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by Anne BEADE Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is moving to pass its strictest-ever smoking laws, but the country’s powerful tobacco lobby wants to stub out measures that were adopted years ago by other developed nations. The government is keen to change Japan’s image as a puffing paradise — smoking is still allowed in most bars, restaurants and cafes — as Tokyo gets set to host millions of visitors for the 2020 […]
CALIFORNIA, United States (Reuters) — Vus’Musi, a 13-year-old male zoo elephant in California, got a shiny new replacement for his worn-out tusks after a Fresno zoo capped them with brass. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo said on Thursday (March 9) that Vus’Musi had a history of being rough with his tusks and that they had become worn and cracked at his former zoo in San Diego. The cracks could have led to the tusks actually breaking, […]
MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Indian doctors said Thursday that an Egyptian who was believed to be the world’s heaviest woman had successfully undergone weight-loss surgery after losing over 100 kilograms (220 pounds). Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty, who previously weighed around 500 kilos, had not left her house in Egypt in over two decades until arriving in Mumbai last month for bariatric surgery. “We are happy to inform all well-wishers that the medical team of […]
Reuters — A team of engineers from South Korean have re-designed the bicycle lock into a small circular device installed on the hub of the front wheel. The Bisecu bicycle lock aims to take the hassle out of safeguarding your bike, eliminating the need to carry a bulky and often heavy locking device. Its novel circular design also means that it cannot be cut or tampered with like typical bike locks. Once connected to the […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) — A fifth big cat was spotted in London’s Trafalgar Square on Wednesday (March 8). Perched atop an inspection box near the four iconic bronze lion statues was an animatronic leopard, placed there to highlight the plight of the species. The 50kg, 1.3 meter long robot named ‘Lily’ was designed by animatronics expert John Nolan and his team. Nolan said the leopard lookalike took fifteen people and several weeks to build. […]
by Pascale MOLLARD / Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France-Presse PARIS, France – Nearly 50,000 years before the invention of penicillin, a young Neanderthal tormented by a dental abscess ate greenery containing a natural antibiotic and pain killer, analysis of his teeth revealed Wednesday. The male, who lived in El Sidron in what is now Spain, ate an antibiotic fungus called Penicillium and chewed on bits of poplar tree containing salicylic acid — the active ingredient […]
by Estelle PEARD Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Volkswagen is on track for dealing with the recall of cars involved in the “Dieselgate” emissions scandal but, longer-term, needs to regain the trust of its customers, its chief executive Matthias Mueller said Tuesday. His comments came as the EU and European consumer protection agencies hiked pressure on VW to fully compensate European clients over the affair. The Dieselgate scandal erupted in September 2015 when VW […]
by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Bumblebees have smelly feet, scientists revealed on Tuesday. Moreover, the odour in their tiny footprints is so potent that other bees can detect it hours after they had visited a flower, a team wrote in the journal Scientific Reports. Adding to the intrigue, experiments showed that bumblebees can distinguish the smell of their own feet from those of other bees. “This is the first […]
by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Yellow taxi cabs have significantly fewer accidents than cabs of a darker hue, according to research that scientists say could end up saving lives and money. A study published Monday in the journal PNAS showed canary yellow cabs in Singapore were nine percent less likely to get into fender-benders or serious smash-ups than taxis that were deep blue. “Yellow taxis are safer to travel in […]
Reuters — Sixty percent of the world’s primates are at risk of extinction. That’s the stark warning issued by 31 of the world’s leading primatologists. The academics have published an article in the journal Science Advances entitled ‘Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter’. They warn that without immediate efforts to protect tropical forests from “unsustainable pressures”, humans could precipitate a mass extinction of our closest biological relatives. The report also states […]
NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — King Kong invades Times Square. The giant ape is part of a new experience at Madame Tussauds in New York, which was unveiled on Tuesday (March 7) along with the first-ever wax figure of actor Tom Hiddleston. “He’s dressed in a costume from the film. He’ll be very recognizable to you once you’ve seen the film. And really truly fitting for the space itself with its jungle theme and […]
THOIRY, France (Reuters) — Poachers broke into a French zoo, shot dead a rare white rhinoceros and sawed off its horn in what is believed to be the first time in Europe that a rhino in captivity has been attacked and killed. The four-year-old male white rhino called Vince was found dead in his enclosure by his keeper at the Thoiry zoo and wildlife park about 50 km (30 miles) west of Paris on Tuesday […]
