Jornais pelo Mundo

June 01, 2025 

A huge power outage affected parts of Europe including Portugal, Belgium, Spain and some areas of France on April 28. The outage impacted communication services, transportation services, hospitals and other systems, bringing the lives of millions of people to a halt. While the exact cause of the outage is unknown, experts link it to an interconnector fault. Temperature changes due to an unusual atmospheric event are another possible reason being considered for the outage. Officials took prompt action to bring back electricity, however, achieving full recovery required about a week.

June 01, 2025 

• Japan has announced that it will provide India with Shinkansen trains from the E3 and E5 series as a gift. These trains will be used to evaluate the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor.
• These trains will be fitted with instruments that help study how factors such as dust affect the operation of trains.
• Carrying out trials with the Shinkansen train sets will ensure efficient operations of the E10 trains expected to be introduced in 2030. These trains can travel at speeds as high as 400kms/hr.
• This move will further strengthen the relationship between Japan and India.

June 01, 2025 

Egypt is investing $51 million to transform the tourism experience at the Giza Plateau, home to the iconic Pyramids of Giza. The project, led by Orascom Pyramids Entertainment, aims to tackle long-standing problems such as animal mistreatment, overcrowding and unregulated street vendors that have marred the visitor experience. Key improvements include enhanced animal protection measures, the renovation of select tombs, relocating vendors to designated zones and introducing 45 electric buses to ease transportation. The initiative seeks to preserve the historic site while restoring its appeal as a world class tourist destination.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Giza pyramids were built around 4,500 years ago.

May 16, 2025 

• China is preparing to inaugurate the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, which is believed to be the tallest bridge in the world, in June 2025. 
• This bridge has been built over a canyon. It stands at a height of 2,050ft and stretches across 3.22kms. Constructed at a cost of around ₹2,200 crore, this structure will significantly decrease travel time in the region, making transport more efficient. 
• The bridge, located in Guizhou, China, is expected to attract tourists from around the world. 
• With a height that exceeds the height of France’s Eiffel Tower by 1,083ft, this structure highlights China’s prowess in infrastructure projects. 

May 16, 2025 

Switzerland has revealed the country’s next-generation passport design, seamlessly combining security with art. The passport, designed by RETINAA, a design studio based in Geneva, Switzerland, features custom typefaces and 3D-modelled reliefs to represent the country’s geographical characteristics. The cover features the country’s valleys and mountains, while the passport also contains a representation of the country’s topography, which illuminates when kept under ultraviolet lights. These characteristics make counterfeiting the document more challenging.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Aletsch Glacier, which is the largest glacier in the Alps, is located in Switzerland. It spans 171 sq kms.

May 16, 2025 

Japan has made a groundbreaking advancement by creating a 3D-printed railway station in a few hours. This new structure at Hatsushima Station in Arida, Japan, spans approximately 10 sq mts and has a height of about 2.6mts. It was built by a Japanese company named Serendix with 3D-printed elements that were crafted in advance. These elements were put in place in just a night, showcasing the potential of adopting 3D-printing in infrastructure projects. This railway station, the first of its kind in the world, sets a new benchmark for efficient and cost-effective construction.

Watch this video to learn more about Japan’s 3D-printed railway station

May 01, 2025 

A new symbol for the national currency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been introduced by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). With this initiative, UAE aims to enhance the recognition of its currency on a global scale. The UAE Dirham symbol’s design has been influenced by the country’s national flag. It features a ‘D’ with two horizontal lines that stand for the currency’s stability. The symbol will be used for the country’s digital and physical currency. The digital symbol features a ring encircling the ‘D’ and also includes the colours of UAE’s national flag.

DID YOU KNOW?
The UAE Dirham began circulating as the country’s national currency in 1973.

April 16, 2025 

Bhutan is planning to build a new airport, the Gelephu International Airport, which will be part of the Gelephu Mindfulness City project. The airport will span 7,31,946 sq ft and its design has been influenced by Bhutan’s natural environment. The airport will be built in a way that will make it look like a mountain range when observed from far away. The airport, designed by design company Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), will feature timber carvings and include wellness and other amenities. The airport will be able to accommodate 1.3 million passengers per year and will be equipped with spacious, elongated runways.

DID YOU KNOW? 
In 2015, a group of volunteers in Bhutan planted 49,672 trees in an hour, achieving the Guinness World Record (GWR) for planting the highest number of trees in an hour. This was the first GWR established by the country.

April 01, 2025 

A Barcelona-based firm named Hey Studio partnered with watchmaking company Anicorn’s The Trio of Time (TTT) to develop a unique watch that features floating numbers. The watch, called ‘Time for Fun’, is available in yellow, red and blue and has striped straps. The numerals 7, 1, 3 and 8 move around in the watch’s oil-infused display, depending on the wearer’s movements. The watch does not have numbers like traditional watches but features hands that show the time.

DID YOU KNOW? 
Before wrist watches gained popularity, people used pocket watches.

April 01, 2025 

Researchers have achieved a significant milestone by detecting icequakes in the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream, the largest frozen river in Greenland. This discovery was made by inserting a fibre-optic cable in the frozen river. According to researchers, this phenomenon occurs due to the rubbing of two ice slabs against one another when a larger portion of ice breaks and is akin to an earthquake. Researchers believe that volcanic debris resting below the ice has prevented these quakes from rising to the surface, leaving them unnoticed. The debris that resulted from the eruption of Mount Mazama more than 7,000 years ago could also play a role in causing the quakes, according to the study.

DID YOU KNOW? 
Approximately 80% of Greenland is blanketed by the Greenland Ice Sheet, the world’s second-largest ice sheet.