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/ 29 December 2005
Distinguishing fine wine from plonk is usually left to connoisseurs and winemakers, who rely on their senses, rough chemical measurements and the whims of nature to produce an exceptional tipple. But a professor, working with industry scientists in Chile, is hoping that computer models will identify the traits of good wine — eventually helping vintners produce more of it.
Thai fishermen caught a 293kg catfish, believed to have been the world’s largest freshwater fish ever recorded, a researcher said on Thursday. The 2,7m Mekong giant catfish was netted on May 1 by villagers in Chiang Khong, a remote district in northern Thailand, and was weighed by Thai fisheries department officials,
Wildlife conservationists and government delegates on Monday approved proposals by Namibia and South Africa to kill and export as hunting trophies a small number of endangered black rhinos, protected under an international treaty. South Africa’s downscaled proposal was widely endorsed, but drew criticism from some countries and the World Wildlife Fund.