Asia
South Korea coronavirus outbreak adds new stress to gruelling, eight-hour exam
From avoiding family members to skipping extra study at “cram schools”, the coronavirus has forced nearly half a million South Korean test-takers and proctors to rethink their strategies ahead of a hyper-competitive university entrance exam this week. The gruelling, almost eight-hour test on Thursday is seen as a life-defining event for high school seniors. A degree from a prestigious university is seen as a minimum requirement for securing one of the coveted but limited corporate jobs in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. This year teachers, proctors and students drastically changed their study and teaching practices to try to ensure those taking the test don’t ruin their chances by getting sick. “We take caution not just in classes but also during lunch, sitting facing the walls, eating alon...
Unknown treks in Asia: 10 offbeat trails
From remote corners of Bhutan to the lofty heights of Nepal, we profile some of the best unknown treks in Asia When it comes to exploration, ‘too late for the seas, too soon for the stars’ may best describe our current times. Legendary explorers like Drake and Magellan charted the seas long ago while Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and their like did the same for remote lands. There’s a sense that our planet has been entirely measured and mapped; tamed, some might say. Even Everest – one of the most inhospitable places on Earth – has queues on its slopes. This is why I was thrilled last year to join a trek to K2 base camp including a crossing of Gondogoro La pass. In comparison to my earlier trip to Everest base camp, K2 felt far more remote. It left me craving for a taste of...
Best hikes in South Korea: 8 stunning trails
The best hikes in South Korea roam idyllic countryside speckled with memorials to 5000 years of highly distinctive culture and history Mountain culture runs deep in the history of South Korea. Thousands of years before modern religion made its way onto the peninsula, Koreans worshipped mountain spirits known as Sansin. Today, the population remains obsessed with mountains, but in a very different way. The post Best hikes in South Korea: 8 stunning trails appeared first on Atlas & Boots. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair s...
Tokyo reports record daily virus cases, outbreak locks down Australian state
Daily coronavirus cases in Tokyo and South Korea hit fresh highs on Wednesday, as pollution-cloaked New Delhi struggled with rising cases and Australia reported a highly contagious virus strain which forced a state-wide lockdown. The post Tokyo reports record daily virus cases, outbreak locks down Australian state appeared first on TODAY. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
BBC exposes European pyramid scam exploiting Africans, others
A new investigation by BBC Africa Eye has uncovered a global pyramid scam, run from Europe, that is using smartphones to cheat ordinary people across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Crowd1 describes itself as “the fastest growing crowd marketing company in the world” and produces social media videos which show members buying new cars and enjoying luxury holidays. Using nothing but a smartphone, Crowd1 claims, you can become a millionaire by promoting and selling a series of exciting digital products to your network. These claims have persuaded thousands of people across Africa to hand over the 99 Euros that buys an entry-level membership to Crowd1. But a six-month investigation by BBC Africa Eye reveals that, behind the slick marketing, Crowd1 is peddling a range of bogus products and fal...
UN lauds Africa’s success in virus fight
The United Nations has commended Africa for its exceptional management of the COVID-19 pandemic with record low incidences and deaths. The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Amb. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, said this yesterday while addressing a virtual press conference, adding that the developing countries have done better than developed countries as regards the management of the pandemic. COVID-19 has spread rapidly and extensively to most countries in the world, resulting in considerable mortality in Europe and the United States, as well as in numerous upper-middle-income countries in South America and Asia. Experts predicted millions of COVID-19 deaths in Africa because many countries in the continent rank poorly on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Dev...
US sanctions 11 entities for aiding Iran’s oil sector
The US imposed sanctions on 11 entities and three executives Thursday for allegedly aiding an Iranian energy firm that was blacklisted in January, and helping Iran export petroleum products . The new designations of companies and executives include six under the Treasury Department’s authorities and five under the State Department. All are based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or China. The State Department’s sanctions target Iran-based Abadan Refining Company; China-based Zhihang Ship Management, New Far International Logistics LLC and Sino Energy Shipping; and UAE-based Chemtrans Petrochemicals Trading. The department also imposed sanctions on New Far executive Min Shi, Sino Energy executive Zuoyou Lin and Abadan managing director Alireza Amin. “All entities targeted today contin...
What is the greenest country in the world?
The greenest country in the world is Denmark according to the latest data analysis from the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) The Environmental Performance Index evaluates and ranks 180 countries on 32 performance indicators across 11 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality. The aim is to gauge, at a national scale, how close countries are to meeting the environmental policy goals outlined in the United Nations 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. Now in its 22nd year, the EPI report has become the world’s premier framework for global environmental policy analysis. The report is compiled every two years using the following categories to create an EPI score out of 100 for every nation. Climate Change Air Qualit...
13 stunning natural phenomena
From the famous northern lights to the lesser known sea of stars, we share elusive natural phenomena from across the globe As Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken made history this week as the first astronauts to launch to orbit on a private spaceship, the world took pause to watch. Given the turmoil of our times, one observer quipped, ‘Congratulations to the Astronauts that left Earth today. Good choice.’ The off-the-cuff comment was amusing, but also surprisingly poignant for it reminded us of the damage being wreaked by humans – not only on each other but the planet itself. Seeing the curvature of the Earth reminded us of the extraordinary natural phenomena that exist right here at home. Below, we share the best of them. 1. Aurora Borealis The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the northern...
WHO warns virus may be here to stay as toll nears 300,000
The coronavirus may never go away and populations will have to learn to live with it just as they have HIV, the World Health Organization has warned, as the global death toll from the disease nears 300,000. There were also gloomy forecasts from the US Federal Reserve, which said prolonged shutdowns to stem the spread of the virus could cause lasting economic damage in America. Washington ratcheted up tensions over the pandemic by accusing China of trying to steal research into a vaccine, while US President Donald Trump upped the rhetoric with a colourful phrase that could anger Beijing. “We just made a great Trade Deal, the ink was barely dry, and the World was hit by the Plague from China. 100 Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the difference — and all those innocent lives lost!” Trump tweeted....
International borders: 10 remarkable frontiers
From mountains to libraries, we take a look at some of the most extraordinary international borders to be found across the globe Over the last few years, we’ve seen an impressive collection of new websites, blogs and social media accounts dedicated to ‘travel porn’. They’re filled with big, sweeping images of fairytale lands and precarious precipices. Sometimes, like this incredible piece on architectural density in Hong Kong, they’ll depict urban decay or stifling poverty – always gilded by the photographer’s lens. At Atlas & Boots, we always wanted to strike the right balance between travel porn and more in-depth content; the type that provided some previously unknown knowledge or insight. We’re using the current downtime to update some old content and came across this post about unu...
Climbing the seven summits: a route to the top
Climbing the seven summits – the highest mountain on every continent – is an improbable dream of mine… but that’s the beauty of dreams I have always loved trekking and climbing. I usually spend several weeks of any given year on the grades of the Scottish Highlands or Welsh Snowdonia or ideally further afield such as the Arctic Circle Trail in Greenland or the K2 base camp trek in Pakistan. It was one of these trekking trips – to Tanzania in 2010 – that ignited something new inside me. It was while climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, that an idea, an ambition, began to formulate. My hobby deepened into passion and I realised that I wanted to achieve something great: to climb the seven summits, the highest mountain on every continent. Mountain Continent Altitude Tech....
