Category: Life & Style

The space tourism company of British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic finally launched its first space tourists to the edge of the cosmos on August 10. The first flight of private space tourists, known as Galactic 02, took off shortly after 11am ET from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

The company’s reusable rocket-powered space plane VSS Unity successfully landed after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness. The vehicle reached more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth’s surface – at an altitude the US government considers the edge of outer space. It reached supersonic speeds as it moved upward. At the peak of its flight, the space plane spent a few minutes in weightlessness, as it entered free fall and returned to the spaceport for a runway landing at 9:30 a.m. MT. The journey lasted an hour.

On board the flight were an 80-year-old British former Olympian, who has Parkinson’s disease; Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, a mother-daughter pair from the Caribbean who won their seats through a charity drawing; two pilots, and Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor who trained the crew before the flight. The mission also marked the most women flown in a single mission to space.

The suborbital joyride came after nearly two decades of development work. The flight will now allow the company to begin clearing a backlog of about 800 ticket holders who are waiting for space rides.

Saudi Arabia has expanded its visitor eVisa programme to travellers from eight more countries, taking the total up to 57. Now, tourists from Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives, South Africa, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan can apply online to travel to the country. South Africa is the first African country to be added to the list.

The multi-entry eVisa is valid for one year and allows travellers to visit the Gulf nation for up to 90 days at a time. The visa costs 535 Saudi riyals ($142) and includes medical insurance. The visa holders can use the document for tourism, perform Umrah, attend conferences and events, and visit friends and family living in the country.

The eVisa is easier to obtain than a traditional visa, requiring less paperwork and no in-person interview. It is limited to travellers over 18 years with passports valid for at least six months. Children under 18 can enter Saudi Arabia when travelling with a parent, grandparent or adult sibling with an approved eVisa.

Saudi Arabia launched its eVisa programme in 2019, and has since seen an increase in the number of international arrivals. In 2022, it recorded more than 93.5 million foreign and domestic visits, up by 93% compared to the previous year, when the country had international travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A massive pyramid from the Bronze Age and dating back 4,000 years to the 2nd millennium BC has been discovered after years of research and excavation in Kazakhstan. The discovered structure is located in the Kyrykungir complex in Toktamys, approximately 420 miles southeast of the country’s capital Astana.

Carved from stone with an extraordinary degree of sophistication and grandeur, the pyramid was unveiled by the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University on August 8, 2023. The extraordinary steppe pyramid is carved from stone with an extraordinary degree of sophistication and grandeur. The newly discovered pyramid was unveiled by the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University on August 8, 2023.

While the Kyrykungir monumental complex has been the site of excavations since 2014, the discovery of the pyramid adds to the ancient importance of the location. The pyramid’s symmetry and proportions also underline the meticulous geometric precision of its ancient builders. Comprising six sides, with each measuring around 42 feet in length, the ancient structure is a highly intricate and advanced complex. It features several circular elements at its core and shows various animals, particularly horses on the exterior.

The excavations at the site have also yielded artifacts, including pottery, gold earrings, and other jewellery, underlining the pyramid’s vital cultural and ceremonial importance during its era.

The global average temperature for July 2023 was the highest on record and likely for at least 120,000 years, the UN weather agency and partners said on August 8.

Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director at the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, said that the month is estimated to have been around 1.5 degree Celsius warmer than the average for 1815 to 1900, so the average for pre-industrial times.

Speaking to media in Geneva, Burgess noted that July had been marked by heat waves in multiple regions around the world. Based on data analysis known as proxy records, which include cave deposits, calcifying organisms, coral and shells, the Copernicus scientist added that the planet has not been this warm for the last 120,000 years.

Records were also broken for global sea surface temperatures, after unusually high temperatures in April that led to the ocean surface warming in July to some 0.51 degree Celsius above the 1991-2020 average.

Chris Hewitt, Director of Climate Services, UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest years, as per readings going back at least 170 years. He added that the long-term warming trend is driven by continued increases in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that have all reached record observed highs. 

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first ever pill for treating postpartum depression, called Zurzuvae (zuranolone).

The makers of the new pill, Sage Therapeutics and Biogen Inc. have said that the drug will be commercially available in the fourth quarter of this year, as soon as October.

A potentially life-threatening condition, postpartum depression affects hundreds of thousands of new parents across the US every year. It will have an impact on one in seven people who give birth in the weeks after delivery, and can seriously disturb the health of the parent and child. The only treatment available prior to Zurzuvae was Brexanolone, an expensive drug that had to be administered via IV for 60 hours. On the contrary, the new pill has to be taken once a day for 14 days.

Unlike antidepressants, Zurzuvae does not target neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. It is a derivative of progesterone that can be unbalanced in the body after birth. The pill was tested on people with severe postpartum depression, and not on milder cases.

The pill — to be taken once a day for 14 days — has shown promising results in two company studies, with some patients seeing benefits after just three days.

The Australian government has welcomed the draft decision from UNESCO not to list the Great Barrier Reef “in danger.” While a UNESCO heritage committee on August 1 stopped short of listing the reef in its danger list, it warned that the world’s biggest coral reef ecosystem remains under “serious threat” from pollution and the warming of oceans.

The Great Barrier Reef contributes about A$6 billion ($4 billion) to the Australian economy and supports 64,000 jobs. Australia has been lobbying for years to keep the reef off the endangered list, as it could lead to losing the heritage status, affecting the number of tourists.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November said the reef should be put on the danger list after frequent coral bleaching events. However, in its latest report, the panel noted the commitments and initial actions by the Australian government to preserve the reef.

The Australian government has pledged A$1.2 billion to protect the reef, withdrawn federal funding for dams, and denied permission for a coal mine that it said could have affected the reef’s water quality.

The UN panel has asked the government to submit a progress report by February 2024.

Russia has introduced an “e-visa” system effective from August 1 this year, to simplify the visa process for travellers visiting the country. The facility is available to 52 countries, including India, allowing travellers from these nations to apply for the e-visa. The Ministry of Public Security of Russia has established the e-visa system to “simplify visa applications.”

The e-visa can be used just like any other regular visa, avoiding the need to check with embassies or any other associations. It facilitates entry into the Russian Federation for purposes, such as business trips, guest visits, tourism, and others.

The electronic and biometric visa grants the same rights as a regular visa. It remains valid for 60 days, during which the visa holder must enter Russia. Once in the country, the e-visa allows a stay of up to 16 days.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global travel restrictions, Russia suspended the e-visa service in 2020. With the service now resumed, travellers can again get their visas hassle-free.  For the visa, people planning to visit Russia must complete their travel application through an online process. The application will have to be submitted at least 72 hours prior to their intended trip to Russia.

If authorised, the traveller’s trip is approved, and they will receive their visa upon arrival in Russia from the relevant authorities. In the event of non-authorisation, the traveller must apply for a temporary residence visa at the Embassy of Russia before their travel to the country.

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in July signed legislation into law to recognise sign as the country’s 12th official language, in a bid to empower people with disabilities in the country.

Only 41 countries globally recognise sign language as an official language and four of these countries – Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe – are in Africa.

At the signing ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of government, Ramaphosa said that South African Sign Language (SASL) will empower those living with disabilities. A number of learners with hearing impairments attended the signing ceremony. The leader assured the community that many barriers between abled South Africans and the deaf community would be addressed, resolving issues of access to education, economic and other social services.

The new legislation seeks to advance the cultural acceptance of SASL; ensure the realisation of the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing to equal protection and benefit of the law and human dignity; and promote inclusive and substantive equality and prevent or eliminate unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability, as guaranteed by Section 9 of the Constitution.

Until the advent of the first democratic government under Nelson Mandela in 1994, only English and Afrikaans were recognised as official languages. The new Constitution has now recognised important languages spoken in the country, including Zulu and eight indigenous languages, a few of them shared by neighbouring states. 

Mohamned Adil Khan, an Indian architect working in Dubai, has been named the first winner of a new mega prize in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will receive more than Rs. 5.5 lakh every month for the next 25 years.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Khan was named the mega prize winner of the FAST 5 draw at a press conference held on July 27. Working as an interior design consultant for a real estate company in Dubai, he stands to get Dh25,000 (Rs. 5,59,822) a month for 25 years after winning the lottery.

While Khan was grateful for winning the money, Paul Chader, Head of Marketing, Tycheros, a company that organises Emirates Draw, was glad to announce the first winner for FAST 5 in less than eight weeks of its launch. The reason the draw is called FAST 5 is because it is the fastest way to become a multi-millionaire, he said. He added that the idea behind staggered payments is to secure the winner. “This sort of prize win ensures a regular payout for the next 25 years to the winner,” Chader said.

A sudden marine heat wave off the coast of Florida has sent water temperatures soaring to unprecedented highs, threatening one of the most severe coral bleaching events the US state has ever seen.

The bleaching is already happening in the Florida Keys, which is home to 6,000 individual reefs. Eleven observations of partial bleaching were confirmed by the Mote Marine Laboratory in June. Experts said they expected that number to grow exponentially in the weeks to come.

Sea surface temperatures have reached the highest levels on record since satellites began collecting ocean data, alarming scientists. The warming has occurred much earlier than normal. The exceptional temperatures are close to 97 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, disturbing the coral reefs.

Extreme ocean heat and its duration are critical in deciding the survival of coral reefs. Temperatures that are too hot for too long cause coral to bleach, making these turn white as they eject their algal food source and gradually starve to death. Not all coral that bleachdie, but the more intense the heat and the longer it lasts, the more certain death becomes, say coral experts.

Sea surface warming of 1 degree Celsius, or 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit, beyond the reef’s normal highest temperature triggers the heat stress that leads to bleaching. The sea surface temperatures around Florida are more than 2 degrees Celsius above that normal range and have been for one to two weeks, alarming scientists.