Sri Lanka faces an environmental disaster

Sri Lanka scrambles to contain sinking ship carrying chemicals [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Sri Lanka faces an environmental disaster [This photo provided by Sri Lankan Air Force shows the sinking MV X-Press Pearl at Kapungoda where it is anchored off Colombo port, Sri Lanka.] Credit: Sri Lanka Air Force via AP Sri Lanka environmental disaster Sri Lanka is facing an environmental disaster after the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl cargo [ship broke out and caught fire off the coast](, just north of the capital, Colombo, on May 20. The ship carrying chemicals burned for two weeks until the fire was put out this week, spilling microplastics and killing marine life across pristine beaches. Despite efforts by Sri Lankan and Indian navies to prevent the ship from breaking and sinking, rough seas and winds hampered the operation. Now, [the ship is sinking](, threatening an oil spill. WHO approves Sinovac shot The World Health Organization has approved a [COVID-19 vaccine made by Chinese]( pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech for emergency use, allowing the shot to be included in COVAX, a global vaccine distribution program for middle- and lower-income countries. The WHO expert panel recommended the use of the two-dose vaccine for adults over 18, after reviewing data on Sinovac’s safety and efficacy and the company’s manufacturing practices, making it the second Chinese vaccine to be given WHO authorization, after Sinopharm was given the green light in early May. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Biden administration [suspended Trump-era oil and gas leases]( in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska — a remote, oil-rich, 19.6 million-acre refuge home to polar bears, caribou, snowy owls and other wildlife, including migrating birds from six continents. The order by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leases signed by President Biden on his first day in office. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [COVID downward spiral in Latin America disrupts life-saving services]( [COVID-19 patient Eustaquio Ruiz, 46, lies on a stretcher outside the ICU of the Ineram Hospital, the fourth clinic where he was taken in search of a hospital with room in Asuncion, Paraguay. Ruiz was put back into the ambulance to search for a fifth hospital, May 24, 2021.]( Credit: Jorge Saenz/AP Brazil’s experience with the pandemic has become a cautionary tale of what happens when infections go unchecked and vaccination rates lag, according to Marcia Castro, a Brazilian demographer and chair of global health and population at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. [Latin America now makes up around a third of all COVID-19 deaths globally](, despite the region accounting for just 8% of the world’s population. [China now allows 3 kids per family, but many couples say they can’t afford it]( [A child is supported on the balance beam during classes at the Inspire Sports private gym in Shanghai, China, June 18, 2016.]( Credit: Ng Han Guan/AP/File photo As China grapples with an aging population and the lowest birth rate in decades, the government is urging couples to have a third child. But many families say they can't afford to have more children. “I don’t think this policy is for people like me. It’s for people who need the policy … for super rich people, or people in the village, but not people like me,” [said Ashley Fu](, a new mom in Shanghai. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Enjoy the blooms right from your room! The [Keukenhof]( garden in the Netherlands has created a [virtual tour]( of its spring display of 7 million hand-planted flowers. Most of them are tulips and this year, 800 different types were selected by quality and color. Keukenhof was closed last year for the first time since it opened in 1950 because of COVID-19. Plans to open this year were postponed, so organizers decided to share their arangements with the world online. 🌷 [Screen shot from European Waterways on Twitter]( Credit: Twitter --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it from The World --------------------------------------------------------------- - [Variant names go Greek]( - [Pandemic continues to delay scientific fieldwork]( - [What’s going on with gun crime in Sweden?]( - [Should we put kids in ‘time out’?]( - [China’s new population rule may fall short]( - [Stephen Hawking archive to be housed in the UK]( - [Mars Curiosity Rover captures colorful photos of clouds on Mars]( - [Yemeni fishermen sell whale vomit for $1.5 million]( - [US Defense budget reveals military priorities]( - [Japan’s Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open, sparking long-overdue conversation on mental health in elite sports]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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