Snake charmers protest against ban

Snake charmers in India have staged a protest against a law which bans them from using live serpents.
About 1,000 performers marched through Calcutta playing their flutes in opposition to the 1991 ban, reports the BBC.
The protestors claim that the law threatens their livelihoods and have called for it to be overturned. Despite the ban, hundreds of thousands of snake charmers still perform the traditional show.
The head of India's snake charmers federation Raktim Das said: "We are being consistently harassed by the police for keeping snakes, which are snatched away without paying us compensation." He suggested that serum farms could be established where charmers could sell venom for medical use.
Meanwhile, animal rights groups have argued that the ban should be kept to curb the abuse of snakes.

China launches remote sensing satellite

Yaogan IV, a remote sensing satellite, is lifted off on a Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province December 1, 2008. [CFP]

China launched a new remote sensing satellite "Yaogan IV" on Monday at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province.The satellite will be used for scientific research, land resources surveying, crop yield estimate and disaster prevention and relief, according to its chief developer, China Academy of Space Technology.The satellite was launched on a Long March-2D carrier rocket. This was the 113th launch of China's Long March series of rockets.

Christmas tree lighted

People attend the Christmas tree lighting ceremony during the traditional Christmas market at the medieval Old Town Square in Prague November 29, 2008.