World Vignettes

Kangaroos hop into top position in the numbers gameSYDNEY: The kangaroo population in Australia has boomed to a record 25 million, outnumber...

Kangaroos hop into top position in the numbers game

SYDNEY: The kangaroo population in Australia has boomed to a record 25 million, outnumbering the human population of 18.5 million, according to a new survey published on Saturday by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation CSIRO. Scientists believe that in the case of kangaroos, human habitation has done much to assist the survival of the national icon. The rapid development of artificial water supplies coupled with the extermination of large numbers of dingoes, which prey on young kangaroos, has encouraged the survival of the species, CSIRO wildlife ecologist David Freudenberger said in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Savvy fly-ers

BERKELEY: Anyone who ever spent a summer day swatting at and missing pesky flies knows frustration. Now scientists say it8217;s aerodynamics that makes flies the savviest fliers on the planet. The insects are equipped with an interactive control system so simple yet intricate that theycould teach aeronautical engineers a thing or two, said Michael Dickinson of the University of California, Berkeley. He believes the lowly fly8217;s design could help engineers in a number of ways, such as designing miniature flying robots to help in space missions. 8220;Flies are the most accomplished fliers on the planet in terms of aerodynamics,8221; he said in a study published on Friday in the journal Science.

Titanic in China

BEIJING: Stunned by the success of Hollywood blockbuster, Titanic, China has announced it will launch similar high-tech films within a year. Yang Buting, deputy director of China8217;s Film Bureau, said that China is capable of making blockbuster films like Titanic and had already invested 3 million US dollars in developing special technology for such films. A government research institute, Qinghua University and the Beijing Film Studio were responsible for developing the technology, Yang told the official Xinhua News Agency. 8220;China will complete her firstdigital movie next year,8221; he said, adding 8220;technically speaking, China will then have no problems in making movies like Titanic.8221;

Karo-kiri killings

ISLAMABAD: Karo-kari killings or killings on grounds of honour have claimed the lives of 100 women in the rural areas of Sindh province in Pakistan in the first three months of the current year. Seventy of the victims, who were married and in their 208217;s, were killed on the flimsiest of charges such as smiling at a person or talking to a stranger, according to a survey conducted by Sindhi daily Kawish. 8220;Most of the killings were aimed at simply eliminating a woman as to grab her share of property,8221; it said, quoting a report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan HCRC which castigated the killings as 8220;pre-planned motivated murder8221;.

Seeing red in brown

BUCHAREST: The brown bear is under double attack in Romania 8212; on the one hand by shepherds protecting their flocks, and now increasingly by rich hunters from western Europe.But while the animals can fight the shepherds on relatively good terms, hunters are another matter 8212; some 140 bears have been killed by them since 1992, according to official statistics. And open season has just been declared for the biennial chance to take a pot shot at them in the Carpathian Mountains.