What We Are Reading Today: Handbook of Mammals of Madagascar
Updated 11 March 2023
Arab News
Author: Nick Garbutt
Madagascar’s mammals are some of the most remarkable on earth, having evolved in isolation over millions of years. all of the country’s approximately 175 native non-flying species are endemic, with an extraordinary diversity of body forms and lifestyles, some utterly unique.
No other place boasts such a combination of species richness and endemism. in “Handbook of Mammals of Madagascar,” Nick Garbutt, an award-winning photographer and leading authority on the island’s wildlife, provides an authoritative and beautifully illustrated guide to all of its mammal fauna.
Illustrated throughout with more than 370 exceptional photographs, including of species rarely photographed before, the book covers all 217 native species, including tenrecs, bats, lemurs, carnivores, and rodents, plus a small number of introduced species.
The species accounts are up to date and include description, identification, habitat, distribution, behavior, and where to see the species.
The book also includes chapters on Madagascar’s regions and habitats, threats to the mammals, conservation and protected areas, and important mammal-watching sites, as well as a section on extinct mammals.
UN Palestinian agency chief seeks probe into treatment of Gaza staff by Israel
Lazzarini said Israel blocked him from entering Gaza last month, and that he plans to visit again on Sunday. He voiced hope that Israel would let him in
Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
Updated 4 min 19 sec ago
Reuters
GENEVA: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, called on Tuesday for countries to back an independent investigation into alleged killings and detentions of its staff and damage to its premises once the Israel-Hamas conflict ends.
UNRWA has accused Israel of targeting its facilities during more than seven months of conflict in the Gaza Strip, and said 182 of its staff there had been killed and more than 160 of its shelters hit, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people fleeing Israeli bombardment.
After briefing UN member states in Geneva, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters he wanted the countries to back an independent investigation “to look into this blatant disregard of the United Nations in order to avoid that this becomes also in the future the new standard.”
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva reacted by accusing UNRWA of complicity with Hamas, saying the militant group was embedded within the UN agency’s infrastructure.
Lazzarini said Israel blocked him from entering Gaza last month, and that he plans to visit again on Sunday. He voiced hope that Israel would let him in. UNRWA is the biggest humanitarian aid provider in Gaza where its 13,000 staff there also run schools and social services for the refugees who make up the majority of Gazans.
Israel accuses 19 of its staff members of taking part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel that killed 1,200 people and triggered Israel’s military offensive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UNRWA to be shut down, saying it seeks to preserve the issue of Palestinian refugees. A review of the agency’s neutrality said Israel had yet to provide evidence for its accusations that a significant number of UNRWA staff were members of terrorist groups and Lazzarini said that all but a handful of countries had now unblocked funds they had paused after the Israeli allegations.
He listed those still withholding funds as the US, Britain, Austria and his native Switzerland.
The Swiss lower house’s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday narrowly voted to partly unblock financial aid to UNRWA solely for humanitarian ends, a step that needs further parliamentary approval.
Some $267 million in total remains blocked, Lazzarini said, based on a tally of countries’ prior commitments. The agency has raised $115 million in private funding, he added.
Another UN investigation into the allegations against UNRWA staff members is still under way.
Food and other humanitarian aid supplies to Gaza have improved in April, but there is still far from enough to reverse the trend toward famine, he said.
“We are engaged in a race against the clock to reverse the spreading of hunger and the looming famine especially in the northern part,” he said.
Gas blast kills eight at Beirut restaurant: minister
The firefighters put out a blaze in a small restaurant in Beirut after “a gas leak caused an explosion at the restaurant”
Updated 2 min 1 sec ago
AFP
BEIRUT: A fire caused by a gas canister explosion killed at least eight people at a restaurant in Beirut on Tuesday, a Lebanese government minister and firefighters said.
The state-run National News Agency quoted the Beirut Fire Brigade as saying that “eight victims died of suffocation inside the restaurant.”
The firefighters put out a blaze in a small restaurant in Beirut after “a gas leak caused an explosion at the restaurant,” NNA added, quoted the same source.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi toured the site, also telling reporters at least eight people had been killed “by suffocation” in the blast.
Some lawmakers representing Beirut also visited, with parliament member Ibrahim Mneimneh questioning safety standards at the restaurant.
The accident “shows this place was not in line with public safety standards,” he said.
Lebanon’s economy has been in free-fall since late 2019, worsening a long-running public oversight problem in different sectors, especially with regard to public safety.
“Stellar English” lays out the fundamentals of effective writing, from word choice and punctuation to parts of speech and common errors.
Frank Cioffi emphasizes how formal written English—though only a sub-dialect of the language—enables writers to reach a wide and heterogenous audience.
Cioffi’s many example sentences illustrating grammatical principles tilt in an otherworldly direction, making up a science fiction story involving alien invasion.
Kuwait launches anti-smoking campaign to safeguard children
WHO reveal a threefold increase globally in e-cigarette usage among children aged 13-15 compared to adults
Updated 26 min 23 sec ago
Arab News
LONDON: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health will launch an anti-smoking awareness campaign on Thursday aimed at safeguarding children from the dangers of tobacco, the Kuwait News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Collaborating with various ministries and state agencies, the campaign will underscore the critical need to protect vulnerable populations from the hazards of smoking.
Dr. Abeer Al-Baho, director of the ministry’s Health Promotion Department, said the awareness drive will be inclusive by reaching out to men, women, and children alike.
The campaign will highlight the detrimental effects of smoking, shed light on the legal ramifications for those found to be smoking in unauthorized areas, and particularly safeguard individuals with health vulnerabilities, minors, and the environment.
Al-Baho stressed the campaign’s pivotal role in curbing smoking-related diseases and fatalities, emphasizing the direct and indirect harm caused to the lungs and heart and the links with many types of cancer.
Scheduled to run until May 31, coinciding with World No Tobacco Day, the campaign will span all six Kuwaiti governorates, featuring demonstrations that show the hazards of smoking.
Disturbing statistics from the World Health Organization reveal a threefold increase globally in e-cigarette usage among children aged 13-15 compared to adults, prompting urgent warnings about the risks posed by tobacco in its various forms, including traditional smoking and e-cigarettes.
Saudi students explore intersection of science and art
Exhibition organized by the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts runs until May 2
Updated 59 min 16 sec ago
SALEH FAREED
JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts has launched an exhibition in Jeddah showcasing 25 artworks exploring the link between science and art.
Fifteen female students from King Abdulaziz University presented their paintings, sketches and other projects at the opening of the Sci-Art exhibition. (AN photo)
The second annual exhibition organized by the arts society, in collaboration with the Biology Club at King Abdulaziz University, was opened in the presence of Mohammed Al-Subaih, director-general of the organization, Mona Al-Harbi, vice dean of the college of science, local artists, and parents.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Sci-Art exhibition was organized by the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts in collaboration with the Biology Club at King Abdulaziz University.
• It is being held to encourage students to showcase their creativity.
The exhibition, which will run until May 2 at the organization’s Abdul Halim Radwi Auditorium, presents an artistic interpretation of scientific inquiry. It is being held to encourage students to showcase their creativity.
Fifteen female students from King Abdulaziz University presented their paintings, sketches and other projects at the opening of the Sci-Art exhibition. (AN photo)
Fifteen female students presented their paintings, sketches and other projects at the opening of the event.
The students chose as subject matter the body’s various systems, the solar system, human mind, natural world, animals, mathematics, computer programming, global warming and more.
The Sci-Art exhibition allows participants to engage their creative and analytical minds to forge new connections between ideas and learn about the world through art.
Mona Al-Harbi, Vice dean of the college of science, King Abdulaziz University
Al-Subaih praised the students for their work. “This exhibition comes as part of our role in spreading culture and arts … we thought of creating a platform for students to exhibit their talents and showcase their innovative ideas and this exhibition is an exciting moment for us to share with our community.”
Al-Harbi added: “The sci-art exhibition allows participants to engage their creative and analytical minds to forge new connections between ideas and learn about the world through art.
“This exhibition is a way to provide a platform for students and others to express that side of themselves and bring art and science together. Our aim is to encourage students to show their artistic talents and create paintings that related to subjects that they have learned in science.”
