World Briefs

Author: Caroline Vial

GIANT SQUID, GIANT...

Scientists once thought that nobody had a more tumultuous sex life than top models and athletes. New research, however, demonstrates that the giant squid wins the prize. Five beached squids on the Spanish Atlantic coast revealed the secrets that were up until now, buried deep. The discoveries printed in the review for an international council for the exploration of the sea reveal the following scene: a couple is in the midst of courting, each of the protagonists measure about 59 feet long, having eight arms and two tentacles. On one side, a female is a third larger than the male, and often adverse to the advances of the latter, who is ready to deploy a penis of 8.3 feet - usually the length of the body, excluding the arms and head. This member is hypodermic - the male inseminates the female by piercing her arm. The male is in fact incapable of making the distinction between his own body and the arm of a female, or that of another male in the surroundings. But a member of this size is often an inconvenience: coordinating eight arms and a gigantic penis, all the while battling against an angry female, is apparently too much to ask for. One of the beached males had accidentally injected doses of sperm into its legs and body. Giant squids are not at the top of the food chain, as they represent 30 to 40 percent of the diet of sperm whales. It is probably a good survival tactic for these squids to mate with such enthusiasm.

- Courrier International, Paris



EURO-MED SUMMIT

The Euro-Mediterranean Summit that ended last Monday in Barcelona enabled the adoption by the 35 participating countries of a code of conduct against terrorism, as well as a five-year work program. Results were disappointing according to the British paper The Guardian, due to the attendance of only two heads of state out of the six "partners" to the summit. The summit was "not a real success," judged the Spanish paper El País, as participants did not reach a final declaration. However it is a sign of relief that 35 European and Arabic countries, including Israel and the Palestinian authority, were able to agree that terrorism "cannot be justified," and condemned it "in all its forms and expressions." This demonstrates that all members perceived this violence as a menace from which nobody is spared, and stressed the importance of combating terrorism through a worldwide cooperation.

- The Guardian, London

- El País, Madrid.



VOTE BOYCOTT

By appealing to the boycott of presidential ballots, Tamil rebels actually facilitated the election of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse. The new president will have to convince the minorities about finding a fair solution to the conflicts.