Alipore Zoo has its first animal dietitian

Kolkata: Alipore Zoo, the country's oldest formally stated zoological park, is for the first time availing the services of a dietitian for its animals.

The zoo, which has 1400 animals, reptiles and birds as its inhabitants, was till now dependent on veterinary physicians to check the quality and quantity of food provided to them.

"This is an unique initiative. Since January-February this year we have appointed a dietitian. He is presently looking into the diet of the animals," Alipore Zoo director Kanailal Ghosh said.

The dietitian, he said, looks after the quantity, tests the quality, checks the nutrient value of the food given to the animals, besides changing the menu according to the season.

"Earlier veterinary doctors and the zoo staff looked after the animal diet. But now the dietitian does the job although we provide best quality foods to the animals," Ghosh told PTI.

The dietitian's job, much like one for people, starts early in the morning after the food for the animal starts arriving in the zoo kitchen. The dietitian works in close coordination with the veterinary doctors working in the zoo.

"We have been working on this idea for quite some time. Especially in summer, food is an important element in keeping the animals cool and saving then from the hot and humid weather," he said.

The dietitian is on a year's contract, Ghosh said adding the zoo has also appointed a sanitary supervisor to keep the cages and moats of the animals and birds clean.

"Most of the time we receive complaints that the cages are in very poor condition. It is untidy, irrespective of the efforts by the zoo staff to keep it clean. Now with the appointment of the sanitary supervisor for the animals, the cages and the places where animals are kept will be more neat and clean," Ghosh said.

The zoo, which opened in 1876 and covers 19 hectares, has among other animals nine tigers and four lions and a rare species of Aldabra giant tortoise. It is also home to a large number of winter migratory birds and regularly receives hundreds of visitors. 

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Russia successful in second attempt to start Progress spacecraft

Moscow: Russia`s space agency said Monday it had managed to restart the engines of the Progress spacecraft and correct the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) after a failed first attempt.

"On Sunday night, the orbit of the ISS was successfully corrected," Roscosmos told Russian news agencies after an initial attempt to switch on the spacecraft`s engines was unsuccessful.

The operation by the Progress M-26M cargo vehicle, which is moored to the Russian module Zvezda, began just after 3:30 am Moscow time (0030 GMT) and took about half an hour.

ISS is now at the right altitude for its three crew members to return to Earth in early June.

The manoeuvre was first attempted on Friday but the Russian team was unable to start the engines, sparking a crisis in the country`s space industry after a series of embarrassing failures.

A few hours later, Russia also lost a Mexican telecommunications satellite following the failed launch of Proton-M carrier rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev immediately launched an inquiry after the satellite incident, demanding answers from the head of the space agency, Igor Komarov, and suggesting heads could roll.

Russia fired the head of its space agency last year after a series of failures.

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Sharp shares routed in Tokyo

Shares in loss-making Japanese electronics giant Sharp have taken a bath in Tokyo, at one point losing 31% and seeing nearly nine hundred million euros of value wiped off the books.
The fall came after Sharp said it will reduce capital and issue preferred shares to restructure the company, but investors’ fears of share dilution and further fund-raising sent them running.
Sharp needed a major bailout in 2012 after its core LCD screen business was ravaged by cheaper Asian rivals, and the company is in talks with its lenders about another.

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Waterford Wedgewood sold to Fiskars

One of Ireland’s most iconic companies, Waterford Wedgewood, has been sold to Finland’s Fiskars for 391 million euros.
Waterford glassworks was founded in 1783 but then lapsed in 1851 before being revived after the second world war.
Wedgewood was founded even earlier in England in 1759, and joined forces with Waterford in 1986, but six years ago the company was ruined and collapsed with a mountain of debt, despite being owned by Ireland’s richest man, Tony O’Reilly.
US investors KPS partners stepped in in 2009 and restored the company to health.
Fiskars itself has a proud history, being founded 365 years ago.

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Another key week begins for Greece and the EU

It is another crucial week for the team of Greek negotiators trying to thrash out a deal with the Eurogroup, meeting in Brussels.
With many expecting the leftwing Syriza government to be forced to make concessions, there are disagreements over VAT reforms, and
changes to the pensions system.
“My feeling is that even at the last moment, we will have an agreement. Let’s not forget that the EU is used to solving big problems at the very last minute,” says economic analyst Napoleon Maravegias.
Greece’s creditors want nearly three billion euros of new cuts so the country can run a 1% of GDP surplus by the end of the year. Greece says it can get between 0.5% and 0.7% without the extra cuts.
“Prime Minister Tsipras and his left-wing government remain between a rock and a hard place as they know that they can’t satisfy the country’s creditors without losing credibility with their electorate. But as time is running short for Greece, they will soon have to make a final choice, no matter how hard this may be either for the country’s economy or for SYRIZA’s political future,” says euronews’ Stamatis Giannisis in Athens.

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China cuts interest rates again

China has cut its interest rates for the third time in six months in a bid to prevent 2015 from having the worst economic figures in a quarter-century.
The benchmark one-year lending rate now stands at 5.1%, but analysts say further cuts are expected this year as Beijing tries to boost growth.
Demand for Chinese goods remains soft both at home and abroad, while domestic prices remain low and interest rates remain higher than the historical average.
A cooling property market and slowing growth in manufacturing and investment have hurt the Chinese economy.

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