Author: admin@primenews

In the misty mountains of Alishan in central Taiwan, there is a flower that is said to be a gateway to the gods. The Dendrobium orchid, or golden grass orchid, grows in clumps of between 10 and 20 on glossy green canes. A yellow flower with a velvety orange-fringed centre, it is beautiful but odourless. To the indigenous Tsou people, it is known simply as the God Flower. “My tribe has to have the God Flower for our ceremonies. Otherwise, God won’t be able to find us,” says tribal elder Gao Desheng. It was once found in abundance, flowering outside…

Two men have been arrested in France after allegedly scamming elderly people into paying thousands of euros for bedbug treatment they did not need. Police in Strasbourg said the men would go to their victims’ homes, carry out phoney control services and then overcharge for treatment products. They added that 48 people had been scammed altogether, many of them women over 90. Recent months have seen a rise in bedbug infestations across France. The issue has sparked concern across the country, with senior government officials working on measures to address it. Entomologists and health experts have warned that the outbreak has also…

Long before climate change became a buzzword, an Indian woman was fighting the odds to make devices that would help people understand the environment better. But Anna Mani – one of the world’s most prominent weather scientists – remains an unfamiliar figure to many in her home country. Born in 1918 in Travancore, a former princely state that’s now part of the southern state of Kerala, Mani is best known for helping India make its own instruments to measure the weather, thereby reducing the newly independent country’s reliance on other nations. But she also played an important role in making…

An Australian man has died after being buried in sand on a beach, authorities say. Josh Taylor was at a beach campground on Queensland’s Bribie Island on Saturday when he fell into a hole that had been reportedly dug to roast a pig. Mr Taylor, 23, was airlifted to hospital shortly after the incident but succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. Authorities are still investigating the circumstances that led to his death. Queensland Police said in a statement there “may be numerous people who were present and are yet to speak with police”. Mr Taylor was with friends on Bribie…

A major University of Pennsylvania donor has withdrawn a $100m (£79.3m) grant after a controversial appearance in congress by the school’s president. President Elizabeth Magill met representatives alongside Harvard President Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth of MIT on Tuesday. But they caused anger after avoiding questions on how students calling for the genocide of Jews would be punished. The donor, Ross Stevens, said he was “appalled” by her stance. US college campuses have seen angry protests since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted two months ago. In an email, seen by the BBC, Mr Stevens said: “I have clear…

Elon Musk has said Disney boss Bob Iger should be “fired immediately” after the company stopped advertising on X. “Walt Disney is turning in his grave over what Bob has done to his company,” Mr Musk said in a series of posts against the media giant. It comes just a week after he told companies that joined an ad boycott of his platform, formerly known as Twitter, to “Go [expletive] yourself”. Some firms have paused advertising on X amid concerns over antisemitism. Disney did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on Friday. Mr Iger made a shock return…

A cyclone which barrelled through India’s southern coast earlier this week has left Chennai city waterlogged and struggling to return to normalcy. Authorities are trying to clear out rainwater from homes and streets in the city’s suburbs. Some residents say they are unable to access basic necessities and are experiencing frequent power outages. At least 18 people have died in Tamil Nadu state – of which Chennai is the capital – in rain-related incidents. The cyclone made landfall on Tuesday in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state – a child was killed and heavy crop damage was reported there before the cyclone weakened into…

It’s all rather surreal. I’m sitting in a 19th Century St Petersburg mansion. Lying on the floor by my chair is Winston Churchill. He is fast asleep… and he is snoring. “Maybe if you wake him up from time to time it’s good.” This piece of advice comes from Austria’s former Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl who’s sitting opposite me. Winston Churchill is her boxer dog. A few months ago they moved to Russia, along with Ms Kneissl’s cat and ponies. “We once had a little diplomatic incident with his snoring,” she recalls. “I had a telephone conversation with my German…

“You can cry here,” the sign reads in pale blue lettering on a clean white background. Beyond it, comfortable sofas piled with cushions are screened off from the rest of the room. It’s a safe, private corner where survivors of the Nova music festival can be with others who went through the same ordeal on 7 October, and get the mental health support many of them desperately need. More than 360 young partygoers were shot, beaten or burnt to death by Hamas attackers, who stormed the festival site near the Israel-Gaza perimeter fence early that morning. Another 40 were taken…

Huang Yicheng was scrolling through his social media feeds after a long day’s work on 26 November 2022 when videos of crowds gathering along Shanghai’s Urumqi Road caught his eye. Holding candles they mourned the victims of a recent apartment fire in the north-western city of Urumqi. Many believe they couldn’t escape due to strict Covid-19 restrictions, but Chinese authorities dispute this. The protesters also held up blank white sheets, which they said symbolised “everything we want to say but cannot say”. The vigil in Shanghai quickly turned into a rare protest as people began shouting for China’s leader Xi Jinping to step…