|
|
Smart birds
HAMBURG, Feb 12: Many seabirds are able to navigate to within centimeters of their nests, even in the middle of a hurricane while.....more
Wahid supporters attack TUBAN (INDONESIA), Feb 12: Some 5,000 supporters of embattled Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid attacked a Government office in....more Co Chairman of the India Caucus cancels visit to Pak WASHINGTON, Feb 12: Republican Co Chairman of the Congressional India Caucus Edward Royce has cancelled his visit to.......more |
|
‘Universe is at least 12.5 billion years old’ LONDON, Feb 12: Scientists are beginning to nail down the minimum age of the universe, with the latest estimate put at 12.5 billion years....more Cambodia Khmer Rouge trial bill set to become law PHNOM PENH, Feb 12: A trial of leaders of Cambodia’s infamous Khmer Rouge "killing fields" regime moved a step closer today after the country’s....more Killer crocodile shot KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12: Soldiers shot dead a 4.6-metre-long crocodile that had snatched and devoured a 10-year-old boy bathing in a Borneo River,....more LTTE threatens to scuttle COLOMBO, Feb 11: Tamil tiger rebels have threatened to scuttle imminent peace talks with the Sri Lankan.....more |
 |
 |
Smart birds astound scientists HAMBURG, Feb 12: Many seabirds are able to navigate to within centimeters of their nests, even in the middle of a hurricane while an eagle can spot prey from a remarkable height. When it come to maneuverability and perception, birds are vastly superior to humans and some birds have proven themselves to be extremely clever as well. Results of studies currently being carried out, mainly on birds belonging to the crow family, the corvidae, show just how smart these feathered friends can be. Research at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, on magpies, a member of the crow family, has yielded surprising results. Studies of eight magpies at the University have more than proven the proverbial craftiness of these birds. In tests where objects were hidden for the birds to find, these young magpies achieved scores which would normally only be attained by humans, anthropoid apes and dogs. It would seem the birds are also able to recognise themselves in the mirror, it was reported in the latest edition of Rubin, the University’s science magazine. Magpies have been tested and found capable of finding concealed objects moved from one location to another without having seen this being done. The ability to find objects is of extreme importance to the birds for their survival, because they often store food in hidden places and need to find it again. When fledgling birds leave the nest at around ten weeks old, they are already masters of the art. Another outstanding aspect of the magpies is their complex social behaviour. They are able to identify individual members of their flock. Intricate experiments with mirrors conducted by the university in bochum have shown an amazing level of self-perception in the birds. Compared to a budgerigar, for example, which even after years will still regard the image in its mirror as just another members of the budgie race, magpies inspect their reflection in an investigative and inquisitive manner. This self-oriented behaviour of marked magpies in front of a mirror implies that the birds are aware of their own bodies. In an interview with the German Press Agency DPA, behavioural researcher Helmut Prior, a member of the Bochum University team, said that until fairly recently the performance abilities of such birds had been underestimated. This was evident primarily in the field of memory, says prior, referring to recent studies being carried out by British researchers Nicola Clayton and Anthony Dickinson. This research has shown that the blue jay, another member of the crow family, is capable of remembering several things simultaneously, not only the location where food was hidden, for example, but also when the food was hidden and what kind it was, allowing the jay a more flexible use of its stores. Another research result cited by prior is the immense memory capacity of some birds. In the case of jays, the ability to remember thousands of individual locations has been observed by American researchers Alan Kamil and Russel Balda. Comparable performance in mammals is not known, however warm-blooded creatures have other strengths and advantages. One reason why birds have been underestimated for so long is the fact that the make-up of their brains differs so drastically from those of mammals and humans. It is probable that the incredible performances of these birds, carried out via the cerebral cortex, is processed using a nervous system constructed and switched differently to that of other creatures. It is, in any case, a highly organised piece of anatomy. The types of performance differ from bird to bird. The motor for the development of the enormous learning ability was probably the fact that the learning itself brought the crow family of birds many advantages. In comparison, prior cites the carrier pigeon which has developed different abilities. Pigeons can only remember a few feeding places but are capable of astonishing feats of orientation. A rough guideline to the age of the birds and their separate species shows that the forerunners of birds and mammals split in their common development around 300 million years ago. Around 150 million years later the ur-birds, the first real birds, appeared. The family of the crows, the corvidae, appeared on the scene about 50 to 60 million years ago and the oldest crow fossils in europe are some 25 million years old. The present species of birds developed over the last few million years. (DPA) |
|
Wahid supporters attack Govt office in East Java TUBAN (INDONESIA), Feb 12: Some 5,000 supporters of embattled Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid attacked a Government office in volatile East Java today, the latest in a wave of political violence rocking the nation’s stability. Witnesses said protesters threw rocks at the local Government office in Tuban town, smashing windows. They also destroyed traditional handicrafts and flower pots arrayed in the compound. They had earlier protested at the local legislature building in support of Wahid, who faces his gravest test after parliament censured him 10 days ago over two financial scandals. Tuban lies 700 km east of Jakarta. The crowd were planning to pray for Wahid at a nearby park, witnesses said. "We are trying to prevent any violence, we are trying to block the protesters from the Golkar office," Suwardi, a local police official told Reuters, referring to a rival political party that has borne the brunt of recent pro-wahid protests. In Jakarta, some 1,000 pro-Wahid high-school students clad in their uniforms protested in front of Parliament against moves to overthrow the President. The flag-waving students said they would march through the city’s streets to the Presidential palace, around five km away. (REUTERS) |
|
Co Chairman of the India Caucus cancels visit to Pak WASHINGTON, Feb 12: Republican Co Chairman of the Congressional India Caucus Edward Royce has cancelled his visit to Pakistan as part of the ten-day tour of a US Congressional team to the subcontinent from February 15. The Indian American groups were up in arms against the Congressional India Caucus team’s proposed visit to Pakistan and India in a bid to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. Co Chairmen of the Caucus Jim McDermott and Edward Royce had come under pressure from these groups after they announced their intention to visit the subcontinent to help the leadership of both the countries in resolving the Kashmir issue. Reporting the cancellation of Mr Royce’s visit, community newspaper the "India post" congratulated him for clarifying that he was not going to Islamabad, and that he would only undertake a visit to India. What has exercised the community is that the idea of the visit to Pakistan was mooted by Congressman David Bonior who is backed by Pakistani community from Detroit. Expressing the sentiments of the Indian community, the newspaper said the visit to Pakistan was totally unexpected especially in the wake of the brutal earthquake in Gujarat. Mr Sampat Shivangi, Chairman of coalition of Indian American Physicians, said he was glad that Mr Royce had decided to back out from the Pakistan visit. Earlier, he had written to Mr Royce saying that the visit would tantamount to legitimising the military rule in Pakistan. As per the original proposal, a four-member US Congressional team, led by Mr Royce, was to visit India and Pakistan for ten days from February 15 to assess the progress of the peace process in the Kashmir Valley. Mr McDermott said the team would try to figure out whether they could play any role in resolving the long pending Kashmir issue. He, however, made it clear that they had no plans to be the interlocutors. The other members of the delegation are Mr David Bonior from Michigan and Mr Joseph pitts from Pennsylvania. "We want to look at the Kashmir situation, get the feel from both the sides and try to figure out if there is any role for us to play", Mr McDermott said. The delegation would also visit Islamabad and Lahore before proceeding to earthquake-affected areas of Gujarat. Mr McDermott said the proposal to visit the subcontinent was mooted during a meeting with Mr Bonior. They had decided that they should contribute to the peace process in the Kashmir Valley. (UNI) |
|
‘Universe is at least 12.5 billion years old’ LONDON, Feb 12: Scientists are beginning to nail down the minimum age of the universe, with the latest estimate put at 12.5 billion years. And thanks to the discovery of radioactive uranium in a very old star they have come closer to answering a question that has teased and thwarted astronomers for centuries. Radioactive cosmochronometry is proving to be a far more accurate tool than other techniques for pinning down the age of the universe, according to a report in Nature Magazine. Scientists can determine the age of the universe by fixing the age of the oldest stars in the galaxy with a cosmochronometer. The latest estimate of 12.5 billion years carries comes with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 billion years. A star born early in the galaxy’s history would tend to end its short life in a supernova explosion, spewing out traces of radioactive thorium and uranium. Their long half lives - the rate of radioactive decay - means they can still be measured today in the atmospheres of the following generation of stars. The hardest stars to find are ones which absorbed very little material from the supernova due to their chemical composition and these are know as metal-poor stars. Using a high-resolution spectograph, which measures the trace elements, at the very large telescope at Paranal in Chile, researcher R Cayrel and his colleagues homed in on a very old metal-poor star called CS31082-001. It has absorbed about a thousand times less iron than our sun but still shows an abundance of thorium and uranium atoms captured after the supernova blast. The existence of the two elements make it easier for astronomers to make an age estimate. With further dating it should be possible to fix the age of the universe more accurately using the new cosmochronometer. "With new discoveries, more age estimates will be found, further nailing down the exact age of the universe," said Christopher Sneden of the University of Texas in Austin writing in Nature. (DPA) |
|
Cambodia Khmer Rouge trial bill set to become law PHNOM PENH, Feb 12: A trial of leaders of Cambodia’s infamous Khmer Rouge "killing fields" regime moved a step closer today after the country’s constitutional council passed a draft bill paving the way for the tribunal. The bill must now be ratified by King Norodom Sihanouk before becoming law. It has already been passed by Cambodia’s Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. "Today the constitutional council finished debating the khmer rouge draft law, after checking it carefully. We will send it back to the national assembly today, and they will send the draft to his majesty the king to sign," a constitutional council spokesman told reporters. The tribunal is to prosecute Khmer Rouge leaders accused of responsibility for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during their infamous 1975-1979 regime. The court, based on an American formula, will involve Cambodian and foreign prosecutors and judges jointly indicting defendants and reaching verdicts together. The foreign judges will be in a minority but will hold veto power over decisions. The system is a compromise between Cambodian officials who wanted to run the tribunal on their own and the United Nations, which pressed for foreign control. The United Nations has expressed some reservations about the draft law, however, saying there are some discrepancies between the draft and the formula earlier agreed between the two sides. But it says the differences are not enough to wreck the agreement. Once the law is signed, talks are to begin with the united nations over procedures and technicalities, before the process of setting up the court begins. (REUTERS) |
|
Killer crocodile shot dead after eating boy KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12: Soldiers shot dead a 4.6-metre-long crocodile that had snatched and devoured a 10-year-old boy bathing in a Borneo River, news reports said today. Angry villagers sliced open the carcass of the female crocodile after it was shot Saturday, and found the hands and legs of Jaba Anak Kana in the reptile’s stomach. Jaba was bathing Friday in the river on the Malaysian side of Borneo in his village near the Niah National Park when the crocodile attacked him. His mother, Jema Anak Abor, jumped into the river to try to free her son, but she was hit by the crocodile’s powerful tail. "I tried to squeeze the crocodile’s stomach to free my boy, but it was too quick," she was quoted as saying by the Star Daily. The crocodile was shot at its nesting ground several metres from where the boy was attacked. Attacks by crocodiles on humans are common in remote river villages in rural Malaysia, where residents rely on rivers for their water supply. (DPA) |
|
LTTE threatens to scuttle talks if banned by Britain COLOMBO, Feb 11: Tamil tiger rebels have threatened to scuttle imminent peace talks with the Sri Lankan Government if they are banned by britain under newly-enacted anti-terrorism laws, reports here said today. The Sunday Times quoted the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)’s political ideologue Anton Balasingham as saying he had been informed that Britain would proscribe the rebels. The move would force the LTTE to stop its propaganda and fund-raising operation carried out from its London-based international secretariat. In an interview with the Tamil Weekly Sudar Oli, Balasingham is reported to have said he had raised the issue with Norwegian Peace Envoy Erik Solheim and asked him "to use his good offices and prevent the British Government from proscribing the LTTE". He said he had informed Solheim that the LTTE "had no intention of following the peace process" if the group is among those named on a list of banned organisations to be released by London in the next few days. Another newspaper, The Sunday Island, said both the Government and the LTTE have agreed to hold talks in a European country at Norway’s suggestion. The Sunday Island said unlike the previous rounds of peace talks which were held in Thimpu, Colombo and Jaffna, negotiations this time are likely to be held either in Norway, Britain or France. The newspaper quoted diplomatic sources saying that President Chandrika Kumaratunga has requested that the talks should be held outside the capitals of those countries to avoid publicity while the tigers wanted the Government to have a cease-fire in place before they sit down for talks. President Kumaratunga hinted last week that peace talks were due to open shortly, saying that the tigers had sent "small but positive signals" and the "small ray of hope" was an opportunity that should be grasped. Norway, playing the role of facilitator, has stepped up its efforts in recent weeks to push the LTTE and the Government to open a dialogue and end the protracted ethnic conflict which has taken thousands of lives. Solheim is expected to return to Sri Lanka this week to follow up on his previous visit which raised prospects of a direct meeting between Colombo and the tigers. (UNI) |
|
|
|
