Free Republic

"We couldn't let such a nice prison burn down," Ronny Stenberg said after he and fellow inmates at Arendal Prison in Fyresdal chose to fight flames rather than run. "I don't dare think what would have happened if the prisoners themselves hadn't discovered the fire and helped fight it," prison guard Daniel Trollsås told newspaper Agderposten. When firefighters arrived after about 40 minutes, a prisoner sleeping near the blaze had been pulled out to safety and the fire halted, with damage limited to only one barracks. In appreciation of the effort, the prison threw a party last Wednesday after the...

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) - Idyllic island and beach holiday destinations on Tuesday launched their cry of alarm about the impact of climate change, warning that it was threatening their scenery and their livelihoods. Tourism and government officials from Australia, Egypt, Fiji and the Seychelles underlined that rising sea levels, warmer temperatures and storms were damaging beaches and coral reefs that underpin a vital part of their economies. "The issue of climate change is no longer an issue for the future, it is an issue for today," Fiji's Secretary for Tourism Bannve Kuamaitotoya told the UN meeting on climate change and...