Dozens of the animals in Chiang Mai region first began to show signs of illness earlier this month
A highly contagious virus is believed to have caused the deaths of 72 captive tigers in northern Thailand this month, with officials racing to contain the outbreak.
Teams are urgently disinfecting enclosures and preparing to vaccinate surviving animals.
Continue reading...Amateur climber’s conviction over girlfriend’s death could put people off activity, say experts
The decision of an Austrian court to convict an amateur climber of manslaughter after he had left his girlfriend behind to die on an Alpine peak in winter is certain to be examined closely throughout Europe.
In his decision in Innsbruck, the judge, Norbert Hofer – a climber, and an expert in Austrian law relating to the mountains – ruled that the “galaxies-wide” disparity in experience and skills between Thomas P and his late girlfriend Kerstin G meant he had been de facto acting as her mountain guide “as a favour” despite no financial arrangement having been involved.
Continue reading...Completion of glass cross brings Antoni Gaudí’s church to maximum final height of 172.5m, 144 years after work began
The final piece of the central tower of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia has been laid in place, bringing the church to its maximum final height 144 years after work began.
After several days when it has been too windy to work, the upper section of the 17 metre-high four-sided steel and glass cross was winched into position at 11am on Friday, completing the tower dedicated to Jesus Christ. At 172.5 metres, the Sagrada Familia, to which the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí devoted the later part of his life, is Barcelona’s tallest building and the world’s tallest church.
Continue reading...Purdue says no ban on Chinese students exists, but reportedly rescinded dozens of offers after warnings from legislators
Several universities have scrapped partnerships with Chinese institutions in recent months as a direct result of pressure from US legislators. But no university appears to have gone as far as Purdue University in Indiana.
Students and faculty at the public university say that an unofficial policy is in effect to automatically reject students from China and a number of other countries altogether.
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