Russia’s murky whale trade meets China demand

Captured marine mammals are seen in enclosures at a holding facility in Srednyaya Bay in Nakhodka, eastern Russia. (AFP)
Updated 22 February 2019
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Russia’s murky whale trade meets China demand

  • Pictures surfaced of an unprecedented number of marine mammals — a total of 11 orcas and 87 belugas — crammed into small enclosures at a secure facility in Nakhodka
  • All 17 killer whales that Russia has exported since 2013 — valued at over $1 million each by customs — have gone to China

MOSCOW: Dozens of orcas and beluga whales captured for sale to oceanariums have brought Russia’s murky trade into the spotlight, but efforts to free them are blocked by government infighting.
Russia is the only country where orcas, or killer whales, and belugas can be caught in the ocean for the purpose of “education.” The legal loophole has been used to export them, especially to satisfy demand in China’s growing network of ocean theme parks.
The practice sparked a global outcry after pictures surfaced of an unprecedented number of the marine mammals — a total of 11 orcas and 87 belugas — crammed into small enclosures at a secure facility in the Far Eastern town of Nakhodka.
“There have never been that many animals caught in one season and kept in the same facility before anywhere in the world,” said Dmitry Lisitsyn, head of the Sakhalin Environmental Watch group who has emerged as a point person in the campaign to release the whales captured last summer back into the wild.
Under public pressure, Russian investigators launched two probes into poaching and cruel treatment of the whales, while Russia’s environmental watchdog said it has refused to issue permits to export them.
But the investigations and any potential court case could drag on for months.
And a major hurdle remains in the Russian government which is split between the environment ministry that says the animals must be urgently released, and the fisheries agency that defends their capture as part of a legitimate industry.
The captured killer whales belong to the rarer seal-eating, or transient, population of the species, which does not interbreed or interact with fish-eating orcas.
The environment ministry has tried to list the seal-eating type as endangered, ministry representative Olga Krever said.
“This population has only 200 adult animals” in Russian waters, she said.




Nakhodka, esatern Russia, where captured marine mammals are held for export to ocean theme parks.

But the agriculture ministry, which controls the fisheries agency and oversees non-protected sea species, views orcas as a dangerous competitor for Russia’s fish stocks and doesn’t believe they are under threat, Krever said, calling the dispute a “big problem.”
The heads of the two ministries could sit down and decide the fate of the Nakhodka animals quickly as “this needs a political solution,” she said.
But while marine mammal researchers say there are good chances of a successful release, the fisheries agency told AFP that releasing the captured animals “carries high risks of their mass death.”
“Neither orcas nor belugas are endangered,” and are simply a resource that can be used according to existing legislation, agency representative Sergei Golovinov said.
The high-profile clash became heated at a Moscow conference last week where Alexander Pozdnyakov, a fishing lobbyist tied to firms keeping the animals in Nakhodka, suddenly linked it to Russia’s geopolitical struggle with the United States.
“Today there is a battle for the Chinese market,” Pozdnyakov said. If the Nakhodka animals are not delivered there, “this market will be taken over by American companies.”
What he failed to mention is that catching wild orcas stopped in both the United States and Canada in the 1970s due to public opposition.
There are 74 operational ocean theme parks in mainland China featuring whales and dolphins, according to the China Cetacean Alliance, which monitors the industry. More are under construction.
“Orcas are like the cherry on the cake” for new Chinese venues, said Greenpeace Russia campaigner Oganes Targulyan at a recent protest against whale capture.
“They are the stars of the shows.”

All 17 killer whales that Russia has exported since 2013 — valued at over $1 million each by customs — have gone to China, according to CITES wildlife trade figures.
Though the animals in Nakhodka are unlikely to get green-lighted for export, their fate is unclear: it could be up to President Vladimir Putin to make the political decision on their release, campaigner Lisitsyn said.
In the West, there is widespread opposition to keeping the highly intelligent marine mammals in parks like the US chain Sea World, but in Russia public opinion is not so certain.
Companies that caught the animals are not giving up. At the weekend, they launched a new Instagram account, praising the Nakhodka facility and defending the oceanarium industry.
On Saturday, dozens of pro-industry supporters disrupted a rally to free the whales. They showed up with signs reading “Each orca is 10 jobs” for the crews hired to catch them, and only left when police arrived on the scene.
“We see that the capturing companies are putting up a fight,” Lisitsyn said. “They are using their lobbyist muscle.”
Researchers meanwhile are already starting to organize to prepare for a potential release of the animals.
“There has never been so many animals released in the past,” said Dmitry Glazov, a beluga whale researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution in Moscow.
He said a project of that scale would certainly require international expertise and funding. The whales, which have been fed dead fish, would need to go through an adaptation period to make sure they can rely on their natural food sources.
“For science, releasing this many animals would be invaluable,” he said. “But there needs to be a decision first.”


Netherlands returns 119 looted artifacts known as Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Updated 20 June 2025
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Netherlands returns 119 looted artifacts known as Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria: The Netherlands on Thursday returned 119 artifacts looted from Nigeria, including human and animal figures, plaques, royal regalia and a bell.
The artifacts, known as the Benin Bronzes and mostly housed in a museum in the city of Leiden, were looted in the late 19th century by British soldiers.
In recent years, museums across Europe and North America have moved to address ownership disputes over artifacts looted during the colonial era. They were returned at the request of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
During the handover ceremony in Edo State, Oba Ewuare II, the monarch and custodian of Benin culture, described the return of the artifacts as a “divine intervention.” The Benin Bronzes were returned at the request of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The restitution is a testament to the power of prayer and determination, the monarch said.
The Dutch government is committed to returning artifacts that do not belong to the country, said Marieke Van Bommel, director of the Wereld Museum.
Olugbile Holloway, the commission’s director, said the return of 119 artifacts marks the largest single repatriation to date and that his organization is working hard to recover more items looted during colonial times.
Nigeria formally requested the return of hundreds of objects from museums around the world in 2022. Some 72 objects were returned from a London museum that year while 31 were returned from a museum in Rhode Island.
The Benin Bronzes were stolen in 1897 when British forces under the command of Sir Henry Rawson sacked the Benin kingdom and forced Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, the monarch at the time, into a six-month exile. Benin is located in modern-day southern Nigeria.


Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat and personal treasures expected to fetch millions in Paris

Updated 20 June 2025
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Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat and personal treasures expected to fetch millions in Paris

PARIS: After Hollywood’s “Napoleon” exposed the legendary emperor to a new generation, over 100 relics — which shaped empires, broke hearts and spawned centuries of fascination — are on display in Paris ahead of what experts call one of the most important Napoleonic auctions ever staged.
His battered military hat. A sleeve from his red velvet coat. Even the divorce papers that ended one of history’s most tormented romances — with Josephine, the empress who haunted him to the end.
Two centuries after his downfall, Napoleon remains both revered and controversial in France — but above all, unavoidable. Polls have shown that many admire his vision and achievements, while others condemn his wars and authoritarian rule. Nearly all agree his legacy still shapes the nation.
“These are not just museum pieces. They’re fragments of a life that changed history,” said Louis-Xavier Joseph, Sotheby’s head of European furniture, who helped assemble the trove. “You can literally hold a piece of Napoleon’s world in your hand.”
From battlefields to boudoirs
The auction — aiming to make in excess of 7 million euros  — is a biography in objects. The centerpiece is Napoleon’s iconic bicorne hat, the black felt chapeau he wore in battle — with wings parallel to his shoulders — so soldiers and enemies could spot him instantly through the gunpowder haze.
“Put a bicorne on a table, and people think of Napoleon immediately,” Joseph said. “It’s like the laurel crown of Julius Caesar.”
The hat is estimated to sell for at least over half a million dollars.
For all the pageantry — throne, swords, the Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honor — the auction’s true power comes from its intimacy. It includes the handwritten codicil of Napoleon’s final will, composed in paranoia and illness on Saint Helena.
There is the heartbreakingly personal: the red portfolio that once contained his divorce decree from Josephine, the religious marriage certificate that formalized their love and a dressing table designed for the empress. Her famed mirror reflects the ambition and tragedy of their alliance.
“Napoleon was a great lover; his letters that he wrote are full of fervor, of love, of passion,” Joseph said. “It was also a man who paid attention to his image. Maybe one of the first to be so careful of his image, both public and private.”
A new generation of exposure
The auction’s timing is cinematic. The 2023 biopic grossed over $220 million worldwide and reanimated Napoleon’s myth for a TikTok generation hungry for stories of ambition, downfall and doomed romance.
The auction preview is open to the public, running through June 24, with the auction set for June 25.
Not far from the Arc de Triomphe monument dedicated to the general’s victories, Djamal Oussedik, 22, shrugged: “Everyone grows up with Napoleon, for better or worse. Some people admire him, others blame him for everything. But to see his hat and his bed, you remember he was a real man, not just a legend.”
“You can’t escape him, even if you wanted to. He’s part of being French,” said teacher Laure Mallet, 51.
History as spectacle
The exhibition is a spectacle crafted by celebrity designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, famed for dressing Lady Gaga and Pope John Paul II.
“I wanted to electrify history,” Castelbajac said. “This isn’t a mausoleum, it’s a pop culture installation. Today’s collectors buy a Napoleon artifact the way they’d buy a guitar from Jimi Hendrix. They want a cabinet of curiosities.”
He’s filled the show with fog, hypnotic music and immersive rooms. One is inspired by the camouflage colors of Fontainebleau. Another is anchored by Napoleon’s legendary folding bed. “I create the fog in the entrance of the Sotheby’s building because the elements of nature were an accomplice to Napoleon’s strategy,” the designer said.
Castelbajac, who said his ancestor fought in Napoleon’s Russian campaign, brought a personal touch. “I covered the emperor’s bed in original canvas. You can feel he was just alone, facing all he had built. There’s a ghostly presence.”
He even created something Napoleon only dreamed of. “Napoleon always wanted a green flag instead of the blue, white, red tricolore of the revolution,” he said, smiling. “He never got one. So I made it for Sotheby’s.”


Trump shows off giant new flagpoles, boasts of them as ‘the largest you’ll ever see’

Updated 19 June 2025
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Trump shows off giant new flagpoles, boasts of them as ‘the largest you’ll ever see’

  • At 27 meters tall, the flagpoles are nowhere close to the world’s tallest, including one from Jeddah

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump took time out Wednesday from deliberating on whether to bomb Iran to unveil two huge new flagpoles that he claimed are among the best in the world.
Trump, 79, saluted as a giant Stars and Stripes flag was raised on one of the 88-foot (27-meter) poles in a brief ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.
The billionaire real estate tycoon, who built his career on brash displays of wealth, said he was personally paying for each of the $50,000 poles.
And he could not resist some nationalistic hyperbole about the size and quality of the new additions.
“This is about the largest you’ll ever see,” Trump told reporters. “These are the best poles anywhere in the country — in the world actually.”eeeeee
The poles are, however, 12 feet shorter than originally advertised by the White House, which said when it announced Trump’s plan in April that they would be 100 feet tall.

They are also nowhere close to the world's tallest flagpoles, including Saudi Arabia's (561-feet (171-meter) high Jeddah Flagpole, which was completed in September 2014, this was previously the world record holder for several years.

Trump also said the pole on the South Lawn — the famed expanse of grass with a vista that leads to the Jefferson Memorial — was “very far” from where Marine One lands, when asked if it could cause any issues for the helicopter.

WORLD'S TALLEST FLAGPOLES

1. Egypt's Cairo flagpole (New Administrative Capital, Cairo: 201.952 meters (662.57 feet) - completed in December 2021.

2. Azerbaijan's National Flag Square flagpole 2 (Baku, Azerbaijan): 191 meters (626.64 feet) unveiled in August 2024.

3. Saint Petersburg Flagpoles (Saint Petersburg, Russia): 175 meters (574 feet) - unveiled in June 2023.

4. Jeddah Flagpole (King Abdullah Square, Jeddah): 171 meters (561 feet) - completed in September 2014.

5. Dushanbe Flagpole (Dushanbe, Tajikistan): 165 meters (541 feet) - completed in May 2011. 6. Kijong-dong Flagpole (Kijong-dong, North Korea): 160 meters (525 feet) - Built in 1982, this flagpole held the record for the tallest for many years.

( Source: Google Gemini compilation)

The second flagpole was being installed on the North Lawn at the front of the White House.
The giant flags are the latest part of Trump’s sweeping makeover of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since he returned to power in January.
The Republican is paving over the famed Rose Garden and has blitzed the Oval Office with gaudy gold decorations. He also has plans to build a new ballroom.
For the flag-raising ceremony, Trump was accompanied by a group including Charles Kushner, the new US ambassador to France and father of Trump’s son-in-law.

Kushner, a real estate executive who spent time in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to tax evasion, among other crimes, was pardoned by Trump in 2020, near the end of his first term.

Trump’s eldest daughter Ivanka in 2009, served as the president’s adviser during his first term, notably on conflict in the Middle East. The Middle East overshadowed the debut of Trump’s new flagpoles, with the president facing a series of questions from reporters about whether the United States would join Israel’s airstrikes on Iran.
“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said when asked.


Trump booed and cheered at the Kennedy Center while attending ‘Les Misérables’

Updated 12 June 2025
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Trump booed and cheered at the Kennedy Center while attending ‘Les Misérables’

WASHINGTON: A tuxedo-wearing President Donald Trump was booed and cheered as he took his seat for the opening night of “Les Misérables” at the Kennedy Center, bringing his own dose of political drama to the theatrical production that was unfolding onstage.
It was his first time attending a show there since becoming president, reflecting his focus on remaking the institution in his image while asserting more control over the country’s cultural landscape.
“We want to bring it back, and we want to bring it back better than ever,” Trump said while walking down the red carpet with first lady Melania Trump.
The Republican president has a particular affection for “Les Misérables,” the sprawling musical set in 19th-century France, and has occasionally played its songs at his events. One of them, “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” is a revolutionary rallying cry inspired by the 1832 rebellion against the French king.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom noted Trump’s attendance at the musical and posted on social media, “Someone explain the plot to him.” Newsom, a Democrat, has been feuding with Trump over the president’s decision to send National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles over his deportation policies.
Opening night had a MAGA-does-Broadway feel. Ric Grenell, the Trump-appointed interim leader of the Kennedy Center, stood nearby as the president spoke to reporters. Attorney General Pam Bondi chatted with other guests. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took selfies with attendees. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were also there.
There were more precautions than usual, given the guest list, and ticketholders had their bags searched after walking through magnetometers. Canned soda was on sale for $8, while a glass of wine cost $19.
Terry Gee, a bartender, bought his ticket for the show in November and didn’t mind Trump’s presence. It’s his sixth time seeing “Les Misérables,” and he said, “I’m going to enjoy the show regardless.”
Hannah Watkins, a nurse, only learned that Trump would be there when the Kennedy Center distributed information about extra security and she searched online to see what was happening.
“I’ve seen a lot of famous people so far, which is exciting,” said Watkins, who had claimed a spot near the VIP entrance with her mother. “Honestly, we just like ‘Les Mis’ and are excited to be here.”
However, when the lights went down and the show began, there were empty seats in the balconies and even in the orchestra section.
Before Trump, presidential involvement in the Kennedy Center’s affairs had been limited to naming members to the board of trustees and attending the taping of its annual honors program in the fall.
But after returning to office in January, Trump stunned the arts world by firing the Kennedy Center’s longtime director and board and replacing them with loyalists, who then named him as chairman. Trump promised to overhaul its programming, management and even appearance as part of an effort to put his stamp on the national arts scene.
His latest moves have upset some of the center’s patrons and performers.
In March, the audience booed the Vances after they slipped into upper-level seats to hear the National Symphony Orchestra. Trump appointed Usha Vance to the Kennedy Center board along with Bondi, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Fox News Channel hosts Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham, among other supporters.
Sales of subscription packages are said to have declined since Trump’s takeover, and several touring productions, including “Hamilton,” have canceled planned runs at the center. Actor Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens scrapped scheduled appearances, and Kennedy Center consultants including musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned.
Understudies may have performed in some roles Wednesday night because of boycotts by “Les Misérables” cast members, but Trump said he wasn’t bothered by anyone skipping the performance.
“I couldn’t care less,” he said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has adopted a more aggressive posture toward the arts. The White House has taken steps to cancel millions of dollars in previously awarded federal humanities grants to arts and culture groups, and Trump’s budget blueprint proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Trump has also targeted Smithsonian museums by signing executive orders to restrict their funding and by attempting to fire the director of the National Portrait Gallery.
Trump characterized previous programming at the Kennedy Center as “out of control with rampant political propaganda” and said it featured “some very inappropriate shows,” including a “Marxist anti-police performance” and “lesbian-only Shakespeare.”
The Kennedy Center, which is supported by government money and private donations, opened in 1971 and for decades has been seen as an apolitical celebration of the arts.
It was first conceived in the late 1950s during the administration of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, who backed a bill from the Democratic-led Congress calling for a National Culture Center. In the early 1960s, Democratic President John F. Kennedy launched a fundraising initiative, and his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed into law a 1964 bill renaming the project the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Kennedy had been assassinated the year before.


Social media fueling ‘devastating’ kids’ mental health crisis: NGO

Updated 13 June 2025
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Social media fueling ‘devastating’ kids’ mental health crisis: NGO

  • The KidsRights report said one in seven children and adolescents aged between 10 and 19 suffered mental health issues

AMESTERDAM: The “unchecked expansion” of social media platforms is driving an unprecedented global mental health crisis in kids and teens, a children’s NGO said Wednesday, calling for urgent coordinated action worldwide.
The KidsRights report said one in seven children and adolescents aged between 10 and 19 suffered mental health issues, with the global suicide rate at six per 100,000 for those aged 15-19.
Even these high rates represent “the tip of the iceberg” as suicide is widely under-reported due to stigma, according to the Amsterdam-based group.
“This year’s report is a wake-up call that we cannot ignore any longer” said Marc Dullaert, KidsRights chairman.
“The mental health... crisis among our children has reached a tipping point, exacerbated by the unchecked expansion of social media platforms that prioritize engagement over child safety,” he added.
The report said what it termed “problematic” social media use was on the rise, with a direct link between heavy Internet use and suicide attempts.
However, blanket bans are not the answer, the group warned.
Australia passed a law to ban social media use for under-16s.
“Such blanket bans may infringe on children’s civil and political rights,” including access to information, said the report.
The group urged “comprehensive child rights impact assessments” at a global level for social media platforms, better education for kids, and improved training for mental health professionals.
The report seized on the popularity of Netflix sensation “Adolescence,” which highlighted some of the toxic content kids view online.
The mini-series “demonstrated global awareness of these issues, but awareness alone is insufficient,” said Dullaert.
“We need concrete action to ensure that the digital revolution serves to enhance, not endanger, the wellbeing of the world’s 2.2 billion children,” he said. “The time for half-measures is over.”

(L-R) Jenelle Riley, Stephen Graham, Jack Thorne, Owen Cooper, Erin Doherty, Ashley Walters, Shaheen Baig, James Drake, Aaron May, and David Ridley are seen onstage during Netflix's FYSEE ADOLESCENCE ATAS Official at Saban Theatre on May 27, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. (AFP)