Wonder Land

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 5 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2553

Asia's smallest frog found in Borneo

By Manager Online

26 August 2010 16:55

KUCHING, MALAYSIA : An undated handout picture released by the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (IBEC) on August 26, 2010 shows the frog Microhyla nepenthicola, Asia's smallest frog, sitting on the tip of a pencil in Kuching, Sarawak state. The creature the size of a pea, has been discovered in a national park in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island, researchers said on August 26. The frog, originally discovered in 2004 but not described and announced until now, measures just 3.0 millimetres when it metamorphoses from a tadpole, and grows to about 9.0 to 11.0 millimetres as an adult. It belongs to the Microhylid family of frogs which are all under 15.0 millimetres in length. AFP PHOTO / INDRANEIL DAS / IBEC

August 26, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Asia's tiniest frog, a creature the size of a pea, has been discovered in a national park in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island, researchers said Thursday.

Herpetologist Indraneil Das said he and Hamburg University colleague Alexander Haas discovered the orange-and-red frog when returning from a field trip at the Kubah National Park in 2004.

They finally announced their discovery after taxonomic journal Zootaxa published their findings.

"We heard the calls of this frog and we knew the calls of all frogs in the area and this was different," Das told AFP.

"At first we couldn't see it but eventually we found it and I had to trap the frog in one of my baby son's clean white diapers in order to really see what it looked like, it was so tiny."

The frog measures just 3.0 millimetres when it metamorphoses from a tadpole, and grows to about 9.0 to 11.0 millimetres as an adult. It belongs to the Microhylid family of frogs, which are all under 15.0 millimetres in length.

"The frog is as small as the South American species (of miniature frogs) and is definitely the tiniest in Asia, Africa and Europe," Das said.

It was named Microhyla nepenthicola after the Nepenthes ampullaria, a miniature pitcher plant in which it lives.

Das said the plant lives off decomposing organic matter that collects within it and the frog uses this as a habitat, laying its eggs in the pitcher. When the tadpoles hatch, they live in the gathered liquid until they mature.

"This just shows how much more there is left to discover in the jungles of Borneo, it's just the tip of the iceberg," said the scientist, head of the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

Sarawak and neighbouring Sabah states make up Malaysia's half of Borneo island, which is shared with Indonesia.

Das said he will be leading a team into the jungles of Indonesia and Malaysia next month to search for a supposedly extinct toad last seen in 1922, as part of a global project to rediscover 100 species of "lost" amphibians.

S.Korean golf club's tattoo ban upheld

By Manager Online

26 August 2010 11:18

This photo retrieved August 25, 2010 is from www.google.co.th. The unidentified man filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission in February, accusing the golf club of refusing to sell him membership due to tattoos on his shoulder, chest, arms and back.

August 26, 2010
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) - South Korea's state human rights watchdog said Wednesday that it had upheld a decision by a private golf club not to sell its membership to a man bearing excessive tatoos.

The unidentified man filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission in February, accusing the golf club of refusing to sell him membership due to tattoos on his shoulder, chest, arms and back.

He insisted the golf club should be punished for violating a human rights law banning discrimination on appearance.

The commission, however, ruled that the decision by the club, which was also unidentified, should not be classified as "unfair discrimination."

Under its by-law, the club can reject membership for "those who create a sense of incompatibility or give inconvenience to others," the commission said.

"The skin of players may be exposed while changing (clothes) and showering at the club, and there is a chance that people may feel uncomfortable with such tattoos," it concluded.

Thailand raises interest rates for second straight month

By Manager Online

25 August 2010 16:49

This photo was taken in May 2010. The Bank of Thailand increased its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent, following a quarter-point hike in July. AFP Photo.

August 25, 2010
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand raised its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a second consecutive month after an unexpectedly strong performance by its economy in the face of deadly political unrest.

The Bank of Thailand increased its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent, following a quarter-point hike in July -- the first in almost two years.

"The Thai economy expanded faster than expected in the second quarter, despite decelerating somewhat from the first quarter due to (the) domestic political situation," said BoT assistant governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan.

"Exports have been growing in tandem with global economic recovery, although the pace of growth is expected to slow down in the second half of the year," he said in a statement.

Official figures released on Monday showed that the Thai economy expanded by 9.1 percent in the second quarter of 2010 from a year earlier. For the six months through June, gross domestic product grew 10.6 percent.

The Thai economy has remained relatively resilient following two months of mass opposition protests, which paralysed parts of Bangkok and sparked violence that left 91 people dead, ending in a bloody army crackdown in May.

The better-than-expected second-quarter result was largely thanks to robust overseas demand for Thai-made goods, such as cars.

In July the Bank of Thailand upgraded its economic growth projection for 2010 to between 6.5 and 7.5 percent.

Before last month, the Bank of Thailand had held its benchmark rate steady for more than a year, after a series of cuts to shield the economy from the fallout of the global financial crisis. It last raised rates in August 2008.

วันเสาร์ที่ 24 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Facebook page praising British killer removed after row

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 14:29

The creator of a Facebook tribute to a British killer who shot himself dead after a standoff with police removed the page Thursday after it sparked condemnation, including from the prime minister. (AFP/File/Leon Neal)

July 17, 2010
LONDON (AFP) - The creator of a Facebook tribute to a British killer who shot himself dead after a standoff with police removed the page Thursday after it sparked condemnation, including from the prime minister.

Siobhan O'Dowd said she had taken down the page dedicated to Raoul Moat -- but was unrepentant and did not rule out reinstating the group, which had attracted more than 38,000 members.

She set up "R.I.P. Raoul Moat You Legend!" after the former nightclub bouncer killed himself on Saturday following one of Britain's biggest manhunts.

He was on the run for a week after shooting his ex-girlfriend and killing her new boyfriend, and shooting and severely injuring a policeman.

Explaining her decision to remove the page, O'Dowd told a British radio station: "I don't know really. A few of us came to a decision but it's going to be up again running.

"We don't condone what he did as what he did was wrong. I feel sorry for the families but he was still a human being at the end of the day."

She added that the killer "hid from police for a week... I think he's a legend for keeping the police on their toes."

British Prime Minister David Cameron led condemnation of the online tribute page and lawmakers and the media joined his call for Facebook to act.

But the social networking giant refused to bow to the pressure, insisting that its users had the right to express their own views.

Cameron said in the House of Commons on Wednesday: "It is absolutely clear that Raoul Moat was a callous murderer, full stop, end of story. I cannot understand any wave, however small, of public sympathy for this man."

He was responding to a question from Conservative lawmaker Chris Heaton-Harris, who urged Facebook to remove the page.

"We don't want to set laws on Facebook at all, but we do want people who are hosting these sites and other pages to have some responsibility," Heaton-Harris told BBC radio on Thursday.

He condemned the comments on the site, which include "RIP Moat. Misunderstood man who was killed by the brutal police who ruined his life", and "U are a true legend".

The Internet group triggered a media storm, with Britain's top-selling daily newspaper The Sun dismissing the "Facebook morons" who idolised the killer.

"The prime minister deserves credit for swiftly passing on his anger to Facebook bosses," the tabloid said in an editorial. "How can such revolting web pages be justified? They should be removed."

Facebook had earlier defended the decision to leave the tribute online, saying: "We have 26 million people on Facebook in the UK, each of which has their own opinion, and they are entitled to express their views on Facebook as long as their comments do not violate our terms."

Not all the members of the group supported Moat -- some people posted messages condemning him.

New railway between Narita airport and central Tokyo opens

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 16:41

Tokyo, JAPAN : Officials of the new model Skyliner (L), based on the design concept of fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, attend a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new railway line at Nippori Station in Tokyo on July 17, 2010. A new high-speed railway line for faster transport linking Narita airport with central Tokyo opened, officials said. AFP PHOTO/JIJI PRESS

July 17, 2010
TOKYO 2010 (AFP) - A new high-speed railway line linking Narita airport with central Tokyo opened on Saturday.

The 64-kilometre (40-mile) line, Narita Sky Access, cuts the travel time between Nippori Station in Tokyo and the airport in Chiba, southeast of the capital, by 15 minutes to 36 minutes.

Fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto designed the new "Skyliner" train for the service, which can run at 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour.

Aussie horse butcher 'faces death threats'

By Manager Online

19 July 2010 11:14

This photo retrieved July 17, 2010 is from www.google.co.th. Perth butcher Vince Garreffa became the nation's first legal retailer of horse meat on Tuesday after years of campaigning to get a long-standing ban lifted.

July 19, 2010
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's first butcher to sell horse meat said Friday he had received death threats and over 2,000 abusive emails, but that customers were delighted they could now buy horse steaks.

Perth butcher Vince Garreffa became the nation's first legal retailer of horse meat on Tuesday after years of campaigning to get a long-standing ban lifted.

"(There) were the only two that brought fear to me," he told AFP between serving customers, saying the threats could be the work of "a couple of over-passionate animal liberationists or pet lovers".

One threat had been so alarming he said he had referred it to the authorities. Police said they were not able to comment.

Garreffa said his butcher shop sells "probably every meat you can imagine that is legal," and put much of the opposition down to ignorance.

"The moment I remind (opponents) that Australia has been selling 50 to 70,000 horses a year to the rest of the world for human consumption, 95 percent of them fall over backwards and die of shock and are so embarrassed that they didn't know their facts."

Government data says that between 30,000 and 40,000 horses are slaughtered every year for export in Australia.

Garreffa vowed to push on with the practice, which he said was simply responding to community demand.

"The European clients I have got that have been in Australia for anything from 50, 40, 30, 20 years, they are so desperate for a taste of home," he said.

"When you come in and whisper, 'can I have a kilo of horse steak or a horse stew or a horse mince' -- we'll become the horse whisperers -- we will look after you, because that's the business I'm in."

The consumption of horse meat is popular in parts of Asia and Europe, including France, Belgium, and some Central Asian countries.

Thailand to unleash swarm of wasps on crop pest

By Manager Online

17 July 2010 15:30

Thai ethnic women chop up newly harvested cassava in Vietnam's northwestern province of Son La. Thailand is preparing to release a quarter of a million wasps to fight a South American insect that is wreaking havoc on the country's cassava crops, scientists have announced. (AFP/File/Hoang Dinh Nam)

July 17, 2010
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand is preparing to release a quarter of a million wasps to fight a South American insect that is wreaking havoc on the country's cassava crops, scientists announced Friday.

The tiny parasitic wasps will be unleashed in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen starting from Saturday in an attempt to control the pest outbreak, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture announced.

The invader, the cassava mealybug, sucks sap from the plants and causes them to shrivel, resulting in yield losses as high as 50 percent in the tropical root crop in the affected Thai area.

The first colony of the wasps -- which measure less than two millimetres (0.008 inches) -- was carried by hand from Benin to Bangkok last year for testing and mass rearing.

The Anagyrus lopezi wasp is said to have already shown itself to be a formidable natural enemy of the cassava mealybug in South America and sub-Saharan Africa, injecting their eggs into the mealybugs.

When the eggs hatch, they kill the unsuspecting host from the inside out. Adult females also feed on the host insect. Scientists said the wasps posed no threat to humans, animals, or other insects.

"Applying chemicals on such a large scale would be environmental vandalism," said Tony Bellotti, an entomologist at the not-for-profit centre, which is involved in the project.

"Sending in the wasps is a proven way to kill the cassava mealybugs quickly and effectively. Think of them as a kind of eco-friendly SWAT team."

Scientists are investigating reports that the cassava mealybug has already spread to Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Vietnam. There are fears it will soon reach other parts of Southeast Asia as well.

"It's going to be an international game of cat-and-mouse," Bellotti said. "As the cassava mealybug finds its way to new countries and regions, we can send in the wasps."

Wonder Land

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 5 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2553

Asia's smallest frog found in Borneo

S.Korean golf club's tattoo ban upheld

Thailand raises interest rates for second straight month

วันเสาร์ที่ 24 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Facebook page praising British killer removed after row

New railway between Narita airport and central Tokyo opens

Aussie horse butcher 'faces death threats'

Thailand to unleash swarm of wasps on crop pest

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