People from across Europe protest logging in Polish forest

By The Associated Press
August 13, 2017 | 2:49 PM

WARSAW (AP) — Hundreds of people have gathered in an ancient forest in Poland to protest the widespread logging the government has ordered there.

The Bialowieza Forest, one of Europe’s last primeval woodlands and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the subject of a heated political dispute over the logging ordered by Poland’s conservative ruling Law and Justice party.

Environmentalists and the European Union oppose the logging, while the government argues it is necessary to fight a bark beetle infestation.

Environmentalists from Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and elsewhere in Europe joined Polish activists on Sunday to oppose what they see as destruction of the natural site.

The government has defied a July order by the EU’s Court of Justice to immediately stop the cutting.

China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission launch

By The Associated Press
August 23, 2026 | 1:30 PM

HAIKOU, China (AP) — China said on Sunday it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon. The Chang’e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on China’s southern Hainan island. The mission does not meet the launch conditions, said the China Manned Space Agency in a brief statement, and “cannot take place during the planned window this year.” The decision was made following a “comprehensive assessment,” the agency added, and was based on the principles of “prudence, reliability and absolute mission success.” It did not further elaborate on the reasons behind the decision.

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