Women of different cultures react differently to a compliment

Turkish photographer Mehmet Genç takes photos of women around the world before and after they receive a compliment. What happens next is priceless.


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161206-heres-how-women-of-different-cultures-react-to-a-compliment

The Spanish sweet perfected by nuns

Though historians may not be able to pinpoint who is responsible for the creation of turrón, legends on its origins abound. But the best turrón won't be found in a supermarket — at least according to many Spaniards. If you want an artisanal-quality turrón, you have to go to the nuns.

“For us it’s very important how we work,” sister Contxi said. “It’s important to work in silence to have the ability to hear ourselves. Everything is unity and everything is harmony, and depending on how we work, things turn out one way or another. Being together with other sisters – and being together bien (well) – is an important part of this work.”


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161214-the-spanish-sweet-perfected-by-nuns

The surprising origins of famous Christmas carols

There’s just something so timelessly English about Away in a Manger, O Little Town of Bethlehem and We Three Kings, even though they’re all from the US. There’s something so Christmassy about Wenceslas and Ding Dong Merrily on High and Jingle Bells even though none of them mentions Christmas, and Jingle Bells (which is also American) was written about Thanksgiving.

But somehow these carols work, and so do all the others.


http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161220-the-surprising-origins-of-famous-christmas-carols

Japan celebrates Christmas with KFC

Every Christmas season, an estimated 3.6 million Japanese families treat themselves to Kentucky Fried Chicken, in what has become a nationwide tradition.

What is amazing is how this tradition is another sign of globalisation, where rituals spread to other countries and get translated in different ways.


http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161216-why-japan-celebrates-christmas-with-kfc

India’s First Transgender School

After becoming the first Indian state to adopt a transgender policy, Kerala is all set to write history yet again by starting India’s first transgender residential school. Located in Kochi, Sahaj International School will be inaugurated on December 30 this year, by transgender rights activist and artist Kalki Subramaniam.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/78557/kochi-india-first-transgender-school-lgbtq-activism/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7d3f67aaa9-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-7d3f67aaa9-74060141

Bringing strength to one of Africa’s biggest slums with ballet

Fredrik Lerneryd spent the last year and a half photographing a group of ballet dancers in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya, one of the largest urban slums in Africa.


http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/photographer-beautifully-captures-the-rise-of-ballerinas-in-africas-biggest-slums_us_58501486e4b04c8e2bb1d67e

Using the power of music to turn school children into changemakers

Two Teach For India Fellows are exploring this concept to revolutionize the way their students think and perceive the world around them.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/78137/look-world-new-eyes-music-riyaaz/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ad3ffb3cd5-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-ad3ffb3cd5-74060141

It wasn't random

Why is QWERTY on our keyboards...


http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161212-why-is-qwerty-on-our-keyboards

Unbelievably sweet, innocent and pure

Murtaza meets Messi------------------finally!

Murtaza Ahmadi, the Afghan boy who became an Internet sensation after pictures of him wearing an improvised Lionel Messi football shirt (below) went viral, finally got to meet his superstar idol on Tuesday.


http://www.telegraphindia.com/1161214/jsp/frontpage/story_124629.jsp#.WFCyRvl97IU

The village that just wants to share

An abandoned military village in Germany is getting a new lease of life as a hippy commune fit for the 21st Century.


http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37510322

Meet Jorge Sanchez

Although he’s ranked the world’s #2 on The Best Traveled website, 62-year-old Barcelona native Jorge Sanchez insists that he is nothing like the other competitive travellers. He comes from a poor background, dropped out of school at 13, and has been on the move ever since. He’s managed to travel to all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations, and to every region of most of the world’s countries.


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161209-the-runaway-who-travelled-the-world

Why young Londoners are moving to houseboats

Many young Londers have traded their flats for a life of cruising the canals. In the process they’ve not only saved money, but found a new way of life.


http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161205-why-young-londoners-are-moving-to-houseboats

80, and she's still flying!

For nearly six decades Bette Nash has been sharing her contagious smile with the world -- from 30,000 feet.

This makes it quite possible that she's the world's most senior flight attendant, still flying.


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/02/aviation/bette-nash-oldest-flight-attendant/

Real-life heroes: The Vietnamese women who fought for their country

Many women enlisted into the Vietnamese People's Army and took up roles in frontline nursing and combat while those who joined the Viet Cong worked behind enemy lines in South Vietnam, on sabotage missions and underground in tunnels.

Lee Karen Stow's pictures capture both the military heroines and bereaved mothers created during the Vietnam War.

"We were not afraid." "We would never give up."


http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-37986986

‘Plastic’ bags made of potato & tapioca

EnviGreen, a company founded by Ashwath, produces 100% organic, biodegradable, and eco-friendly bags. Though the company has not started full-fledged sales in India, the bags are already available in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/77202/envigreen-bags-organic-biodegradable-plastic/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ae399ec22f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-ae399ec22f-74060141

A shocking milestone

For the first time in more than 100 years, the Met is performing an opera written by a woman. Here is a playlist of other female composers, who are often overlooked.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/02/arts/music/01womencomposers.html?emc=edit_th_20161204&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58824118&_r=1

Life in Castro's Cuba

"One thing that really does need to be made clear is that there isn't abject poverty in Cuba," National Geographic photographer David Alan Harvey said. "You're not going to find people sleeping in the streets or kids that look malnourished. But they don't have a lot of material possessions, and there is a lot of inconvenience—standing in line is what you do in Cuba for everything."


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/castro-cuba-fidel-castro-death/

Gaining self-confidence through self-defense techniques

The first self-defense academy for women in Jordan, SheFighter gives women and girls the confidence to stand up against harassment and domestic abuse in a country where gender-based violence often goes unpunished.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jordanian-women-domestic-abuse-defense_us_5835c747e4b01ba68ac3ccef?section=us_world

This 16th century painting found its way home 78 years later

France returned a 16th century painting sold by a Jewish couple fleeing the Nazis, presenting the artwork to the family’s grandchildren in a ceremony.

Since the war, it has been considered one of 2,000 “orphaned” art pieces in France, with its original owners unknown.

“The painting doesn’t even have to have any monetary value. It’s about connecting us to our past and the story of our family that was lost."


http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/france-returns-nazi-painting-jewish_us_583cfd2fe4b0860d611647ae

Innovative mobile hotspots

Coachella Valley

Dr Darryl Adams, the district’s Superintendent and the creator of the plan of putting routers on buses, wanted to ensure that no child was left offline. Since the program has spread through the Valley, the school district has narrowed in on each individual pupil that needs access. They have expanded beyond their own vehicle fleet — they’re wiring up salvaged cars and non-school buses in an attempt to create as many hotspots as possible.


http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20161128-using-school-buses-to-democratise-wi-fi

Saudade

Saudade is a longing, an ache for a person or place or experience that once brought great pleasure. It is akin to nostalgia but, unlike nostalgia, one can feel saudade for something that’s never happened, and likely never will.

And who better than the Portugese to show us this 'joyful sadness'.


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161118-the-european-country-that-loves-being-sad

Time to put a plant on your desk?

A refreshing trend is taking root in workplace design: Nature.


http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20161125-why-you-cant-afford-to-ignore-nature-in-the-workplace

The Cinderella Horse

It was a look into his eyes that made Harry de Leyer gamble $80 on a gray horse destined for the slaughterhouse.

De Leyer, who moved to the US with his wife after escaping Nazi-occupied Germany, bought the gelding to teach children to ride, never expecting "Snowman" to become the greatest show jumper of his generation.

A beautiful story!


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/24/sport/snowman-harry-de-leyer/index.html

Meet India’s Shaolin Warriors

Established more than 1,500 years ago and home to some 3,000 monks, the Shaolin Monastery lies nestled in the misty, mountainous jungles of central China.  One of China’s most important pilgrimage destinations, this world famous monastery is renowned for its age-old tradition of practicing both Zen Buddhism and martial arts.  Founded by the Indian monk Buddhabhadra (known as Ba Tuo in China), the monastery became known for its warrior monks.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/75792/shaolin-temple-india-diya-chalwad-harsh-verma-kanishka-sharma/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4998a22085-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-4998a22085-74060141

Healing the scars of civil war

by building business ties.

To help build bridges between the two sides - Moldova and Trans-Dniester - the European Union has funded a UN-administered project called Support to Confidence Building Measures Programme. One of the key aims of the scheme is to bring together entrepreneurs from both sides of the border. With support grants available, the participants are encouraged to meet and chat at training events, look into doing business on the other side of the border, and even consider setting up joint ventures with someone from the other region.


http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38063292

Ohitorisama: Solo living

In Japan, buzzwords like “ohitorisama” and “herbivore men” are nothing new anymore.

“Ohitorisama” refers to people living and doing things alone and “herbivore men” refers to men who have no interest in getting married or finding a girlfriend.

Now, even married and unmarried couples are enjoying “ohitorisama” culture to spend time alone.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/asiatoday/japan-evolving-into-ohito_b_13144474.html

A Cup Of Tea

Check out how this popular beverage is enjoyed in different parts of the world.


http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/21/what-a-cup-of-tea-looks-like-around-the-world/?utm_hp_ref=in-homepage

Retro cool: Kyoto's kissaten cafes

For centuries Kyoto has been a tea town, its dominance reaching an apex in the austere and highly ritualized tea ceremony.

But, for the past century at least, Kyoto has also been a coffee town. Kissatens -- faux European-style coffee houses -- are the birthplace of Kyoto's thriving cafe culture.

Read about the world's coolest vintage coffee shops here:


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/20/foodanddrink/kyoto-kissaten-coffee-shops/index.html

A Digital Burnout

This is a relatively new term that entered the internet lexicon after psychologists noticed the link between burnouts and excessive use of digital devices. A ‘digital burnout’ can lead to chronic fatigue, low productivity, inability to control emotions, and difficulty in sticking to a routine. Various centres for internet de-addiction are cropping up around the world. So, it just might be a good idea to check oneself and shut off devices before hitting digital burnout. Here is a list of wellness measures one can put in place to strike a balance between the virtual and real worlds:


http://www.thebetterindia.com/75231/digital-burnout-technology-wellness-measures/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0c5bea73b6-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-0c5bea73b6-74060141

The/Nudge Foundation

Atul Satija an ex-Google employee equips underprivileged youth with soft skills to make them more employable.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/75116/the-nudge-foundation-bengaluru-atul-satija/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=27766d0d04-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-27766d0d04-74060141

The amazing story of Kalawati Devi Rawat

She put her village on the path of progress and inspired her fellow village women to dream big.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/74254/kalawati-rawat-bacher-uttarakhand/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=27766d0d04-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-27766d0d04-74060141

Neutral is the best policy

CEOs of major companies are taking stands about the results of the election — a departure from the traditional model of not mixing politics with business that major brands have long espoused.


http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/11/15/ceos-donald-trump-election_n_12990090.html

'Hipster' grandpa

An 85-year-old farmer, who tended rice paddies all his life and never wore a suit, has become an unlikely style icon in China.

Here is a series of photos of Ding Bingcai, nattily dressed and striking elegant poses, taken recently by his fashion photographer grandson.


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/27/asia/china-hipster-grandpa-viral-photos/

Oskar Schindler’s abandoned factory

The property which was used to employ 1,200 Jews during World War II will become a Holocaust Memorial.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/oskar-schindlers-abandoned-factory-will-become-a-holocaust-memorial_us_58257ffce4b02d21bbc83ca7?section=us_world

The Persian art of etiquette

One thing that sets Iran apart from other Middle Eastern countries is its Persian identity, preserved in traditions, language and many rich art forms, including literature. Rumi, Ferdowsi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam are poets whose verses have been – and still are – savoured in both the East and West.


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161104-the-persian-art-of-etiquette

Tuesday 8 November 2016

Hillary Clinton didn't make it but Tuesday 8 November 2016 was actually an historic night for women in US politics.

And the credit goes to Hillary...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37926932/hillary-didnt-win-but-the-2016-us-election-was-actually-a-milestone-for-women

The Indian woman who stood up to Trump, 5 years before Hillary did

Back in 2011, Smita Panvalkar, the then 54-year-old resident of an 87-year-old building in Mumbai stood fiercely between Trump and his dream to enter the Indian real estate market.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/74401/mubai-woman-smita-panvalkar-stood-up-to-trump-five-years-ago/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=dfd1e734e4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-dfd1e734e4-74060141

Doctor Pietro Bartolo

60-year-old Bartolo was the only doctor treating refugees and migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa for the better part of the last two decades.

His compassion for the migrants who come here in a seemingly endless stream, and his total dedication to the cause of medicine is phenomenol. Read about this wonderful person here:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/doctor-migrant-crisis_us_57ffc4a7e4b0162c043aa2d5?section=us_world&section=us_world

She waited 96 years to vote for a female President

For Edith Wilkinson, the chance to vote for a female president has been a lifelong dream. Edith was born just five days before the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, giving women the right to vote.


http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/born-before-women-could-vote-now-edith-wilkinson-is-voting-for-a-woman-president_us_581e61c4e4b0d9ce6fbc890a

China: We hate it, we love it, but we cannot ignore it

Here are some rare 19th century photographs of Shanghai



http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-37762842

3 magnificent women

1. 104-year-old woman keeps fit with yoga.


http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-37775585

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2. Bodybuilding grandma proudly shows off her incredibly ripped physique as she celebrates her 80th birthday.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3654737/I-m-determined-dedicated-disciplined-Bodybuilding-grandma-proudly-shows-incredibly-ripped-physique-celebrates-80TH-birthday.html#ixzz4OLs71uYh

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3. 86-year-old Sister dubbed the 'Iron Nun' after completing one of world's toughest endurance races an astonishing 45 times.


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/86-year-old-sister-dubbed-8643674

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Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos. 
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Is the usefulness of having a cellphone greater than the danger of having one?

Young people addicted to their cellphones land up, often, in situations they cannot deal with. There are many who invite death, quite unwittingly, simply because they are on their cellphones when crossing a road or are involved in some kind of issue that has them in its grip, the only end to which is death.

Here is a report on how smartphones and social media are colliding head-on with traditional notions of honour and shame.


http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37735368

US-based Indian woman stands up to cyber bullying

Taruna received an email from an unknown person, who claimed to have hacked into her accounts and was now threatening to leak her private photos and videos online, unless she sent him nude pictures of herself. She didn’t comply. She didn’t get scared either. Instead, she went online and stood up for herself.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/72797/woman-stands-up-to-cyber-bullying-writes-fb-post/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fde2c66a76-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-fde2c66a76-74060141

Delicious African foods

These are the African dishes one should eat.


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/05/africa/african-food-internet/index.html

Su filindeu – the rarest pasta in the world

Away from its famed cerulean seas, Sardinia’s craggy interior is a twisting maze of deep chasms and impenetrable massifs that shelter some of Europe’s most ancient traditions. It is here that Nuoro, a slight 62-year-old named Paola Abraini wakes up every day at 7 a.m., to begin making su filindeu – the rarest pasta in the world.

A fascinating read:


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161014-the-secret-behind-italys-rarest-pasta

Tarkarli: A beach lover’s paradise

Tarkarli is a village in Malvan taluka in Sindhudurg district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Located at the convergence of the Karli river and the Arabian Sea, Tarkarli’s beautiful beaches stretch across the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra that borders Goa.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/71557/tarkarli-beach-maharshtra/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=50801f6b2d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-50801f6b2d-74060141

Green police in Assam, India

In India where every god/goddess is immersed after their specific puja is over, it is imperative to take a look at the colors that are used to decorate these gods/goddesses. We have already caused immense damage to our rivers because the colors that have been used, and still are being used, are not eco-friendly. The same goes for the decorations that are callously chucked on the roadside or garbage heap. Read how enterprising schoolgirls in Assam patrolled puja mandaps to ensure eco-friendly celebrations.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/71670/green-police-environment-friendly-puja-schoolgirls/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=50801f6b2d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-50801f6b2d-74060141

Meet the seven-year-old girl tweeting from Aleppo

Seven-year-old Bana Alabed tweeted a photo a week ago, sitting at a desk with a book, her doll in the background. "Good afternoon from Aleppo," the caption read. "I'm reading to forget the war."

Aleppo, Syria's second city, has been split in two during the country's long conflict. Russian and Syrian forces have been bombing eastern Aleppo on a constant basis for weeks.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37535343

The magpie that saved a family

Sam Bloom fell into a deep depression after a fall from a roof terrace during a family holiday left her paralysed from the chest down. But help was to come from an unexpected source - a magpie chick which had fallen from its nest. When the family took in the bird, it brought joy back to their home and allowed Sam to make a new start.

A must-read.


http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37519032

Do the clothes we wear define us?

New work by Simon Bray and Tristan Poyser explores the way in which our clothes shape us, that outer shell we use to accentuate or sometimes hide who we are.

The work, entitled Duality, is formed of diptychs, with each person posed in their own clothing and their work-wear. The aim is to see how a viewer responds to the uniform and how it shapes their perception of that person - how we prejudge based on a uniform or a certain look and style. Of course, what we wear also affects us, our approach and how we feel.



http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-37488811

7,707 years of wisdom from America's centenarians

Photographer Paul Mobley has met countless celebrities over the years, but says he’s never felt more awestruck than when he was shooting centenarians for his latest project. “Every one of them gave me the best advice and it was just basic advice that we’ve all learned but maybe have forgotten about as we’ve gotten older and the world has changed,” the 50-year-old photographer said.

His book, which comes out on October 11th, shares stunning photographs of the elders ― wrinkles and all ― plus their best advice.



http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/heres-what-7707-years-of-wisdom-from-americas-centenarians-tell-us_us_57dc4342e4b0071a6e075745

Soda bread

There are 3,000 recipes for soda bread in Ireland. What makes soda bread so charming are the secrets that it conceals...one being that a cross is cut into the top 'to let the fairies out'.

Read about this amazing bread here:


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160920-secrets-of-the-soda-bread-masters

Mongolia's 6000-year tradition

Western Mongolia’s Altai region is one the most remote spots on the planet. Few roads traverse this massive area, and the high icy peaks of the Altai Range bordering Mongolia, Kazakhstan, China and Russia form an impenetrable wall that keeps all modern encroachments at bay.

Eagle hunters have been practicing the art of berkutchi across the Central Asian steppe for generations.

An old Kazakh proverb that sums up the hunters’ lives in the wild open spaces of the Altai: “Fast horses and fierce eagles are the wings of the Kazakh people.”



http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160926-mongolias-6000-year-tradition

Hope once more

The hilltop medieval village of Riace on Italy's south coast was almost a ghost town 15 years ago. Houses were derelict and the local school was near to closing. The village was in danger of becoming extinct as residents disappeared to northern Italy, and abroad, for jobs during the economic boom.

Since then Riace has seen a change in its destiny, by openly welcoming a controlled number of migrants, who live and work as part of the community. This transformation was instigated by the mayor, Domenico Lucano.



http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-37289713

A powerful moment

One powerful moment stood out during Saturday’s dedication of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The first black President and the first black First Lady helped Ruth Bonner, the 99-year-old daughter of a man born a slave in Mississippi, ring a bell to open the first national museum of black history.

The bell dates back to the 1880s, but was recently restored and rang again this year for the first time since segregation.



http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/ruth-bonner-slave-daughter-museum_us_57e6d472e4b0e80b1ba26222

Meet Zari, the Afghani muppet

Zari is the first and only Afghan Muppet on "Bahgch-e-Simsim," or Sesame Garden -- the Afghan version of popular children's television show "Sesame Street." And when Zari makes an appearance at an orphanage on the outskirts of Kabul, the faces of the children light up in wonder.

The two young women who take turns bringing Zari to life are Shirzad and Sultani.  They felt it was important that the character be a girl, as there are a lot of rules for girls in Afghanistan. "We want to show people that it is not impossible for a girl to do anything she wants."


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/22/asia/afghanistan-sesame-street-zari/index.html

I wanted to give the children hope: Aeham Ahmad

The Syrian civil war changed everything: Yarmouk was besieged by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Food, water and medicine became scarce, and dodging sniper fire was a daily reality. But even as a humanitarian disaster unfolded around him, Ahmad was driven by an unstoppable passion for music and a desperate desire to "make the children smile again."

So he pushed his piano into the wrecked streets of his hometown and started to play in the rubble.


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/22/europe/pianist-of-yarmouk-record-deal/

Leslie Robinson

Leaving a comfortable home and job in the U.S., Leslie Robinson started an animal sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, India. And he has a new family now – with numerous animals, amazing doctors, and many wonderful people as passionate as him.

This is his story of compassion and love.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/68728/arunachala-animal-sanctuary-leslie-robinson-tamil-nadu/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7f3d139a29-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-7f3d139a29-74060141

The Sharps

The Rev. Waitstill Sharp and his wife, Martha, could have turned down the request from a senior leader of their faith to leave their children and home in Wellesley, Mass., and head to Prague to aid persecuted people in a country on the brink of Nazi takeover.

Working with various aid networks, the Sharps rescued an estimated 125 people — Jews, political dissidents and others under threat as fascist armies spread across Europe. They also helped get food and other assistance to hundreds more in urgent need.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/the-risked-their-lives-to-rescue-hundreds-from-the-nazis-but-no-one-knew-their-story--until-now/2016/09/19/1d9a0d84-79b9-11e6-beac-57a4a412e93a_story.html?wpisrc=nl_rainbow-fbia&wpmm=1

The humble business card

If we’ve all become such ‘digital natives’, why is it still relevant to hand over a piece of card? More than just an exchange of details, business cards help with that crucial positive first impression, act as an ice breaker, grab someone’s attention and even boost your credibility, say experts.

And, the business card is used all over the world. As Sebastian Reiche, IESE Business School says, "The business card exchange itself is a ritual."


http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160914-how-a-small-yet-mighty-bit-of-paper-can-still-get-you-a-job

The Kung Fu nuns of Nepal

The Druk Gawa Khilwa nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal.

In 2008, the leader of the 1,000-year-old Drukpa lineage, His Holiness The Gyalwang Drukpa, decided to encourage his nuns to learn self-defence.

His simple motive: to promote gender equality and empower the young women, who mostly come from poor backgrounds in India and Tibet.

Dressed in traditional maroon robes modified in the style of karate uniforms, the nuns’ smiling faces conceal an incredible energy and strength.



http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160916-the-kung-fu-nuns-of-nepal

It's become a status symbol to be busy

We live in an “infinite world”, says Tony Crabbe, author of the book Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much. There are always more incoming emails, more meetings, more things to read, more ideas to follow up – and digital mobile technology means you can easily crank through a few more to-do list items at home, or on holiday, or at the gym. The result, inevitably, is feeling overwhelmed: we’re each finite human beings, with finite energy and abilities, attempting to get through an infinite amount. We feel a social pressure to “do it all”, at work and at home, but that’s not just really difficult; it’s a mathematical impossibility.

With that kind of time pressure weighing us down, it’s hardly surprising that we live with one eye on the clock. But psychological research demonstrates that this kind of time-awareness actually leads to worse performance (not to mention reduced levels of compassion). So the ironic consequence of the “busy feeling” is that we handle our to-do lists less well than if we weren’t so rushed.


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160909-why-you-feel-busy-all-the-time-when-youre-actually-not

I’m so busy… I am so busy…

How did we end up living like this? Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we do this to our children? When did we forget that we are human beings, not human doings?

How did we create a world in which we have more and more and more to do with less time for leisure, less time for reflection, less time for community, less time to just… be?


http://www.onbeing.org/blog/the-disease-of-being-busy/7023

7 street-side book markets in India

Even as iPads and e-readers become the norm, nothing can quite compete with a good old-fashioned book. That’s why, for book lovers, there is no place as captivating as the local book market where one can while away hours browsing and looking for bargains.

Here is a list of 7 book streets across India where, with a little bit of patience and a lot of bargaining, book lovers can pick up their favourite reads!


http://www.thebetterindia.com/68055/street-book-markets-india/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0a03c0a434-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-0a03c0a434-74060141

The black women who helped land a man on the moon

It all started with a mysterious photograph.

What it revealed was a special story: black women living in Jim Crow-era Virginia hired by NASA to do math and research that would launch men into space.

Read about this nearly-forgotten piece of history here:


https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-nearly-forgotten-story-of-the-black-women-who-helped-land-a-man-on-the-moon/2016/09/12/95f2d356-7504-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html

How do you trace ancestors who were slaves?

How easy is it for Americans to find out about ancestors who were slaves?

"It's really hard because your ancestors were listed as property in these deeds, and you can only really guess," says Sharon Morgan, founder of Our Black Ancestry, an organisation that provides advice and material for African-American genealogical research.

Yet, some are determined to keep searching for details in orer to fill in the 'gap' in their family history.


http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37291230

The world's oldest people face a crisis of culture

Caught between modernity and 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers, the San people sit at a crossroads.

An indigenous people in Southern Africa, they are our oldest human ancestors, DNA testing proving the San are direct descendants of the first Homo sapiens. But today their culture, traditions and heritage are at risk of being lost forever.


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/24/travel/basarwa-botswana-culture-crisis/index.html

The homeless Paralympian

George Wyndham is the only Sierra Leonean competing at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, but his only home is an office in the national stadium.

He struggles to support himself and relies on the the National Paralympic Committee for his accommodation.

What a brave man!



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37300374

A selfless fireman

Twelve-year-old Bipin Ganatra lost his elder brother Narendra to a freak fire on Diwali night. The young boy decided there and then that he would try and save the lives of as many people as he could from fires. Today, at the age of 59, he is not a professional fireman but has fought over 100 fires in the densely populated, chaotic city of Kolkata – working tirelessly to douse flames, rescue people and clean up debris.



http://www.thebetterindia.com/67277/volunteer-firefighter-bipin-ganatra-kolkata/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2861646f31-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-2861646f31-74060141

What helped shape the way we talk about tech

Debates rage today about the risks and benefits of modern technology. But the origins of these concerns date back more than a century...


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-molella/1900-worlds-fair-tech_b_11798128.html?utm_hp_ref=world

The people who study the meaning of nonsense

The strange world of wugs, wuwus and gutches can teach us how we learn to speak and where language came from in the first place.

WOW! Need to know this. Check out this link:


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160906-the-people-who-study-the-meaning-of-nonsense

Hygge

There are five books on the subject out this autumn:

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking (subtitled “The Danish way to live well”) - out last week

The Book of Hygge by Louisa Thomsen Brits (subtitled “The Danish art of living well”) - out last month

The Art of Hygge - coming out later this week

A Celebration of Simple Pleasures
&
Living the Danish Way  - both out next month


So what is hygge - pronounced hue-guh?


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/04/hunting-for-hygge-a-new-ingredient-in-denmarks-recipe-for-happiness

Letter reaches its destination by a hand-drawn map

Rebecca Cathrine Kaadu Ostenfeld was reportedly surprised when a letter was delivered to the horse farm where she lives with her husband and three children near Búðardalur in the west of Iceland.

Instead of a postal address or a recipient's name, the sender had drawn a map of where they believed the farm to be, together with the following, in English:

"Country: Iceland. City: Búðardalur. Name: A horse farm with an Icelandic/Danish couple and three kids and a lot of sheep!"

The sender had also added a further clue to the intended recipient: "the Danish woman works in a supermarket in Búðardalur."



http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-37233913

App developers from the Dharavi slum, Mumbai (Bombay)

Filmmaker Nawneet Ranjan is using PCs and online tutorials to create a new generation of coders in India’s largest slum, Dharavi.

Over the last two-and-a-half years, children trained by Ranjan have developed more than eight apps to tackle a range of social problems. These include apps that address child labour, domestic violence, education of the girl child, and women’s health and well-being.



http://www.thebetterindia.com/66707/dharavi-diary-digital-india-intel-ekuka/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5fcb645805-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-5fcb645805-74060141

32 years at McDonald’s

When Freia David began working at McDonald’s through an innovative program to place adults with cognitive disabilities in community jobs, her mother worried. What if the work was too hard? What if she didn’t fit in?

But, for the next 32 years, five days a week, Freia, who has Down Syndrome, spent the lunch rush frying, salting, and boxing fries at the Needham McDonald’s, always arriving an hour early, sometimes dancing in place before the stainless steel Frymaster. On Saturdays, she returns with her mother to eat lunch and see friends, day-off visits filled with hugs and high-fives.

When it was time for her to go, McDonald's sent her off in style...

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2016/08/29/retire/qVU7HV3vbnS65kjqbeZwgI/story.html

Tech innovations helping disabled people dance, run and compete

There are just not enough words to talk about these new inventions.

Read about them here and be amazed:


http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37174157

The steampunk capital of the world

The term steampunk was coined in the 1980s and is based on imagining inventions the Victorians might have created for the modern world. The movement was kickstarted by science fiction novels and has branched out to incorporate art and fashion while spawning a well-established aesthetic, typified by embellished hats and goggles.

Iain Clark is widely credited with launching steampunk in Oamaru, on New Zealand’s South Island, and likes to be known by the name Agent Darling.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/30/new-zealand-town-oamaru-steampunk-capital-of-the-world?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=188106&subid=19904740&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2_footer

How grime gave a voice to a generation

A new music evolved in east London in 2002 – the sound of an angry but optimistic black Britain.

Check out Grime’s evolution, and its new wave:


https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/28/grime-gave-voice-to-generation?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=187995&subid=19904740&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2_footer

Bosnia

This bitter war happened not so long ago. Now, although many people still view Bosnia with trepidation, its dramatic landscapes and singular history are making it an increasingly popular destination.

People are people after all...and the human spirit is indestructible...


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160825-the-village-that-survived-a-war

It is possible to recycle thermocol

This 12-year-old from Bhopal, India shows how:


http://www.thebetterindia.com/65874/anakta-prabhu-thermocol-recycling-foam/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1b75f91961-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-1b75f91961-74060141

In Sweden and Finland, tech companies help refugees find work

No matter how you slice the numbers, migrants are a burden on countries offering comprehensive welfare services. But what's unexpected is the oversized role the tech industry in Sweden is playing in helping refugees find work -- and not just in tech. Local startups, consultants and global companies are cataloging migrants' skills and education, training them, setting up internships and placing refugees in jobs. They've also connected asylum seekers with investors looking to back new businesses, from restaurants and barber shops to web-based marketing companies.

It's the same thing in Finland too.


http://www.cnet.com/news/in-sweden-finland-tech-companies-help-refugees-find-work/?ftag=CAD1acfa04

The nurse who knew the first astronauts

One hardly gets to know the people who put astronauts into space - the behind-the-scenes people. And yet, each one is so important and vital to the project.

Dee O’Hara was one of the few women in the programme that put the first Americans in space. She recalls her experiences here:


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160823-the-nurse-who-knew-the-first-astronauts-inside-out

India makes world’s first leprosy vaccine

G.P Talwar, Founder-Director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII), has developed a first-of-its-kind leprosy vaccine in India. This indigenous vaccine, mycobacterium indicus pranii, has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department of the US.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/65669/vaccine-india-cure-leprosy/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f07f1d25c2-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-f07f1d25c2-74060141

The last nomads of Iran

Nomads for generations, Iran's nomadic Qashqai, part of the Turkic peoples from Central Asia who settled in Iran during the 11th and 12th Centuries, have roamed the harsh deserts of southwest Iran for hundreds of years. Numbering just 400,000, the Qashqai are a strong and proud people who are fiercely resisting assimilation into mainstream Iranian society.

Each year, they travel with their flocks of goats and sheep from summer highland pastures north of Shiraz to winter pastures on lower (and warmer) lands near the Persian Gulf, roughly 480km to the south. Their way of life is a fine balance between man, animal and their environment.

Fascinating!


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160817-the-last-nomads-of-iran

Musician Loyle Carner is teaching kids to cook

To the wider world he is becoming known as Loyle Carner, a brilliant young rapper. But in a test kitchen near London’s Old Street he is plain old Ben, a lively 21-year-old showing six teenagers with ADHD, and one with anxiety, how to make pasta with pesto.

Kids with ADHD can do lots of things. You shouldn't judge a fish by how it climbs a wall.


https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/aug/21/rappers-delight-how-musician-loyle-carner-is-teaching-kids-to-cook?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=186912&subid=19904740&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2_footer

'They are the true winners'

Two Brazilian graffiti artists — Rodrigo Sini and Cety Soledade — have decided to pay tribute to the Olympic refugee team by painting large-scale portraits of the athletes in Rio de Janeiro’s Porto Maravilha district.


http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/brazilian-artists-pay-tribute-to-olympic-refugee-team-in-stunning-murals_us_57b5cc0be4b095b2f542ce91?ir=World&utm_hp_ref=world

Using WhatsApp for medical care in remote Himalayan villages

Physicians working in the remote and hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh, India, are using WhatsApp in a unique way to communicate the status of a patient’s illness and get advice from specialists who are sitting several miles away.

Amazing!


http://www.thebetterindia.com/65207/whatsapp-alleviating-poor-patient-care-himachal-pradesh/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=35d544c722-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-35d544c722-74060141

Ibtihaj Muhammad

She didn’t win a medal, but she still scored an Olympic victory

Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is the first U.S. athlete to compete at the Olympics in a hijab. The New Jersey native said while growing up, she felt awkward playing other sports, such as track and volleyball, with her head, arms and legs covered. “Fencing found me,” said the 30-year-old Olympian, who took up the sport when she was 13.

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/ibtihaj-muhammad-no-medal-us-olympics_us_57a8a48ce4b021fd98794e5d

Wayde van Niekerk

And the 74-year-old coach behind his golden run at Rio 2016.

South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk sensationally won the Olympic 400-meter gold at Rio 2016 -- smashing Michael Johnson's 17-year-old record along the way -- and he has his coach Anna Botha to thank.

The coach's philosophy is all about discipline and hard work, albeit leavened by laughter.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/15/sport/news-rio-olympics-van-niekerk-grandma-coach/

The Little Free Pantry

As we face huge, global challenges, simple, effective solutions like the Little Free Pantry are really inspiring to people who want to help but feel overwhelmed. What is it about this project that has created such a huge response?

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1359/the-little-free-pantry-cat-johnson/

How Google changed Rio

Although more than one in five of Rio’s 6.5 million people live in favelas, until recently, these neighbourhoods were just blank spaces on the map.

And today....

Read this unbelievable story:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160811-how-google-changed-rio

Rescuing baby rhinos

In a heartwarming gesture, children of a primary school in Assam voluntarily gave up their mid-day meal for a day so that eight orphaned rhino calves, saved from the flooded Kaziranga park, could be given milk.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/64280/children-give-up-midday-meal-to-feed-rhinos/

Israel's mysterious Druze women

The Druze community is a Unitarian offshoot of Islam developed in 11th-century Egypt and now practiced by about one million people scattered throughout the Middle East.

Today, women in this community are using their handwork, passed on from generation to generation, to ensure their future. They are part of a cooperative, making products not only for their community, but to sell as art to outsiders. They have also opened their craft circles, kitchens and homes to tourists.


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160808-the-women-who-never-leave-home

Is storytelling making a return?

Is storytelling making a return?

It is - wonderfully so!

People are being given the chance to tell true, first-person stories in front of audiences at an event called The Moth.

Founded in the late 1990s, participants can talk for up to five minutes, without notes, and are given a score by a panel of judges.

Events are now held in 26 cities around the world including London, Sydney and Dublin.


Listen in:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p043hx36

Cuba's new revolution

As Facebook, Google, and American movies and music arrive, young Cubans are not only changing the way they dress and talk, but the way they communicate with each other and the world.


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160728-the-new-revolution-of-cubas-youth

Many Olympians struggle just to make ends meet

All Olympic athletes all have lucrative sponsorship deals, right? Wrong. Many have to take side jobs just to get by.

These Olympians may leave Rio in a few weeks as temporary global celebrities, but many of them enter the Games as ordinary people riddled with extraordinary debts.


http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160804-many-olympians-struggle-just-to-make-ends-meet

How one night changed my life

2011

The riots had broken out at a low point in the teenager's life. After an agonizing time of self-realization, Scott Bates got himself back.

Bates keeps on striving. He now has three young people working with him and does a couple of DIY jobs a week. He is looking into whether the youth charity YMCA can assist him with housing and is trying to secure funding for a van for the Handy Boys, with the help of YFC.

He plans to start training with the Street Pastors in September.


http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36922807

India's forgotten African tribe

An African-origin ethnic tribe of about 20,000 people has been living in near total obscurity in India for centuries.

Read about this amazing people here:


http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160801-indias-forgotten-jungle-dwellers

You can make a difference even when you are technically 'old'

Residents of the Anandam Old Age Home in Chennai may not have much for themselves but that hasn’t stopped them  from giving back to society in every way they can. Here’s their inspiring story.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/63209/the-senior-citizens-in-anandam-old-age-home-believe-in-the-joy-of-giving/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=28699dcf53-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-28699dcf53-74060141

An understanding and a balm

Muslims attend Catholic Mass across France in powerful show of unity

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslims-catholic-mass-france_us_579e3c67e4b0e2e15eb63576?utm_hp_ref=world

Uplifting photos

Every so often, we all need a good pick-me-up. Here's a link that will help:

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1086/19-of-the-very-best-uplifting-photos-of-the-day-kindness-blog/

The secret food of Afghanistan

At the centre of one of the Earth’s harshest environments, on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, two cookbook authors have found “a profoundly human place”.

This surprising accolade paid tribute to the Pamir region, an ominous environment of steep cliffs, deep valleys, remote villages and harsh weather. It seems an unlikely place to source award-winning recipes – but With Our Own Hands is far more than just a recipe book

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160727-the-secret-food-of-afghanistan

Can't switch off on the weekend?

Could be a personality problem – but there are ways to keep these habits in check.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160728-this-is-why-you-cant-switch-off-at-the-weekend

Syria's secret library

When a place has been besieged for years and hunger stalks the streets, you might have thought people would have little interest in books. But enthusiasts have stocked an underground library in Syria with volumes rescued from bombed buildings - and users dodge shells and bullets to reach it.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36893303

Just fantastic: Real education in Tanzania

How some of the poorest girls in the world get exactly the education they need.

A must-read:

https://medium.com/@jordosh/how-some-of-the-poorest-girls-in-the-world-get-exactly-the-education-they-need-9fab1b2ae543#.gf6d5awve

Could you live with only 33 pieces of clothing?

Consumers – inspired in part by authors and bloggers – are eager to simplify their lives by throwing out what they don’t truly need. And many start with their closets, eschewing fast fashion trends for small high-quality so-called capsule wardrobes where key pieces can be easily counted without any rummaging.


http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160725-meet-the-people-with-almost-nothing-in-their-closets

An epic 505-day journey by fuel-free Solar Impulse

It's taken more than 500 days, but the epic journey of Solar Impulse 2 is finally complete.

The experimental solar-powered plane made aviation history when it landed in Abu Dhabi before dawn on Tuesday, after successfully circumnavigating the globe without using a single drop of fuel, and overcoming countless problems.

This record-breaking mission was flown by two Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/26/world/solar-impulse-returns-jensen/index.html

Let's not forget the fireflies

“Everyone picks the butterfly,” said the child. “I love the firefly.”

“Well, I think you’re a lot like a firefly. You know why?” her mother asked.

The worry on the child's face lifted. She looked at her mother hopefully.

“Why, Mama?”

“Because you shine from within,” her mother said, touching her finger to the child's heart.

http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=6465

How to build a startup

Ensuring the success of startups is not easy. They require a lot of hard work, sound decision-making abilities and active management.

Get some ideas here:

http://www.thebetterindia.com/58641/business-strategy-for-startups/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ba288565aa-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-ba288565aa-74060141

Manga therapy

Japan's experience with depression shows how closely tied some forms of physical and mental illness are to broader cultural attitudes - about work, for example, and levels of responsibility towards others.

Torisugari, an artist, who still has to contend with both his illness and with some of the same misunderstandings he faced in his early, surreal weeks decided to produce drawings through which he could talk about his condition, seeking to understand it. Today his manga are garnering an ever-larger and more appreciative audience in print and online. For him it's a kind of "manga therapy", as his psychiatrist calls it. For others - whether suffering with depression or not - it offers help in understanding the condition

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36824927

Exhaustion and burnout

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) involves prolonged periods of excruciating physical and mental exhaustion for at least six months, sometimes experiencing physical pain at the slightest activity.

Burnout is generally not turned against the self but rather against the organisation for which one works, or the clients with whom one works, or the wider socio-political or economic system.

Read more about these conditions that plague us today:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160721-the-reasons-why-exhaustion-and-burnout-are-so-common

Ten 'lost' books you should read

As the revival of lost works takes the publishing world by storm, Lucy Scholes delves into the archive to uncover the best hidden literary gems.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160718-ten-lost-books-you-should-read-now

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce

Rio 2016 - Will she beat Usain Bolt?

Read about this fantastic woman athlete here:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/18/sport/rio-2016-usain-bolt-fraser-pryce/index.html

The power of story

Across time and culture, stories have been agents of personal transformation. For thousands of years, we’ve known intuitively that stories alter our thinking and, in turn, the way we engage with the world. But only recently has research begun to shed light on how this transformation takes place from inside. Using modern technology like functional MRI (fMRI) scanning, scientists are tackling age-old questions.

http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=6247

The vibrancy of Indian food

The Kerala beef fry is the stuff of legend. This dish has a delicious smell with hints of coconut, curry leaves, cinnamon, cloves, coriander powder and roasted chilly.

It's a definite must-try!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36366140

Digital nomads

After years on the road, the latest generation of digital nomads — people who work as they travel thanks to an increasing amount of remote opportunities — have come back home with a message: It’s not always a dream to work while travelling and re-integrating into a single community is difficult.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160706-the-problem-expats-find-with-returning-home

Break Down: A work of art, not a way of life

One day in the ‘90s the British artist Michael Landy came up with a radical concept for an artwork: he decided to destroy every single one of his possessions in public.

Here's how he did it. An absolutely amazing read. What's more it gets you thinking:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160713-michael-landy-the-man-who-destroyed-all-his-belongings

Warning: Human attention span shortens to 8 seconds due to digital technology

And the 3 ways to stay focused


Findings of researchers revealed that the human attention span has fallen from an average of 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just eight seconds today. Humans now have less of an attention span than a goldfish (nine seconds average). The decrease was seen across all age groups and genders in the study.

However, there are ways to improve our attention span amid the ongoing texts, tweets, and other interruptions.


http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=6635

Summer Poem

By Francine Marie Tolf

I am tired of my dreams’ dark interiors
and the family ghosts who inhabit them.
It is July, and the man I love has brought home
Bing cherries and watermelon, the way my father used to
when I was a child, bags of groceries
jostling each other in the back seat of the station wagon,
daughters running out to the driveway
to carry them in with both arms. Downstairs, the rooms
sing, laughter and sun moving easily
from one to the next, a jar of white peonies
on the kitchen sill, a tawny cat
stretched out in glory on the dining room table.

Clink of ice cubes in tea,
hoops of wetness on coasters,
I will bring back these small things,
the freckles on my mother’s arm,
how the neighborhood was golden
that hour after supper, when the table was cleared
and there was nothing to regret. I will empty
this moldy hurt from my heart
until light fills its chambers, until there is room
for everyone from that house to enter
and know they are welcome.


http://www.gratefulness.org/resource/summer-poem-2/

Reducing food waste in São Paulo

Brazil is among the world’s 10 biggest food wasters ― a staggering 30 percent of all the fruits and vegetables harvested in the country are discarded. On an average, 40,000 tons of food are thrown away daily.

The "Invisible Food" initiative plans to set up a truck that serves food cooked with ingredients that would have otherwise been discarded.

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/food-waste-project-sao-paulo_us_577fc161e4b01edea78d8990?ir=World&section=us_world&utm_hp_ref=world

The Lion Queens

The Gir forest, India, is the sole home of the Asiatic lion. Before this area was declared a protected zone in 1900, there were only 12 Asiatic lions left in Gir.

Today, this number has risen to 523 and much of the credit goes to Gir’s all-women rescue team who have rescued 627 lions over the years.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/60919/lion-queens-women-rescue-lion-gir-national-park/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2b6e328106-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-2b6e328106-74060141

Criscent Bwambale sees for the first time

Uganda

This story in pictures will touch your heart

http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-36665483

Making tea made me happy

How Guisepi accidentally stumbled upon the power of serving free tea.

http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=6600



Go further and read how this amazing man lives his life.

http://www.freeteaparty.org/about.html

The World’s Moral Compass

Elie Wiesel......a man not filled with hate, but with sadness and determination. Sadness over all those who were lost, and determination to honor their memory with action and impact.

Elie may have left us, but we still hear his gentle voice, telling us what he would say to anyone who would listen: that people of good conscience have a moral obligation to speak out, be heard, and fight bigotry.


http://time.com/4392426/ronald-lauder-elie-wiesel-holocaust/?xid=newsletter-brief

May, Sturgeon, Merkel

There is an increasingly widespread sense that strong female leaders are needed to ‘clean up the mess created by men’.

Mara Delius, writer for the German daily newspaper Die Welt, said these ladies were, “postmodern Elektras in trouser suits and rubber gloves”. Thank goodness, the piece suggested, Europe looked at last to be in safe (female) hands.


http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/05/sturgeon-may-leadsom-women-to-the-rescue-amid-political-turmoil?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=180494&subid=8390868&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

Melanie Wilkes from Gone With The Wind turns 100

Two-time Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland turned 100 on the 1st of July and says that living a century has been quite the journey. [I’m] content with the role that life has given me: a centenarian!” de Havilland told People Magazine in a recent interview to mark her milestone birthday.

As for the secret to living an entire century? De Havilland seems to have an active lifestyle, climbing the five stories of her Parisian home every day. And she does The Times crossword puzzle daily without fail, which we know helps keep your mind razor sharp.

Other than that, her advice is simple. Live by “the three L’s” she told Vanity Fair. “Love, laughter, and light.”


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gone-with-the-wind-actress-says-turning-100-is-her-best-role_us_57768bd6e4b04164640faea9?section=india

A maid is not an equal

Unbelievable...

After two decades of toil, Archana Bera has realised that money cannot you help you choose your neighbours, even in a 'progressive' city like Kolkata. The 55-year-old ayah has been denied a flat in Dhakuria — a popular residential locality in south Kolkata — because the other apartment owners did not want a "maid" as a neighbour.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/ayah-denied-flat-by-respectable-neighbours/articleshow/52997265.cms?from=mdr

Is coffee elbowing its way into the tea culture of China

The Chinese drink less than 2% of the world’s coffee, but already they’re reshaping the industry. The country’s “economics have changed; people more and more understand a different living style,” said Chien. “It’s no longer just about tea.”

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160628-yuan-more-coffee-chinas-lucrative-caffeine-craze

Expanding the horizons for autistic children

Parasuram Ramamoorthy, a theatre specialist, uses face masks to help autistic children overcome the challenges of making eye contact, focusing and concentrating.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/58447/autism-artism-face-masks-theatre-autistic-children-velvi-parasuram-ramamoorthy/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d4ba46a087-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-d4ba46a087-74060141

How to preserve cultural memory in the digital age

We are drowned in data. Yet, data is ephemeral. So what do we do?

rescue the past
collect the digital present
ensure we do not lapse into a knowledge monoculture

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abby-smith-rumsey/culture-memory-digital_b_10357622.html?utm_hp_ref=world

Every one can help; every little bit counts

Diya Kundu, a 17-year-old student of DPS Vasant Kunj in Delhi, is a frequent visitor to Golabari village in West Bengal, India. She knows all the villagers and what is wonderful is that she noticed that the raw material artisans use for their work is eco-friendly. Diya developed the idea of starting a project to help them earn what they actually deserve for their handiwork.

Here's how she went about it:

http://www.thebetterindia.com/59451/west-bengal-artisans-delhi-school/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f6e4973c8d-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-f6e4973c8d-7406014

The mountain hermits of Aragon

Meet Sinforosa Sancho and Juan Martin Colomer – the last inhabitants of La Estrella, an abandoned mountain village in the Maestrazgo wilderness of Aragon, Spain.

To read about this absolutely amazing couple, go to this link:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160615-the-mountain-hermits-of-aragon

The woman behind the Democratic sit-in

Representative Katherine Clark

It was through Clark’s actions that John Lewis, the civil rights icon who helped lead the Selma-Montgomery marches in 1965, and dozens of other Democratic members found themselves sitting on the House floor protesting the GOP’s refusal to hold votes on two gun-control provisions in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

http://time.com/4380310/house-sitin-congress-gun-control-katherine-clark/?xid=newsletter-brief

David Ogilvy on the true value of Education

Perhaps the most elegant and compelling case for what we stand to gain when we exert ourselves on claiming an education comes from an unlikely champion: the legendary English businessman and Mad Man-era icon David Ogilvy (June 23, 1911–July 21, 1999).

His letter to his 18-year-old nephew is a masterpiece which everyone, regardless of age, can benefit from.

Learning is truly a lifelong adventure.


https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/06/23/david-ogilvy-education-letter-nephew/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+brainpickings%2Frss+%28Brain+Pickings%29

English is a must-know

And to help this happen, two Princeton students are helping hundreds of Indians learn English for free using mobile phones.

Created by Vaasvi Goyal and Kasturi Shah, 'Hello, Seekho' offers free audio education in English. Learners simply call the toll-free number 1800-3000-0881, pick a lesson by pressing a number from the options provided in the pre-recorded voice message and get started.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/56385/learning-english-using-mobiles-hello-seekho/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=73e51ea6d5-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-73e51ea6d5-74060141

Inspiring

Lita Cabellut is one of Spain's most successful artists, but she's barely known in her home country. What's more, the woman whose paintings now sell for six figure sums spent her early years living on the street.

"My childhood was like that of thousands of street kids around the world," says Lita Cabellut. She used to roam the streets of Barcelona with other homeless children and slept in the open air. "We looked after one another - we did whatever we liked. We took coins out of the fountains, begged Zippo lighters from sailors and stole tourists' wallets. We used to go into restaurants and say our father was in the toilet when they served us, before wolfing down the food and running off."

Now her vivid portraits can sell for $100,000 (£70,000) or more

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36580311

Inclusive

One has to live one's belief...it's easy to talk about inclusiveness, hard to live it. Here is a person who did...

Thanks to a series of fortunate coincidences, Giovanna Martelli, a member of Parliament for the Italian Left, has taken in three refugees from Nigeria who arrived in Italy by boat last year after long and arduous trips. The politician and her sister are offering housing for Mercy, 32, Favour, 34, and Augustina, 35, until they hear back about their asylum applications.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/italian-politician-nigerian-refugees_us_576840c9e4b015db1bca34b5?utm_hp_ref=world

Big wins for Five Star protest party in Italy elections

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement has made big gains in Italy, winning mayoral races in Rome and Turin, early results show. Virginia Raggi will become Rome's first female leader and Chiara Appendino has been elected Turin mayor.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36569410

India's first three women fighter pilots

The Indian Air Force inducted its first batch of women pilots into its fighter squadron on Saturday: Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawana Kanth. All of them cleared the first stage of training and have about 150 hours of flying. They will now go to Bidar in Karnataka for their stage-III training on the Advanced Jet Fighter – the British-built Hawk for six months before they are ready to fly supersonic warplanes.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/58738/indian-air-force-women-fighter-pilots/

China’s ambitious “Maritime Silk Road”

Four years and some hundreds of billions of dollars later, China’s ambitious global trading strategy known as the “Maritime Silk Road” or “One Belt, One Road“  is now coming to life, particularly in parts of East Africa where major infrastructure and defense projects are being built.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/china-silk-road-africa_us_57607839e4b0df4d586e71ec?utm_hp_ref=world

Ramadan fridge

Sumayyah Sayed, a 29-year-old Australian woman living in Dubai, launched the project of sharing fridges in early June, during the first week of Ramadan. Residents are coming forward to set up and stock sharing fridges across the city to make food and drinks available to the poor and hungry during the holy month of Ramadan — when Muslims fast during daylight hours. Food can be deposited or withdrawn from more than 70 sharing fridges in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sharing-fridges-dubai-ramadan_us_5762d428e4b0df4d586f742f?utm_hp_ref=world

A machine that can crush PET bottles and recycle them too

No need to wonder where to discard empty mineral water bottles. All you need to do is insert your bottles in conveniently located machines and walk on.

BioCrux, a compact, automatic and noiseless machine, crushes all polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into chips and pellets first, and then into recyclable flakes.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/58044/biocrux-pet-bottles-recycle/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=7b76ffecd0-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-7b76ffecd0-74060141

The deep connect between cars and the radio

Entertainment media becomes obsolete at the speed of light. VCRs, CDs, Walkmans… all have come and gone. But there’s one medium that’s been around even longer than all of those. And it’s still going strong today. It’s the radio. And it’s all because of the automobile. Autos have helped keep the 100-year-old medium popular.

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20160613-without-cars-radio-would-be-dead

Isn't it just fantastic? I love the radio....

This container brings the internet to people in remote areas

ZubaBox is a shipping container converted into a solar-powered internet café or classroom for people in need living in remote areas — including refugee camps. The interior of the box can accommodate up to 11 individuals at a time and gives people in traditionally marginalized communities a sense of inclusion while widening their opportunities.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/solar-powered-zubabox-internet-shipping-container-rural-areas-refugee-camps_us_5757155ce4b0b60682df2435?ir=World&section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

The end of the full stop?

The period - the full-stop signal we all learn as children, whose use stretches back at least to the Middle Ages - is gradually being felled in the barrage of instant messaging that has become synonymous with the digital age says David Crystal - a man who understands the power of tradition in language


http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160611/jsp/foreign/story_90639.jsp#.V15Dvfl97IV

Helping Wayanad, India, go Carbon neutral

The date: 5 June 2016

The place: Meenangadi, a panchayat in the Wayanad district of Kerala, India

The event: The state's carbon neutrality project was unveiled by the State Finance Minister as the first of many steps the government will be undertaking to make Wayanad the first carbon neutral district in the country.


http://www.thebetterindia.com/57391/meenangadi-wayanad-first-carbon-neutral-project/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e17935b146-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-e17935b146-74060141

Bean to bar

Dana Mroueh, one of Ivory Coast's latest chocolatiers, says, "We want to show to the world that Ivory Coast is rich."

While the West African nation is the world's leading cocoa exporter, it is virtually impossible to find chocolate made in Ivory Coast from Ivorian cocoa. This is beginning to change, albeit on a small scale. There are more and more boutique cafes and chocolatiers selling and making handmade, artisanal Ivorian chocolate.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36417934

Xian'er the chubby, chatty Buddhist robot monk

Standing two feet (60 centimeters) tall, Xian'er is based on a cartoon character created by a Buddhist master at Beijing's Longquan Temple.

He's already attracted a steady stream of admirers to the 1,700-year-old place of worship.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/30/travel/china-buddhism-robot-monk/index.html

An ‘elder awakening’

Quite a few musicians are producing their best works at an advanced age. Naturally, age with its myriad experiences has seasoned their talent and revealed hitherto unknown depths.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160607-do-musicians-get-better-with-age

A true mosaic

The first ever “Miss Trans Israel Pageant” packed an auditorium at the Bima National Theater in Tel Aviv on Friday, to mark the beginning of the 2016 Pride Events in Tel Aviv. The winner of the event – 21-year-old Ta’alin Abu Hanna, a Christian Arab from Nazareth, will represent Israel at the Miss TransStar International pageant in Barcelona in September.

According to a press release put out by the organizers, the contestants “constitute a true Israeli mosaic. With different backgrounds, communities and faiths, they are an example of courage and tolerance, highlighting the theme of this year's Tel Aviv Pride events: "Women for a Change".”

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-Arab-named-first-ever-Miss-Trans-Israel-455218

The one and only Muhammad Ali

Of all that is being written about this great person, this article warmed my heart...

"Muhammad Ali belongs to the world, but he only has one hometown," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer told a crowd of mourners. "The Louisville Lip spoke to everyone, but we heard him in a way no one else could - as our brother, our uncle, and our inspiration."

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36454068


And to go with this:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/05/us/cnnphotos-muhammad-ali-rare-pictures/index.html

A beer older than the Bible

Itai Gutman, a young Jerusalemite started creating his own unique beers in small batches some 10 years ago. Today, beer is not just a profession for Gutman – it’s a labour of love.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160526-a-beer-older-than-the-bible

Restoration of a ten thousand-year-old dead coral reef

In a world first, Indian marine scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) found a dead coral reef from 10,000 years ago in the Gulf of Kutch, and decided to try and revive it. Fascinating!

http://www.thebetterindia.com/52607/world-first-indian-marine-scientists-restore-ancient-dead-coral-reef/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=91765d6594-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-91765d6594-74060141

3 quick-thinking women may have prevented an attempted rape

Three women are being celebrated online after authorities say they may have stopped an attempted rape while they were dining in a Santa Monica restaurant on May 26. According to their Facebook post, Sonia Ulrich, Marla Saltzer and Monica Kenyon spotted a fellow customer — whom police have identified as Michael Hsu — putting something in his friend’s drink.

http://time.com/4351812/women-stop-sexual-assault/?xid=newsletter-brief

How the Internet works for these villages in Madhya Pradesh, India

Aham Bhumika, a registered NGO in the region, trains the children of these remote villages on the outskirts of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, in arts and craft, and sells their products online. Further, in collaboration with another NGO in the area, they have organised classes conducted by three very skilled artisans from different regions of state, to teach the women embroidery.

The art, craft and embroidery of this region is very distinctive...

http://www.thebetterindia.com/56579/aham-bhumika-bhopal-gonda-art/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d7b52fb492-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-d7b52fb492-74060141

Message in a bowl

Rajkunwar was 14 years old when she married Chuni Singh, an army man. In 1945, Chuni sent his 15-year-old wife a money order for Rs 50, which was a princely sum in those days. Chuni left the defense forces in 1950 but when he died in 1951, he didn't leave any documents behind. Thus began her battle for survival with the one-month-old son her husband had left behind along with six bighas of land, two goats and a hut in Neem Ka Thana, Sikar district, in Rajasthan. All she had was a payee's slip for that one money order and an army mess bowl. For 64 years since her husband's death, Rajkunwar had had to return empty-handed every time she visited the district Sainik Kalyan Board seeking a defence widow's pension.

Finally, Group Captain S.S. Dholia, a retired air force officer in charge of the district Sainik Kalyan Board, decided to take the matter up. He knew he had a mountain to climb but climb it he did and the result is that now 86-year-old Rajkunwar will receive a monthly pension of Rs 4,000.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160530/jsp/frontpage/story_88386.jsp#.V0u2FZF97IU

Who doesn't love a hamburger

Comfort food at its best. National Hamburger Day was on Saturday. Let's take time out to find out the history of this all-time favorite food.

http://time.com/4342423/national-hamburger-day-history-origins-inventor/

Braai

Braai “is one thing that can unite us irrespective of all of the things that are trying to tear us apart,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anointed patron of National Braai Day, proclaimed at an event that kicked off the movement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/dining/braai.html?emc=edit_th_20160525&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58824118&_r=0

What is it about Champagne?

Champagne holds the imagination like no other drink. Whether we can afford it or not is immaterial. One can always imagine.....and dream...

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160526-why-were-drinking-more-champagne-than-ever-before

US veterans going back to live in Vietnam

It is estimated that tens of thousands of veterans have returned to Vietnam since the 1990s, mostly for short visits to the places where they once served. Some had difficulty adapting to civilian life in the US. Others have gone back in the hope of atoning for wrongs they believe were committed during the war.


http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36363537

Olive Ridley Turtles in Odisha, India

Olive Ridley Turtles come back year after year to the place of their birth on the beaches of Odisha, to mate in the waters along the shore and lay their eggs in sandy nests. Conservationists and scientists are now educating the locals to help protect these endangered marine reptiles, and with the communities as a whole getting involved in the protection and conservation of these wonderful creatures, there is hope for the Olive Ridley sea turtle to survive and thrive in the future.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/55513/olive-ridley-turtles-odisha-coast-fighting-for-survival-endangered/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=03f1b316ed-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-03f1b316ed-74060141

The only one God left alive

The 13-year-old boy sits on a mat in a darkened hut not far from Leer Town in South Sudan, his skeletal knees pressed against his ears, and tells the story of what happened to him and more than 50 other men one day late last year.

http://time.com/leer-south-sudan/?xid=newsletter-brief

The World Bank Group’s new Gender Equality Strategy

Ending poverty means closing the gaps between women and men.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ending-poverty-means-clos_b_10029280.html?section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

An adventurous family

Graeme Bell, 41, with wife, Luisa, 40, and their children, Keelan and Jessica back in 2009 set out to traverse the entire world, one continent at a time. In the seven years since, they have logged more than 100,000 miles, driven through 30-odd countries, and tried to live on the equivalent of £40 per day.

“We’re at our best when we’re travelling,” says Graeme who describes his family as “longtime nomads” who prefer the backroad journey to the actual destination.

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20160517-the-neverending-road-trip

The Sunderbans, West Bengal

In 2009 when cyclone Aila swept through the Sunderbans, West Bengal, it made the entire land area uncultivatable and killed 70 percent of the cattle population, leaving total desolation in its wake.


Servals Automation Pvt Ltd, a social enterprise based out of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, stepped into the picture. They provide sustainable energy efficient cooking solutions to consumers at the bottom of the social pyramid.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/26664/servals-cooking-stove-innovation-sunderbans/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ca9a6a4e16-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-ca9a6a4e16-74060141

Sensitive move

A popular Auckland primary school has installed a unisex toilet to help a 6-year-old transgender pupil feel safe and accepted.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11639240

Incredible women

1. Khadija Omar, founder of Pepo La Tumaini, has transformed Isiolo, a desolate, outback town. She and a group of dedicated women work tirelessly towards spreading messages of hope for those abandoned and banished from society because of HIV.

Please go to:

http://www.pepolatumaini.org/who-we-are/



2. Norma Bastida, survivor of human trafficking,is a celebrated ultra-marathoner, known to have trekked 150 miles across the scorched deserts of Namibia or run double-marathons over an icy tundra in Antarctica. What is more amazing is how she has not only survived but WON over all that was dragging her down...she never gave up on herself, hard though it must have been...


http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/16/world/human-trafficking-norma-bastidas-triathlon-record/

Team of Sherpas scale Everest in 2 Years

For the first time in two years, humans stood on the top of the world.

A team of nine Sherpas, led by Sherra Gyalgen Sherpa, successfully scaled Mount Everest on Wednesday — the first climbers to do so since a deadly earthquake in 2015 and a fatal avalanche the year before made attempts to the summit impossible.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sherpas-mount-everest_us_5733fcb1e4b060aa7819643d?section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

Obama's commencement speech at Rutgers

Barack Obama delivered a stinging rebuke to a culture of isolationism and falsehood, and an adamant defense of facts and science, in his commencement address to the Rutgers University graduating class of 2016 on Sunday. 'Ignorance is not a virtue', he said.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/15/barack-obama-commencement-speech-donald-trump

"KeepFightingMichael" hashtag remains a daily prayer

More than two years on, everyone is praying this wonderful person will soon be back with us.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/12/motorsport/formula-one-michael-schumacher-ferrari-di-montezemolo/index.html

Platform Patshala: Constable strikes deal with street children

One constant one sees at all railway stations in India, are the forlorn faces of children forced by circumstance to earn a living. There are no holidays for them, and certainly no future....

Thanks to one constable in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Station - Constable Dharamvir Singh - some of these children are getting a fighting chance at life.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/54886/educating-street-children-in-delhi/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f42b33ed85-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-f42b33ed85-74060141

The world is a diverse place

And beautiful

And for Australia-based photographer Alexander Khimushin, capturing this beauty became an exciting challenge that has already led him to explore 84 nations in his lifetime, camera in hand.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-world-in-faces-project_us_572b545be4b0bc9cb045cec9?section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

Two gamechangers

London elects first Muslim mayor

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/06/europe/uk-london-mayoral-race-sadiq-khan/

and

Ferguson Swears in First Black Police Chief

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fergusons-black-police-chief-delrish-moss-sworn-today/story?id=38980635

Mario Miranda: Genius cartoonist

India's western beachfront state Goa has been busy with celebrations to mark the 90th birth anniversary of one of the country's best-known cartoonists and illustrators, Mario Miranda. Mario's warm-hearted, often comic drawings of local characters and culture helped to popularize his native state, both across India and overseas.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36220327

The Mexican Ambassador to India uses an autorickshaw as her official vehicle

Melba Pria, the Mexican Ambassador to India, has a beautifully done up autorickshaw as her official vehicle.

Millions of Indians use an autorickshaw, why wouldn’t an ambassador use an autorickshaw?” says Ambassador Pria.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/54699/mexican-ambassador-to-india-auto/?utm_source=The+Better+India+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5c4201762f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cd579275a4-5c4201762f-74060141

An unlikely cocktail?

Not really...

A group of New Zealand police officers has been showing off some dance moves in a new video.


Just fantastic!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/36201279

Russian orchestra plays concert in ancient Syrian ruins of Palmyra

The concert was held in a newly liberated area with ISIS nearby. The concert, "Pray for Palmyra: Music Revives Ancient Ruins," was dedicated to victims of the terrorist group. The concert itself was almost an hour long and featured music by Sergei Prokofiev, Johann Sebastian Bach and Rodion Shchedrin.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/05/middleeast/syria-palmyra-russia-concert/index.html

We humans are capable of so much

And here is one person who proves this...

Gennady Tkachenko-Papizh

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/arts/music/gennady-tkachenko-papizh-georgias-got-talent.html?emc=edit_th_20160503&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58824118

It's so much joy when barriers break down

The first U.S. cruise ship in nearly 40 years crossed the Florida Straits from Miami and docked in Havana on Monday.

http://time.com/4313726/first-cruise-miami-cuba/?xid=newsletter-brief

Guldasta

Vimla Kaul, at 81, still works, educating under-privileged children in India's capital Delhi.

"If I can lift even one child out of their circumstances, that's enough for me. But mostly, I want to give them a childhood. Some happy memories that they can look back on later in life."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36147973

We might be of different color, but here we are all equal

The Alsoupoli Intercultural School in Athens, Greece, is a bustling multilingual and multicultural community, one of the few educational facilities currently providing education specifically tailored to the children of migrants and refugees.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/athens-multicultural-primary-school_us_572261cbe4b0b49df6aab049?section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

Honoring Cuba's dancers

Cuba is home to some of the world’s best ballet dancers. Here are breathtaking photos of Cuba’s legendary ballerinas dancing in the streets:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ballet-in-cuba-photos_us_571f95f1e4b01a5ebde36cde?section=india&utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

One guitar legend honors another

What better tribute?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/david-gilmour-prince-comfortably-numb-purple-rain_us_571eb607e4b0f309baee5c98?section=india&utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

A sensitive and thoughtful act

An Asda supermarket in Manchester is introducing a "quiet hour" to help autistic shoppers who can feel stressed by noise.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-36129448

These, too, are normal kids

They want to play and write....they fight and cry...just like children would normally do. They can be unbearable, incredibly funny or unbelievably lovable. Just kids.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-spent-three-months-_b_9771612.html?section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

India's ancient stepwells

Victoria Lautman's favorite pastime, or "obsession" as she calls it, is finding stepwells, large often cavernous wells in which water may be reached by descending a set of steps. Dating back as far as AD 600, these incredible architectural feats of design have been largely forgotten -- until now.

 "In its heyday there were around 3,000 stepwells throughout India. Now, there are about 1,000 left," she estimates.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/06/architecture/victoria-lautman-wells/index.html

A fresh and open look at Filipinos

'Doctors, nurses, housekeepers, babysitters, in so many cases, people who you'd call "caregivers" but who, in every case I've ever heard of, actually care....'

Read Anthony Bourdain's personal mission to the Phillippines:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/22/travel/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-manila-essay/

How Streisand Became a Symbol

A book by Neal Gabler

For those of us who love her. Here is her story of courage and determination...... A story we too can draw from!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/books/review-how-streisand-became-a-symbolby-neal-gabler.html?emc=edit_th_20160421&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58824118&_r=0

Historic

Harriet Tubman would be the first woman to be honored on paper currency since Martha Washington’s portrait briefly graced the $1 silver certificate in the late 19th century. Tubman was a former slave and abolitionist who helped rescue slaves in the late 1800s.

A must read---

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/us/women-currency-treasury-harriet-tubman.html

19 April 1966

Fifty years ago, Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb defied the rules and ran the Boston Marathon. She finished without incident in 3:21:40, ahead of two-thirds of the male field.

Check out Bobbi's story and be inspired...

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/04/bobbi-gibb-first-woman-ran-the-boston-marathon-50-years-ago.html?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women&mid=huffpost_women-pubexchange_article

The Zohra orchestra of Afghanistan

An ensemble of 35 women at the Afghanistan National Institute for Music play both Western and Afghan musical instruments. Their leader is 19-year-old Negin Khpalwak.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/afghanistan-female-orchestra_us_571508c0e4b06f35cb7019aa?section=india&utm_hp_ref=world

Looking back with pride

at something we take for granted....and some people we take for granted...

Starbucks.

Set the time machine back to 1971...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03q0430

A 5,000-Year-Old Himalayan Secret

Jaipur-based photographer and writer Shubham Mansingka found the elusive Brokpas, a 5,000-year-old tribe of Ladakh, believed to be the last of the ‘original Aryan race, living in a remote part of the Himalayas.

Intoxicated by their uncomplicated existence, Mansingka said there was much that the rest of India could learn from the ancient community that accorded their women a higher stature than men, and “is calm even in the face of minimal development. They have been sandwiched between Kargil and Batalik, and that has greatly hampered their progress, yet they remain cheerful and work hard,” he said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/04/14/brokpa-himalaya_n_9678660.html?utm_hp_ref=india

Greek grandmother welcomes refugees into home in Idomeni

82-year-old, Panagiota Vasileiadou is welcoming refugees into her home. In absence of a common language, refugees simply call her “Mama”. A new lease of life for many.....

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/greek-grandmother-welcomes-refugees-into-home-in-idomeni-a6984496.html

Mukku bags

Abdul Muqeet  is on a mission to protect his world. After learning about the terrible effects of plastic bags on the environment, Abdul decided to take a stand. Since he was 8-years-old, Abdul has been making paper bags from recycled newspapers. To date, he has completed over 5,000 of his “Mukku bags,” donating them to local grocers.

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=5787

We still have our royalists

Meet Indian royalist, 93-year-old Indian restaurateur, Boman Kohinoor. He was desperately keen on meeting Their Royal Highnesses William and Kate. His plea was posted on the Internet. Their Royal Highnesses were very touched and invited him to the Taj to meet with him. Royalty at its gracious best...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36017662

There is no alternative to Grandma's cooking

Roberto Panizza, Pesto maker.

Not only does he make his own pesto, but with a group of like-minded friends, he has set up the Palatifini Association ("palatifini" means "refined palates"). "Half of my time is to produce pesto and the other half is to promote pesto. Pesto is my life!" he says.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36014143

An all-male bastion breached

Pakistan: Women decide to go to all-male teahouses.

The ladies interviewed were quite clear in their minds about their decision:
'If I am comfortable in my own skin, in my own city, and am okay with people staring, why not?'
'Why should I just be bussed from one place to another, or hurry from one place to another...'

Way to go girls!!!!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35942068

Tolerance in the time of intolerance

Real tolerance is when you stand up for one another no matter what the differences....This is especially meaningful in a world that is fast moving into the age of intolerance.

The place - South Orange....Travelling on the "Midtown Direct" train to the Big Apple.

Check this out:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160411/jsp/frontpage/story_79512.jsp#.Vwsxt6R97IU

A cut above

First female master tailor opens shop on Savile Row.

Kathryn Sargent, who has dressed royalty, actors, politicians and business leaders, opened her premises in Mayfair, central London.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/06/first-female-master-tailor-opens-shop-savile-row-kathryn-sargent

Poet of the common man

And one who defined the west coast country sound of the 70s...Merle Haggard passes on his birthday surrounded by his family and friends.

Fantastic human being. Read on:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/06/merle-haggard-dead-country-music-icon

The next uppercase to go

AP will no longer capitalize 'Internet' and 'Web', effective 1 June 2016.

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ap-will-no-longer-capitalize-internet-and-web?utm_source=GG20160405&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=grammargirl

Wheelchair odyssey across China

Quan Peng, a 29-year-old paraplegic man, is traveling more than 3,500 miles (5,670 kilometers) across China -- by wheelchair.

The goal of his epic journey? He wants people with physical challenges like him to be treated like anybody else.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/16/travel/china-man-travel-around-country-by-wheelchair/index.html

Olivier Awards: Record eighth win for Judi Dench

The veteran actress won a record eighth Olivier for her best supporting actress role as Paulina in Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company's production of The Winter's Tale.
No-one has won as many Oliviers for acting since the awards began 40 years ago.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-35954147

A tradition that dates back to the 1930s

A baby box

The baby box has been credited with helping Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates. And now more countries are going in for this.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35834370

The forgotten founder

Ronald G Wayne is 81. When he was 41, he worked at Atari. And it was there he met a young, impressionable Steve Jobs who would regularly turn to Wayne for all manner of advice. Wayne considered himself the "adult supervision" to the Jobs dream. The rest is history as Jobs' story went on to become the greatest ever story of entrepreneurship.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35940300

The Sock Capital of the World

Read the fascinating story of how Gina combined her family's sock-making tradition with her passion of organic living and sustainability.

http://zkano.com/pages/about-us

Check this out

Cowboy boots, checked shirts and country music might conjure up images of the American south, but Dolly Parton and her fellow country singers have a dedicated following across the world - not least in Uganda.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35929315

The Elephants that came to dinner

It's their world too...

Absolutely, stunningly, wonderful


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdTII_unZSA

For us who were forever changed by Love Story

Actors Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal return to Harvard University 45 years after Love Story...


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3425993/Love-Story-actors-return-Harvard-45-years-later.html

Two Afghan boys

Wasil Ahmad dies a martyr at age 11. He had been praised for his bravery - for 43 days he had commanded a police unit as it fought to repel a Taliban siege.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/04/asia/afghanistan-boy-hero-taliban-killed/index.html

and

Murtaza Ahmadi, a five-year-old boy, plays football wearing a striped plastic bag with the name of his hero written in felt-tip pen on the back.
                                                                    Messi
                                                                       10                      

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3431446/I-t-wait-meet-Messi-Afghan-boy-5-broke-hearts-playing-football-blue-white-plastic-bag-excited-meet-hero.html

India’s first LGBT radio taxi service

Wings Rainbow, India’s first LGBT radio taxi service, was flagged off on Wednesday, 20 January 2016. This initiative by the Wings Travels and Humsafar Trust is expected to start functioning in 2017. Five volunteers from The Humsafar Trust, an LGBT rights organisation have signed up.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/news/indias-first-lgbt-radio-taxi-service-announced/article8132750.ece?homepage=true

ABBA - After 2008, now

All four former members of the 1970s Swedish pop group Abba have reunited for the opening of a new business venture in the capital Stockholm.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35367641

How comedians help us deal with tragedy

Tragic events can often bring out the finest in professional comedians. As large-scale tragedies, particularly terrorist events and mass shootings become regular headlines, comedians have become awfully good at helping to guide audiences through their grief with just the right amounts of outrage, pathos and humour.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160114-how-tragedy-brings-out-comedians-best

Pulitzer photography

Pulitzer-winning images have become a fascinating timeline of the past 73 years. It may not be a perfect timeline of history but it does encourage good journalism.

Pictures that not only tell a story but move the heart...

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/06/photos/pulitzer-prize-winning-photographs/index.html

Singapore - Design hub

Singapore’s reputation in the design realm has grown exponentially. And in a worldwide economy that’s increasingly idea-driven, design is an important enabler to promote change, solve problems and improve the way we live.

http://www.yoursingapore.com/mice/en/bulletin-board/singapore-next-design-capital/overview.html?cmp=btm:in:gn:taboola:dis:brd:cluster-design&utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=mediaforce-belfasttelegraph

Next time try out boring places for a holiday

According to Eric Weiner

When you relinquish the spectacular, you are rewarded with the quieter joy of the ordinary.

Check this out:

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160106-in-praise-of-boring-places