World

PC: Irish Kidney Association Maura Twomey, a 70-year-old former primary school teacher who lives in Boston, crossed California’s Catalina Channel on 17 August in an unofficial time of 15 hours, 45 minutes and 23 seconds, pending ratification. She became the oldest person to complete the crossing and earned the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming….

Representative Image of a circular bridge resembling a flying saucer, suspended above traffic, with cyclists and pedestrians crossing above ( AI Generrated Image) At a busy junction in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, cyclists ride around a circular bridge suspended above motor traffic. Known as the Hovenring, the structure resembles a flying saucer held aloft by a…

Green anacondas can remain difficult to spot in the western Amazon, even when they weigh 100 kg. A study of the snakes in Peru found that they were usually visible only when basking. When they were not basking, radio-tracked anacondas were almost always partly or completely concealed by fallen logs, leaf matter, submerged vegetation, fallen…

A small marble sculpture a family had kept on their piano for years, believing it to be a copy, has been confirmed as an authentic work by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The piece, called “Despair”, sold at auction in France on Monday for €860,000 (£725,000; $982,000). The 28.5cm (11 inches) figure dates from 1892…

Wilbur the pig went from wandering through a West Hollywood neighbourhood to becoming the unlikely focus of an adoption contest. After his appearance was captured on video and spread online, the pig was taken to the West L.A. Animal Shelter, where no owner came forward. Four people eventually expressed interest in adopting him, prompting a…

In 1929, Peter Pan author J. M. Barrie gave his rights to a London children’s hospital; 97 years later, the gift still supports seriously ill children (Image Credit: GOSH Hospital) A fictional boy who never wanted to grow up has helped support generations of seriously ill children in London. In 1929, Scottish author J. M….

James Patterson raised his 2015 school library donation to $1.75m, helping 467 US libraries (Image Credit: ALA) A flood of requests from schools revealed how badly many libraries needed support, prompting bestselling author James Patterson to increase a donation he had originally planned at $1.25 million. In March 2015, Patterson announced the pledge in partnership…

Rubber vine began its Australian story as a garden ornamental brought from Madagascar, and it has since become one of the country’s most troublesome weeds. Left unchecked, this glossy, trumpet-flowered climber can scramble up to 30 metres into tree canopies, blanket creek lines, smother the native vegetation beneath it, and form dense thickets. It also…

Jackie Chan’s appeal was simple: if fans could spare a dollar, he would match it and put both contributions towards building schools for children in remote parts of China. The “Build a School for a Dollar” project turned small gifts into a shared effort, inviting children and adults around the world to contribute whatever they…