US Forest Service restarts intentional forest fires

Santa Fe: The USFS has resumed its deliberate lighting of forested areas for clearing brush and small trees to review the risks of runaway wildfires under increasingly severe climate conditions. The prescribed programme was discontinued in May amid a devastating wildfire sparked by the federal government that burned across over 1,300 sq km near Las Vegas. AP

Advertisement

12 cheetahs from S Africa may reach India in Oct

Johannesburg: The first batch of 12 cheetahs are expected to reach India from South Africa next month as part of an ambitious project to reintroduce the distinctively spotted cat species in the country where it has become extinct, officials said on Friday. A team of wildlife experts from South Africa returned to their country on Friday from India where they inspected the holding facility where the cheetahs will be released. PTI

Lanka’s former FM Basil Rajapaksa leaves for US

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa left for the US on Friday to receive medical treatment, a week after the Supreme Court allowed him to travel overseas until January 15 next year, media reports said. Basil Rajapaksa, the younger brother of ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left for Dubai on an Emirates flight from Katunayake Airport, from where he will catch a connecting flight to the US, Daily Mirror Lanka newspaper reported, quoting officials. PTI

New North Korea law outlines nuclear arms use

SEOUL: North Korea has officially enshrined the right to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes to protect itself in a new law that leader Kim Jong Un said makes its nuclear status “irreversible” and bars denuclearisation talks, its state media reported on Friday. The UN secretary-general said he was “deeply concerned” by the new law and reiterated calls for Pyongyang to return to denuclearisation talks. The United States again said it had no hostile intent towards North Korea and was willing to resume talks without preconditions. Reuters