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ITV News
4 hours ago
- Science
- ITV News
Why scientists in Hawaii are releasing thousands of mosquitoes to save endangered birds
By Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped into Hawaii by drone in a bid to save an almost extinct species of bird. These aren't just any mosquitoes. The ones being dropped are non-biting, lab-reared male mosquitoes which carry a bacteria meaning they cannot successfully mate with wild female mosquitos. Scientists hope they will help control the archipelago's invasive mosquito population, which has decimated native bird populations including the rare Hawaiian honeycreepers. The birds play a central role in Hawaiian ecosystems as pollinators and seed dispersers. At one point, there were more than 50 known species of honeycreepers in Hawaii, but today there are only 17 left, the majority of which are now endangered. One species, named the 'akikiki' became functionally extinct in the wild last year due to malaria-carrying mosquitoes. With no resistance to mosquito-borne diseases, the birds are falling victim to fatal avian malaria. While development and deforestation have also led to falling bird populations, experts believe avian malaria to be the main threat. Mosquitoes aren't native to Hawaii, and were first reported in 1826 after being carried in by whaling vessels. Speaking to ITV News' US partner CNN, Dr Chris Farmer, Hawaii programme director for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), said mosquitos cause "waves of extinction." The insects thrive in tropical climates with low elevation, forcing the remaining honeycreepers to find refuge in the mountains. Farmer added: "With climate change, we are seeing warmer temperatures, and we're watching the mosquitoes move up the mountains. "(In places like Kauai), we're watching the populations of birds there just completely plummet. "It's a constant march of mosquitoes moving up as the temperatures allow them, and the birds getting pushed further and further up until there's no habitat left that they can survive in. "If we don't break that cycle, we're going to lose our honeycreepers," he adds. What are conservationists doing? Experts have been trying to control the population of mosquitoes through various methods. Pesticides, which would usually be used to control insects, affect them indiscriminately and would damage damselfly and fruit fly populations - both of which are vital to ecosystems. Scientists have successfully bred male mosquitoes in a lab that carry a strain of naturally occurring bacteria, which causes non-viable eggs when they mate with wild females. Over time, with repeated releases, the population of wild mosquitoes should fall. Farmer said: "Whenever you say, 'I want to release millions of mosquitoes in the forest,' people have a lot of very legitimate questions.' The method has never been used on this large of a scale before, but if successful in curbing mosquito populations, honeycreepers would have time to replenish populations with more genetic diversity, which may even develop their own resistance to avian malaria.
ITV News
4 hours ago
- Science
- ITV News
Why scientists in Hawaii are releasing thousands of mosquitos to save endangered birds
By Thousands of mosquitoes are being dropped into Hawaii by drone in a bid to save an almost extinct species of bird. These aren't just any mosquitoes. The ones being dropped are non-biting, lab-reared male mosquitoes which carry a bacteria meaning they cannot successfully mate with wild female mosquitos. Scientists hope they will help control the archipelago's invasive mosquito population, which has decimated native bird populations including the rare Hawaiian honeycreepers. The birds play a central role in Hawaiian ecosystems as pollinators and seed dispersers. At one point, there were more than 50 known species of honeycreepers in Hawaii, but today there are only 17 left, the majority of which are now endangered. One species, named the 'akikiki' became functionally extinct in the wild last year due to malaria-carrying mosquitoes. With no resistance to mosquito-borne diseases, the birds are falling victim to fatal avian malaria. While development and deforestation have also led to falling bird populations, experts believe avian malaria to be the main threat. Mosquitoes aren't native to Hawaii, and were first reported in 1826 after being carried in by whaling vessels. Speaking to ITV News' US partner CNN, Dr Chris Farmer, Hawaii programme director for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), said mosquitos cause "waves of extinction." The insects thrive in tropical climates with low elevation, forcing the remaining honeycreepers to find refuge in the mountains. Farmer added: "With climate change, we are seeing warmer temperatures, and we're watching the mosquitoes move up the mountains. "(In places like Kauai), we're watching the populations of birds there just completely plummet. "It's a constant march of mosquitoes moving up as the temperatures allow them, and the birds getting pushed further and further up until there's no habitat left that they can survive in. "If we don't break that cycle, we're going to lose our honeycreepers," he adds. What are conservationists doing? Experts have been trying to control the population of mosquitoes through various methods. Pesticides, which would usually be used to control insects, affect them indiscriminately and would damage damselfly and fruit fly populations - both of which are vital to ecosystems. Scientists have successfully bred male mosquitoes in a lab that carry a strain of naturally occurring bacteria, which causes non-viable eggs when they mate with wild females. Over time, with repeated releases, the population of wild mosquitoes should fall. Farmer said: "Whenever you say, 'I want to release millions of mosquitoes in the forest,' people have a lot of very legitimate questions.' The method has never been used on this large of a scale before, but if successful in curbing mosquito populations, honeycreepers would have time to replenish populations with more genetic diversity, which may even develop their own resistance to avian malaria.
ITV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
'Mass starvation' spreading across Gaza and people 'wasting away', 100 aid agencies warn
Aid distributions in Gaza average about 28 trucks a day for a population of about 2.1 million, as ITV News' Rachel Younger reports More than 100 international aid agencies have warned of mass starvation across Gaza, claiming workers and citizens are "wasting away" as access to tons of food and medical supplies is blocked. In a joint letter, the organisations wrote that the UN-led humanitarian system had been "prevented from functioning", urging governments to help restore the full flow of food, clean water and medical supplies. Those agencies include Save the Children, Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam International. The letter stated that there were "tons" of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sitting untouched within Gaza or just outside the region, but that organisations had been blocked from accessing or delivering the stock. "Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale, but with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams," the letter read. "Survival is dangled like a mirage." It claimed distributions in Gaza average about 28 trucks a day for a population of about 2.1 million. Aid distribution has been complicated by a controversial Israeli-backed US-run contractor called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food, according to the UN. "Aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families," the letter from the organisations stated. "With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes. 'Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?' UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel had refused the United Nations the space and safety to deliver aid. "Malnourishment is soaring," he said on Tuesday. "Starvation is knocking on every door. Now we are seeing the last gasp of a humanitarian system built on humanitarian principles. "Around the world, we see an utter disregard for, if not (an) outright violation of, international law." Israel denied deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff as part of its war with Hamas and said it was operating within international law, blaming UN agencies for failing to deliver food it had allowed in. Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his counterparts from 24 other nations, including France, Canada and Australia, urged Israel to lift restrictions on the flow of aid into Gaza in a joint statement, condemning the current aid model.
ITV News
16-07-2025
- ITV News
NCA officer jailed for theft of Bitcoin worth millions he had seized in drugs investigation
ITV News' Anna Youssef reports from the sentencing of Paul Chowles at Liverpool Crown Court. A serving officer for the National Crime Agency has been jailed after he stole close to £60,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Liverpool drug dealer. Paul Chowles admitted laundering fifty bitcoin he'd seized from Thomas White in 2022 when White was under investigation for running an illegal drug-selling site on the dark web. White was later jailed for five years. The bitcoin Chowles stolen would be worth more than £4m today. The theft was only discovered when White, now released on licence, was subjected to a proceeds of crime investigation and queried where the missing currency was after it had been seized during the investigation. Merseyside Police opened a case, leading to the arrest of Chowles, 42, from Bristol who eventually pleaded guilty to theft, transferring criminal property, and concealing criminal property. He was jailed for five years and six months on Wednesday 16 July and has already been sacked by the NCA. Detective Chief Inspector John Black, from Merseyside Police's Force Intelligence Bureau, said: "This case should illustrate in the starkest terms that nobody is above the law. "When it became clear that one of the NCA's own officers had stolen Bitcoin, our officers conducted extensive enquiries to unearth a trail of evidence that Chowles had attempted to hide. "He took advantage of his position on this investigation to line his own pockets while devising a plan that he believed would cover his tracks. He was wrong. " Several notebooks were discovered in Chowles' office which contained usernames, passwords, and statements relating to White's cryptocurrency accounts. It is estimated Chowles benefited to the value of £613,147.29 through his criminality. Alex Johnson, Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime Division, said: 'Chowles took advantage of his position working on this investigation by lining his own pockets while devising a plan that he believed would ensure that suspicion would never fall upon him. 'Once he had stolen the cryptocurrency, Paul Chowles sought to muddy the waters and cover his tracks by transferring the Bitcoin into mixing services to help hide the trail of money. 'He made a large amount of money through his criminality, and it is only right that he is punished for his corrupt actions."
STV News
14-07-2025
- Business
- STV News
'Very unhappy with Russia': Trump announces more weapons for Ukraine
Trump said he would introduce 100 per cent secondary tariffs on Russia if there was no deal within 50 days, ITV News' Correspondent Robert Moore reports US President Donald Trump has pledged to build more weapons for Ukraine, saying he is 'very unhappy' with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a joint press conference with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said the US would build 'top of the line' weapons, which Nato would pay for and distribute. 'We make the greatest military equipment in the world,' Trump said. 'We're going to make top of the line weapons and they're going to be sent to Nato.' 'It's a very big deal we've made: this is billions of dollars worth of military equipment (which) is going to be purchased from the United States, going to Nato and that's going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.' Rutte confirmed the EU would pay for the scheme which had added to the 'tremendous success' of the Nato summit. 'This is really big,' he said. '(Mr Trump) called me on Thursday and said that (he) had taken a decision – and the decision is that you want Ukraine to have what it needs… to be able to defend itself against Russia. 'But you want Europeans to pay for it, which is totally logical. 'It will mean that Ukraine can get its hands on really massive numbers of military equipment, both for air defence, missiles, ammunition.' Trump said he had become very disappointed with Russia and would also introduce 100 per cent secondary tariffs on the country if there was no deal within 50 days. He said the US had spent about 350 billion US dollars on the war between Russia and Ukraine and he wanted to see it end. 'We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia,' Trump said. 'I'm disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would've had a deal two months ago, but it doesn't seem to get there. 'We're very, very unhappy with them and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. 'It couldn't be more simple.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
