Japan: Panasonic to release new projection spotlight
Panasonic Corp. has developed new ambient lighting equipment that combines the features of traditional lights and video projectors into one, the company said Feb. 27.
According to Panasonic, the device can project visuals to create a wide variety of ambient lighting possibilities that were previously unavailable. For example, the new projection spotlight can light up an object while projecting video or product descriptions onto the surrounding area, or capture the attention of customers with moving illuminations on a product in a store display. ... (Read more)
The Asahi Shimbun
Switzerland: Swiss tourism rises but Alps go downhill
The mountainous canton of Valais recorded a 2.5 percent decrease in tourists in 2013 despite an overall rise in tourist figures nationwide.
While 15.9 million of Switzerland’s total 35.6 million overnight stays were by domestic tourists, the number of foreign tourists rose 3.5 percent to 19.7 million. ... (Read more)
The Local
Canada: Kids need to offset ’screen time‘ with ’nature time’
Growing evidence links lack of time in nature to depression, attention deficit disorder.
While experts worry about the ills of the internet age and the health problems linked to kids’ hours of screen time, Richard Louv says there is an antidote - and it’s free. ... (Read more)
CBS
Germany: Germany’s best minds leave the country
Germany is being left behind in the global race to keep its brightest minds, according to a study which will be presented to Chancellor Angela Merkel this week. ...
“Germany is losing many of its best scientists through emigration,” the study said. ... (Read more)
The Local
Denmark: Hipsters spending thousands on beard transplants
Hipsters with patchy beards are willing to pay 45,000 kroner for a facial hair transplant to boost their beard growth.
Medica beauty clinic in Kolding, Jutland told MetroXpress newspaper that men between the ages of 20 and 40 are increasingly getting fake beards for a rough and trendy lumberjack look. ... (Read more)
The Copenhagen Post
Scotland, UK: Concern after no 2013 Loch Ness Monster sightings
The Loch Ness Monster has disappeared, with no confirmed sightings of the legendary creature being recorded in 2013.
It is the first time in almost 90 years when the monster has failed to make an appearance.
Kevin Carlyon, the High Priest of White Witches in the UK, has claimed a spell he placed on the loch to protect Nessie from “exploitation of fraudsters” explains her non-appearance. ... (Read more)
The Scotsman
Russia: Respected historian suggests ‘lost’ Russian princess Anastasia fled to America
Tsar’s daughter may, after all, have escaped the execution which wiped out the royal family, says new book.
DNA evidence seemed to have put an end to the the claims of American Anna Anderson and others to be the lost princess. Now a new book to be published in Yekaterinburg, scene of the slaying of the Russian royals, will challenge the view that all the Romanovs were shot in a dank cellar in July 1918. ... (Read more)
The Siberian Times
*Image of Swiss Alps via Shutterstock.
