Category: Life & Style

A hat belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte sold for 1.932 million euros ($2.1 million) at French auction house Osenat in Fontainebleau, Paris on November 19.

The black felt bicorn is one of some 20 hats said to still exist of Napoleon’s two-cornered military dress hats that he wore as part of his everyday uniform when he was French emperor. It is in his trademark colours — black, with the French flag’s colours blue-white-red as insignia — and attracted interest from collectors “the world over”, said Osenat, declining to give the identity or nationality of the eventual buyer.

The final price for the hat was more than double the estimate of 600,000 to 800,000 euros, and about four times the reserve price. It broke the previous record for a Napoleonic hat, held by Osenat, of 1.884 million euros in 2014 shelled out by a South Korean businessman.

The hat was last owned by businessman Jean-Louis Noisiez, who died last year.

Other Napoleon memorabilia from the Noisiez collection were also auctioned, including a Legion of Honour medal and a pair of silver spurs. Napoleon is believed to have owned around 120 such hats in total over 15 years, most of which are now lost.

Dubai International Airport is poised to surpass its pre-pandemic passenger records from 2019, said Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, at the Dubai Air Show at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central on November 15.

The Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel and home of the long-haul carrier Emirates, had 64.5 million passengers in the third quarter of this year. The number puts the airport on track to reach 86.8 million passengers for the year, which would exceed its 2019 figure of 86.3 million passengers.

The international airport had 66 million passengers last year. Its busiest year was 2018, when it hosted 89.1 million passengers.

Through the third quarter, Dubai’s main airport handled 3,08,000 total takeoffs and landings. India, long a key route for Emirates’ East-West travel strategy, was first among all countries in destinations, followed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the US, and Russia.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport remains the busiest passenger airport overall.

At this year’s Dubai Air Show, Emirates announced a $52 billion aircraft purchase deal with Boeing Co. Its sister airline FlyDubai bought $11 billion of aircraft from Boeing at the show.

Gunung Padang, a pyramid hidden within a hill on an island in West Java, Indonesia, could be the world’s oldest, says an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, geophysicists and geologists.

Sitting at the top of an extinct volcano, Gunung Padang is considered a sacred site by local people. Also known as “mountain of enlightenment,” it was declared a national cultural heritage site in 1998.

Over the years, there have been disagreements among scholars about the nature of the hill. Some suggested that it was a man-made pyramid, while others argued it was a natural geological formation. The researchers have now found that Gunung Padang was made mostly by human hands. They have also found evidence that the structure was built in stages thousands of years apart.

The oldest construction of the pyramid probably “originated as a natural lava hill before being sculpted and then architecturally enveloped” between 25,000 BC and 14,000 BC, said the researchers, making the pyramid at least 16,000 years old.

Gunung Padang was finished between 2,000 BC and 1,100 BC, according to the latest study. Its field survey began in October 2011 and ended in October 2014.

The research was published in the interdisciplinary archaeological journal Archaeological Prospection in October. 

The European Union on November 15 struck a deal on a law to tackle methane emissions from fossil fuels. Under the proposed law, coal, oil and gas companies would be required to report their methane emissions and take steps to avoid them. The measures under the first-of-its-kind law include finding and fixing leaks, and limiting wasteful practices such as venting and flaring gas by 2027.

While methane possesses more than 80 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, it dissipates more quickly in the atmosphere. Reducing methane emissions is viewed as a cost-effective and straightforward approach to immediately mitigate the intensification of extreme weather events.

The recently approved EU regulations, jointly agreed upon by the European Parliament and the European Council, stipulate that fossil fuel companies must address identified leaks within a maximum of five days and fully rectify them within a month. By the end of the coming year, operators are required to assess their existing facilities and submit plans outlining steps to identify and address methane leaks.

Additionally, the rules will tackle imported fuels, potentially setting a higher standard for fossil fuel enterprises globally.

Delhi’s annual butterfly census has documented 75 butterfly species in the city’s seven biodiversity parks. The census, conducted from 30 October to 4 November, recorded the first geographical record of the rare Blank Swift butterfly in the Aravalli Biodiversity Park.

The Plain Tiger was the most frequently sighted species, with a count of 1,119 butterflies. Other species recorded in significant numbers included the Yellow Orange Tip, Lemon Pansy, Common Gull, Zebra Blue, Rounded Pierrot, Striped Tiger, Common Emigrant, and the Common Grass Yellow. Individuals of all five butterfly families of India were recorded during this survey.

The Blank Swift butterfly is a rare species to the Northern Plains. It comes from the family of skipper butterflies and is commonly seen in high humidity areas.

Aravalli Biodiversity Park reported the highest number of species (65) of butterflies in the census, maintaining its previous year’s record. It is closely followed by the Northern Ridge (Kamala Nehru Ridge) with 48 species.

The census, conducted by the Centre for Environment Management of Degraded Ecosystems of Delhi University and the Delhi Development Authority, aims to assess butterfly species, their population, and habitat suitability.

Delhi’s Biodiversity Parks lie within two major habitats – the Yamuna river basin, an ideal habitat for the skipper group of butterflies, and the Aravalli hill ranges, a dense canopy providing protective homes for several species of butterflies. This habitat heterogeneity facilitates high diversity of butterfly species across the city.

On November 5, the Embassy of India in Riyadh hosted a distinctive event named ‘Samskritotsava.’ Conducted entirely in Sanskrit, the occasion aimed to acknowledge and appreciate the endeavours of the Indian community in Saudi Arabia for their role in preserving the language. This event was a component of ‘Pravasi Parichay.’

The event was conducted in association with Samskrita Bharati.  

As part of the programme, the Indian community in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia showcased various performances such as Abhinaya Gheetam, Gana Geetam, Subhashita Natakam, and Prachanna Vesham. All performances were in Sanskrit language.

During his opening remarks, Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, spoke about the importance of the Sanskrit language in our culture and its veneration in the entire world as a sacred and spiritual language. The ambassador also mentioned that the event will serve as an inspiration for all to learn and practice the Sanskrit language.

It is the first time that any Indian Mission in the world conducted an event entirely in the Sanskrit language to promote the importance and learning of the Sanskrit Language, the Indian Embassy said.

The largest Hindu BAPS temple in the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next year.

Union Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was on a visit to Abu Dhabi on November 2 paid a special visit to BAPS Hindu Mandir and took stock of the construction of the temple, which is scheduled to be completed in 2024. Swami Brahmavihari Das gave a tour of the temple site to the minister and briefed him about the progress of the construction.

The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will come up on 55,000 square metres of land. The UAE government has gifted 17 acres of land for the temple complex.

The temple will be hand-carved by Indian temple artisans and assembled in the UAE. It will incorporate all aspects and features of a traditional Hindu temple as part of a fully functional, social, cultural and spiritual complex. It will replicate the BAPS temple in New Delhi and New Jersey.

Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) is a socio-spiritual Hindu organisation set up in 1907 that runs more than 1,100 temples and cultural compounds around the world.

On November 2, Rwanda declared that it will grant visa-free travel to all Africans, becoming the fourth nation on the continent to implement such a measure. This move by African nations is aimed at enhancing the free movement of people and trade, aspiring to rival Europe’s Schengen zone.

President Paul Kagame made the announcement in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he pitched the potential of Africa as “a unified tourism destination” for a continent that still relies on 60% of its tourists from outside Africa, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Once implemented, Rwanda will become the fourth African country to remove travel restrictions for African nationals. Other countries that have waived visas to Africans are Gambia, Benin and Seychelles.

Kenya’s President William Ruto in October announced plans to allow all Africans to travel to the East African nation visa-free by December 31.

The African Union (AU) in 2016 launched an African passport to unleash the potential of the continent. However, only diplomats and AU officials have been issued the travel document so far.

The African Passport and free movement of people is aimed at removing restrictions on Africans ability to travel, work and live within their own continent.

AU also launched the African Continental Free Trade Area, a continent-wide free trade area estimated to be worth $3.4 trillion, which aims to create a single unified market for the continent’s 1.3 billion people and to boost economic development.

In its fourth year, the Mental Health Film Festival Singapore (MHFFS), themed ‘Present Continuous,’ is showcasing films at Leisure Park Kallang and The Projector in Singapore from November 4 to 12, 2023. The festival continues its mission of ‘deepening knowledge and fostering empathy.’

The cinematic gathering intertwines a presentation of seven international cinematic gems, 20 poignant short films created by passionate Singaporean youths, and valuable contributions from more than 20 renowned mental health and social service agencies. Beyond entertainment, the other objective of the film festival is to start a mass movement on mental health awareness.

The films running through the festival include Next Sohee (Korea); A Still Small Voice; Sur l’Adamant (France); The Taste of Mango; Break the Game; Marcel the Shell with Shoes On; Isadora’s Children; What Would Mitch Do; Through the Looking Glass; Paper Planes, Don’t Always Soar; and Wanderlost.

MHFFS is a registered mental health charity whose activities revolve around, but are not limited to, this film festival. The festival is accompanied by a roadshow, with more than 20 mental health charities showcasing their support in the community. There is also a Short Film Youth Competition part of MHFFS 2023.

The Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission (RTM) on November 3 won the Global Responsible Tourism Award 2023 for promoting sustainable and women-inclusive initiatives. The state won the award instituted by the Responsible Tourism Partnership and International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) in the ‘Best for Local Sourcing – Craft and Food’ category.

London-based ICRT selected the Kerala RTM as a joint winner along with Eswatini, the erstwhile Swaziland, a landlocked country in southern Africa, renowned for eco-friendly Ngwenya Glass.

Kerala’s RTM was selected for the award for linking women-led small and medium-sized enterprises  to tourism activities and ensuring effective marketing of indigenous products. The mission has been implementing women-friendly tourism projects in the state with the support of UN Women, the UN organisation dedicated to gender equality and women empowerment.

This is the second time Kerala RTM has bagged the Responsible Tourism Global Award, after its Water STREET project implemented in Maravanthuruthu in Kottayam district received the honour last year.

The Global Responsible Tourism Awards, which cater to Africa, India and Latin America regions, were given in six categories, including Best for Tackling Plastic Waste; Best for Meaningful Connections; Best for Local Sourcing – Craft and Food; Addressing Climate Change; Best for Diversity and Inclusion, and Best for Nature-Positive Tourism.