World Watch: The Mind is Sharper than the Beak

* World: According to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Science pigeons posses basic math knowledge on par with certain primates like rhesus monkeys.

* Czech Republic: Mourners gathered at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral for the state funeral of recently deceased playwright, activist, and ex-president Vaclav Havel.

* Syria: The U.S. State Department condemned a series of car bombings in Syria that left over forty people dead and dozens injured.

* Europe: Turkey froze political and military ties with France in response to the French parliament's approval of a bill criminalizing denials of the Turkish genocide against Armenians over a century ago.

Image Source – Flickr via Aurelijus Valeiša (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – Discovery News, New York Times, Voice of America, CNN

Today’s Video: Bye bye birdie

Note: In order to make up for the lack of blogging on Thursday we’ll publish several posts over the weekend.

The highlight of Wednesday’s Argentine soccer playoff game between San Lorenzo and Tigre does not correspond to any of the goals or great saves. Rather, it has to do with a pigeon that was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

(Video not safe for animal lovers):

The player who inadvertently killed the bird- San Lorenzo defender Gaston Aguirre- was remorseful and confessed that he “will be remembered as the pigeon killer.” Perhaps that won’t be the case on Saturday.

(Hat tip: The Offside.)

Sources- The Latin Americanist, The Offside, Goal.com, Fox Sports, YouTube