The race to save Myanmar’s Inle Lake on February 20, 2019Myanmar's famed Inle Lake has enchanted tourists for decades with its floating gardens and the graceful leg-rowing style of its fisherman, but experts warn the lake is drying up and urgent action is needed to avoid disaster. Each year around 200,000 foreigners and one million locals visit Inle -- a vast, serene body of water surrounded by verdant hills. Many criss-cross the lake on small … [Read more...] about The race to save Myanmar’s Inle Lake
Blacksmiths keep alive the flame of China’s molten steel ‘fireworks’ on February 20, 2019Blacksmith Wang De flings a ladle of molten steel against a cold brick wall, sparking a spectacle of white-hot light in the night sky and keeping alive the flame of a centuries-old Lunar New Year tradition. Fireworks were invented in China and have been a mainstay of Lunar New Year celebrations, but the remote village of Nuanquan in northern Hebei province has perfected an alternative kind of … [Read more...] about Blacksmiths keep alive the flame of China’s molten steel ‘fireworks’
Watch your step: Kenyan herders mark-out disease-free grazing routes on February 20, 2019The morning calm of Losirien valley was broken by a cow bell tinkling as Benjamin Kerei led his herd of about 50 animals down a parched trail alongside a dry riverbed in southwest Kenya. On the 10-km (6-mile) journey to a nearby grazing ground, the 24-year-old was on the lookout for fresh wildlife tracks. Like pastoralists all over the East African country, Kerei needs to keep his cattle … [Read more...] about Watch your step: Kenyan herders mark-out disease-free grazing routes
Aussie rodent becomes first ‘climate change extinction’ on February 20, 2019Australia officially declared a Great Barrier Reef rodent extinct on Tuesday, making it the first mammal believed to have been killed off by human-induced climate change. The rat-like Bramble Cay melomys -- whose only known habitat was a small sandy island in far northern Australia -- has not been spotted in a decade. Researchers from Queensland determined a key factor in its disappearance was … [Read more...] about Aussie rodent becomes first ‘climate change extinction’
Trump urges Venezuela military to back Guaido or ‘lose everything’ on February 20, 2019US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Venezuela’s military to accept opposition leader Juan Guaido’s amnesty offer, or stand to “lose everything,” as a crisis deepened over President Nicolas Maduro’s refusal to let in desperately needed humanitarian aid. Bringing in humanitarian aid is crucial to the viability of Guaido, who has denounced Maduro’s re-election last year as fraudulent and in … [Read more...] about Trump urges Venezuela military to back Guaido or ‘lose everything’
Fireballs and lights: Senegal’s president promises a brighter future on February 20, 2019In a campaign video featuring images of fireballs and flashing lights, Senegalese President Macky Sall is depicted in front of an express train, a motorway, a glass high-rise and then a sports arena. The video montage, describing Sall as an innovator, visionary and entrepreneur, draws attention to big-ticket construction projects in a $16.5-billion development programme which he hopes will win … [Read more...] about Fireballs and lights: Senegal’s president promises a brighter future
North Korean envoy en route to Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit: report on February 20, 2019The North Korean special representative for the US arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, apparently en route to Vietnam to meet his Washington counterpart ahead of a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said. Kim Hyok Chol arrived in the Chinese capital at around 10 am (0200 GMT) and was expected to board a plane bound for Hanoi later in the day. His … [Read more...] about North Korean envoy en route to Hanoi ahead of Trump-Kim summit: report
Fight for justice: Victims of church sex abuse go global on February 20, 2019After years of struggling alone or finding support in national groups, survivors of sex abuse by priests have formed a new international alliance to pressure the Catholic Church to face up to its crimes. The group, called Ending Clerical Abuse (ECA), brings together activists from dozens of countries on several continents, and will be mobilised in Rome this week when Pope Francis hosts a hotly … [Read more...] about Fight for justice: Victims of church sex abuse go global
Hot property: US mobile homes’ affordability slips as corporates move in on February 20, 2019When Russ Watson decided to move to a mobile home community in Florida in 2011, it was to be near his father and in a space that was affordable. "He said it was a great place to live - and you can live here cheap," Watson said of the community, called Park Place. But over the next few years, ownership of Park Place - which has about 475 homes - changed hands, Watson said: first to an … [Read more...] about Hot property: US mobile homes’ affordability slips as corporates move in
China’s top graft buster to go after ‘political deviation’ on February 20, 2019China's top anti-corruption body will target "political deviation" this year along with continued efforts to stamp out graft, it said on Tuesday, as part of a long-running campaign to improve discipline in the ruling Communist Party. President Xi Jinping has presided over a sweeping corruption crackdown since coming to power in 2012, vowing to target both "tigers" and "flies", referring to … [Read more...] about China’s top graft buster to go after ‘political deviation’
