UK museums shy away from using ‘mummy’ to describe ancient Egyptian remains: it’s ‘dehumanizing’

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“A dead Egyptian body, or a living British matriarch,” read the clue that Alex Trebek gave Jeopardy! contestants on a February 2015 episode. “What is a mummy?” one of the contestants replied. Although Trebek accepted the response, a museum administrator in the UK today might tut-tut this exact wording. Visitors view some of the Egyptian … Read more

China looks past Covid as tourist bookings surge for the Lunar New Year

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BEIJING — People in China are moving past the pandemic and going out to travel, preliminary data for the Lunar New Year holiday show. “Pent-up demand is being released as many people rush to scenic spots, watch firework shows and crowd into restaurants and hotels,” Nomura’s chief China economist Ting Lu said in a report … Read more

Food, feed and fuel: global seaweed industry could reduce land needed for farming by 110m hectares, study finds

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An area of ​​ocean almost the size of Australia could support commercial seaweed farming around the world, providing food for humans, feed supplements for cattle, and alternative fuels, according to new research. Seaweed farming is a nascent industry globally but the research says if it could grow to constitute 10% of human diets by 2050 … Read more

Pakistan Rupee Slumps To Record Low, Crisis-Hit Nation Seeks Bailout

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The Pakistani rupee fell by Rs. 24 and was trading at Rs. 255 against the US dollar New Delhi: Pakistan’s currency today has fallen to a record low of Rs. 255 against the US dollar, according to local media reports. The tumble comes after the cash-strapped government relaxed its grip on the exchange rate to … Read more

Thousands rally for ‘Invasion Day’ protests on Australia Day holiday

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SYDNEY, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Thousands of Australians marked the country’s national day celebrations on Thursday with rallies in support of Indigenous people, many of whom described the anniversary of the day a British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbor as “Invasion Day”. In Sydney, the capital of New South Wales – Australia’s most populous state … Read more

Iceberg roughly the size of London breaks off in Antarctica CNN

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CNN — An iceberg nearly the size of Greater London broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica on Sunday according to the British Antarctic Survey. Scientists first discovered significant cracks in the ice shelf a decade ago, but in the last two years there have been two major breaks. The BAS Halley Research Station … Read more

Pope Francis says homosexuality is not a crime, calls on church leaders

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Pope Francis said laws criminalizing homosexuality are “unjust,” calling homosexuality a sin for Catholic worshipers – but not a crime. “Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis said in an interview this week with The Associated Press. He noted that Catholic bishops around the world support laws criminalizing homosexuality and discriminating against LGBTQ individuals. He said … Read more

North Korea locks down capital city over ‘respiratory illness’

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SEOUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Authorities in the North Korean capital Pyongyang have ordered a five-day lockdown due to rising cases of an unspecified respiratory illness, the Russian embassy and Seoul-based NK News reported on Wednesday, citing a government notice. The notice, shared by the embassy on its Facebook page, said that a “special anti-epidemic … Read more

Pritzker Prize-winning architect Balkrishna Doshi dies, age 95

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Written by Oscar Holland, CNN Balkrishna Doshi, one of the Indian subcontinent’s most celebrated architects, has died at the age of 95. Doshi passed away on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson from the Pritzker Prize. He was India’s first — and to date, only — winner of the award, the profession’s equivalent to the Nobel … Read more