Wales, UK: Weather creates spectacular cave scenes not seen for 100 years
One picture of impressive waterfalls, taken 600ft below ground, confirms the ‘Welsh Water Table’ is at its highest for 100 years.
Miserable wet weather which has plagued the country for weeks has resulted in underground conditions not seen for more than a century at one of Wales’ most famous tourist attractions. ... (Read more)
Wales Online
Austria: Young Mozart discovered in old painting
Walk past too quickly and you‘ll miss it - but in the painting ’Wedding Supper of Joseph and Isabella of Parma' on show at the Schoenbrunn Palace there is a tiny figure among the many guests and musicians that’s worth getting a closer look at. ... (Read more)
Austrian Times
Antarctica: Valley of the dead ... seals
Antarctica has existed in a deep freeze for millions of years. But even the world’s coldest continent isn’t as unyielding as it might seem. Ice sheets shrink and expand over time, as does the sea ice that encircles Antarctica.
And then there is the team hunting for mummified seals in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. ... (Read more)
The Antarctic Sun
Norway: Norway fisherman catches monster cod
A fisherman has wowed Norway’s fishing community after sending pictures of a monster 80kg cod he caught last year to the Fiskeribladet trade newspaper.
Japan: 97-year-old wood carver finds his groove
Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture--Takehisa Saito was wandering around listlessly after his wife died, so his daughter suggested he pick up an artistic hobby that has since made him a local celebrity.
He was 90 years old when he began carving his signature wooden critters. ...
“I am so happy that I can feel myself grow--even at this age,” Saito said, smiling. ... (Read more)
The Asahi Shimbun
India: Now, school on wheels
Kolkata: On Wednesday, passengers on board a luxury bus parked near Maheshtala in South 24-Parganas were introduced to the mobile classroom of an institution, which is set to open its second campus in the town this year.
In a bid to promote ‘Litera Octave’, a unique curriculum of Mount Litera Zee School, the green Volvo bus embarked on a voyage from Bhatinda, Punjab, on December 22 last year. Before its stop in Kolkata, the bus sent forth a message, “We want to create the future because we are the future”, among the residents of 40 other cities... (Read more)
The Times of India
Finland: Innovative Finns create 15,000 new inventions annually
The Finnish Invention Foundation finances around 150 new inventions each year, with enthusiastic Finns coming up with a whopping 15,000 new ideas annually.
The organisation’s director Juha Jutila said the number of inventions shows Finnish people’s ability to solve problems. He noted that every Monday his team looks through the new ideas and almost every month find something that excites them. ... (Read more)
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