Catwalk: Pet clothing designer inspired by ancient Chinese beauties By: Agencies on August 23, 2020Liu Liu is a fashion designer’s dream model and muse — happy to spend hour upon hour being measured and dressed, and posing in tailored couture outfits and artistic designs. Liu Liu is also a cat. Her doting owner, Wu Qiuqiao, makes a living from designing miniature versions of traditional flowing Chinese gowns known as […]
Europe’s travel recovery stalls in August — ticket data By: Agencies on August 23, 2020Europe’s travel recovery stalled at the start of August after a stronger performance in July, as quarantine rules and warnings over rising infection rates created uncertainty and deterred tourists from booking trips abroad. In July, ticket numbers for cross-border air travel within Europe stood at 28% of 2019’s levels, as Europeans began to travel again […]
Vanuatu’s citizenships-for-sale scheme keeps economy afloat By: Agencies on August 23, 2020Soaring demand for Vanuatu’s controversial passport scheme has kept the South Pacific island nation’s budget in surplus despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a damaging cyclone crippling its dominant tourism sector, budget papers show. Vanuatu late on Thursday reported a budget surplus for the first six months of 2020 of 3.8 billion vatu ($34.16 million), led […]
The beautiful literature of subcontinent By: Staff Report on August 22, 2020BULLEH SHAH: A SELECTION RENDERED INTO ENGLISH VERSE BY TAUFIQ RAFAT — this book is a collection of poems in the kafi style by the great Sufi poet of Punjab, Bulleh Shah, translated into English by Taufiq Rafat, one of Pakistan’s premier English language poets. Bulleh Shah belonged to the oral tradition and his poems […]
Bosnia’s fruit growers prove resilient amid pandemic downturn By: Agencies on August 22, 2020Plum season is upon us, and in the orchards of northern Bosnia fruit growers are busy with the harvest, most of which will be processed at local factories and shipped to buyers in the European Union and Russia. Despite being in urgent need of reform, Bosnia’s agricultural sector has weathered the global pandemic better than […]
‘We can work it out’ says closure-threatened home of The Beatles By: Agencies on August 22, 2020“It’s hot, it’s sweaty, it’s packed – that’s its reputation from back in the day with The Beatles, and it’s still a proper rock and roll venue,” said Jon Keats, Director of the Liverpool cellar bar where Britain’s best-known musical export found fame. That bittersweet sentence explains both why visitors from around the world flocked […]
Comedian mocks Zimbabwe’s government, despite fear of reprisal By: Agencies on August 22, 2020Victor Mpofu is using satire to shine a light on Zimbabwe’s political problems, reaching a growing audience despite living in fear of retribution from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government. Mpofu, aka Doc Vikela, has seen his followers on YouTube channel Simuka Comedy grow from less than 1,000 subscribers in January when he ventured into political satire […]
Sweden to ease some COVID-19 curbs on sports, gatherings from October By: Agencies on August 22, 2020Sweden plans to ease pandemic rules to allow more spectators at cultural and sporting events, if they can be organised to prevent the risk of spreading the new coronavirus, the government said on Friday. In March, Sweden limited public gatherings to 50 people to halt the spread of the virus, effectively preventing theatres, soccer clubs […]
Tiny Channel Island of Sark starts bid to try and double its population of 492 By: Agencies on August 21, 2020The idyllic car-free Channel Island of Sark is now trying to double its falling population which now stands at just 492. German entrepreneur Swen Lorenz, who has been based on the island of Sark since 2004, has now launched Sark Society in a bid to rescue the island’s dwindling population, which stood at around 650 […]
Glaciers in New Zealand’s Southern Alps have lost over half of their ice in the last 400 years By: Agencies on August 21, 2020The Southern Alps in New Zealand are the latest icy region to be devastated by global warming. A study finds the mountains have lost up to 62 percent of their glaciers since the end of the Little Ice Age, around 400 years ago. This, according to the study, equates to a maximum ice loss of […]