Penguins Found Dead in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches, rescuers and penguin experts said Friday.

More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state over the past two months, according to Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the resort city of Cabo Frio.

While it is common here to find some penguins — both dead and alive — swept by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, Pimenta said there have been more this year than at any time in recent memory.

Rescuers and those who treat penguins are divided over the possible causes.

Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, said he believed overfishing has forced the penguins to swim further from shore to find fish to eat "and that leaves them more vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents."

Niteroi, the state's biggest zoo, already has already received about 100 penguins for treatment this year and many are drenched in petroleum, Muniz said. The Campos oil field that supplies most of Brazil's oil lies offshore.

Muniz said he hadn't seen penguins suffering from the effects of other pollutants, but he pointed out that already dead penguins aren't brought in for treatment.

Pimenta suggested pollution is to blame.

"Aside from the oil in the Campos basin, the pollution is lowering the animals' immunity, leaving them vulnerable to funguses and bacteria that attack their lungs," Pimenta said, quoting biologists who work with him.

But biologist Erli Costa of Rio de Janeiro's Federal University suggested weather patterns could be involved.

"I don't think the levels of pollution are high enough to affect the birds so quickly. I think instead we're seeing more young and sick penguins because of global warming, which affects ocean currents and creates more cyclones, making the seas rougher," Costa said.

Costa said the vast majority of penguins turning up are baby birds that have just left the nest and are unable to out-swim the strong ocean currents they encounter while searching for food.

Every year, Brazil airlifts dozens of penguins back to Antarctica or Patagonia.

Loyalty from Ronaldo

MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Manchester United chief executive David Gill has called on Cristiano Ronaldo to show his commitment and loyalty to the club.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson has told the Portugal international striker, who is currently recovering from an ankle operation which will keep him out of action for three months, he will not be sold to Real Madrid.

And Gill said the 23-year-old should now show his commitment to the club with which he won the Premier League and Champions League double last season.

"The player is under contract so the strength and the rights are with Manchester United," said Gill.

"I think we've been pretty clear all along that Ronaldo has got a contract until 2012, he's a valuable member of the team and that's the situation.

"Obviously there's some issues there, but that's for Alex and is why Alex had the meeting, to discuss things and put our point of view.

"I'm sure Cristiano put his point of view and hopefully we can move forward.

"All we were doing, effectively, is saying we clearly have a player who is one of the best in the world.

"He entered into a new contract, his third with us, only 18 months after his previous one.

"With that, we believe, go some responsibilities and obligations.

"There was an increased salary and we clearly feel there has to be some commitment and loyalty and he can't just say, 'I've entered into it, but I'll leave a year down the line', especially after the season we've just had.

"It's a two-way street and contracts are entered into with a view to getting that kind of commitment."

When asked if Ronaldo would be offered a new contract, Gill said: "No. He only entered into the previous contract 18 months before and in terms of where he's at in our wage hierarchy he's doing pretty well."

Gill said however he did not believe the player was just trying to get a higher salary from United.

"Possibly, but not necessarily, and if the figures bandied around that Real Madrid are talking about are true, we wouldn't go anywhere near that. That would be lunacy," he added.

Real are reportedly willing to pay 85 million euros (118 million US dollars) to sign Ronaldo, the English Premiership's top scorer last season.

Beijing limits traffic

BEIJING - With the Olympics less than three weeks away, Beijing began restricting car use and limiting factory emissions on Sunday in a final drastic effort to clear its smog-choked skies.

Under the two-month plan, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed from city streets on alternate days, depending on whether the license plate ends in an odd or even number.

Skies were relatively clear on Sunday after some morning haze, and traffic was light for a weekend, flowing smoothly on highways and city streets. But the real test will come when the work week begins.

"Things are fine today," a taxi driver who gave only her surname, Li, said as she sailed through normally traffic-snarled intersections. "But tomorrow, it may be different as people go to work."

In addition to the traffic plan, chemical plants, power stations and foundries had to cut emissions by 30 percent beginning Sunday. Dust-spewing construction in the capital was to stop entirely.

While the government has said it hopes to reduce vehicle emissions, one of Beijing's chief sources of pollution, it is unclear how the effectiveness of the plan will be gauged. The government has not made public a specific target for emissions levels or said how it will measure air quality.

Despite architecturally adventurous venues and $40 billion spent on improving infrastructure, China's greatest challenge has been keeping the city's air clean for the world's greatest athletes participating in the Aug. 8-24 games. Beijing's skyline is normally shrouded with a thick gray haze.

Already, many competitors are choosing to train away from Beijing, and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has said outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if air quality if poor.

The world's greatest distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, has decided not to run the marathon event because the city's pollution irritates his breathing.

Some 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles — aging industrial trucks, many of which operate only at night — were banned beginning July 1.

To further ease the gridlock, employers have been asked to stagger work schedules and public institutions will open an hour later than normal. And those driving on the wrong days will be fined $14, a pricey penalty for many in Beijing.

The government has also beefed up public transportation options for the estimated 4 million extra people who will be off the roads because of the traffic plan, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The city is scheduled to add up to 3,000 more buses by the time the Olympics start, raising the daily capacity for passengers from 12.5 million to 15 million, it said.

A rare 95 percent of buses reached their stops on time on Sunday because the roads were less congested, Xinhua cited Yao Zhenping, assistant to the general manager of the Beijing Public Transport Holdings Group, as saying.

Two new subway lines and an airport rail link opened on Saturday, with the projected number of passengers on all three routes expected to carry 1.1 million people daily during the Olympics.

"It's much faster than a taxi, so it's very good," said Ola Tunamder, who arrived Sunday from Helsinki, Finland, and took the airport train into the city.

And on July 25, special Olympic traffic lanes will begin operating and will stay in place until Sept. 25. The city will set aside 165 miles of roadway on which certified Olympic vehicles will be allowed to move from hotels, Olympic venues and the Athletes' Village. The average speed is expected to be 35 mph.

Experts say the pollution-curbing experiment could still go wrong.

Unpredictable winds could blow pollution into Beijing despite factory shutdowns in the city and five surrounding provinces. Or it could go the other way, with August generally being the month with little wind, potentially allowing pollution to build up.

Also Sunday, Xinhua said that China's civil aviation authorities had begun implementing air traffic control measures to deal with potential emergencies.

Citing Su Langen, an aviation official, the report said that authorities "will maintain closer monitoring of air traffic" but did not give any details.

"They will respond quickly to emergency situations such as terror attacks, hijacking of civil aircraft, and unauthorized entry of no-fly zone," Xinhua said.