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☆ The not-quite-redemption of South Africa's infamous ultra-marathon cheats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ryan Brown | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

"A runner can always recognize another runner," Eugene tells me. Ryan Brown for insiderIn those days, they didn't run for South Africa, but for QwaQwa – one of ten "homelands" established for Black South Africans. Tiny, non-contiguous territories – supposedly, the original territory of different Black South African ethnic groups – dotted across the country. It didn't turn out like that, but it didn't turn out like that for most Black South Africans either. As I sat speaking to Sergio, South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was fighting for his political life after revelations that wads of cash, potentially ill-gotten, had been stolen from inside his sofa.

☆ Malaysia finds body of last person unaccounted for in campsite landside
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescuers work during a rescue and evacuation operation following a landslide at a campsite in Batang Kali, Selangor, Malaysia, December 17, 2022. REUTERS/Hasnoor HussainKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Rescue teams in Malaysia on Saturday recovered the body of the last person unaccounted for after a landslide that flattened a campsite last week, bringing what is thought to be the final death toll to 31. Rescue workers, in their ninth day of search operations, found the body of a boy in a sleeping bag while digging through mud and debris, Hulu Selangor police chief Suffian Abdullah said. Suffian said they believe all victims have now been found, but search operations will continue to assist in investigations. Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Monarch butterflies made a historic rebound this year, but my photos from 'Butterfly Town, USA' are disappointing and sad
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

California's monarch butterflies made a miraculous rebound from nearly disappearing in 2020. I visited Pacific Grove, AKA "Butterfly Town, USA," to see the monarch migration for the first time. Monarch butterflies fly at the Sierra Chincua butterfly sanctuary in Angangeo, Michoacan state, Mexico. Monarch butterflies fly at the Sierra Chincua butterfly sanctuary in Angangeo, Michoacan state, Mexico. When I was a child, I didn't see monarch butterflies, but they were already in decline.

A Culture in theCross Hairs Russia’s invasion has systematically destroyed Ukrainian cultural sites. It has also dealt a grievous blow to Ukrainian culture: to its museums and monuments, its grand universities and rural libraries, its historic churches and contemporary mosaics. This is how empires always work.” The war in Ukraine is a culture war, and the extent of the destruction is becoming clearer. Kyiv Sviatohirsk UKRAINE Damaged or destroyed religious sites Areas controlled by Russia at any time since invasion. Kyiv Sviatohirsk UKRAINE Damaged or destroyed religious sites Areas controlled by Russia at any time since invasion.

☆ Yes, the viral ‘Cocaine Bear’ movie is based on a true story (kinda)
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —If you’ve seen the astonishing trailer for “Cocaine Bear” making the rounds on Twitter, you might have questions about the film’s claim that it is “inspired by true events.” But the story is indeed based on the true story of a bear who overdosed on cocaine in the 1980s. In the film, the bear goes on a cocaine-fueled killing spree after its drug binge. The black bear was found dead near a duffel bag and 40 packages of cocaine, ripped open and scattered over the hillside. It’s unclear from the AP report exactly how much cocaine the bear consumed – but the duffel bag would have originally contained around 88 pounds of the powerful drug. The Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington claims to have the stuffed remains of the "Cocaine Bear" on display.

Small-scale copper miners are now challenging Big Copper for territorial control of rich deposits of the red metal. In Peru, artisanal mining permits have doubled to 80,000 since 2020, government records show. Peru's leftist administration presented a new framework for artisanal mining last week that declared artisanal mining is "as important" as big mining. "Where we have concessions we can't have (artisanal mining permits)," Rojas said. The number of valid artisanal mining permits in Tapairihua has fallen from 100 to 32 since May, according to government records.

☆ Palestinians resisting forced removal by the Israeli government are moving into caves
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Palestinians are resisting Israel's Supreme Court order that they be removed from their homeland. The people of Masafer Yatta are relying on their history of living in caves to resist eviction. The United Nations says the forcible removal of the Palestinians could be a war crime. Though their ancestors once used the caves willingly, residents now feel stuck, facing full Israeli control and the demolition of their existing homes. The landmark decision was one of the largest removal rulings made by the court since Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories began in 1967.

☆ A former lawyer bought an entire Italian village and transformed it into a thriving tourist destination — here's how
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Cesidio Di Ciacca bought his ancestral village in Italy in 2013 and turned it into a business. Many former residents settled in Scotland, as the Di Ciacca family did. After buying the home, Di Ciacca went on to own the entire village and run it as a business. "One year into the renovation, I started to get itchy and look at how I could buy I Ciacca," Di Ciacca said. Di Ciacca's wife, Selina Di Ciacca, suggested they make it a place of learning again.

☆ A Home Built Into the Hawaiian Hillside Asks $14.8 Million
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Sarah Paynter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Be the first to know about the biggest and best luxury home sales and listings by signing up for our Mansion Deals email alert. Coffee entrepreneurs Raymond and Jacqueline Suiter are listing a newly built Hawaii home for $14.8 million.

☆ ‘I’ve always wanted to be a tree’: Human composting starts to catch on
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The bill took cues from Washington state, where lawmakers in 2019 became the first in the U.S. to legalize human composting and where a nascent industry is growing. Four Washington state funeral facilities are now licensed to perform natural organic reduction, according to Rob Goff, the executive director of the Washington State Funeral Directors Association. California’s law will give regulators with the state’s Cemetery and Funeral Bureau until 2027 to create regulations for a human composting program. The know-how behind human composting began in ranchers’ fields. Human composting could instead help soils sequester carbon and provide nutrients for plant life.

☆ Hollywood’s iconic sign gets big paint job before its 100th anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The iconic Hollywood sign is shown on a hillside above a neighborhood in Los Angeles California, U.S., February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoSept 23 (Reuters) - The famous Hollywood sign overlooking Los Angeles is getting a facelift just ahead of its 100th anniversary, with each of the massive letters receiving a new coat of paint. The nine-letter sign atop Mount Lee was last painted 10 years ago and needs redoing roughly every decade. The current set of letters is actually the third sign erected atop Mount Lee over the years. But they're actually also about 10 to 15 feet off the ground,” said Jeff Zarrinnam, chair of the Hollywood Sign Trust.

☆ Italian fruit farmers use hill caves to help cut energy bills
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Matteo Berlenga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Inside the refrigerated areas of the caves, the apples are stored in stacked up plastic boxes and moved around by workers in safety helmets operating fork-lift trucks. "One of them is definitely in terms of energy levels, because from a test done last year...we measured a 32% saving of electricity in the cave." The caves currently store around 30,000 tonnes of apples, a figure expected to increase to 40,000 tonnes in the near future. As summer comes to an end above ground, the harvest has begun and farmers are at work picking apples from orchards, which will continue for 30-40 days. "We were hesitant at first, then we realised that it works, because there is a good saving of energy, and it is very sustainable.

☆ The Ayahuasca Diaries
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-26 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +37 min

But please understand: I didn't drink ayahuasca so I could write an article about it. I wrote an article about it so I could drink ayahuasca. I was desperate to drink ayahuasca — I had been for several months, in fact — and the formality of an assignment would help me out at home. Instead, a friend of a friend linked me up with an ayahuasca sangha, a Buddhist word for a spiritual community. I thought of my old friend, Scott, who, many years before, had declined an opportunity to drink ayahuasca.

☆ The US Air Force is getting new tech that will make it easier for pilots to pee in flight
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-01 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US Air Force is getting new technology that will make it easier for its fighter pilots, especially female pilots, to urinate in flight, potentially alleviating a longstanding problem for pilots needing to answer nature's call in a cramped cockpit. The Air Force will be receiving the Omni Gen. 3 Skydrate in-flight bladder-relief device in the near future, Air Combat Command announced in a press statement Wednesday. "The Air Force recognized that current devices were not optimized for long-duration sorties, and as a result, aircrew were routinely dehydrating themselves to delay the need for bladder relief," ACC explained. This was a big problem for pilots, particularly female pilots, who the Air Force said previously would "resort to 'tactical dehydration' to avoid the difficulties and potential dangers of having to relieve themselves inflight." The first shipments of the new Skydrate system will arrive early this month, and aircrews will have access to them by spring of next year.

Persons: Sharon Rogers, Nikki Yogi Organizations: US Air Force, Air Force, Omni, Air Combat Command, Business, Sky High, ACC, 46th, Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base Locations: Turkey, Florida

☆ The Korean War Emptied the Town. Those Who Rebuilt It May Now Be Rewarded
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-12 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

HAEAN, South Korea — Along the border with North Korea is a town where the sad legacy of war is perhaps best understood by looking at the crops in the field. Mr. Han arrived in this mountain basin on the eastern border with North Korea in 1956, when military trucks unloaded 160 families as new settlers of the war-torn territory. The families, mostly from Korean War refugee camps, were told by the government in the South that they would be allowed to keep the land if they cultivated it for 10 years. “We were landless peasants who lost everything during the war,” Mr. Han said. “We came here with a dream of owning our own land.”

Persons: Han Gi, . Han, “, Mr, Han, ” Locations: South Korea, North Korea

☆ 20 best German foods
▼ + stars: | 2019-10-09 | by ( Marcel Krueger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +30 min

Check out our list of 20 traditional German dishes that you need to try when you travel there. Germany National Tourism Board Azalea and Rhododendron Park Kromlau: This 200-acre English landscape park was built in the 19th century in Gablenz, Saxony. Germany National Tourism Board Maschsee Lake: This quiet and idyllic lake attracts families throughout the year in Hannover, the capital of Lower Saxony. Germany National Tourism Board Berchtesgaden National Park: Alpine lakes and ice-topped mountains are just a few of the natural wonders that make Berchtesgaden such a breathtaking national park. It comes wrapped in bacon or heaped upon schnitzel; as asparagus soup, fried asparagus, pancakes with herbs and asparagus, asparagus with scrambled eggs or asparagus with young potatoes.

Persons: Königsberger klopse, capers, Maultaschen, Katharina Hild, labskaus, Bodo Schieren, Fried, rostbratwurst, currywurst, Herta Heuwer, Kadir Nurman, schnitzel, Helmut Meyer Zur Capellen, hasn’t, Jägerschnitzel, Käsespätzle Spätzle, Sauerbraten, Stijn Van, Ralph Lueger, Franz Martin Kühn, Jonathan Segal, Rainer Mirau Atta, Attendorner, Mary, Balthasar Neumann, Andreas Bestle, Wiesel, Duke Leopold III of Anhalt, Caspar Diederik Bastei, Monica Skolimowska, Johannes Simon, Patrick Seeger, Daniel Karmann, Armin Weigel, Thomas Lohnes, Martin Schutt, Schwerin, Sean Gallup, Augustus the Strong, Ole Spata, Prince, Bavaria Charles Albert, François Cuvilliés, Ludwig II of Bavaria, Federweisser, Saumagen, Helmut Kohl, Kohl, saumagen, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, haggis, pinky, schnapps, spargelzeit, John, Johannes Eisele, Frank Vincentz, Josef Hildenbrand, Reuben, jeffreyw, Inga Kjer, Alexander Hassenstein, Christof Stache, Schwarzwälder, Schwarzwälder kirsch, Josef Keller, there’s, Dario Fontanella, Dario, ” Organizations: CNN, German Democratic, European Union, North, West, Austrian, Lichtenstein, UNESCO, Wiesel Garden, Getty, Germany National Tourism Board, Germany National Tourism, Nymphenburg, Mirrors, British, Baptist, revelers, Bread, Wikimedia, Agner, Prussian Locations: Germany, East Prussian, Königsberg, Kaliningrad, Russia, German Democratic Republic, Soviet Union, Berlin, Brandenburg, Swabia, Baden, Bremen, Kiel, Hamburg, Fraconia, Thuringia, Cologne, Ruhr, Turkish, Berlin’s, East Berlin, Vienna, Bavaria, Munich, Franconia, Rhineland, Saarland, Silesia, Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Altstadt, Sanssouci, Potsdam, Swabian, Kassel, Blaubeuren, Berlin's River Havel, Altensteig Sylt, Sylt, Andreas, Saxony, Anhalt, Dessau, Central Germany, Europe, Germany's, Switzerland, Germany's Lake Constance, Mettlach, Cochem, Trier, Erfurt, Schwerin, Dresden, Gablenz, Lübeck, Hannover, Swabian Jura, Rothenburg, Tauber, Nymphenburg, Bavarian, Füssen, Germany National Tourism Board Berchtesgaden, Berchtesgaden, Palatinate, Oldenburg, Osnabrück, East Frisia, Friesland, Flensburg, Aachen, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, St, AFP, Bonn, Austria, Mannheim

☆ World’s most beautiful castles
▼ + stars: | 2019-08-07 | by ( Joe Yogerst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

As the UK crowns a new monarch, we’re exploring all things royal, from castles to grand tours. “Castles are places were plots were hatched, marriages were consummated, murders carried out, royal babies born, and so on. With castles, you are never short of fascinating things to talk about.”Read on to find out more about 21 of the world’s most beautiful castles, fortified homes that are both a feast for the eyes and a time trip back to the bygone age during which they were created. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThis classic medieval castle towers above the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. The castle’s vivid red-and-yellow color pattern – and its flashy clock tower – endow Pena with a much more playful air than the somber castles found elsewhere in Europe.

☆ The 'Land of Fire' has been burning for 4,000 years
▼ + stars: | 2018-10-31 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —“This fire has burned 4,000 years and never stopped,” says Aliyeva Rahila. This is Yanar Dag – meaning “burning mountainside” – on Azerbaijan’s Absheron Peninsula, where Rahila works as a tour guide. Yanar Dag is one of the few remaining examples, and perhaps the most impressive. Today, most visitors who arrive at the no-frills Yanar Dag visitors’ center come for the spectacle rather than religious fulfillment. Ateshgah Fire TempleFor a deeper insight into Azerbaijan’s history of fire worship, visitors should head east of Baku to Ateshgah Fire Temple.

Persons: ”, Aliyeva Rahila, Dag, Marco Polo, Yanar Dag, Mammon Organizations: CNN, Silk, UNESCO, Heritage Locations: Absheron, Azerbaijan, It’s, Iran, Baku

☆ The Tucker Carlson origin story
▼ + stars: | 1998-01-28 | by ( Aaron Short | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +57 min

Tucker Carlson is remembered as a provocateur and gleeful contrarian by those who knew him in his early days. It was Tucker Carlson. (Note on style: Tucker Carlson and the members of his family are referred to here by their first names to avoid confusion.) In 1979, Richard Carlson married Patricia Swanson, heiress to the Swanson frozen foods empire that perfected the frozen Salisbury steak for hassle-free dinners. Tucker Carlson attended St. George’s School, a boarding school starting at age 14.

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