Germany is the top higher education destination among non-English speaking countries. Deutsche Welle recently published the list of the most popular universities for foreign students. READ MORE
The new Garden Bridge over the Thames will cost £150 million
Following Transport for London’s (TfL) tender for proposals to improve pedestrian links across the river, Heatherwick Studio and actor and campaigner Joanna Lumley have developed an idea for a new pedestrian ‘Garden Bridge’ across the River Thames; a scheme to connect North and South London with a garden.
READ MOREMadeira, perfect spot for sun-lovers and those who enjoy the great outdoors
978 km from mainland Portugal and 608 km from the African coast lies an island that is said to be part of the lost continent of Atlantis.
High mountains, deep valleys, tranquil lakes, waterfalls and an immensity of green. The vivacity of the Madeiran landscape is the result of an authentic subtropical climate that keeps the chill off the seawater and the climate mild all year round. READ MORE
FunTASTIC ornaments grandmother :)
Grandmother Agnes Kašpárková delicately paints traditional Moravian ornament on an early 18th century bell-tower.
The Border of Lights – 25 Years Fall of the Berlin Wall (VIDEO)
The Border of Lights: November 9, 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. On this day the world’s eyes will look at Berlin once again.
READ MORELondon’s skatepark becomes national heritage site
A London skatepark is to become a listed building – the first of its kind in Europe to be given protection.
Continue reading “London’s skatepark becomes national heritage site”Tallest Residential Building: A stunning view of the New York City for $95 million
The new 432 Park Avenue is the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.
Continue reading “Tallest Residential Building: A stunning view of the New York City for $95 million”Google maps: Explore the breathtaking Liwa Desert from your desk at home, must see!
How cool is this! Google maps is using 360° cameras, strapped on camels’ back, like on Google’s street view cars, to map the desert to give us a view of its surroundings without disturbing or affecting the environment.
Continue reading “Google maps: Explore the breathtaking Liwa Desert from your desk at home, must see!”No more “mind the gap” in the new London trains
Last week, London unveiled the new cars to the public for the first time, and when the trains finally hit the tracks starting in the mid-2020s, they’ll bring an appreciable list of improvements to riders.
With the new design, you’ll be able to walk the entire length of the train, which frees up lots of space that was wasted just from closing off individual cars in the past. The entrances are now all evenly spaced and feature double-wide doors, which means it should be a lot faster to get on and off the trains. And you won’t have to “mind the gap” anymore: the cars are all shorter, which makes the trains more flexible and able to come much closer to the platform edge. READ MORE
Kiss the stone of eloquence in this castle but enter its poison garden at your own risk
The stone of eloquence and poison garden of fascinating Blarney Castle in Ireland.
Continue reading “Kiss the stone of eloquence in this castle but enter its poison garden at your own risk”Alibaba’s founder has become China’s richest person
Alibaba’s blockbuster $25 billion stock offering has made Jack Ma the wealthiest man in China, according to a new survey, as investor enthusiasm for Chinese technology names enriches a new generation of Internet moguls.
Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, and his family have a net worth of about $25 billion following last week’s initial public offering.
The shift reflects a flood of dollars into China’s rapidly growing Internet sector, as investors bet on firms such as Alibaba growing at a fast clip at home and becoming more globally competitive. China has seen a record 15 Internet IPOs so far this year.
Why do these penguins wear hand-knitted jumpers?
On Phillip Island, right off the Australian coast, there is a population of little penguins wearing original hand-knitted jumpers. And this is not a fashion statement!
Knitted penguin jumpers play an important role in saving little penguins affected by oil pollution. A patch of oil the size of a thumb nail can kill a little penguin. Oiled penguins often die from exposure and starvation. Oil separates and mats feathers, allowing water to get in which makes a penguin very cold, heavy and less able to successfully hunt for food.
In response to these recurring events, the Knits for Nature programme was initiated. It aims to involve all knitter volunteers out there in the creation of jumpers that could help these little penguins survive the catastrophic effects of oil spills.
A penguin could be killed by a patch of oil the size of a thumb nail
a Superpenguin jumper
When oiled penguins are admitted to the Wildlife Clinic at Phillip Island Nature Parks, a knitted jumper is placed on the penguins to prevent them from preening and swallowing the toxic oil before they are washed and the oil removed by staff. By using them, the conservation centre was able to save 96% of the 453 penguins affected by the big 2001 oil spill.
If you want to contribute to this life-changing project, here’s more info on how you can do it.
The hugest tree in the world – The President (VIDEO)
It is believed that ‘The President’ is the hugest tree in the world when judged on bio-mass. “The President” is located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in the United States.
click on photos to enlarge
The tree is 75 metres tall. That’s a 20 storey building! It boasts a circumference of 28 metres at the base and at over 3,200 years old pre-dates the Iron Age. It’s so huge, it’s impossible to look at in one go. So no one has ever taken a proper photograph of its entirety until a team of photographers from National Geographic worked with scientists from California’s Sequoia National Park to take 126 separate photos of ‘the President’. The final photograph, which represented a mosaic of 126 images, appeared in the December 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine.
Children riding auto rickshaw to a school in Beldanga, India
Riding a tuktuk (auto rickshaw) to a school in Beldanga, India. Image credits – Dilwar Mandal
The most extreme (and deadliest) journeys to reach school
The most extreme journeys to school are a powerful reminder that something many of us take for granted can demand extraordinary determination from children elsewhere in the world.
Continue reading “The most extreme (and deadliest) journeys to reach school”The spectacular Venetian regatta – Regata Storica
This Sunday, Venice’s Grand Canal will be transported back to its glorious past at the Regata Storica, the main event in the annual “Voga alla Veneta” rowing calendar. 16th-Century-style boats carry local dignitaries along the Grand Canal surrounded by gondoliers in colourful period costumes, followed by four boat races.
Every first Sunday in September, the spectacular Regata Storica parades down the Grand Canal, the main waterway in Venice. The Regata Storica is one of the great Italian traditions that has deep roots in Venice’s history.
This unique sport has been practised in the Venetian lagoon for thousands of years and today it is particularly well-known for the spectacular historical water pageant that precedes the race. An unforgettable sight and a true reconstruction of the glorious past of one of most the powerful and influential Maritime Republics in the Mediterranean. Check out our favourite photos of the water pageant.
The Venetian regatta has always consisted of various races with different kinds of boat (originally these included galleys, peatoni, and barges, as well as lighter boats rowed by two or more oarsmen). The historical water festival departs from Punta della Dogana, and includes several typical 16th century boats rowing down the Canal with the Doge, his wife, and dignitaries dressed in period costume. After the pageant and in keeping with the ancient Venice seafaring tradition, follows a series of regatta races divided into categories by age, gender and boat typology. The last race is the speed race, campionissimi or great champioins’ on twin-oared gondolini, the most anticipated race and unique in the world. To purchase tickets for this annual event, visit www.regatastoricavenezia.it.
Skywalking, the new trend sweeping Russia
Groups of young people are defying death as part of the new “skywalking” trend sweeping Russia. They are illegally climbing buildings around the world to take the most incredible shots of cities from vantages rarely seen.
Vitaliy Raskalov is taking us on a heart-pounding and one-of-a-kind experience while scaling the tallest building in China – the Shanghai Tower (click on photo to enlarge)
Starbucks to meet students’ caffeine needs wherever they pop up
College-age students love coffee; ok, we know that. However, the latest survey data from the NPD group, which tracks trends in what Americans eat and drink, finds that 18- to 24-year-olds are increasingly turning to coffee, rather than caffeinated sodas, as their pick-me-up of choice. And not just any coffee—they want the fancy stuff. This is where Starbucks come into play.
College campuses might have been among the few remaining places to escape the shadow of Starbucks. There are roughly 11,500 Starbucks outlets in the U.S., but only about 300 of them are on U.S. campuses. That is about to change as Starbucks have come up with an idea to deliver coffee from food trucks. Why trucks? They can travel around with students throughout the day, meeting students’ caffeine needs wherever they pop up.
The cafe chain is testing trucks on three college campuses while trying to find new store formats beyond the typical retail outlet.
The World, the Largest Privately Owned Residential Ship
The World is a private residential cruise ship serving as a residential community, owned by its residents who live on board as the ship travels the globe.
It has 165 residences (106 apartments, 19 studio apartments, and 40 studios), all owned by the ship’s residents who can decorate with their own furniture, art, books and personal touches. There’s a deli and supermarket onboard and six restaurants if you didn’t feel like doing the washing up in your own kitchen. At 644 feet, The World is the largest privately owned yacht on the planet.
Niaqornat – Village Bravely Fighting for Survival
