Jornais pelo Mundo

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.

April 01, 2025 

Scientists at the University of Southern California, USA, found that mice try to revive other unconscious mice with a method that is similar to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) used by humans. For their study, researchers kept conscious mice with unconscious mice, dead mice and mice that could not move and found that the conscious mice tried to resuscitate nonreactive mice by tugging on their tongue to facilitate breathing by freeing up breathing pathways. Scientists also observed that the mice tried to help unconscious mice breathe by extracting objects that had been inserted into their mouth by scientists. The study also showed that the conscious mice were aware of the difference between mice that were sleeping and those that were dead. Furthermore, the study revealed that rather than unfamiliar mice, the conscious mice focussed on reviving known ones.

DID YOU KNOW? 
Mice display different facial expressions based on the emotions they experience.

April 01, 2025 

A survey in China recently found that the deposits of thorium, a metal with a silvery white hue, could considerably surpass previous projections. Experts believe that the reserves of thorium, a metal that is used in energy production, in the Bayan Obo mining complex located in China’s Inner Mongolia are capable of powering China for the next 60,000 years. The site can supply a staggering 1 million tonnes of thorium, providing a long-lasting energy source for numerous future generations in China. Thorium significantly outperforms uranium in terms of power production and China has 233 areas that are abundant in this element.

Watch this video to learn about the functioning of a thorium reactor

March 16, 2025 

Scientists have observed that ancient Egyptian mummies, including the ones that are up to 5,000 years old, emit a pleasant fragrance. Scientists studied nine mummies and found that they give out a fragrance that is a blend of sweet, woody and spicy smells. According to scientists, the dead bodies of ancient Egyptian nobles and Egyptian kings were mummified with the help of various substances, including juniper and pine resins, which they believe are responsible for the unique smell. Scientists are working towards replicating this fragrance to allow the public to smell it.

DID YOU KNOW? 
The ancient Egyptians sometimes mummified animals too. Mummified dogs, monkeys, cats, bulls and various other creatures have been found by archaeologists during their research over the years. 

March 16, 2025 

• Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have been working aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months, are set to return home on March 19. 
• Wilmore and Williams, who began their journey to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, aimed to assess the transport capabilities of the Starliner system. 
• However, technical troubles with the spacecraft caused their mission to stretch from eight days to nine months. 
• The astronauts are set to return home aboard the Dragon spacecraft that will carry four other astronauts who are part of the Crew-10 mission to the ISS. Once the Crew-10 mission astronauts reach the ISS, handover operations will begin. 

March 01, 2025 

• A mountain in New Zealand called Mount Taranaki has been given the rights of a human, acknowledging its cultural importance. The mountain, which is a dormant volcano, is among New Zealand’s most important landmarks.
• Standing at a height of 8,261ft, the mountain is regarded as an ancestor by the indigenous Maori people. New Zealand has taken this decision to redress the adversities the Maoris faced during the colonisation of the country.
• As per the law, the mountain will be treated as a legal personality and will be managed by members of the government and local tribes. ˜
• Mount Taranaki is the third natural site in New Zealand to be given the legal rites of a human.

March 01, 2025 

In a landmark development, a tourist hotel completely staffed by women was inaugurated in Sri Lanka. The hotel, called Amba Yaalu Kandalama, belongs to Thema Collection, a popular hotel chain in Sri Lanka. The launch of the hotel took place with a ceremony in January that had various Sri Lankan government officials and other dignitaries in attendance. The hotel’s staff including chefs and managers are all women, highlighting the potential of women in the hospitality field. This initiative encourages women to choose careers in the hospitality sector, fostering gender equality and marking a revolutionary step in the country.

Watch this video to learn about Amba Yaalu Kandalama

March 01, 2025 

Staff at Kaikyokan Aquarium in Japan developed a unique solution to provide comfort to a sunfish that they believed was experiencing loneliness. According to the aquarium’s staff, the sunfish began behaving unusually and even stopped eating since the aquarium shut its doors to visitors in December 2024 to facilitate renovation work. Initially, the staff assumed that the fish could be experiencing health-related problems and tried to implement different solutions, but their efforts were in vain. Eventually, they realised that the fish was troubled by the absence of people. To address this problem, the staff stuck cutouts of human faces along with uniforms to the tank to resemble visitors. This strategy worked and the fish’s health improved quickly.

DID YOU KNOW?
Ocean sunfish can reach lengths of up to 11ft in the wild.