India's Modi government has increasingly used the restoration and conservation of ancient temples and cultural sites abroad as a pillar of its foreign policy and soft power, particularly in Asia. This approach aims to reinforce civilisational links and deepen diplomatic ties with partner countries.
Archaeologists have uncovered traces of an ancient sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon near Samikon in southern Greece. The site, hidden for over two millennia due to environmental changes, reveals an unusual two-room design and artifacts suggesting complex ritualistic use.
Guo Xiaoping, a former hospital director in Shanxi, China, founded the Red Ribbon Primary School in 2006. It is the only full-time school in China for children with HIV, providing education to those who contracted the virus at birth and often lost parents to AIDS.
Donald Trump's Doral resort in Miami reportedly increased room rates on days surrounding World Cup games hosted at nearby Hard Rock Stadium. Prices saw significant hikes on match days, raising ethical questions about the president's business benefiting from political events.
Nigerian biologist Iroro Tanshi rediscovered the short-tailed roundleaf bat, believed extinct since the 1970s, in Nigeria's Afi mountain wildlife sanctuary. Her work combats deforestation, hunting, and wildfires threatening bat populations.
Tens of thousands fled their homes in the Philippines following massive explosions from Mount Pinatubo on June 12, 1991. The eruptions sent ash plumes up to 25km into the sky, forcing residents like Theresita Santiago to evacuate.
Broughton Sanctuary estate in North Yorkshire is undergoing a major rewilding transformation with funding from Rebalance Earth. The project aims to restore natural habitats, increase biodiversity, and generate economic returns through nature credits.
Witchcraft retreats, like Isabella Ferrari's Green Veil in Ireland, are booming as women seek spiritual independence and community outside traditional institutions. Participants confront ancestral trauma, practice self-trust, and find solace from societal failures.
Layish, a lion abandoned by a circus in Mayenne, France, has been transferred to a sanctuary in South Africa. The animal, which lived in a cramped 3m² trailer, spent a year in a French refuge before One Voice association facilitated its move to a larger enclosure in South Africa.
The Trump administration plans to halt immigration and customs processing at airports in Democratic-run 'sanctuary cities', potentially disrupting travel and trade ahead of the FIFA World Cup, sparking warnings of severe economic harm from airlines, tourism groups, and some administration officials.
The U.S. travel industry is warning of "devastating consequences" after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to withdraw U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in "sanctuary cities." The move could jeopardize international flights and harm the economy, according to industry groups and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
A muntjac deer, nicknamed Lucy, was rescued from an escalator at a Marks & Spencer store in Norwich after getting trapped upside down. Sanctuary staff freed the deer, which sustained only a minor foot injury and is now recovering.
An adolescent great horned owl, found stuck in a concrete mixer in Utah, has been successfully treated and released. After a complex procedure to graft donor feathers, the owl can now fly silently and has returned to the wild.
A muntjac deer, nicknamed 'Lucky Lucy', was rescued from an escalator at a Marks & Spencer store in Norwich after becoming trapped between glass panels. Sanctuary staff freed the deer, which sustained only a minor foot injury.
Approximately 250,000 Catholic pilgrims converged on Portugal's Sanctuary of Fátima for the annual Mass of the Blessing of the Candles, commemorating the 1917 apparitions of the Virgin Mary, with devotional acts and nighttime processions.
Maya Higa, a Twitch streamer, delivered an official TED Talk, earning a standing ovation for her work in animal conservation through her Alveus Animal Sanctuary, which has raised over $7.5 million since 2019.
Maya Higa, Twitch streamer and founder of Alveus Sanctuary, delivered a TED Talk on wildlife conservation, highlighting how livestreaming can raise awareness and educate millions about wildlife, reaching a milestone as the first Twitch streamer on TED's main stage.
Sri Lanka's second international airport, built with Chinese loan funding near a wildlife sanctuary on the island's southern coast, has failed to generate revenue since opening in 2013. The airport, named after a former prime minister, has no regular flights and cannot cover its own electricity bills, straining state coffers. Analysts describe it as a vanity project that was sold based on proximity to Hambantota port, which has seen limited cruise traffic.
Christopher Harborne, a reclusive billionaire who also goes by the Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit, is the biggest donor to Nigel Farage's Reform UK, providing two-thirds of the party's funding. One of his donations was the largest single donation by a living donor to a British political party ever. Harborne owns the Kamalaya wellness sanctuary in Thailand where he spoke at a longevity event.
Forty years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the exclusion zone has become a thriving wildlife sanctuary. The absence of human activity has allowed animal populations to recover and adapt to chronic radiation, creating an invaluable site for ecological study.
A crypto tycoon is giving record-breaking amounts to Farage’s party. But little is known about his motivesShortly before Christmas 2022, Chakrit Sakunkrit, owner of the Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary on the Thai island of Koh Samui, invited 200 guests to spend a few days celebrating his 60th birthday. One sultry afternoon, Sakunkrit and a small group gathered around a table near the shore, surrounded by the burgundy foliage of Good Luck plants. To his right, dressed down in a polo shirt, sat Nigel Farage.Since Brexit marked the achievement of his life’s work three years earlier, Farage had fizzled. Even some of his supporters had pronounced him finished. Now, with the Conservatives in disarray after Liz Truss’s disastrous budget that September, Farage was hinting at a still more ambitious project: to make himself prime minister. Continue reading...
Pope Leo visited the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima in Angola, a site that served as a major hub in the slave trade during Portuguese colonial rule. The American pope recalled the "sorrow and great suffering" Angolans endured for centuries, addressing an estimated 30,000 gathered faithful. The church, built at the end of the 16th century as part of a fortress complex, was where enslaved Africans were baptized before being forced to walk over 110km to the port of Luanda for shipment to the Americas. He did not refer specifically to slavery in his remarks.
