The total estimated population of the Javan rhinoceros in Vietnam was perhaps eight individuals just three years ago. Now WWF reports that there is one less of the beyond critically endangered rhinos in the Cat Tien

As far as endangered species go, it's mostly bad news, with the occasional positive story. Well this news seems to fall somewhere in the middle: in late August, a group of Laotian villagers in the Annamite Mountains captured a saola,

The saola is an extremely rare relative of the ox that is found only in the forests of the Annamite Range of Vietnam and Laos. Discovered in 1992, scientists know very little about the elusive beast, which is known among locals as a

Prior to the discovery, fewer than 1,000 grey-shanked doucs were known to exist, making them one of the 25 most endangered primates on the planet.

The new find may change anthropologist's conception of early Peruvian prehistory.

Between 2002 and 2015, these 'streamer lines' helped reduce seabird by-catch in Alaskan fisheries by 78%.

Using a bit of research and lots of careful gardening, this man was able to help reestablish a population of rare butterflies in his backyard.

The rare earth metals mining industry is one rife with issues. But is there a way to green up the business?

What could ravers and other all-night clubbers of the world possibly have to do with the increasingly rare Mreah Prew Phnom trees (Cinnamomum parathenoxylon), found in

There are only an estimated 116 wild Asian elephants in Cambodia's Seima Protection Area, and until now most of the photographic evidence of them has be taken by camera traps. New footage released by the Wildlife Conservation Society changes that. The

37 species under national protection have been observed in the Ziwuling area, thanks to massive reforestation efforts.

Pandas, which are one of the better known endangered species out there, just aren't very good at breeding, making their survival more problematic than if, say, they had cubs by the bucketload every year.

Already suffering a perilous decline, the deaths of 4 North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this month doesn't bode well for the species.

The Amazon is home to one of the most fascinating life forms of all -- humans, like us, but who are living free from the narrow confines of our 'civilization'.

Not only is it Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday, but it's also an extra-special 8-digit palindrome day.

Here's everything to know about this year's unique September full moon.

Out of 300 photos of golden cats taken over the course of over 18,000 trap days, just four images of kittens have been captured.

“Woody” Williams Wins Rare Life Award

“Woody” Williams Wins Rare Life Award

As a doctors’ and nurses’ strike paralyses Zimbabwe’s health system, one woman has delivered 100 babies in her flat

•Photographs by Cynthia R Matonhodze

Six expectant mothers groan through their labour pains in the lounge of a tiny two-roomed apartment in Mbare, Zimbabwe’s oldest township.

Sweating and visibly in pain, a heavily pregnant woman peeps through the window to catch a breath while others lie on the floor.

Unpublished report claims water from contaminated reservoir leaves 3 million in Zimbabwe’s capital at risk of disease

Water being pumped to millions of residents in Zimbabwe’s capital city came from reservoirs contaminated by dangerous toxins, according to a report seen by the Guardian.

A study conducted by South African company Nanotech Water Solutions concluded that the health of 3 million Harare residents may be endangered by the provision of water containing toxins that can cause liver and central nervous system diseases.

Related: Zimbabwe on verge of 'manmade starvation', warns UN envoy

A teenager bonds awkwardly with her cousin as they take the bus from a rural community to New York so that she can have a termination

The four words in this title are the four possible replies to bureaucratic tick-box questions about the frequency of your various sexual experiences. A young woman here must answer them, before she is allowed to have an abortion. However rigid and blandly routine it seems, the four-part answer grid is cleverly designed to get information about vulnerability: it is so easy instinctively and evasively to deny a difficult question structured as a yes/no, but much harder to check the “never” box, when “rarely”, “sometimes” and “always” are coolly offered as equivalently non-judgmental options.

The lead character in Eliza Hittman’s tough, realist drama is confronted with this central, four-part inquisition about her life in one brilliantly controlled, enigmatic scene. Theoretically, it is just a bit of form-filling that doesn’t appear to promise any real revelation to the audience. Yet it does just that, delivering a penny-drop moment of realisation. Or perhaps it’s more of an ambiguous hint and all the more disquieting for that.

Related: Sleazy bosses, exploited barmaids: US cinema finally discovers the left behinds

As multiple states have moved to further restrict access to abortions during the pandemic, a powerful new dramatic film follows a 17-year-old girl as she travels from her small town in Pennsylvania to New York City to get an abortion without having to notify her parents. "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" director and writer Eliza Hittman joins us to discuss the making of the film, which is being distributed online while cinemas remain closed in most states due to the pandemic.

Black paint usually absorbs heat, but a new two-layer polymer paint reflects infrared light and keeps objects 16°C cooler, which could help make buildings more energy efficient

Two fledglings may have safeguarded the future of the Norfolk Island morepork owl.

Ateet
On: Zee5
Director: Tanuj Bhramar
Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Priyamani, Sanjay Suri
Rating:  

This is how the premise of the new film on Zee5, Ateet, has been described- 'When Captain Ateet Rana goes missing and is declared dead by the army, his colleague Vishwa Karma steps forward to marry Ateet's wife and take care of his daughter. Things take an unexpected turn when Ateet returns after a decade to reclaim his family.' A majority of the filmmakers would opt to make a sloppy and screechy melodrama out of this, but writer Harsshil R Patel and director Tanuj Bhramar add a supernatural and spooky element to it, making it or intending to make it a chilling watch. It's anything but!

Three talented actors- Rajeev Khandelwal, Priyamani, and Sanjay Suri, struggle with one-note characters. The South Indian actress surprisingly delivers such a cold and charmless performance that not even once you feel any sort of empathy for the lady. A scene that involves all three of them, she angrily states that it doesn't matter whom she chooses between them, but that she can leave both of them for her daughter. It wasn't supposed to be funny, but I was left amused. That's what Ateet is basically, unintentional comedy. In another scene, when she declares she saw her daughter talking to someone unlike a human, Vipin Sharma, who plays an army doctor, quips- "You're talking nonsense." Again, the scene wasn't supposed to be funny, but I cracked a smile this time too!

But it isn't entirely unwatchable, there are moments of shock and surprise, and you may jump on your bed or your sofa or wherever you watch this drama-cum-horror. The scares aren't the kind you normally witness in a Bollywood horror film, yes, there is some display of tacky prosthetic but the director keeps the worst for the last. The execution and editing towards the early portions give the film an eery feel and so does the pace of the narrative. But all hopes go for a toss once the plot has opened all its cards.

Watch the trailer right here:

To worsen what was already beginning to get mediocre and mundane, characters take their own time to communicate and draw long pauses between one dialogue and another to show how intense this drama is supposed to be. It's also upsetting to see an actor like Khandelwal, who made a gripping debut in Aamir, stuck in the same hero-in-horrified mode. He plays an army officer but his heroism is displayed in barely one war scene that's embarrassingly choreographed and ends even more appallingly.

The scene comes when we are close to knowing the truth of these clandestine characters hiding some demonic truths, so who cares about the action set-piece that preceded it? Ateet messes up a delicious plot and makes its central characters appear lost and limp, and this time, I'm not laughing.

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Josh Feinberg will also perform in Pune, Goa, Gangtok and Dubai this month

Few royal residences in India could be imagined without the rich sound of ragas flowing through them. Connoisseurs of Indian Classical music, nobles and royals often hosted artistes in their homes, where intimate concerts formed an important cultural tradition. But as the era of royalty ended, and with the advent of theatres and proscenium stages, these baithaks as they were called, faded away.

A baithak session in progress

As part of an initiative to revive this tradition, music lovers of Mumbai can attend one such baithak tonight, where acclaimed US-based sitarist Josh Feinberg will share his insight into the Maihar Gharana through an interactive performance. To be held at a private bungalow in Malabar Hill, the baithak will see Feinberg present a traditional Hindustani sitar recital with Ariff Khan on the tabla.

Feinberg, who started learning Western Classical music and Jazz when he was four, was introduced to the sitar as a 12-year-old. The music of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Nikhil Banerjee made a lasting impression on him. Feinberg became a student of Khan in 2004 and continued learning from him at his music school in California until the virtuoso passed away in 2009. “The sitar’s elegance and grace drew me to it. Hindustani Classical music is beautiful, deep, complex, and offers scope for improvisation. It is one of the great music traditions of the world,” shares the artiste, who tours the US, Canada, India and Europe.

“I grew without much exposure to Indian Classical music and got introduced to it only when I started learning Kathak from Pandit Chitresh Das. When I moved to India and began teaching the dance form here, I realised the students weren’t exposed to Classical music either. I wanted to change that,” says Seema Mehta, Kathak artiste and director of Chhandam Nritya Bharati, organisers of the baithak. The baithak series - with the aim to host one gathering every quarter - began in 2014, and was initially for the dance school’s students and their parents. It’s popularity grew as more music lovers heard of it.

Feinberg summarises the idea, “I like both situations. At a concert, the audience is far away that it allows the musician to get immersed in his music. In a baithak, there is a direct connection with the audience. The musician derives energy from the appreciation he receives.”

Ben is Back

U/A: Drama
Director: Peter Hedges
Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton
Rating: 

A family drama that makes substance abuse look like the enemy of humanity it is, this Peter Hedges directed film dramatically shifts its moods from celebration to welcoming to fearful – all in the span of a few minutes.

When Ben(Lucas Hedges) shows up skulking around at his home driveway in a hooded wind-breaker the audience is unsure as to his antecedents. Then his mother Holly(Julia Roberts), his teenage sister Ivy(Kathryn Newton) and two half-siblings (Mia Fowler and Jakari Fraser) arrive home and we see the trepidation tinted welcome he receives. When his step-father Neal(Courtney B Vance) rushes home after receiving Ivy's urgent message, we understand there's further gravity to the situation.

Director Peter Hedges opens up his pages slowly allowing us to experience in some measure as to what the family is going through. Eventually it becomes imminently clear that Ben's return for Christmas from a rehab program he was recently inducted into, is unexpected and ill-advised.

Check out the trailer here:

While 'Ben is Back' is not exactly a dense suspense drama it draws up intensity from a construct that questions the integrity of it's lead character. Since it's a story about an addict and his struggle with addiction the question that haunts his family and himself is 'Will he use again?' He has sworn and swears again that he won't but he has lied before and given his track record should his family believe him? It's a tough ask. But then what about love, compassion and forgiveness? Can a mother really abandon her child to the vagaries of a habit that could eventually destroy him? The film deals with all these questions and more and the answers that it comes up with are neither easy nor universally applicable.

As Holly takes on the onus of keeping Ben in her sights, she uncovers secrets that test her mothering skills –throughout an increasingly harrowing day and night exposing her to an underbelly that she never opened her eyes to in the past.

There are times when the plotting seems contrived and questionable but by and large Peter Hedges does a good job plying a pathway that has hurdles at every turn. The dramatic tension though is not sharp enough and that's one of the reasons why you feel rather ambivalent about this tale. Performances are universally good though!

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Versatile Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan passed away at the age of 53 on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 11:11 am due to colon infection. The actor was undergoing treatment for Neuroendocrine cancer and was admitted at Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital due to a colon infection. The actor's last rites were performed on the same day in the presence of his family, close relatives and friends. Irrfan is survived by his wife Sutapa and sons – Babil and Ayan.

Soon after news of Irrfan's death broke on the internet, social media was flooded with messages from fans and celebrities expressing their grief. Son Ayaan also mourned the loss of his father by sharing beautiful memories of his father through his childhood pictures.

In the picture, Irrfan is seen riding a bike with Ayaan sitting in front. He captioned the black and white picture, "The flesh we roam this earth in is a blessing, not a promise (sic)". In another photo, the father-son duo looks handsome.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

The flesh we roam this earth in is a blessing, not a promise.

A post shared by ayAAn khan (@arkane_7) onMay 1, 2020 at 9:36am PDT

Earlier, Irrfan's elder son Babil had shared has posted a video of the late actor indulging in pani puri after a shoot. "When you're on diet for so long and then the shoot ends and you can have pani puri," Babil captioned the video posted on Instagram.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

When you’re on diet for so long and then the shoot ends and you can have pani puri.

A post shared by Babil Khan (@babil.i.k) onMay 1, 2020 at 6:42am PDT

Earlier, Babil had shared a heartfelt note on his Instagram handle. In the note, Babil thanked everybody for their support and condolence messages as his family faced with the most difficult challenge. He wrote: "I'm deeply grateful for all the condolences you beautiful friends are pouring in for me. Although I hope you understand that right now I’m not being able to reply because my vocabulary is dizzy. I will get back to each one of you but just not right now. Thank you so much. I love you (sic)."

On April 28, the Piku actor was admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection and was in the Intensive Care Unit. In 2018, Irrfan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour and was undergoing treatment for the same.

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Amitabh Bachchan campaigns for the 1984 elections in Allahabad

Fans across the world celebrated acting legend Amitabh Bachchan's 75th birthday last October. And if you wish to extend the festivities, visit Frames 75, an exhibition of rare photographs and framed memorabilia that celebrate Bachchan's oeuvre.

The exhibition has been curated by film historian and archivist SMM Ausaja and photo journalist Pradeep Chandra. "There were no big commemorative events for his 75th birthday. But we realised that his 75th year is not yet over, so we should celebrate it with a visual journey in his platinum year," says Ausaja.

A photo by Pradeep Chandra of the legend at RK Studios

The duo worked over three months to curate the list of exhibits and even commissioned artwork for the exhibition. "We wanted something rare that's not on the Internet. You will see a photo from his first photo session, a pamphlet from his Allahabad election campaign, and artist Sonu Gupta's recreation of a painting by MF Husain that depicts the three phases of Bachchan's life," Ausaja says.

An original poster of Yaarana

"I did a similar show on his 61st birthday. So, for this exhibition we wanted to do something different. You will see some never-seen-before images by me, including a photo of Bachchan and Rajiv Gandhi at Indira Gandhi's funeral; a frame of him sitting with Bal Thackeray's shadow in the background; a photo with his daughter, with Dilip Kumar, and one with Rajkumar and Sanjay Dutt in the same frame," adds Chandra.

SMM Ausaja and Pradeep Chandra at Bachchan's residence

Also on display will be original posters, vinyl covers and fake notes used for shoots, many of which have Bachchan's image on them. "We wanted a wide variety of media to break monotony and sustain interest across all frames," Ausaja signs off.

FROM: May 11 to 25, 10 am to 6 pm
AT: Whistling Woods, Goregaon East.
CALL: 30916070

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With humans in their homes amid the coronavirus lockdown, animals are roaming free on the streets. After pictures of dolphins off Marine Drive, peacocks venturing in the streets of Mumbai and tigers taking a stroll in the forests of Madhya Pradesh went viral, stunning pictures of lions sleeping in a park in South Africa is making rounds on social media.  

 The picture posted on Twitter by the Kruger National Park in South Africa, show the rare sight of the pack of lions sleeping in the pathways of the park. Clicked by Section ranger Richard Sowry, the caption for the post reads, “Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see.  #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see.  This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.”

Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see. #SALockdown This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see. This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.
📸Section Ranger Richard Sowry pic.twitter.com/jFUBAWvmsA

— Kruger National Park (@SANParksKNP) April 15, 2020

The astounding pictures that were posted on Twitter on Wednesday, garnered over 19,500 likes and was retweeted more than 6,700 times. The users commenting on the post spoke how such rare sights are seen when humans are at home and how mother nature is recovering from the wounds.

Now mother earth belongs to all of us as nature intended.

— Aaron Moloisi (@aaronmoloisi) April 16, 2020

Mother nature is enjoying the #lockdown. No humans to bother them.

— Emile van Rooyen (@EmilevanRooyen2) April 15, 2020

We’re seeing glimpses of the world when the humans are gone ...

— Jason Randa (@JasonRanda2) April 16, 2020

Looks pretty nice. I've seen a few videos from around the world other animals walking through city streets and looking around and then just continuing to do their thing. It's quite beautiful and they are wondering where we are.

— Lori Brown (@LoriBrown82) April 17, 2020

The animals are loving having their turf back.

— Heartbeat Of Africa (@PeterDermauw) April 15, 2020

What do you think about the pictures?

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More information on climate-friendly plant-based diets is needed among American consumers, revealed results from a national survey released today by the

New biomarkers were identified by scientists from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center to diagnose rare chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC)

Five-year-old Ollie Williams went down suddenly by a rare disease called Stevens-Johnson syndrome this May. This disease caused a sudden outburst of blisters

CYLD cutaneous syndrome (CCS) is a genetic disease that affects areas of the body where there are hair follicles. Skin tumours called cylindromas are also seen in CSS patients.

The first cellular model of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) the rare genetic condition has been created by Sainte-Justine and Universite de Montreal researchers.

New gene that causes melorheostosis, a rare group of conditions involving painful and disfiguring overgrowth of bone tissue, is identified by the team

55-year-old Mumbai doctor who has liver cancer, and a 36-year-old Kolhapur farmer putting up with end-stage liver failure have successful liver transplants

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who left for America for medical treatment, has been diagnosed with a rare cancer type and may not be able to present this

Rare bilateral total knee replacement was performed successfully on an Iraqi woman weighing 100 kg in Delhi's Vimhans Nayati Super Specialty Hospital, state the authorities.

A 22-year old girl from Ghaziabad who was suffering from cystic adenomyosis got a new lease of life after doctors successfully treated her with the rare uterus malformation.

A 60-year-old female patient who had a rare tumor in her heart was admitted to the hospital. Specialists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of

TPR gene is closely linked to ependymoma. It can help with not just diagnosis, but also treatment options for the condition, according to Richard Wong's

A real under(sea)dog story Despite a lukewarm reception at its initial launch, the team at Rare remained committed to its vision of a pirate adventure on the high seas.

International Business Times, India brings you some rare and unseen pictures of KZK2 actor Erica Fernandes that will melt your heart.

Exports of Rare Earths in China decreased to 32800 USD THO in April from 54300 USD THO in March of 2020. Exports of Rare Earths in China averaged 34585.93 USD THO from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 54300 USD THO in March of 2020 and a record low of 19289 USD THO in February of 2014. This page includes a chart with historical data for China Exports of Rare Earths.

Main non-China producer says it may need public funds to weather coronavirus downturn

Politics is about leverage. Startups now have it. They should take advantage of it before things change again.

The X-37B spaceplane sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, and its mysterious past is equally evocative. What does the military put in this long-term orbital vehicle? Turns out it’s exactly the kind of neat, but not mind-blowing, science you’d expect to find in such a thing — though solar-powered masers do sound pretty […]

The Born to Run singer, in his run for the Emmy, faces competition from three other Netflix projects as well as CBS's Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live From Liverpool.