Sbtg It was, by any measure, a giant. On January 17, patrol helicopters off the coast of southern Australia reported seeing a great white shark nearly as big as Jaws . In fact, it was estimated to be up to 23ft long, only marginally smaller than the infamous movie killer 鈥?and it came to within just 100 metres of the shore. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the connotations with Peter Benchleys 1974 novel sent the internet into its usual frenzied panic when such a monster is spotted. One of the images of the giant shark posted on Facebook by Shark Alerts South Australia. Shark Alerts South Australia/Facebook Last summer, videos of what many believe to be adidas originals the largest white shark ever caught on film also sent the internet into meltdown. These large sharks will always make headlines, but instead o adidas samba og f igniting fear, they should be cause for celebration. In recent years, many sharks 鈥?including the great white 鈥?have been severely reduced in numbers, with some species down by 90%. While calculating the precise numbers of individuals is difficult, there are promising signs that some white shark populations are now on the rebound. This is in part due to measures put in place to protect both the sharks and their main prey, marine mammals.The sharks have either been killed by targeted commercial fishing for their fins and meat, or accidentally caught in other crocs de fisheries. Elsewhere, they are hunt Fupo According to other reports seven hostages were killed as Algerian special forces mounted a final assault on the Islamist militants holding out in the desert gas plant.The Algerian state news agency APS quoted a security source as saying that the hostages who died were killed by their captors. There was no immediate information on the nationalities of those killed.The APS also reported that 11 terrorists died in the battle at the remote desert plant at In Almenas.Prior to the assault there were reports that 16 of the remaining foreign hostages had been freed including two Americans, two Germans and one Portuguese.Six Britons at the plant remain at risk or unaccounted for, Foreign Secretary William Hague said today. Mr Hague added that the country shoul stanley de d be prepared for more bad news.BP chief executive Bob Dudley said the company was unable to confirm the location or situation of four employees at In stanley cup Amenas and had grave fears that they are likely to have suffered fatalities.The Algerian military controlled the vast residential barracks, while gunmen were in the industrial plant itself with an undisclosed number of hostages, Reuters reported.The Foreign Office said in a statement: The Algerian authorities have confirmed to us that the military phase of the operation to resolve this crisis has concluded. The site is still being made safe by the Algerian authorities and w stanley hrnek e are urgently continuing our work to e |