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WEEKLY UPDATE
Turtles conservation programme to be launched
KARACHI: World Wide Fund (WWF-Pakistan) will launch a crash programme on Saturday to conserve and help grow marine turtles along Karachi coast.
WWF-P’s marine turtles’ conservation initiative at Karachi coast aims to complement and expand the current marine turtle conservation efforts by Sindh Wildlife department, he said.
WWF-P hence would focus four key areas which would include capacity building of local communities i.e. training and involvement of visitors to the beach and other target groups, protection of turtles’ hatchlings, eggs and beach cleaning activities.
He identified three major threats to marine turtles at Karachi coast including pollution on beach, predation on eggs and hatchlings from dogs, crows, kites, beach visitors and disturbance by visitors like noise and lights.
WWF-P has focussed its efforts towards monitoring turtles population and creating awareness among the visitors specially students along with other target groups.
Sindh Wildlife department has been implementing a marine turtles conservation programme at Karachi coast for the last two decades but their efforts have been focussed on establishing and running turtles hatcheries in the area.
All species of marine turtles are listed in the convention of international trade in endangered species (0CITES). —APP
Sugary soft drinks raise risk of diabetes
CHICAGO: US rates of diabetes have soared alongside soft drink consumption, and scientists said on Tuesday the spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels triggered by the sugary drinks may be at least partly to blame.
Adult-onset diabetes is caused by the body either becoming resistant to insulin or not producing enough of it.
“Rates of diabetes are skyrocketing. At the same time, over the last couple of decades, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has increased,” said Meir Stampfer of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, one of the authors of a study examining the link.
Between 1977 and 1997, US soft drink consumption rose 61 per cent among adults and more than doubled among children, the study said. The increased incidence of diabetes has also paralleled the growing obesity epidemic, the report said.
Soft drinks are absorbed quickly and one does not feel full despite consuming plenty of calories, the report said.
“Soft drinks are the leading source of added sugar in the American diet. They provide a large amount of excess calories and no nutritional value,” said Matthias Schulze, the study’s lead author. —Reuters
Isinbayeva breaks world record
ATHENS: Yelena Isinbayeva beat her fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova to win the Olympic Games women’s pole vault title on Tuesday and set a world record of 4.91 metres.
When Feofanova failed at 4.80 metres, Isinbayeva cleared it on her first attempt to win the gold in only the second time this event has been held at an Olympics.
The 22-year-old Isinbayeva then vaulted over 4.85 and Feofanova’s attempt to salvage the title failed as she could not get over 4.90m.
Then, with the crowd in the Olympic Stadium roaring her on, she cleared 4.91m at the first time of asking to add one centimetre to the world record of 4.90m that she herself set in London on July 30.
Poland’s Anna Rogowska won the bronze medal with 4.70m. —AFP
Remains returned
MELBOURNE: The skeletal remains of 74 Australian Aborigines stolen from burial sites last century were returned to their descendants on Wednesday in a traditional ceremony.
Elders from the Ngarrindjeri clan travelled from their South Australian community to collect the remains from the Melbourne Museum.
Ceremonies on ancestral lands would be held later to welcome the remains home, they said. —AFP
Young actor awarded
TOKYO: Yuuya Yagira, the 14-year-old named best actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, received a Japanese government award on Wednesday for his performance in the movie Nobody Knows.
Takeo Kawamura, the minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, awarded Yagira with a commendation certificate at a ceremony held at the ministry.
Yagira, who began acting two years ago, is the youngest person ever to receive the best actor award at Cannes. Nobody Knows was his first movie. —APP
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