toxins from the debris. It is the first confirmed death from inhaling dust, and activists hope to use it to pressure the city government to compensate Ground Zero workers.
Attack on gorilla guards
One man died and four were wounded on 20 May when rebel soldiers attacked a patrol post of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to 21 endangered eastern lowland gorillas. The rebels, thought to be involved in the illegal trade of hippo bushmeat, have threatened to kill the gorillas if the rangers retaliate.