Seals and porpoises are becoming a common sight in the Thames Estuary and further upstream, survey results published on Thursday show.

A total of 2,732 marine mammals were spotted by members of the public in the river between 2004 and 2014, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said in a report.

Harbour seals were the most commonly sighted marine mammal, with 1,080 animals reported, while 333 grey seals were also recorded during the ongoing survey.

Another 823 unidentified seals were also spotted over the decade-long period while 49 whales, 398 harbour porpoises, 46 dolphins and three otters were also seen, the survey revealed.

The majority of sightings were of individual animals, but in September 2014 100 seals were spotted at Greenwich and in November 2014 30 pilot whales were spotted near Clacton-on-Sea.

A northern bottlenose whale famously swam up the Thames past the Houses of Parliament in 2006 but failed to survive.

Published: 20 August 2015

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A court in Britain dropped a controversial extradition case against Rwanda's intelligence chief on Monday, leaving him free to return home.

General Karenzi Karake was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant issued by Spain in June and had been on bail but the case was dismissed following a hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates Court.

After the arrest at London's Heathrow airport, a Spanish judicial source said Karake was accused of "crimes of terrorism" linked to the killing of nine Spanish citizens in Rwanda in the mid-1990s.

British police said the 54-year-old was arrested over alleged "war crimes against civilians".

Karake's defence lawyers and prosecutors in the case gave different reasons for why the general, a key figure in the regime of President Paul Kagame, had been freed by the court.

"The general has been freed unconditionally after the Spanish authorities conceded that the general has committed no offence that could be prosecuted in both England and Spain," a statement from Omnia Strategy, the firm representing him, said.

Omnia Strategy was founded by Cherie Blair, wife of Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair, whose Africa Governance Initiative has advised Kagame. Cherie Blair also led Karake's legal team.

But a Spanish judicial source told AFP that the judge in the case believed "the UK was not competent to hear such offences committed outside British territory."

The Crown Prosecution Service, which oversees prosecutions in England and Wales, said the case was dismissed because "the relevant laws on the conduct alleged in this case do not cover the acts of non-UK nationals or residents abroad."

Published: 13 August 2015

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Military personnel are Tuesday preparing to defuse an unexploded World War Two bomb which prompted the evacuation of hundreds of families in east London.

The bomb which was discovered at a building site in Bethnal Green at around 12:45pm on Monday, forced the evacuation of 150 people from nearby homes and businesses.

Families were forced to spend the night at a local school after the 500lb device was discovered at Temple Street.

Tower Hamlets Council extended an exclusion zone around the bomb from 100 to 200 metres, leading to major traffic delays as several key roads were closed.

Published: 11 August 2015

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