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Tuesday, 20 December 2016
Bollywood's Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have a baby boy
MH370: Plane 'not likely to be in search area', say investigators
- Missing Malaysia plane MH370: What we know
- Flight MH370 'made rapid descent'
- Families take the lead in MH370 mystery
Monday, 19 December 2016
Rainbow-Headed Snake, 'Star Trek' Newt Among 163 New Species
In all, nine amphibians, 11 fish, 14 reptiles, 126 plants and three mammalian species discovered last year in the Mekong region in Southeast Asia were described for the first time in the new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The new rainbow-headed snake, Parafimbrios lao, found in Laos has been likened to David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" character.
It measures between six to seven centimetres long, and is distinguished by a dorsal ridge and unique red markings. The Phuket Horned Tree Agamid (Acanthosaura phuketensis) is a lowland forest dwelling lizard species native to Phuket Island and the Phuket mountain range in Southwest Thailand.
This medium-sized species is distinct from its mainland relatives based on unique colouration, placement and size of its many threatening-looking horns on its head and down its spine.
As the Mekong River snakes its way through Southeast Asia, it passes through some of the most biodiverse land on earth.
From its origins in China's Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau to Southern Vietnam where it empties into the South China Sea, the river acts as the backbone of a region where the wildlife is as diverse as the 300 million people that call it home.
Between 1997 and 2015 there have been 2,409 new species described in this region, adding to the over 430 mammal species, 800 reptiles and amphibians, 1,200 birds, 1,100 fish and 20,000 plant species already known to science.
However, it is not all good news for wildlife in the Greater Mekong, according to the WWF.
The region is under unprecedented development pressure, threatening the survival of the natural landscapes that make it so unique.
Construction is well underway on the Don Sahong Dam in Laos, a project that could have disastrous effects on the last Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins and the millions of people depending on the river's fisheries.
In Thailand, the proposed Mae Wong dam, presented as a solution to water management issues in Nakhon Sawan province, has the potential to irreparably damage one of country's most important forest and wetland ecosystems, which also happens to be a critically important tiger habitat.
Even more direct threats to these species are poaching for bushmeat and the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade. Hundreds of snares can be set in a single night in the region's dense forests and they do not discriminate among species.
China Rejects Donald Trump's Claim That It Stole US Naval Drone
HIGHLIGHTS
- Need to verify something before handing it back: Chinese Foreign Ministry
- Drone was snatched as it may have been hazardous to other vessels: China
- Trump accused China of 'stealing' the US drone seized in South China Sea
Beijing's seizure of the marine probe in international waters in the South China Sea raised already heightened tensions between the world's two largest military powers.
On Sunday, after Beijing and Washington announced the drone would be returned, Trump tweeted: "We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back. - let them keep it!"
"Imagine that you found something on the street -- you would need to first check and verify it before handing it back to someone else," she told a regular press conference.
Hua said the two sides "are in smooth communication through military channels, and we believe the incident will be properly handled". She gave no further details.
The Pentagon said Friday that a Chinese naval vessel "unlawfully" grabbed the unmanned underwater vehicle around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines.
China said the drone had been snatched since it might pose a safety hazard to other vessels.
It also said it "strongly opposed" US reconnaissance activities and had asked Washington to stop them.
The US said the device was collecting information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity.
In an earlier misspelled tweet Saturday, Trump also accused Beijing of theft.
"China steals United States Navy research drone in international water - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act," he wrote.
The state-owned China Daily rejected the claim in an editorial.
Trump's behaviour "could easily drive China-US relations into what Obama portrays as 'full-conflict mode'," it added, next to a cartoon that depicted Trump riding a bull into a china shop while US businessmen looked on aghast.
A separate article quoted experts as calling Trump's behaviour "diplomatically inept".
Trump has already infuriated Beijing by questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening punitive tariffs on Chinese imports.
'Not presidential'
"Trump is not behaving as a president who will become master of the White House in a month. He bears no sense of how to lead a superpower," the often nationalistic Global Times, which has close ties to the ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial.
There are broader tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims to the region by expanding tiny reefs and islets into artificial islands hosting military facilities.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have competing claims in the waterway.
While the US takes no position on sovereignty claims in the area, it has repeatedly stressed freedom of navigation.
Its military has conducted several operations in which ships and planes have passed close to the sites Beijing claims.
"No matter how powerful the US Navy is, it cannot act on the bottom line of China's security," said a second editorial about the probe seizure in the Global Times Monday.
"If we see sonar and underwater gliders deployed by foreign ships in the South China Sea in the future, we would rather mistakenly capture a thousand than miss a single one."
'Grave Concerns' About Donald Trump's Mental Stability: Harvard Doctors
HIGHLIGHTS
- Top US psychiatry professors urge Obama for 'medical evaluation' of Trump
- In August, President Obama had called Trump 'unfit to serve as president'
- An Oxford study claimed Trump has more psychopathic traits than Hitler
In the letter addressed to the US president, the doctors -- one from the Harvard Medical School and two others who have been associated with top US varsities over the years -- have urged him to order a "full medical and neuropsychiatric evaluation" before the President-elect takes office on January 20.
The letter assumes significance as it is written by three distinguished professors of psychiatry -- Judith Herman, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Nanette Gartrell, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry , University of California, San Francisco (1988-2011,) and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School (1983-87); and Dee Mosbacher, Ph.D. Assistant Clinical Professor Department of Community Health Systems University of California, San Francisco (2005-2013).
"Professional standards do not permit us to venture a diagnosis for a public figure whom we have not evaluated personally. Nevertheless, his widely reported symptoms of mental instability -- including grandiosity, impulsiveness, hypersensitivity to slights or criticism, and an apparent inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality -- lead us to question his fitness for the immense responsibilities of the office," the letter said.
In August, President Obama had questioned the 70-year-old business tycoon's judgement and temperament and called him "unfit to serve as president".
In June, Atlantic published a psychologist's findings that Trump suffered from "narcissism, disagreeableness, grandiosity".
In August, an Oxford study claimed that Trump has more psychopathic traits than Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Psychologist Kevin Dutton from Oxford University ranked the psychopathic traits of the US presidential hopefuls and historical figures using a standard psychometric tool - the Psychopathic Personality Inventory - Revised (PPI-R).
Trump outstripped Hitler on factors including social influence and fearlessness, while the Nazi dictator scored higher on cold heartedness and Machiavellian egocentricity - which describes a lack of empathy and sense of detachment from others for the sake of achieving one's own goals.
Russia Calls Killing Of Ankara Envoy A 'Terrorist' Act
"Today in Ankara as a result of an attack the Russian ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov received wounds that he died from," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in televised comments.
"Today this issue will be raised at the UN Security Council. Terrorism will not win out."
The gunman, identified by the Ankara mayor as a Turkish policeman, shot the ambassador at an Ankara art exhibition, shouting "Aleppo" and "revenge".
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been informed.
The incident came after days of protests in Turkey over Russia's role in Syria, although Moscow and Ankara are now working closely together to evacuate citizens from the battered city of Aleppo.