Valencia, Spain — Petru, a three-month-old baby, won the battle against Covid-19 after fighting it for 70 days. Footage released by the hospital showed medical staff and doctors applauding the child as his parents were taking him home. The people in the hospital, including other patients, were close to tears with emotion. “Thank you from the heart,” said Cristina, the mother of the child. “I felt very supported at all times by the staff. Neither I nor my family will forget the solidarity and the samples of affection shown by the entire hospital.” Petru was nine days old when he was…
Author: zenger.news
Saint-Leger-les-Melezes, France — A skiing school in the French Alps is using horses to pull tourists up ski slopes after mechanical ski lifts were shut down due to the Covid-19 lockdown. “Skijoring is a Scandinavian sport that involves a person being pulled along on the skis by horses or dogs,” said Frederic Degril, the director of the Ecole de Ski Francais. “We wanted to make sure the families coming to enjoy the snow and do some skiing would be able to do that. All the ski lifts are closed down due to the coronavirus pandemic apart from the conveyor belt lifts.”…
Madrid, Spain — The Spanish police have released a photo, in which a Spanish cop is seen issuing a fine to a ‘snowman’ on a motorbike for failing to wear a helmet and not using chains on the wheels during the crippling Storm Filomena. “Despite warnings, some people never learn,” stated the message, shared along with the picture. “The motorbike owner was fined for riding without a helmet and mandatory wheel chains. ‘You have left me frozen’, he told the police.” The police have found many people venturing out defying norms despite warnings in an exceptional snowfall in Spain. The Madrid…
Salzburg, Austria — A young cow that fled from a slaughterhouse will get to spend the rest of her days on an animal farm project in Germany and live a peaceful life with her herd. The incident took place on Dec 24, when a woman saw a cow escaping from the slaughterhouse and venturing out in the open. In an effort to give a new life to Lieni, she called the animal charity Gut Aiderbichl — an Alpine Farm on the outskirts of the Austrian city of Salzburg — and informed them about her presence. Despite it being Christmas Eve,…
Ayahuasca, also known as yagé or Nishi Cobin, is a hallucinogenic plant that indigenous people of the Amazon used to creat a ritual drink. They have used ayahuasca in medicinal and ritual contexts for 1,000 years.Known for his landmark studies on plants used by indigenous peoples, biologist Richard Evans Schultes said in Hallucinogenic Plants: “In eastern Peru, medicine men take the drug to diagnose and treat diseases. In Colombia and Brazil, the drug is employed in deeply religious ceremonies rooted in tribal mythology. In the famous Yurupari ceremony of the Tukanoan Indians of Amazonian Colombia — a ceremony that initiates adolescent…
The pyrotechnics industry is profitable. In Mexico, it generates annual revenues of more than 380 million dollars ($19 million), according to the IMEPI (State of Mexico’s Pyrotechnics Institute.) Fireworks are ubiquitous in parties and community celebrations all across the country. However, negligence often causes misfortunes. The city of Veracruz lived through one such disaster on December 31, 2001. And 19 years later, the city retains its memories of loss. The list of the victims’ names serves as a grim memory. *** La lista de los nombres de las víctimas sirve como recuerdo sombrío. (Charlie Ramirez)It was New Year’s Eve, and…
In Mexico, churros are traditionally eaten at dinner accompanied by a cup of foamy hot chocolate. Mexicans can buy churros at traffic lights in the main avenues, amusement parks, cafés, or specialized stores. Churros are so prominent that some families make a living out of selling them. “We are a family that makes churros and sells them on the street. We are doing very well. It is a noble snack that helps us cover the family expenses,” said González Acosta. Churros are a mixture of flour, water, oil, sugar, and salt. Authentic churros are elongated, curved, and sprinkled with sugar.…
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A strict dress code that bans jeans, T-shirts and heavy makeup for women and long hair, earrings and tight jeans for men at a public university in the Khyber Pass area of Pakistan is drawing strong criticism from students and women’s rights activists. The academic council of Hazara University in the conservative city of Mansehra, 140 miles from Peshawar, last week issued a dress code for students and faculty. The university, established in 2001, has more than 10,000 students and 400 faculty members. Female students are banned from wearing tights, jeans and T-shirts, sleeveless shirts and short…
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador — Following a relaxation in Ecuadorian government laws to boost the slowing, tourism-reliant economy in the pandemic, marine life in the Galápagos Islands faces risk from controversial longline fishing methods. The commercial technique uses hundreds of hooks that are baited to catch fish but include endangered species like seabirds, turtles and sea lions. Naming many of the marine creatures at risk from the practice, ranging from rare sea turtles to manta rays, seals and birds like the albatross, Green, who is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a research scientist and expedition leader, said, “Anyone…
Tarragona, Spain — Experts in Spain are perplexed by a mysterious Stone Age plaque with engravings of animals on it. The plaque, believed to be over 11,700 years old, was discovered during the excavation process at the Coves del Fem archeologic dig site last summer. “The team had been working at the site last summer to repair the damage caused by the floods,” said Professor Raquel Pique Huerta, department of Prehistory at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Coves del Fem is a cave located in the municipality of Ulldemolins, in the eastern Spanish province of Tarragona, in the Catalonia region.…