COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s navy and volunteers rescued 120 pilot whales stranded in the country’s biggest mass beaching, but at least two injured animals were found dead, officials said.
Sailors from the navy and the coast guard along with local volunteers pushed back at least 120 whales by dawn Tuesday after a gruelling overnight rescue, navy spokesman Indika de Silva said.
The school of short-finned pilot whales washed ashore at Panadura, 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Colombo, since Monday afternoon in the biggest-ever mass stranding of whales on the island.
“We used our small inshore patrol craft to pull the whales one by one back into deeper waters,” de Silva told AFP. “Sadly, two whales have died of the injuries sustained when they beached.”
Local authorities were braced for mass deaths as seen in Tasmania in September when about 470 pilot whales were stranded and only about 110 of them could be saved after days of rescue efforts.
Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) confirmed that Panadura saw the largest single pod of whales stranded in the South Asian country.
“It is very unusual for such a large number to reach our shores,” MEPA chief Dharshani Lahandapura told AFP, adding that the cause of the stranding was not known.
“We think this is similar to the mass stranding in Tasmania in September.”
Pilot whales — which can grow up to six meters (20 feet) long and weigh a ton — are highly social.
The causes of mass strandings remain unknown despite scientists studying the phenomenon for decades.
Sri Lanka rescues 120 whales after mass stranding
https://arab.news/pg5vu
Sri Lanka rescues 120 whales after mass stranding
- The causes of mass strandings remain unknown despite scientists studying the phenomenon for decades
France, Algeria to resume security cooperation: minister
- Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence
ALGIERS: France and Algeria agreed on Tuesday to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nunez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.”
The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Nunez said Monday had been devoted to working sessions aimed at “restoring normal security relations,” including cooperation in judicial matters, policing and intelligence.
He thanked the Algerian president for instructing his services to work with French authorities to “improve cooperation on readmissions.” Algeria has for months refused to take back its nationals living irregularly in France.
The renewed cooperation is expected to take effect “as quickly as possible” and continue “at a very high level,” Nunez confirmed.
According to images released by Algerian authorities, the talks brought together senior security officials from both countries, including France’s domestic intelligence chief and Algeria’s head of internal security.
Invited by his counterpart Said Sayoud, Nunez’s trip had been planned for months but repeatedly delayed.
Both sides have a backlog of issues to tackle. Before traveling, Nunez said he intended to raise “all security issues,” including drug trafficking and counterterrorism.
Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence.
Ahead of the trip, Nunez had also mentioned the case of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist serving a seven-year sentence for “glorifying terrorism.”
It is unclear whether the matter was discussed with Tebboune, from whom the journalist’s family has requested a pardon.
