Monarch butterfly migrations, maelstroms, and Honduran fish rain are only a sample of six of the most amazing natural events our world has to offer.
A maelstrom is a powerful free vortex, essentially a whirlpool, which occurs in the ocean. The original maelstrom that drew fame in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic “A Descent into the Maelstrom” was in fact a very powerful tidal current dubbed Moskstraumen, which is the result of conjoint currents and tides.
Migration Of Serenget
Lasting from January to March, the southern region of Serengeti, Tanzania (known as Ngorongoro) plays host to a great animal migration. The natural phenomenon occurs because due to grazing patterns of the 750,000 zebra, 1.2 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of other game that follow the rain ripened grazing plains.
The Great Salmon Run
An annual staple in British Columbia, the great salmon rush is the name given to the event where massive amounts of salmon swim toward the upper reaches of rivers, where they spawn on gravel beds.
After spawning, all Pacific (and most Atlantic) salmon die, and thus the salmon cycle begins again. Aside from the public spectacle the run generates, the salmon run also brings out grizzly bears, bald eagles and sport fishermen, all ready to take their share of the rosy-colored fish.
Indonesian police have apologised and pledged disciplinary action after officers draped a live snake around the neck of a suspect to persuade him to confess during an interrogation session in the easternmost area of Papua.
A video circulated online shows a man being questioned about stolen mobile phones seated with his hands tethered behind his back yelling in distress as a snake is pushed towards his face by an officer.
The man, who can been seen writhing on the ground for much of the time is asked by an officer, “How may times have you stolen mobile phones?”
The suspect later responds by saying, “Only two times.”
During the video, a voice can be heard ordering the man to open his eyes and at one stage threatens to put the snake into his mouth and under his trousers.
In a statement, Jayawijaya police chief Tonny Ananda Swadaya issued an apology, saying, “The investigator was not professional in doing his job”.
Swadaya added that the officers had been acting on their own initiative to try get a confession, saying the snake was non-venomous and tame.
“We have taken stern action against the personnel,” he said, adding the officers themselves had not physically attacked the man.
Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said the case was being investigated by the internal affairs unit and if violations of the law or code of conduct were proven action would be taken.
Reports of human rights abuses by security forces often emerge from Papua, where a separatist movement has simmered for decades.
The former Dutch colony, the resource-rich western part New Guinea island, was incorporated into Indonesia after a widely criticized UN-backed referendum in 1969.
Veronica Koman, a human rights lawyer focused on Papua, said by text message that using a snake in this way represented torture and was not a one-off incident in the area.
Koman said a snake had also been used in an interrogation of one of her clients, whom she said was a pro-independence activist.
Papua police spokesman Kamal said he was not aware of another case.
Ternyata penggunaan ular untuk interogasi orang Papua yang ditangkap cukup marak. Terakhir yang diketahui adalah terhadap Sam Lokon anggota KNPB. Video ini kabarnya di Wamena.
Snakes are reported being used against West Papuans for interrogation. pic.twitter.com/Rf72r9oJMO
— Veronica Koman (@VeronicaKoman) February 8, 2019
The 7th Fujairah Open International Taekwondo Championship held in Fujairah, UAE saw Pakistani contenders take two gold, a silver and two bronze medals home. One of the bronze awards was won by eight-year-old Ayesha Ayaz. The Swat-based contender competed in the 27kg category.
Taking to Twitter, the PM shared the news and expressed his joy regarding the matter. “8-year-old Ayesha Ayaz has made the country proud by winning a bronze medall in three Taekwondo contests held in UAE,” he wrote. “Ayesha has also earned the distinction of being the youngest player in the country.”
سوات: سوات کی آٹھ سالہ عائشہ آیاز نے یو اے ای میں تھائی کوانڈون کے تین مقابلوں میں کانسی کا تمغہ جیت کر ملک کا نام دنیا بھر میں روشن کردیا
عائشہ کو ملک بھر میں کم عمر کھلاڑی کا اعزاز بھی حاصل ہو گیا. pic.twitter.com/bmIggKadkX
— PTI KP (Official) (@PTIKPOfficial) February 4, 2019
The 8-year-old also revealed that her next target is to compete in the Olympics. “I am working hard and practicing daily under my father’s supervision.”
Ayaz, who is Pakistan’s youngest athlete to have competed at the G-1 event, returned home after the win a few days ago. During an event held in her honour, she stated that she was proud and dedicated her award to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Some 57 Muslim countries in the world are home to more than 25 per cent of the population. Most of these nations are confronted with problems such as poverty, war, unrest and political instability However, the countries in Gulf and United Arab Emirates are rich in resources and are self-sufficient.
Despite the varied spectrum, one factor is common in all of these states – they lag far behind in science, technology, new patents and innovations as compared to other developed nations.
In 2016, the Task Force on Science at the Universities of the Muslim World published a comprehensive report regarding the status of science, technology and higher education in Islamic countries. The report presented alarming facts from the Muslim world.
Here are some disturbing details from the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) as mentioned in the report:
Only three scientists from OIC namely Dr Abdus Salam from Pakistan (Physics 1979), Prof Ahmed Zewail from Egypt (Chemistry 1999) and Aziz Sancar from Turkey (Chemistry 2015) received Nobel Prizes in their respective fields.
All of them did their award winning work outside their home countries.
The Muslim world produces only six per cent of the global academic publications, 1.6 per cent of the world’s patents and shares 2.4 per cent of global research expenditures.
Muslim countries on an average invest 0.5 of their GDP in research and development programme.
The Express Tribune asked eight scientists from different Islamic countries to communicate the reasons behind the lagging of Muslim states in the field of science & technology.
Colonialism, conflicts and lack of political will
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dean of College of Pharmacy University of Alkitab Dr Nohad Alomari said that Iraqis were struggling for everyday utilities as war after war had badly disturbed every aspect of their lives.
Alomari said science needs a suitable environment to mull over facts but the Iraqis were preoccupied with daily needs. A lot of time was required to normalise the situation in the war-torn country.
The US-led invasion of Iraq not only destroyed dozens of universities and science institutes but also targeted hundreds of top scientists.
Baghdad University geologist and head of Association of University Lecturers Al-Rawi archived that around 300 academics and university administrators have been assassinated since the US occupation of Iraq that began in 2003.
Almost all scholars agreed that lack of political will in acquiring higher education and conducting research was another problem in majority of the Muslim states.
Eldar A Garev and Kamala Badalova, both from Azerbaijan Medical University stated that they have language hurdles in the higher education.
“Azerbaijani, Russian and English are the medium of teaching in my country, however, we have some political hurdles in research and higher education,” said Garev.
Karachi University director of International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary said the leaders have failed to understand that progress without science and technology is not possible in the ever changing world.
“I would state three problems: First is the lack of understanding and political will. Secondly, our own issues and problems kept busy in the civil wars and political unrest. The third is our failure to unite as Muslim Ummah or our inability to create a Pan-Islamic movement for science and technology,” he added.
Manal Fardon from the American University of Beirut said that there was no luxury of science amid war and insecurity.
“In my country, resources are very limited and the market is supersaturated with many competent graduates. So the authorities should determine that who is good for teaching and who is eligible for research as lack of research center is another problem in Lebanon,” Manal remarked.
But the situation seems to be different in Palestine where there is shortage of human resource in universities.
Rami Arafeh from Palestine Biotechnology Research Centre said that he had a modern food science laboratory in his country but it was closed due to lack of skilled professionals.
According to Arafeh, favouritism, low capacity and teaching instead of research were three main problems of higher education in the Palestine.
“The USAID and other NGOs come to us, and say, here is the money, do the research. But we do not have technicians and experts who can run these machines,” Arafeh noted.
“In general, from Palestine, only those research publications are high ranking if they are jointly produced with at least one or two western scholars,” he added.
Sahar Mostafa of Mansoura University in Egypt reiterated that majority of Egyptian scientists are not concerned with research and development. They only focus on their own promotions by writing papers which is a waste of time and resources.
Pakistani scientist Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary stressed upon the need of virtual network of scholars from Islamic countries.
“Instead of waiting for the political leadership, I think it is important that the scientists from chemistry, medicine, social science and other disciplines should create a web-based network to achieve the common goals,” he said.
Eminent Malaysian chemist Prof Dr Dato Ibrahim Jantan maintained that science is controlled by the west. A strong leadership is required to bring the Muslim scholars together.
A maelstrom is a powerful free vortex, essentially a whirlpool, which occurs in the ocean. The original maelstrom that drew fame in Edgar Allan Poe’s classic “A Descent into the Maelstrom” was in fact a very powerful tidal current dubbed Moskstraumen, which is the result of conjoint currents and tides.
Migration Of Serenget
Lasting from January to March, the southern region of Serengeti, Tanzania (known as Ngorongoro) plays host to a great animal migration. The natural phenomenon occurs because due to grazing patterns of the 750,000 zebra, 1.2 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of other game that follow the rain ripened grazing plains.
The Great Salmon Run
An annual staple in British Columbia, the great salmon rush is the name given to the event where massive amounts of salmon swim toward the upper reaches of rivers, where they spawn on gravel beds.
After spawning, all Pacific (and most Atlantic) salmon die, and thus the salmon cycle begins again. Aside from the public spectacle the run generates, the salmon run also brings out grizzly bears, bald eagles and sport fishermen, all ready to take their share of the rosy-colored fish.
