The recent report of the sighting of a few Kashmir musk deer has given conservationists hope that the species may be alive and well amongst the forests in Afghanistan. The study published by the World Wildlife Foundation in the November edition of the journal Oryx, states that a team of researchers scouring the country's Nuristan Province in 2008 and 2009, encountered the animals on five separate occasions....
Read news articleSunday, November 9th, marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a barrier that had divided the city of Berlin and the country in two - democratic West Germany and communist-controlled East Germany. When the barrier was finally removed on November 9th, 1989, the decision was met with much joy and enthusiasm with more than two million East Berliners crossing over to the West, that weekend....
Read news articleIt was the classic David vs. Goliath scenario, except in this case, the boy was represented by a seemingly helpless porcupine and Goliath, by a pride of 17 hungry lions that would have loved to add the quill-bearing rodent to their dinner menu. Fortunately, the struggle ended just like the story, with the lions scurrying away in defeat!...
Read news articleWith a population of 156 million, Bangladesh ranks amongst the world's most populous nations. What makes the situation worse is that most of the country is situated on the low-lying Ganges delta, formed by the confluence of three major rivers - Ganges, Brahamputra and Meghna. As a result, it is highly susceptible to flooding especially during the rainy season from July to October, when the rivers rise as much as 12-feet, making many areas accessible only by boat....
Read news articleThough the last book of the spectacular Harry Potter series was released seven years ago in 2007, the young wizard continues to be extremely popular with both kids and adults. Over the years, Potter fans have been able to experience numerous aspects of the young wizard's life, right down to his favorite drink - Butterbeer. Now thanks to a British hotel, they can also spend a night in the wizard's Hogwarts Castle dormitory room....
Read news articleArtists generally have a better perception of colors than the average person. However, very few can discern colors quite like Concetta Antico, a San Diego-based contemporary artist. That's because this talented painter happens to be a tetrachromat - a select group of people that have the ability to distinguish 100 million nuances of color, an astounding hundred times what a normal person can observe! This means that their world is full of vivid colors that most of us will never experience....
Read news articleIn 2012, the world mourned the loss of Lonesome George, a 100-year-old giant tortoise that resided on the Galapagos Island of Pinta. While losing any member of these ancient species that outlive most humans is sad, what made it worse was that George was believed to be the last known living member of the Pinta Island giant tortoise subspecies. Fortunately, the same fate does not await the Hood Island giant tortoises of EspaƱola Island....
Read news articleFirst there were the delicious cotton candy grapes and now an effervescent apple that will have your mouth tingling with joy! Called "Paradis Sparkling", the unusual fruit is the result of eight years of research by Swiss fruit nursery Lubera....
Read news articleOn October 14th, 2012, 43-year-old Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner mesmerized the world when he skydived from an altitude of 128,000 feet. Along the way, he became the first man to break through the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent and also broke skydiving records for exit altitude, vertical free-fall distance without drogue and vertical speed without drogue. Now just about two years later, Google Vice President Alan Eustace has completed a similar feat by skydiving from an even higher altitude - 135,908 feet!...
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