Latest news with #Kseniia
Irish Daily Mirror
30-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Daily Mirror
Sea turtle hospital needed in Ireland
Sea turtle hospital needed in Ireland to cater for unprecedented numbers of young loggerheads arriving here due to marine heatwaves A leading marine biologist is aiming to establish a North Atlantic Sea Turtle hospital in Ireland after another disorientated loggerhead turtle washed up in Kerry in recent days. Five cold-stunned tropical sea turtles have landed this year alone - an unprecedented surge blamed on marine heatwaves and climate change, which have seen the arrival of long-living loggerheads, but also a rare green sea turtle. The latest arrival, a young loggerhead, has been named Kseniia after a young girl who found the shivering reptile on Inch beach while walking with her family. Kevin Flannery, Director of Dingle Oceanworld, who recently organised the release of an endangered green turtle in the Canaries after months of rehabilitation, said there is a need to set up a dedicated hospital for the shelled patients. 'The increase in numbers in the last three or four years has been quite dramatic. Five have arrived this year, and three have survived. Before that, it was once every few years. We've sent a request to the National Parks and Wildlife Service to set up a turtle hospital nationally because of the marine heatwaves, which are bringing increased numbers. 'We could set up a permanent turtle hospital with specialised tanks with warm water and the right veterinary expertise. There's currently no sea turtle hospital this side of the Atlantic - there's one in Florida and one in the Canaries. 'We need to have a coordinated effort to preserve them. If they're coming into our waters, the state should give some funding to transport them back down to the Canaries so they can be released into the wild. We can't be relying on charity to get them back.' The latest loggerhead, which is an endangered species, is thought to be around eight years old – they have an expected lifespan of up to 80 years old in the wild. 'It was cold-shocked, but it recovered very quickly because the temperature was warm when it arrived. Solstice, the turtle we rescued at Christmas, was much sicker because the temperatures were much colder. 'This new turtle is being fed, and quite happy and in very good condition. A family living down in Inch found it on Wednesday.' In the past, their arrival was a freak occurrence with tropical turtles deposited on the Irish coast due to Atlantic storms or a debilitating injury. 'It's the size of the juveniles coming here. Prio to that, we got injured turtles who had either a limb missing or were unable to swim, or had serious problems with their shells. Now we're getting specific juveniles, which obviously have gone astray because we've had these dramatic marine heatwaves. 'We had another one this year in the Atlantic, and a big one in 2023. They are reptiles and they require internal temperatures of over 20 degrees." He believes the turtles get disoriented when they find the temperatures are unexpectedly warm as they go towards the North Atlantic due to marine heatwaves. "They may assume that they're heading in the right direction. Then all of a sudden they get a cold shock, the temperature drops dramatically, and they get washed ashore - and a lot of them die.' Often suffering from hypothermia and pneumonia, the ailing turtles have been nursed back to health by Flannery over the past three decades, beginning in the family bath before the establishment of the Kerry aquarium. He said Dingle Oceanworld has developed the expertise in the delicate task of slowly raising the temperature of the cold-shocked creatures and nursing them back to full health before flying them down to the African coast so they can be released back to the wild. 'We now know how to deal with them. We now know how to resuscitate them, and we now know how to get them back so that they can be put back into the wild in their own country. Also, we want to PIT-tag them and possibly satellite-tag them.' Flannery says a hospital in Ireland, which would include a quarantine area and use veterinarians with sea turtle expertise, could cater for turtles stranded all across the North Atlantic. 'A hospital would entail the veterinary people with the expertise in increasing their temperature, the paraphernalia of drugs that are required to bring it back to life, and maintain the turtle, such as the antibiotics, and all this would have to be approved by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. 'We would need some form of funding and specialised heating systems.' Meanwhile, a professor from a university in Florida flew in early this week to take DNA from Kseniia, along with frozen samples from other stranded turtles, to finally help solve the mystery of where they are all coming from. 'We have started the DNA process with the University of Florida. He had taken a sample from this turtle, Kseniia, and I had frozen samples from the other turtles who have been released to the wild. It will be very interesting to see where they are coming from, whether it's the Gulf of Mexico or the Mediterranean or the African coast.' An unprecedented number of these turtles have also washed up along the North Sea in the last year or two, but they haven't survived. In addition, the UK has faced red tape issues in transporting rescued turtles back through the EU since Brexit. 'We could assist other countries that need to rehabilitate these turtles, and we have established a protocol of working with the Spanish government and the hospital in Gran Canaria to release them back into the wild.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard researcher and Russian national arrested for smuggling frog embryos into Boston
A Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national is facing a criminal charge for trying to smuggle clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples into Boston through Logan International Airport. Kseniia Petrova, 31, a Russian citizen, was arrested Wednesday and charged by criminal complaint with one count of smuggling goods into the United States, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. Petrova was taken into immigration custody on Feb. 16, Foley said. Since then, she has been held in a detainment facility in Louisiana, according to reports. Prosecutors allege texts found on Petrova's phone show that Petrova's colleagues told her that she was required to declare the biological material. In one alleged text message, when asked how she planned to get through customs with the biological samples, Petrova allegedly replied: 'No plan yet. I won't be able to swallow them.' On Wednesday, a federal judge questioned government attorneys on their grounds for canceling Petrova's visa and detaining her, the New York Times reported. The judge reportedly set a bail hearing for Petrova later this month. Fox News reported that Gregory Romanovsky, the attorney representing Petrova, said Thursday that customs experts confirmed that his client 'did not need a permit to bring her non-living scientific samples that are not considered biological material under U.S. Customs law.' 'Yesterday's hearing in federal district court in Vermont confirmed that Customs and Border Patrol officials had no legal basis for canceling Kseniia's visa and detaining her on Feb. 16. Less than two hours after the Vermont judge set a hearing on Kseniia's release, she was suddenly transferred from ICE to criminal custody. This is not a coincidence,' Romanovsky said. 'It is an attempt by the government to justify its outrageous and legally indefensible position that this scientist working for the U.S. on cures for cancer and aging research has somehow become a danger to the community. The government confirmed in court yesterday its intent to deport Kseniia to Russia, where it knows she will face grave danger for opposing the Putin regime.' In a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times, Petrova wrote that she moved to America from Russia to join a biology lab at Harvard Medical School in 2023. She also wrote about not declaring the frog embryos when she arrived at Boston's Logan Airport, and her subsequent detainment by ICE. 'At Logan International Airport, I did not complete a customs declaration for frog embryos (for use in our lab's research) in my luggage,' Petrova wrote. 'I'm told this would normally result in a warning or a fine. Instead, my visa was revoked and I was sent to a detention center in Louisiana, where I have spent the past three months with roughly 100 other women. We share one room with dormitory-style beds.' She also wrote, 'I fear that if I return to Russia I will be arrested.' According to the charging documents, on Feb. 16, Petrova arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston via an inbound flight from Paris. When she arrived, Petrova was stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents after a law enforcement canine allegedly alerted its handler to Petrova's checked duffel bag on the baggage carousel. Per protocol, law enforcement removed the bag from the carousel and brought it to an agricultural secondary inspection area for further screening, prosecutors said. There, an officer inspected the bag and allegedly found the biological items: a foam box containing clawed frog embryos in microcentrifuges, as well as embryonic samples in paraffin well stages and on mounted dyed slides. All biological products require a permit for entry and require the individual to make a declaration to Customs & Border Protection at the port of first arrival, authorities said. Prosecutors allege that, when approached by law enforcement, Petrova initially denied carrying any biological material in her checked baggage, but later admitted to carrying the material when asked again. Prosecutors said during an interview under oath, Petrova allegedly claimed to be unsure that she was required to declare biological material when entering the United States. According to the charging documents, investigators found the following text messages on Petrova's phone from one of Petrova's colleagues informing Petrova that she was required to declare the biological material: 'if you bring samples or antibody back, make sure you get the permission etc. Like that link I sent to leon-/group chat about frog embryos because TSA went through my bags at customs in Boston;' and 'What is your plan to pass the American Customs with samples? This is the most delicate place of the trajectory.' Prosecutors allege another text message conversation with a person identified as her principal investigator, during which Petrova allegedly said she 'won't be able to swallow' the frog embryos. Petrova was then advised that she was ineligible for entry to the United States, Foley said. Prosecutors allege that when asked if she wished to willingly withdraw her application for admission, Petrova responded 'in the affirmative' before being taken into custody by immigration officials. According to the charging documents, Petrova was recently employed by the Institute of Genetic Biology in Moscow from 2023 to 2024 and previously served as a bioinformatician of genetic disorders at the Moscow Center for Genetics from 2016 to 2023. If convicted, Petrova faces up to 20 years in prison, a term of up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Russian-born Harvard researcher charged with smuggling in federal court
A 31-year-old Russian national was charged with smuggling biological material after TSA at Boston's Logan Airport allegedly found clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples in her luggage. Kseniia Petrova, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of smuggling goods into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. Petrova was originally detained on Feb. 16, 2025 after a law enforcement canine alerted its handler to her luggage. The U.S. Attorney's Office said on Wednesday that Petrova allegedly denied having the biological material at first but later admitted to carrying it. Prosecutors also claim that Petrova's text messages show that she was aware that she needed a permit to bring in the clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples that were allegedly found in her luggage. In one text message exchange cited by the office, Petrova was asked whether she had a plan to get the biological material into the U.S., and she allegedly responded by saying, "No plan yet. I won't be able to swallow them." Russian Harvard Scientist Kseniia Petrova 'Knowingly' Smuggled Illicit Items To Us: Feds However, Gregory Romanovsky, the attorney representing Petrova, said on Thursday that customs experts confirmed that his client "did not need a permit to bring her non-living scientific samples that are not considered biological material under U.S. Customs law." Read On The Fox News App "Yesterday's hearing in federal district court in Vermont confirmed that Customs and Border Patrol officials had no legal basis for canceling Kseniia's visa and detaining her on Feb. 16. Less than two hours after the Vermont judge set a hearing on Kseniia's release, she was suddenly transferred from ICE to criminal custody. This is not a coincidence," Romanovsky said. "It is an attempt by the government to justify its outrageous and legally indefensible position that this scientist working for the U.S. on cures for cancer and aging research has somehow become a danger to the community. The government confirmed in court yesterday its intent to deport Kseniia to Russia, where it knows she will face grave danger for opposing the Putin regime." Petrova said in a recent New York Times op-ed that she was returning to the U.S. after vacationing in Paris when she was detained by ICE in February. She also expressed her fear of being arrested in Russia if deported, as she has been a critic of the war in Ukraine. Russian Scientist At Harvard Medical School Detained By Ice At Boston Airport While she admitted in the op-ed to not filling out a customs form regarding the frog embryos in her luggage, she believed it would result in a fine or warning, not an arrest. "At Logan International Airport, I did not complete a customs declaration for frog embryos (for use in our lab's research) in my luggage. I'm told this would normally result in a warning or a fine. Instead, my visa was revoked, and I was sent to a detention center in Louisiana," Petrova wrote. In her op-ed, Petrova claimed that colleagues said the lab—home to the world's only NoRI (short for Normalized Raman Imaging) microscope—"ground to a halt" after her detention. "Without me there to help, the lab has been unable to analyze the image data that the microscope generates," Petrova wrote. She also claimed that several of her colleagues are afraid of having their visa status revoked and being detained, as "many" are "foreign scientists." On Wednesday, a federal judge grilled government attorneys on their grounds for canceling Petrova's visa and detaining her, the Times reported. The judge reportedly set a bail hearing for Petrova later this month. Romanovsky told the NYT that he believes the government filed the criminal charge against his client "to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her." He also said that he and his client were "blindsided by the unsealing of a meritless criminal complaint," which came after the bail hearing was article source: Russian-born Harvard researcher charged with smuggling in federal court
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Fox News
Russian-born Harvard researcher charged with smuggling in federal court
Print Close By Rachel Wolf Published May 15, 2025 A 31-year-old Russian national was charged with smuggling biological material after TSA at Boston's Logan Airport allegedly found clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples in her luggage. Kseniia Petrova, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, was charged in a criminal complaint with one count of smuggling goods into the U.S., according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. Petrova was originally detained on Feb. 16, 2025 after a law enforcement canine alerted its handler to her luggage. The U.S. Attorney's Office said on Wednesday that Petrova allegedly denied having the biological material at first but later admitted to carrying it. Prosecutors also claim that Petrova's text messages show that she was aware that she needed a permit to bring in the clawed frog embryos and embryonic samples that were allegedly found in her luggage. In one text message exchange cited by the office, Petrova was asked whether she had a plan to get the biological material into the U.S., and she allegedly responded by saying, "No plan yet. I won't be able to swallow them." RUSSIAN HARVARD SCIENTIST KSENIIA PETROVA 'KNOWINGLY' SMUGGLED ILLICIT ITEMS TO US: FEDS However, Gregory Romanovsky, the attorney representing Petrova, said on Thursday that customs experts confirmed that his client "did not need a permit to bring her non-living scientific samples that are not considered biological material under U.S. Customs law." "Yesterday's hearing in federal district court in Vermont confirmed that Customs and Border Patrol officials had no legal basis for canceling Kseniia's visa and detaining her on Feb. 16. Less than two hours after the Vermont judge set a hearing on Kseniia's release, she was suddenly transferred from ICE to criminal custody. This is not a coincidence," Romanovsky said. "It is an attempt by the government to justify its outrageous and legally indefensible position that this scientist working for the U.S. on cures for cancer and aging research has somehow become a danger to the community. The government confirmed in court yesterday its intent to deport Kseniia to Russia, where it knows she will face grave danger for opposing the Putin regime." Petrova said in a recent New York Times op-ed that she was returning to the U.S. after vacationing in Paris when she was detained by ICE in February. She also expressed her fear of being arrested in Russia if deported, as she has been a critic of the war in Ukraine. RUSSIAN SCIENTIST AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL DETAINED BY ICE AT BOSTON AIRPORT While she admitted in the op-ed to not filling out a customs form regarding the frog embryos in her luggage, she believed it would result in a fine or warning, not an arrest. "At Logan International Airport, I did not complete a customs declaration for frog embryos (for use in our lab's research) in my luggage. I'm told this would normally result in a warning or a fine. Instead, my visa was revoked, and I was sent to a detention center in Louisiana," Petrova wrote. In her op-ed, Petrova claimed that colleagues said the lab—home to the world's only NoRI (short for Normalized Raman Imaging) microscope—"ground to a halt" after her detention. "Without me there to help, the lab has been unable to analyze the image data that the microscope generates," Petrova wrote. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP She also claimed that several of her colleagues are afraid of having their visa status revoked and being detained, as "many" are "foreign scientists." On Wednesday, a federal judge grilled government attorneys on their grounds for canceling Petrova's visa and detaining her, the Times reported. The judge reportedly set a bail hearing for Petrova later this month. Romanovsky told the NYT that he believes the government filed the criminal charge against his client "to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her." He also said that he and his client were "blindsided by the unsealing of a meritless criminal complaint," which came after the bail hearing was set. Print Close URL
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova charged with smuggling as she fights deportation
Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist and researcher at Harvard University, was charged on Wednesday with one criminal count of smuggling goods into the country. The criminal charge represents an escalation by the Trump administration in a case that has drawn international scrutiny from academics and scientists throughout the world. Petrova, 30, was already facing deportation after failing to disclose frog embryos she brought into the country from France in February. After Customs and Border Protection agents discovered Petrova's scientific samples, she was detained, her J-1 nonimmigrant visa was revoked, and she was transferred to a Louisiana detention center. Petrova continues to await a judge's decision on whether she will be deported to Russia, which she fled in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, fearing political persecution. Petrova had been outspoken against the war. 'If I go back, I am afraid I will be imprisoned because of my political position and my position against war,' Petrova told The Associated Press last month. A hearing on her case was held on Wednesday, and, according to The New York Times, a federal prosecutor told the judge that the government intends to deport Petrova back to Russia. The Times reported that a bail hearing had just been scheduled for later this month, apparently setting the stage for Petrova's release. According to the Times, Petrova's lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, called into question the government's timing, saying the criminal charge, 'filed three months after the alleged customs violation, is clearly intended to make Kseniia look like a criminal to justify their efforts to deport her.' 'Almost immediately after the hearing, we were blindsided by the unsealing of a meritless criminal complaint,' Romanovsky said, according to the Times, noting the hearing had established the detention was unlawful. 'The timing of Kseniia's transfer out of ICE custody into criminal custody is especially suspect because it happened right after the judge set a bail hearing for her release,' he continued. The Associated Press contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
