- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- 'Devastated' Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Philippines says to acquire US Typhon missile system
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- Strawberry Fields REIT Enters Into Agreement for Six Healthcare Facilities Located in Kansas
- NanoViricides is in a Great Position to Fight Potential Bird Flu Pandemic with a Drug that the Mercurial H5N1 Influenza A Virus is Unlikely to Escape
- Zomedica Launches Two New Quantitative Assays on the TRUFORMA(R) Platform: Canine NT-proBNP and Progesterone
- MainStreetChamber Holdings, Inc. Submits 15(c)211 Application
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
Indonesian zoo breeds dozens of endangered baby Komodo dragons
An Indonesian zoo has welcomed dozens of new baby Komodo dragons hatched in captivity in recent months as part of a breeding programme, its director said Tuesday, offering hope for efforts to conserve the endangered species.
The world's largest living lizards are found only in Indonesia's World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores, and just 3,458 adult and baby species are left in the wild according to estimates.
The fearsome reptiles, which can grow to three metres (10 feet) in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms (200 pounds), are threatened by human activity and climate change destroying their habitat.
But a breeding programme in Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya is trying to change that, successfully breeding 29 dragons in incubators between February and March.
"We have habitats that mirror the Komodo's natural habitat, including its humidity and temperature," zoo director Chairul Anwar told AFP.
The newborns were hatched from two female Komodo dragons after their eggs were placed in incubators to prevent them from being eaten by their mothers or other Komodo dragons.
Female Komodos can fertilise an egg without the need for a male dragon.
The zoo started the programme in the 1990s as part of the effort to conserve the species in a city located more than 700 kilometres (434 miles) away from the dragon's natural habitat.
After the spate of births this year, Surabaya Zoo now houses 134 Komodo dragons, the largest population group outside of its habitat in the cluster of islands east of Bali, Anwar said.
In a report last year, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature warned the endangered species' habitat was expected to shrink by 30 percent in the next 45 years due to rising sea levels.
Anwar said the dragons will not be released back into the wild on Komodo or Flores until conditions improve.
"Komodo Island is still working to rejuvenate the forests," which feed the dragon's declining natural prey such as deer, he said.
A.Malone--AMWN