Invasive sea lampreys, dubbed 'vampire fish,' devastate Great Lakes fish populations, impacting a multi-billion dollar industry. A US-Canada partnership and a chemical lampricide control them, but a 2020-21 lapse saw populations surge. New legislation proposes $500M to find solutions for this and other invasive species.
Wildfire smoke from Ontario and Minnesota affects US mid-Atlantic, northeast, Midwest, and Great Lakes, causing poor air quality, health concerns, and event disruptions, with some relief possible by Sunday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia shares the African Union's deep concerns about the complex situations in various African regions, including the Sahara-Sahel, Great Lakes, Horn of Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, and Libya. He emphasized Russia's commitment to supporting African-led solutions to these crises, inherited from the colonial era.
China, the UN, and the African Union partnered to train security officials from Africa's Great Lakes region in Beijing on small arms control. This initiative aims to reduce illicit weapons circulation and support the AU's "Silencing the Guns" project, addressing instability that threatens China's economic interests.
