It may only be a moment in time, but it takes hours of patience for Indonesian photographer Ajar Setiadi to capture fascinating and unusual images of wildlife. Setiadi, who has been a photographer since 2013, spends hours every day waiting for the opportunity to snap rare and exotic animals at exactly the right moment. A frog covered by two snails. (@ajarsetiadi/Zenger News)“From 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. is the best for natural light,” he said. “Animals usually feed in the morning, so it is a perfect time to take photos.” Setiadi, who uses several Nikon cameras with Nikkor lenses, said…
Author: zenger.news
ANGUL, India — For the first time since gharials were introduced in its rivers back in 1975, eastern Indian state of Odisha has seen the natural nesting of gharials. As many as 28 gharial hatchlings were spotted towards the end of May in the Mahanadi, in the Baladamara area near the Satkosia range. Gharial eggs need incubation for 70 days, and the hatchlings stay with their mothers for several weeks or even months. Odisha has emerged as the only state to have all the three crocodilians species found in the country — mugger crocodile, the gharial, and the saltwater crocodile. Gharials,…
WASHINGTON — Cui Tiankai, China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States, confirmed on June 22 that he would be leaving Washington at a time when tensions between the two countries have heightened. Cui has held the post for over eight years and is expected to replace by Qin Gang, a former Foreign Ministry spokesman. Cui is known for his relatively moderate stance compared to the more hawkist breed of Wolf Warrior diplomats. He said that China and the U.S. relationship is at a “key crossroad” that will have to choose either dialogue or conflict and called on the Chinese currently living in…
ISLAMABAD — Barely two months after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments on sexual violence drew severe backlash, he invited trouble again by suggesting that avoiding “temptation in society” is the way to prevent sexual violence against women. In April, during a question and answer session with the public, Khan had said that the rise in sexual violence in Pakistan, particularly against children, was caused due to “fahashi” (vulgarity). “I said the concept of ‘purdah‘ [veil system],” said Khan, defending his earlier remarks. “Avoid temptation in society. We do not have discos here. We do not have nightclubs. It is a completely different…
ISLAMABAD — Gulalai Ismail, one of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement and women rights activists, has come under severe criticism in Pakistan after receiving an award for human rights. The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy gave her the award for “escaping imprisonment and torture for empowering women in Pakistan”. Though many congratulations poured in, the award and announcement have not been well-received in the country. Many on Twitter slammed the activist and the organization over this award. “Whoever is against Pakistan, they award him because they know they can only undermine Pakistan through traitors but not through a fight and some traitors…
NEW DELHI — The deadly Covid-19 second wave in India has left Indian professionals, especially Gen Z and women, increasingly vulnerable in the job market, according to a study by professional networking platform LinkedIn. The pandemic’s recent peak in India has amplified the importance of work experience and professional connections as young people are found twice (2.5x as worried as their older counterparts about the impact on their careers. According to the latest edition of the LinkedIn workforce confidence index, nearly 30 percent of Gen Z professionals—born after 1997—and 26 percent of millennials born between 1981 and 1996 are troubled due…
WASHINGTON — According to new research, older adults taking blood pressure-lowering medications known to cross the blood-brain barrier had better memory recall over time than those taking other types of medicines to treat high blood pressure. The findings of the study were published in the American Heart Association journal “Hypertension.” High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. Nearly half of American adults have elevated blood pressure. Treating high blood pressure with blood-pressure-lowering medicines reduced the cases of mild cognitive impairment by 19 percent in one large trial (SPRINT MIND). ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II…
In pre-pandemic days, armchair travel was mostly associated with lame computer skills and awful-looking slides of the Egyptian pyramids. But being stuck at home for the better part of the past year has made online tours much more attractive, in large part thanks to tour guides who have pivoted to make remote sightseeing the best thing happening on a Zoom call near you. With Covid-19 putting a stop to traditional vacations and tours, tour guides have had to reinvent themselves and their profession to stay relevant and to make a living. In Israel, 46 guides banded together to establish the…
MUMBAI, India — Filmmaker Karan Johar launched a foundation on June 18 in memory of his late father, Yash Johar. According to Johar, the main focus of the Yash Johar Foundation is to improve the quality of life of people in the entertainment industry. “This has been a true labor of love created in memory of my incredible father and to carry forward his legacy,” Johar wrote on his Instagram. “I am proud to launch the Yash Johar Foundation, which has been set up to improve the quality of life for people in the Indian entertainment industry.” Along with it, Johar posted a video featuring…
SINGAPORE — Recent vehicle purchasing incentives (such as a scrappage scheme) announced by the Indian government and high fuel prices in the country will aid more robust adoption of EVs over 2020-2023, according to the American credit rating agency Fitch Solutions. The agency expects the incentives and people switching to EVs would lead to an average annual growth rate of 26 percent in EVs. “We believe the focus on EV promotion in Union Budget will improve the longer-term outlook for EV sales but will continue to fall way short of the country’s goal of electrifying all new vehicles sold by 2032,”…