World News

Militants have a 'list' of European targets 

MILITANTS allegedly plotting attacks in Europe have a list of targets including Paris's Eiffel Tower and a hotel close to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, according to Fox News.
The report released yesterday came in the wake of a US State Department travel alert urging Americans to be vigilant against the potential for terror attacks in Europe.

Attractions on the list also included the luxury Hotel Adlon near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Berlin's Central Station and its landmark Alexanderplatz TV tower, Fox said, citing unnamed intelligence officials.

"One official said security has also been tightened around the British royal family," the Fox report added.

Fox cited a senior western intelligence official as saying that the information about the target list was provided by "a German-Pakistani national interrogated at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan."


Fox said that information was later confirmed by another senior intelligence official.

The US State Department issued a formal alert yesterday warning Americans travelling in Europe to remain vigilant against "potential for terrorist attacks" and urging precaution in public places and transportation systems.

"US citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when travelling," according to the alert.

It said attackers may use "a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests," and that particular targets could include railways, subways and locations frequented by tourists.

World's first ever global marine life census 

RESULTS of the first-ever global marine life census have been unveiled, revealing an unprecedented view of life beneath the waves after a decade-long trawl through the murky depths.
The Census of Marine Life today estimated there are one million-plus species in the oceans, with at least three-quarters of them yet to be discovered.

The $US650 million ($669 million) international study found more than 6000 potentially new species, and found some species considered rare were actually common.

The research involved more than 2700 scientists, 670 institutions, more than 540 expeditions and around 9000 days at sea. Nearly 30 million observations of 120,000 species were made.

The census establishes a baseline against which 21st-century changes can be monitored.

New species were discovered, marine highways and rest stops mapped and changes in species abundance were documented.


"Presented is an unprecedented picture of the diversity, distribution and abundance of all kinds of marine life in Planet Ocean - from microbes to whales, from the icy poles to the warm tropics, from the tidal near shores to the deepest dark depths," the study said.

The survey set out to find out what used to live in the oceans, what lives there now and what might live there in the future.

The census said 16,764 species of fish had so far been described but an estimated 5000 more were yet to be discovered.

The estimated percentage of marine species not yet described by scientists were: Europe 10 per cent; South Africa 38 per cent; Antarctica: 39 to 58 per cent; Japan 70 per cent; Mediterranean deep-sea 75 per cent and Australia 80 per cent.

Australian Ian Poiner, chair of the census steering committee, said the researchers ``systematically defined for the first time both the known and the vast unknown, unexplored ocean".

"All surface life depends on life inside and beneath the oceans. Sea life provides half of our oxygen and a lot of our food and regulates climate. We are all citizens of the sea," he said.

"While much remains unknown, including at least 750,000 undiscovered species and their roles, we are better acquainted now with our fellow travellers and their vast habitat on this globe."

The census documented a changing marine world, richer in diversity, more connected through distribution and movements, more impacted by humans and less explored than was expected.

The researchers used sound, satellites and electronics to track migratory routes. Agency.