About 14 storeys beneath the bustling city of Tokyo, or 42 m underground, lies a cavern of tunnels and vaults that temporarily stores swelling rainwater to prevent flooding above ground. Under a 6.6 trillion yen (S$66 billion) plan, the capital of Japan is planning to strengthen its resilience against flooding, alongside plans to raise coastal sea walls and river embankments. The city started out building conventional in-ground reservoirs after land scarcity and sky-high land prices drove urban planners to dig deep. The current system of 28 so-called “regulating reservoirs”, with a cap
Teenage cyclist Liam Garner, over the course of nearly one and a half years, rode through 14 countries, covering more than 32,000 km in the journey of a lifetime. Hailing from Long Beach, California, Garner believes he is the youngest person to have completed the feat of cycling through the Americas from Alaska to Argentina. “I always felt pretty much my entire life that I wanted to do or needed to do some big adventure,” he said in an interview. Garner set off on his journey on August 1, 2021, from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States accessible by road.
Vienna's Leopold Museum, under an initiative called A Few Degrees More has tilted 15 paintings by the number of degrees unchecked climate change could affect the landscapes depicted. Developed together with the research network Climate Change Center Austria, the action runs until late June. The initiative comes after climate activists poured black liquid over a glass screen protecting a Klimt piece at the museum. “We want to contribute to raise awareness of the dramatic consequences of the climate crisis,” said Leopold Museum Director Hans-Peter Wipplinger. Paintings by Klimt, Schie
The Director of Aviation in the United Kingdom’s department of transport has lauded India on the number of female pilots and the implementation of Digi Yatra. Rannia Leontaridi, the Director of Aviation and Director General of Civil Aviation (UK), was sharing her views on March 22 on ‘designing a future-proof aviation & airports system’ at the CAPA India Aviation Summit 2023 in New Delhi. Digi Yatra app links a traveller’s boarding pass to a facial recognition system that confirms their identification. It was developed by the Digi Yatra Foundation and the Ministry of Civil A
A geologist of Federal University of Parana, Fernanda Avelar Santos and her team have discovered rocks made from plastic debris on Brazil’s Trindade island. Melted plastic has become intertwined with rocks on the island. “This is new and terrifying at the same time, because pollution has reached geology,” Santos said. Trindade Island, a remote volcanic outcrop a three to four-day boat trip off the coast of Brazil, is best known as a nesting site for green turtles. On the island, the researchers have discovered a new kind of igneous rock, plastistone, formed almost completely from pla
Hyderabad’s L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) has been ranked 8th globally in the area of Ophthalmology (Health category) for 2023 by Scimago agency, a Spanish global ranking organisation. The ranking is based on research, technology innovation and social impact of the research output. The institute has been listed with reputed institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Harvard University, Moorfields of London in the top 10 list. The LVPEI is the first Indian medical institute to find a place in the top rankings in the field of research productivity. Scimago Agency analysed data for the past
Participants of an international donor conference in Brussels raised €7 billion ($7.5 billion) for the victims of the earthquakes on February 6 in Turkey and Syria. The massive earthquakes killed more than 57,300 people. The “Together for the people of Turkey and Syria” conference was hosted by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson on March 20. Over 60 delegations met in Brussels to mobilise support for the people affected by the massive earthquakes. A total of 6.05 billion euros will be provided in the form of gr
New York remains the most expensive business trip destination in the world in 2022, as a post-pandemic surge in business travel and tourism increased the cost by 8% from the previous year. The city cost business travellers $796 per day, says the consulting firm ECA International, which considered four-star hotels, meals, taxis, drinks and incidentals as part of its survey. The US dominated the overall ranking of the most expensive cities for business travel globally, with Washington DC and San Francisco both making the top five. Switzerland is home to the two most expensive business hubs o
Marking the beginning of the new tourist season in the Kashmir Valley, Asia’s largest tulip garden overlooking the world-famous Dal Lake has opened for tourists, with around 1.6 million tulips of 68 varieties set to enthrall visitors this year. The Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden is located between Dal Lake and the Zabarwan hills in Srinagar. It has over 15 lakh tulips of various colours and hues. Besides tulips, the garden has other spring flowers, such as hyacinths, daffodils, muscari and cyclamens, on display. The Floriculture Department of the garden plants the tulip bulbs in a phas
For the first time since the pandemic, people in Japan can have picnics under cherry blossom trees. Japan’s cherry blossom season draws huge crowds of residents and tourists. The peak season of the blossom is from late March to early April. In 2020, the Tokyo government asked people to refrain from eating and drinking alcohol in metropolitan parks due to concerns that this could add to COVID-19 infections. Now, city parks such as Ueno Park and Inokashira Park are open to welcome visitors to enjoy the full floral glory of the sakura (cherry blossom) after four years. Since Ma