News

According to a recent report, “Fish are being killed, and prevented from reaching maturity, by the litter of plastic particles finding their way into the world’s oceans… Some young fish have been found to prefer tiny particles of plastic to their natural food sources, effectively starving them before they can reproduce. The growing problem of microplastics—tiny particles of polymer-type materials from modern industry—has been thought for several years to be a peril for fish… Microplastics are near-indestructible in natural environments.

“Violent crimes—from homicides and rapes to robberies—have been on the rise in many major U.S. cities, yet experts can’t point to a single reason why and the jump isn’t enough to suggest there’s a trend… ‘It’s being reported on at local levels, but in my view, it’s not getting the attention at the national level it deserves,’ FBI Director James Comey said recently.

According to a report last week, “The world’s most visited museum, the Louvre in Paris, is to close on Friday amid worsening flooding caused by days of torrential rain… The Seine, which runs through Paris past the Louvre, has risen five metres above normal levels. Heavy rains across Europe have left at least 10 people dead, most of them in Germany” (BBC, June 2, 2016).

The ancient Roman church split in two more than a millennium ago, yet current events are bringing about a “reunion” of sorts. “The Syriac Orthodox bishop of the Iraqi city of Mosul has told a French publication that ISIS attacks have helped forge bonds of unity with Catholics.

As the EU limps along politically and economically, analysts continue to identify more nations that may need to break from or be asked to leave the EU. According to a German newspaper, “The second-largest economy of the European Union has nowadays become a pathetic sight: its problems are so grave that they pose a serious danger to all of its partner countries, especially to Germany, according to an analysis of economic correspondents of the German daily Die Welt.