Washington, Feb 19 : A research has shown that tropical trees in undisturbed forest are absorbing nearly a fifth of the carbon dioxide (CO2) released by burning fossil fuels in the world.

The researchers show that remaining tropical forests remove a massive 4.8 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year.

This includes a previously unknown carbon sink in Africa, mopping up 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 each year.

The 40-year study of African tropical forests, which constitute one third of the world's total tropical forests, shows that for at least the last few decades, each hectare of intact African forest has trapped an extra 0.6 tonnes of carbon per year.

Washington, Feb 19 : Humans may not be the only intelligent animals on Earth, for a new study has shown that monkeys can subtract.

Duke University researchers, who conducted the study, said that the discovery marks the first time a nonhuman species has been seen having `widespread success' with subtraction, reports National Geographic News.

In the study, the researchers found that rhesus macaques placed in front of touch screens were able to subtract dots-not by counting them individually but by using a more instantaneous ability researchers call number sense.

Psychologist Jessica Cantlon, who co-led the studies at Duke, said that in the vast majority of trials, the monkeys chose the right answer without counting.

Havana  - On a clear day, something frequent in Havana, it does not take much imagination to understand what drew US writer Ernest Hemingway to Finca Vigia for 21 years of refuge on the outskirts o

Geneva/Washington  - The largest Swiss bank, UBS AG, will pay 780 million dollars in fines to avoid prosecution and settle claims of conspiring to help thousands of wealthy US citizens use Swiss bank accounts to evade taxes, the US Justice Department said Wednesday.

Detroit  - General Motors (GM) has to date not made any decisions to close Opel auto works in Germany, the governor of the German province North Rhine Westphalia said Wednesday in Detroit.

Juergen Ruettgers, the top official in the province, talked to reporters after meeting in Detroit with Rick Wagoner, head of the beleaguered General Motors which owns the Opel line.

"We are so relieved," Ruettgers said. "There is no decision to close auto works in Germany, also not in Bochum."

Washington  - The 17,000 extra troops President Barack Obama ordered to Afghanistan will be operational by this summer and in time for the national elections in August, the top commander of US and NATO forces in the country said Wednesday.

But General David McKiernan also told reporters that despite the buildup, the destabilizing and violent situation in Afghanistan is unlikely to be quickly reversed.

"I have to tell you that 2009 is going to be a tough year," McKiernan told reporters at the Pentagon, adding that he expects fighting to increase in the summer.