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Weekly update
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KARACHI: Pakistan’s prolific run-scorer Mohammad Yousuf set a world record on the fourth day of the third test against the West Indies here on Monday with his eighth century of the year, breaking the record of seven hundreds in a calendar year jointly held by West Indian Vivian Richards and Sri Lankan Aravinda de Silva. It was Yousuf's sixth century against the West Indies in eight tests and his fifth in successive matches. The 32-year-old has accumulated 1,664 runs in 11 tests this year, only 47 runs short of another record held by Richards since 1976 for most runs in a calendar year. —AP |
Snow leopard fitted with satellite collar in Pakistani mountains
ISLAMABAD: Conservationists have fitted a snow leopard in northwest Pakistan with a satellite-tracking collar to uncover the secrets of one of the world's most endangered and elusive animals.
For the first time, international experts hid among icy peaks for weeks to trap the 77 pound female and attach the high-tech GPS (global positioning system) device.
Since the feline was released back into the wild earlier this month the collar has fed back unprecedented data on its movements and habitat, with plans underway to tag five leopards altogether.
“This is the first time in history that a snow leopard has been fitted with a GPS collar,” Javed Khan, Pakistan programme director of the Seattle-based Snow Leopard Trust, told AFP.
Snow leopards are found in the remote mountains of Central Asia, spanning 12 countries from Afghanistan to China.
But the species is close to extinction with only 5,000 to 7,000 left in the world — around 350 in Pakistan. Populations are in decline due to poaching, revenge-killing by herders and decline in their natural prey.
And helping them has been difficult because until now their solitary nature has made them almost impossible to study.
The cat was named Bayad-i-Kohsaar (‘In Memory of Mountains’ in the Urdu) to honour several conservationists who died in a helicopter accident in Nepal in September.
The collar will automatically drop off after 13 months.—AFP
Violent video-game effects linger in brain
CHICAGO: Teens who play violent video games show increased activity in areas of the brain linked to emotional arousal and decreased responses in regions that govern self-control, a study released on Tuesday found.
The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to record tiny metabolic changes in brain activity in 44 adolescents who were asked to perform a series of tasks after playing either a violent or non-violent video game for 30 minutes.
The children, with no history of behaviour problems, ranged in age from 13 to 17. Half played a T-rated first-person shooter game called Medal of Honour: Frontline, involving military combat, while the other group played a non-violent game called Need for Speed: Underground.
Those who played the violent video game showed more activation in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal, and less activation in the prefrontal portions of the brain associated with control, focus and concentration than the teens who played the non-violent game.
After playing the games, the children completed tasks requiring concentration and processing of emotional stimuli while their brain activity was scanned. Alterations in brain function reflecting changes in blood flow appeared as brightly coloured areas on the magnetic resonance images.
“What we showed is there is an increase in emotional arousal. The fight or flight response is activated after playing a violent video game,” said Dr Vincent Mathews, a professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and the study's author.
Numerous behavioural and cognitive studies have linked exposure to violent media and aggressive behaviour.—Reuters
Ski cross to make debut at 2010 Winter Games
THE International Olympic Committee on Tuesday gave the green light for ski cross to make its debut at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. The IOC's Executive Board, in a bid to keep up with modern winter disciplines popular with young people and broadcasters, agreed to introduce ski cross during their meeting in Kuwait.
“Yes, ski cross is in,” IOC Vice President Gunilla Lindberg told reporters immediately after the meeting. Ski cross is a freestyle event similar to snowboard cross.
All new events introduced at this year's Turin Games would also remain on the programme for Vancouver, the IOC said.
The IOC did turn down other disciplines though, namely women's ski jumping, biathlon mixed relay, bobsleigh, skeleton and luge team competitions as well as the Alpine skiing national team event. It also blocked the entry of curling mixed doubles.
The decision to include ski cross does not need ratification by the IOC session as it does not increase the number of sports represented at the Olympics. Only the addition or removal of a sport requires a vote by all IOC members.
Snowboard cross made its first Olympic appearance at the 2006 Turin Games and became an instant hit with the crowd.
The IOC also ruled out ski orienteering, ski mountaineering and winter Triathlon for the 2014 Games, the venue for which still has to be decided.—Reuters
Shoes sale faster in Britain than elsewhere
LONDON: Despite France and Italy's reputation as a haven for the sales of designer shoes, it is across the Channel where growth in the industry has been fastest in Europe, according to research published on Tuesday.
The footwear market in Britain is set to grow a further 17 per cent between 2006 and 2010, according to market research firm Mintel, after having expanded by 38 per cent in the past five years to reach 9.4 billion euros ($12.3 billion) by the end of the year. By comparison, the market for shoes in Italy — the largest in Europe — has grown by just one per cent over the last five years, while France has seen growth of just four percent.
“Footwear in the UK has moved centre stage in the world of fashion and demand has been growing rapidly,” said Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel.
“People are now far more willing to buy a pair of shoes for a specific occasion or to go with one particular outfit.”
At the same time, one in every 10 British women have more than 30 pairs of shoes — one for every day of the month — while a further 20 per cent own between 16 and 30 pairs, the research showed.—AFP
Man hangs on to roof pursuing car thief
BERLIN: A father of two in Germany stunned authorities when he chased down an auto thief by car, leapt onto the roof of the stolen vehicle and then phoned through instructions to police as the crook sped off with him.
Police in the western town of Siegburg said the 43-year-old had first called in to say he had spotted the thief and was in pursuit — despite the fact he had his wife and two young children in the car.
The man stopped the thief by crashing into the stolen car. Then, as the thief put the car in gear and drove off again, the father jumped onto the roof.
“The witness held onto the roof of the vehicle, phoned through his position to the local station and audibly attempted to pacify the car thief,” police said in a statement.
After driving about half a mile, the thief let the man climb down, and was shortly afterwards apprehended by traffic police.—Reuters
Child death prompts call for TV to drop wrestling
JAKARTA: Indonesia's broadcasting watchdog on Tuesday asked a television station to drop or move a popular US wrestling programme after a child was killed trying to imitate the moves of his muscle-bound heroes.
The “World Wrestling Entertainment” show has been blamed for the death of a nine-year-old boy in Bandung, West Java, after three teenage friends staged a mock wrestling match with him.
At least four other primary schoolboys have also suffered various injuries after taking part in wrestling matches apparently inspired by the show which features continuous “smackdown” professional wrestling matches.
The Broadcast Commission of Indonesia (KPI) regulator has asked LAtivi station to either drop the programme or screen it very late, a committee member and a company spokesman said Tuesday.—AFP
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