China’s annual “Dog Meat Feast” in the southern city of Yulin has sparked disputes between dog eaters and dog lovers, some cases even turning physical. Read the full story here. Photo: Whoisgalt
Author: Julie Farrar
KATHMANDU — Uttam Sanjel, founder of Samata School, stands before the morning assembly. Samata means “equal for all.” Today he wants to talk about a story from one of his students, whose mother celebrated the birth of a son over a daughter. “After five girls, my mom finally had a boy. She named him “Holy life water.” But our life has become more difficult. Why is it happening? It’s all because of lack of education. You have to tell your family and neighbors that sons and daughters are equal.” They then sing a song called, “Mother is Great, Love Her, […]
Germany’s 1-0 win over Argentina was front-page news around the world. Here are some highlights: Argentina: Belgium: Brazil: Germany: Mexico: Spain: UK: Uruguay: U.S.: Venezuela:
LA JOYA — Juan Castro is trying to keep it together as he tells me this story, but the tears well up in his eyes. “There was this 11-year-old girl from Guatemala who had been raped. I had to ask her how, where, by whom, why and every single detail that could help build her […]
BOGOTA — Call it the South American version of selling ice to eskimos: Starbucks is opening its first store in Colombia on July 16. The shop marks the start of the American coffee giant’s operations in a country that grows and produces lots of its own brew, and already has a strong, local but international, […]
QASYAR — Ahmed is wearing a Barcelona soccer jersey with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi’s name on the back. Rasheed has Rodrigo Palacio’s from Inter Milan, while Samad is sporting the Chelsea shirt of Brazil midfielder Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior. While their heroes compete in the World Cup on the other side of the world, […]
Doggy business stinking up sidewalks is a very real problem in towns and cities around the world. Different attempts to clean up include raising fines, public leaflets or even a project in Buenos Aires to give green collars to the dogs whose owners scoop their poop. So inevitably it would have to come to this: […]
Relatives of Amer Abu Aisheh, accused of abducting three Israeli teens, don’t expect to see him again. His mother’s definition of a martyr: “one who chooses to give their life to kill the Jews.”
VATICAN CITY — To the priests who invited him to take a vacation with them, the late Cardinal Alberto Idelfonso Schuster of Milan replied, smiling, that there would be plenty of time for that in the afterlife. Pope Francis — the Jesuit whose agenda would wear out any 40-something — seems to be inspired by […]
What did the golden retriever say to the patient with arthritis? This isn’t actually the start of a joke, but the beginning of a study. From January to June of this year, a pilot program was run in the outpatient department of the University Hospital in Florence, to evaluate the scientific efficacy of pet therapy […]
Photo: Mauricio Macri via Facebook The mayor of Buenos Aires, Mauricio Macri, has said he wants to “congratulate” dog owners every time he sees them pick up after their dog on the street, and thinks it “unfair” that they should not be differentiated from those who leave streets “littered” with poop because “they pick up […]
FILICUDI — The most-hated man right now on the Aeolian islands wasn’t looking for trouble. A die-hard lover of deep-sea fishing and diving, Dario Lopes, 53, has taken and posted various videos of jellyfish in recent years. But then one clip, shot off the coast of the island of Filicudi, went viral around Italy. “It […]
Words making news…News making words.
PALERMO — It’s a genetic test, but no body parts or blood are being analyzed — it’s bottles of wine instead. A team of researchers have developed a system they say will revolutionize the concept of traceability used in proving the origins of agricultural products: in this case, the vine, the quality of yeast used […]
Argentina and Uruguay have the highest collective ages in the tournament. In Africa, youth is treasured. Experience? Energy? A demographic snapshot of Brazil 2014.
The stories that counted…
FLORENCE — The Italian national soccer team has landed in Brazil, and each player is carrying an extra card with them. It’s similar to an ATM bank card, though instead of money it will give them access to a database where they can find any and all relevant information about the World Cup. Manager Cesare […]
Who knew!? Koalas are (true) tree huggers, not for environmental reasons, but as a way to keep cool and regulate their body temperatures during hot summer months. The BBC explains how PhD student Natalie Briscoe was studying koalas’ behavior and she noticed that in the winter the animals would stay high in the trees, up […]
TEHRAN — A trip down the 19 kilometers of Valiasr Street, the avenue that splits Tehran in two, is like walking through a metaphor for Iranian society. At one end, by the railway station on Rahahan Square, the houses are narrow and tatty; but continue towards Tajrish Square, and glass skyscrapers and shining buildings rise […]
A young tennis champion, a controversial Polish general and an influent author were among those to whom we bid farewell this past month.
From a once-contested region in the Russian Federation, anti-Kiev forces are spotted in the battleground eastern region of Ukraine. They are “more Russian than the Russians,” says one.
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The Last Man At The Pump
MAISACH — “It’s high season, so it’s not really convenient,” says Uwe Möderl when we first talk on the phone. Then, moments later, he says, “How would tomorrow night be?” The 51-year-old Bavarian is apparently not a man who wants to be kept from his work. I had been looking for an experienced gas station […]
By Julie Farrar LONDON — If nobody meddles with the natural course of human biology, there should be 100 girls born for every 105 boys. But, tragically, there are places in the world where people are still obsessed with only having sons, and ready to act on it. It is estimated that there are 200 […]
Italy is often a point of arrival in Europe for immigrants from troubled points east and south. But most will eventually wind up in northern destinations. What have they seen? What will they find?
Dogs are adorable. Granted. But sadly, as it turns out, some of them need a helping hand to attract new humans to them. A project by Hungarian artist Sarolta Bán aims to “help dogs with images,” by photoshopping different scenarios to really bring their personalities out and tell their stories. You can check out the […]
An orangutang at the Berlin zoo. Photo: achschav via Instagram Animal welfare groups and German zoos have been working together to fix minimum standards for the keeping of animals. An assessment, a kind of catalogue, launched earlier this month is meant to be the definitive reference point for German zoos both large and small, game […]
BETHLEHEM — Venetian larches, Turkish oaks, German lead, and 1,500-year-old nails: These are the base materials that a group of 30 Tuscan engineers, architects and archeologists are using to restore the Church of the Nativity for the first time in 600 years. Originally built in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the church is […]
BOGOTA – Even if the buses in the Colombian capital ran on time, you’d never know. A Bogotá city councilman recently confirmed that hundreds of clocks on its metro-bus network platforms were no longer working. Turns out, most stopped working at least five years ago – and counting! Councilman Hosman Martínez complained that 406 electronic […]
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Remember Pablo Escobar’s Hippos?
Remember the story of Pablo Escobar’s hippos running wild in Colombia a few weeks ago? Although the late King of Cocaine’s half-wild hippos may be damaging farms and the environment in this southern region, it seems some locals are growing fond of them. Officials have warned people living near the Hacienda Nápoles park to avoid […]
Like brain cells, those of the heart were long thought unable to regenerate. Science is showing this to be false, though applying treatment accordingly is still in its infancy.
Run. h/t Brain Magazine
Categories
King Of The Animals, Queen Of The Photobombs
Wildlife photographer Will Burrad-Lucas was snapping a picture of this young male lion in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve when a lioness emerged from the bushes with a strong urge to sniff the camera. Photo: Burrad-Lucas Photography
After their companions were shot over the weekend in Rome, a visit with ultra soccer fans in Naples, Italy
Watch out, Argentina — a deadly caterpillar with a bristle-like appearance is on the loose. Cristian García, 22, was sipping maté on the porch of his Santa Ana home when a rare venemous Hylesia nigricans catepillar dropped into his lap. Authorities say the young man is fighting for his life in intensive care. Contact on […]
No longer simply “service” rooms, kitchens and bathrooms have become increasingly integrated in living spaces. But the author also finds out what’s any home’s most important feature.
The current and past Minister have both been women (not to mention Chancellor Angela Merkel). But that’s apparently not enough…
Like the rest of the Internet, we too at Zoo’d have become momentarily obsessed with that video of the cat running into a French bakery’s glass door. If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is just below. If you’re like us, you’ll probably watch it again… and then three more times after that. Meowch!! […]
ANTARCTICA — Researchers have detected a new kind of bird flu in Adelie penguins for the first time, yet the virus does not seem to make them sick. File photo: Gerard LACZ-VWpics/VWPICS/Gerard LACZ The report published Tuesday in mBio, an online journal of the American Society for Microbiology, said that this virus (H11N2) is unlike […]
Iran is facing the risk of “critical” water shortages if the country does not dramatically cut water use, Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian declared in a speech to the Iranian parliament. Citing several years of drought, climate change and increased population, Chitchian told legislators on Sunday that usage needed to drop by by 40%. Average annual […]
Hive hustlers stung a beekeeping club in Australia when they stole 12 hives that contained more than 480 kilos of honey, not to mention the 240,000 bees inside them. The haul potentially netted the thieves more than $1,800, but the theft has left the Ipswich and West Moreton Beekeepers’ Association devastated, as they use their […]