United
States
More and more students are refusing to dissect dead
animals in biology classes. Supported by many animal groups,
these students argue that computer dissection simulations can
teach anatomy basics as well as the real thing. The Humane Society
estimates that 6m animals, most often frogs, fetal pigs and
cats, are dissected annually in American schools. Science teacher
associations are asking members to be sensitive to students’
objections but insist that no computer simulation can substitute
for the actual experience of dissection.
The
Recording Industry Association of America has recruited big
stars to speak out against online trading of music files. Artists
ranging from Britney Spears to Nelly appeared in a TV campaign
hoping to convince Americans that downloading free tunes from
the Internet is bad. At the same time a print campaign featured
Eminem, Madonna and Elton John. After crushing Napster the record
labels are gearing up to fight the numerous file-sharing programs
like Kazaa and Morpheus that now exceed Napster's high levels
of MP3 sharing.
The
Sahara
Satellite photographs show the Sahara desert is shrinking
in size. Significant areas of new vegetation are appearing along
the southern edge of the Sahara. The trend seems to have started
in the late 1980s but only recently has this been confirmed
by satellite imagery. Poor farming practices and severe droughts
in the 1970s and 1980s saw the desert expand southward. The
increased rainfall and the new greening trend is definitely
being welcomed by thenations bordering the Sahara that often
face long and crippling food shortages.
France
The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, was stabbed this
fall as he walked around a public festival he was hosting. He
has recovered after a serious stab wound to the abdomen. His
attacker was a former mental patient who claimed that he was
a devout Muslim and attacked the mayor because he hated homosexuals
and politicians. The openly gay mayor fits both descriptions.
Earlier in the year another man was stopped from trying to assassinate
the French President at a public holiday appearance in Paris.
Central
African Republic
The war against illegal poaching of wild animals is reaching
a new level. A small private army of 400 men is being assembled
to combat the large groups of poachers that cross the border from Sudan. The government of this African
nation has authorized the antipoaching militia, run by an American,
to shoot and kill any poachers they encounter on sight. The
poachers have been regularly raiding the Florida sized savannah grassland. Populations of elephants, giraffes, lions and crocodiles have been reduced
by 95% in the area.
Norway
Keiko, the star of the movie Free Willy seems to prefer the
company of humans to killer whales. This summer, after 20 years in captivity, Keiko was set “free” in Iceland.
He then swam straight to Norway, the only country in the world
that hunts whales. He has decided to hang around for the winter near villages full of adoring fans. Still craving human interaction
and begging for fish, the $30m project to prepare Keiko for
a life in the wild seems to be failing. To force Keiko to become
independent authorities have made it an offence to go within 50m of him.
Japan
Toronto’s CN Tower could lose its title as the world’s
tallest freestanding structure. A group in Tokyo has presented
a proposal for a new tower to be built that would be 600 metres high, beating out the CN Tower by 50 metres. The tower would
serve as a much-needed broadcast and communications tower and
would also become a major tourist attraction in the city’s
depressed Ueno district. The tower would dwarf the existing
333 metre “Tokyo Tower,” built in 1958. The Japanese government now must decide whether the tower actually gets built.
Australia
After six years of negotiations, the Martu Aboriginal tribe
has won back control of their ancestral lands. The tract of
land, mostly desert, is slightly larger than the country of
Greece and is the largest piece of land ever given back to an Aboriginal tribe. The tribe can live, gather, hunt and fish
on the land but do not own the valuable underground mineral deposits. The British settled Australia in the late 18th century
and took complete possession of tribal lands. Over the last
ten years, several tribes have regained control oftheir tribal
territories.
