Bengal tiger becomes first of its kind to be born without stripes

September 23rd, 2009 LONDON - A Bengal tiger that climbed a 15ft activity tower is too afraid to come down, prompting zoo authorities to dub him "scaredy-cat". Two-year-old Tanvir easily scaled the activity tower that has been designed with branch-like platforms to test the skill and sharpness of tigers but is now too scared to come down.

September 7th, 2009 KOLKATA - Infosys board member T.V. Mohandas Pai Monday said the West Bengal government's decision to scrap a proposed IT hub project on the state capital's northeastern fringes was a "sad day" for the state.

September 7th, 2009 KOLKATA - The West Bengal government Monday informed IT majors Infosys and Wipro that their projects in a proposed township on the outskirts of this metropolis had been scrapped, according to officials. The proposed IT township at Rajarhat near Salt Lake had become controversial in recent weeks following allegations that land sharks had been involved in acquisition of plots there.

August 19th, 2009 LONDON - An eight-year-old boy is hoping to become the youngest person in the world to wing-walk.iger Brewer, from London, will be taking to the skies on the wing of his grandfather's biplane. His grandfather is Vic Norman, who operates the only formation wing-walking team in the world.

August 4th, 2009 LONDON - After being regionally extinct for 28 years, the first baby rhinoceros has been born in Uganda and is being called Obama because his father is from Kenya while his mother was born in the US. The calf was born at the end of June at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

July 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Conservationists worrying about the fate of the majestic tiger can now breathe a sign of relief as about 121 breeding tigers are estimated to have been found in Nepal. The figures announced by the Nepal Government's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) shows the presence of 121 (100 - 194) breeding tigers in the wild within the four protected areas of Nepal.

July 16th, 2009 MELBOURNE - A new study has revealed that the tiger stripes and a subsurface ocean on Enceladus - one of Saturn's many moons, are a result of the natural satellite's unusual chemical composition. "NASA's Cassini spacecraft recently revealed Enceladus as a dynamic place, recording geological features such as geysers emerging from the 'tiger stripes' which are thought to be cracks caused by tectonic activity on the south pole of the moon's surface," said Dr Dave Stegman, a Centenary Research Fellow in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

July 9th, 2009 LONDON - A striking new species of lungless salamander has been found living in a small stream in the Appalachian foothills of the US. According to a report by BBC News, the salamander, scientifically known as 'Urspelerpes brucei', is so distinct that it's been classified within its own genus, a taxonomic grouping that usually includes a host of related species.

May 31st, 2009 LONDON - Besides enhancing our ability to identify blurry shapes, fear impairs a person's perception of fine details. Glancing at a fearful face, which activates the brain in a similar way to feeling fear, enhances sensitivity to visual contrast, but whether it boosts vision across the board wasn't clear - up till now.

May 28th, 2009 SYDNEY - In a new study, researchers have found ancient rock art depicting the extinct marsupial lion found in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, which hints at what the extinct beasts may have looked like, and suggests that they co-exited with early Australians. The Marsupial Lion is an extinct species of a carnivorous marsupial mammal that lived in Australia from the early to the late Pleistocene (1,600,000-46,000 years ago).

April 11th, 2009 LONDON - Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson wants his players to develop the "Eye of the Tiger" attitude in their chase for the Quintuple. The Old Trafford coach is hoping his weary squad can retain the same hunger and drive as the American golf legend.

April 11th, 2009 LONDON - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes that Tiger Woods emplifies the qualities required to achieve great success and that the champion club should follow the American golfer. 'It can be difficult for some that have the nature that, when they get into a comfortable zone, they can relax too much and can't get it back.

March 21st, 2009 LONDON - Ten years after being found lying in the vaults of an English bank, a gem-encrusted gold finial plundered from Tipu Sultan's huge golden throne is being put up for sale in London. Auctioneers Bonhams, who describe the finial as 'one of the most important Tipu items ever to appear for sale', have valued it at around 800,000 pounds.

March 14th, 2009 LONDON - A scientist has suggested that combining solar power plants with nature reserves could help provide green energy and wildlife conservation. According to a report in New Scientist, Michael McGuigan from the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, has come up with this suggestion.

January 4th, 2009 LONDON - Noted Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has defended her reported decision to move to Paris, saying repeated denials of shelter by New Delhi and Dhaka mean she has to find some other place to live in. 'I have to settle somewhere if I am repeatedly denied by the Bangladesh government as well as Indian government to live in Bangladesh or India where I belong,' Nasreen said in written comments to IANS.