Zagreb: Mirjana Filipovic is still haunted by the land mine blast that killed her boyfriend and blew off her left leg while on a fishing trip nearly a decade ago. It happened in a field that was supposedly de-mined.
Now, unlikely heroes may be coming to the rescue to prevent similar tragedies: sugar-craving honeybees. Croatian researchers are training them to find unexploded mines littering their country and the rest of the Balkans.
When Croatia joins the European Union on July 1, in addition to the beauty of its aquamarine Adriatic sea, deep blue mountain lakes and lush green forests, it will also bring numerous un-cleared minefields to the bloc's territory. About 750 square kilometers (466 square miles) are still suspected to be filled with mines from the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
Nikola Kezic, an expert on the behavior of honeybees, sat quietly together with a group of young researchers on a recent day in a large net tent filled with the buzzing insects on a grass field lined with acacia trees. The professor at Zagreb University outlined the idea for the experiment: Bees have a perfect sense of smell that can quickly detect the scent of the explosives. They are being trained to identify their food with the scent of TNT....
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07:40 AM, May 20, 2013
New Delhi: The recent 'unbundling' of some services such as seat preferences or meals on board might be helping airlines to earn a lot of ancillary revenue, but the government is considering whether it could limit the number of 'preferred seats' on sale on each flight. The government has been prompted to step in just days after it announced unbundling of these services following reports that some airlines were charging...
12:48 PM, May 19, 2013
Bhubaneswar: Continuing its action against chit fund companies and others duping investors, police on Saturday sealed the corporate office of Seashore Group and took Artha Tatwa group chief Pradip Sethi to its custody for four days. The Crime Branch failed to arrest Seashore Group chief Prashant Das, who obtained an anticipatory bail from the Orissa High Court, but sealed its corporate office and seized certain documents and computers, said Crime...
10:13 PM, May 18, 2013
Bhubaneswar: More than a fortnight after CNN-IBN exposed that Odisha-based Seashore Group had duped over 1.5 lakh investors of Rs 1700 crore, the state's crime branch on Saturday sealed the headquarters of the group in Bhubaneshwar. The company had reportedly offered investors 24 per cent interest per annum. While the chairman of Seashore Group Prashant Das has yet not been arrested, the police had earlier detained over a hundred staff...
12:21 PM, May 18, 2013
New Delhi: The trailer of the 8th season of popular TV series 'Dexter' has been released. There are reports that this season could be the last season of 'Dexter'. The 8th season will premiere on June 30, 2013. ...
11:31 AM, May 18, 2013
Tottenham Hotspur will still be able to attract top players even if they do not qualify for next year's Champions League, manager Andre Villas-Boas said on Friday. The north London club's hopes of qualifying are hanging in the balance with them needing to win their final Premier League match of the season at home to Sunderland on Sunday while hoping bitter rivals Arsenal fail to beat Newcastle United. Tottenham, who...
10:41 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: Airlines in India have agreed not to charge extra for seats after top officials of all airlines met at the Civil Aviation Ministry in New Delhi on Friday. Earlier, airlines had said they will charge extra if passengers wanted to book seats in advance. However, now they say they will only treat certain seats as privileged ones and charge extra for them. The Civil Aviation Ministry asked all...
08:58 PM, May 17, 2013
London: Only hours after helping Chelsea with another European title, Frank Lampard was given a one-year contract extension by the Premier League club. The 34-year-old Lampard, the club's all-time leading scorer, had initially been told he was not wanted beyond the end of the season. But Chelsea, who added the Europa League title to their Champions League win from last season, said Thursday that Lampard has signed a new deal....
05:48 PM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: Midfielder Ramires said he felt much calmer helping Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Benfica in a tense Europa League final than he had watching last year's Champions League victory from the stands. The Brazilian international, a tireless runner, told Reuters in an interview that Wednesday night's victory at the Amsterdam Arena provided a blessed relief after he was forced out of the 2012 penalty shootout triumph over Bayern...
05:45 PM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: Chelsea landed their only silverware of a gruelling campaign by beating Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final on Wednesday but assistant coach Boudewijn Zenden believes the triumph only partially atoned for a string of failures. The European champions started their season in August dreaming of a possible seven-trophy haul with the Community Shield, European Super Cup, World Club Cup, Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup...
04:46 PM, May 16, 2013
Seattle: A 10-year-old Washington state boy was sentenced on Wednesday to up to five-and-a-half year in a juvenile detention facility for his role in a foiled plot to rape and kill a girl at his school and harm other children. The boy was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, juvenile firearm possession and witness tampering in connection with a plot in February at an elementary school in Colville, Washington,...
11:23 AM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: Benfica coach Jorge Jesus hinted he may leave the club following the heartbreak of their 2-1 injury-time defeat by Chelsea in the Europa League final on Wednesday. The 58-year-old, who has been in charge for four years, said the Lisbon team were the better side for most of the match and that defeat was hard to bear. After an emotional tribute to the quality of his players, Jesus said...
10:20 AM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: Frank Lampard suggested he was on the verge of signing a new contract with Chelsea after leading the London club to a 2-1 victory over Benfica in the Europa League final on Wednesday. The 34-year-old midfielder, who broke Chelsea's all-time scoring record when his double against Aston Villa on Saturday took him past Bobby Tambling's tally of 202 goals, looks like getting the new deal he has craved all...
10:05 AM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: Matchwinner Branislav Ivanovic said Chelsea deserved to win the Europa League with a 2-1 success over Benfica on Wednesday after a "difficult season". The Serbian defender headed a stoppage-time winner from a corner to secure a second successive European trophy for the Premier League side after they won the Champions League for the first time last season. "This team deserved this, because we have had a very difficult season...
09:59 AM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: Chelsea captain John Terry suffered cup final heartbreak for the second time in 12 months when he missed out on selection for Wednesday's Europa League showdown against Benfica. The former England centre half was left out of the starting lineup after failing to recover from a twisted ankle he sustained in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League win at Aston Villa. Terry also missed last season's Champions League final victory over...
09:42 AM, May 16, 2013
Amsterdam: A stoppage-time header from Branislav Ivanovic helped Chelsea become the first English club to win all three of UEFA's major trophies as they beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final on Wednesday. The Serbian defender sent the London club's fans wild with delight when he climbed high at the far post to meet a Juan Mata corner and place a header back across helpless goalkeeper Artur into the...
02:51 AM, May 16, 2013
London: The Premier League could go into extra time. After the final round of matches on Sunday, Arsenal and Chelsea could have to contest a play-off to determine who finish third and claim an automatic Champions League qualification place. Chelsea currently have a two-point lead over Arsenal. But if Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-1 and Chelsea draw 0-0 with Everton on Sunday, the teams would be level on points and have...
04:36 PM, May 15, 2013
Amsterdam: Chelsea could be without captain John Terry and playmaker Eden Hazard for Wednesday's Europa League final against Benfica. After winning the Champions League title last year, Chelsea failed to reach the knockout stage this season and has long been a non-factor in the Premier League title chase. That means only victory in the lesser of Europe's two cup tournaments can salvage a disappointing season for the London club. Both...
09:27 PM, May 14, 2013
Berlin: A top German court has ordered Google Inc. to act on requests to remove autocomplete entries from the search engine after a suit claimed the feature made defamatory suggestions. The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe upheld a complaint from an unidentified company selling nutritional supplements and its founder, identified only as "R.S." The plaintiffs claimed when their names were entered on Google's German-language website, it suggested links to...
04:39 PM, May 14, 2013
