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well worth it to get these magnificent elephants back into the wild where they belong.”

While rewilding elephants is “uncharted territory,” according to the foundation website, other species have been released “very successfully.” Last year, the foundation sent two cheetahs back to the wild in South Africa.

“Since the 1970s, we have been helping elephants, providing a wild future to more than 260 rescued orphans and operating extensive protection projects to ensure they, their wildborn babies and their wild kin are best protected throughout their lives,” said Angela Sheldrick, CEO of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

“We look forward to offering that same opportunity to these 13 elephants when they set foot on African soil – home, where they belong, and able to live wild and free as nature intended.”

The elephants will be transported in individual cages customized to their needs, and vets will be on hand throughout the flight.

Fatal Forest Fire in Cyprus

A forest fire which claimed four lives is now described as the most destructive fire since Cyprus became independent, local authorities said on Monday.

The flames have been brought fully under control, Cypriot authorities added. The joint effort involved firefighters, police officers, Civil Defense and Wildlife Service staff, soldiers, and volunteers, as well as over 70 firetrucks, 14 bulldozers, and several water tanks. Joining the efforts were nine Cypriot firefighting planes, police and National Guard helicopters, two British military helicopters, two Greek aircraft, and two Israeli planes.

According to Cyprus’ Forestry Department, the fire forced the evacuation of nine villages and scorched homes, businesses, orchards, and forests along more than 21 square miles. It took over 600 people to contain the blaze.

Meanwhile, search teams have discovered the bodies of four people believed to be Egyptian laborers. The victims, ages 22-29, were found outside the village of Orou; officials believe they had tried to flee the flames but that their truck veered off the road and fell into an embankment. Though the laborers then attempted to flee on foot, they did not succeed.

Trade Union PEO has asked for an investigation into the workers’ deaths, as well as their work safety conditions.

Police spokesman Christos Andreou said that a 67-year-old man is being investigated on arson charges and that “more than one witness” had seen the suspect leave his orchard shortly before a fire broke out there.

Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea with a population of approximately 1.2 million residents.

Deforestation Decimates Some Species

Deforestation is continuing at an alarming rate around the globe, despite warnings from scientists that some species may soon become extinct.

According to the World Animal Foundation, the Earth is losing approximately 137 species of plants, animals, and insects every day due to deforestation.

Among those at risk are the harpy eagle, which lives in the Amazon rainforest and is one of the largest eagle species worldwide. As the Amazon slowly disappears, the natural habitat for the eagles’ prey – twotoed sloths, brown capuchin monkeys, and grey woolly monkeys – is disappearing as well, a new study published in Nature Scientific Reports found.

The study also found that as the eagles’ prey disappeared, the species did not seek out alternative sources of food. As a result, they fed their young less frequently in areas where food was scarce, leading to eaglet deaths from starvation. In areas with over

70% deforestation, researchers found that the eagles did not nest at all.

Currently, the harpy eagle is listed as a near-threatened species with a decreasing population.

Another species at risk is the Sumatran orangutan of southeast Asia, endangered due to the deforestation caused by the palm oil industry. All of these orangutans live in Indonesia and Malaysia, where, according to the World Wildlife Fund, their habitats are under “constant threat” of deforestation.

Less than 80,000 of the species remain worldwide, and according to the Orangutan Conservancy, up to 3,000 of the species are killed every year. When orangutans search new areas for food, they often come in contact with humans, who kill them either as “pests” or for the bush meat trade; as a result, the species is considered to be “critically endangered.”

Other endangered species include the koala, which live in Australia’s eucalyptus trees and is listed as “vulnerable” with a decreasing population; and the jaguar, which tends to live in the Amazon rainforest or in the Maya Forest in Central America. Jaguars are listed as “near threatened” with a decreasing population.

Tsunamis of Mud in Japan

A mudslide in Atami, Shizouka, southwest of Tokyo, Japan, has killed at least four and left 24 people missing. The mudslide was caused by torrential rains.

According to Atami’s City Fire Disaster and Management Agency, over 130 homes were swept away in the mudslide.

The city has three evacuation centers, and two private hotels are also sheltering 562 people.

Speaking at a Sunday news conference, Shizouka governor Heita Kawakatsu promised that the prefecture will investigate whether the mudslide was caused due to deforesting in the area.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent condolences to the victims, emphasizing that workers are doing their best to rescue people and aid with evacuations. He also urged Japanese citizens to check local hazard maps and remain updated as to weather warnings and evacuation information.

More than 100 homes were destroyed after 18 inches of rain fell in the area.

China Heading into Afghanistan

As U.S. troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, China is hoping to fill the void and exert influence over the country.

Authorities in Kabul, Afghanistan, are considering extending a $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The initiative, launched in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping, became part of China’s constitution in 2017 and aims to expand China’s connection to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has warned NATO to exit Afghanistan by U.S. President Joe Biden’s September 11, 2021 deadline, or be treated as “occupying forces.”

One source told The Daily Beast that “there is a discussion on a Peshawar-Kabul motorway between the authorities in Kabul and Beijing.”

The source added: “Linking Kabul with Peshawar by road means Afghanistan’s formal joining of CPEC.”

Peshawar is a city in northwestern Pakistan; for at least five years, China has attempted to extend the BRI into Afghanistan, but the Afghanistan government was hesitant to agree due to fears of the U.S.’s reaction.

“There has been continuous engagement between the Afghan government and the Chinese for the past few years… [but] that made the U.S. suspicious of President Ashraf Ghani government,” a source told the Beast. “Ghani needs an ally with resources, clout and ability to provide military support to his government.”

Knesset Ends Covid Unemployment Benefits

Israel’s Knesset approved a bill on Thursday ending unemployment payments to those who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The bill, which followed the expiry of special regulations allowing the continuation of the payments, passed 35-0.

Under the new plan, only those over the age of 45 will continue to receive unemployment, but payments will be lower and continue only until mid-October. Those over age 67 who lost their jobs due to the pandemic will also continue to receive a reduced payment, but only until the middle of September.

Meir Spiegler, Director-General of the National Insurance Institute, which is in charge of the payments, told Channel 12 News that the plan “is balanced, gradual and provides a solution for quite a few populations that have fallen into crisis and have not yet found the ability to enter the labor market.”

“This framework is not a perfect framework,” he admitted, but noted that “people knew that on June 30 the reliefs expire.”

Officials in both countries called the deal, which was inked earlier in the day, a “win-win.”

Israel has been scrambling to use up or trade over 1 million doses of the vaccine that expire at the end of July. According to South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency, negotiations had originally been for 800,000 doses, but the amount was lowered due to a spurt of interest in vaccinations in Israel, where authorities have begun pushing for teens aged 12 to 15 to be inoculated.

Jung Eun-kyeong, Korea’s top infectious disease expert, said the Seoul government will continue to pursue swap deals with other countries.

“We are expecting to have a sufficient number of vaccines during the fourth quarter while we proceed with our vaccination campaign,” said Jung, director of the agency.

The deal comes weeks after the Palestinian Authority backed out of a similar agreement, saying the vaccine doses were too close to their expiration date, despite Israel using the same batches to vaccinate its teens.

“This exchange arrangement was made based on the thoughts shared by all countries, including South Korea and Israel, that even a single drop of a vaccine should not go down the drain,” South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam said.

South Korea has so far administered first doses to just 30% of its population of 51 million. Israel has fully vaccinated nearly 5.3 million people of its population of 9.3 million.

Vaccines to S. Korea

After Palestinians rejected vaccines offered to them from Israel, the Jewish State is sending them to South Korea.

More than 700,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that are set to expire in a few weeks were flown to Seoul on Tuesday, as part of a deal between Israel and South Korea that will see the Asian nation send fresh vaccines in exchange later in the year.

Knesset Votes Down Citizenship Law