A new study finds that the chemicals from sunscreen that we use to protect our skin are also killing coral reefs worldwide.
Four commonly found sunscreen ingredients can awaken dormant viruses in the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that live inside reef-building coral species.
The chemicals cause the viruses to replicate until their algae hosts explode, spilling viruses into the surrounding seawater, where they can infect neighboring coral communities.
Zooxanthellae provide coral with food energy through photosynthesis and contribute to the organisms’ vibrant color. Without them, the coral “bleaches”… turns white… and dies.
Think twice before applying sunscreen on the next beach visit? [Nationalgeographic]
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has joined military training with the Danish Home Guard.
Princess Mary in military training (Image courtesy of
Kronprinsparret and Steen Brogaard)
Mary, who will celebrate her 36th birthday next month, is following in the footsteps of her husband, heir to the Danish throne Crown Prince Frederik, who has undergone extensive military training.
Frederik, 39, has trained in all three services and remains active in Denmark’s defence force. He is a commander, senior grade, in the navy; a lieutenant colonel in the army and a lieutenant colonel in the air force.
When Mary’s basic training is completed she will be attached to the Army Home Guard in Copenhagen. The weapon she is seen with in the photos is the standard weapon of the Danish Army and Home Guard, an M95 with scope which she will learn how to use, strip and clean.
[SMH and Danish Royal Watchers]
Graziano Cecchini, the guerilla artist who infamously turned Trevi Fountain into a red pool last October, has stroked again.
Cecchini released half a million of coloured plastic balls from the top of the Spanish Steps in Rome on Wednesday (Jan 16)… a prank similar to the famous Sony Bravia commercial.
Cecchini said that he had done the stunt to raise the profile of Burma and the Karen people. He and his three other ‘compatriots’ are later arrested.
The Karen is a minority who have fought for an independent state since 1949, and accuse the military junta of ethnic cleansing. [BBC]
The inhabitants of the San Bartolomé de Pinares village in Spain performed the traditional Luminares fiesta on the eve (Jan 16) of Saint Anthony’s Day.
The riders rode horses through fire in honour of St Anthony, the patron saint of animals…
Some gutsy fellas and amazing horses… (Image courtesy of
Xinhuanet)
The 5th Simitli’s Festival of Masquerade Games was held on Jan 12, with 1500 participants parading in different kind of masks.
Masquerade games are popular in Bulgaria and the Balkan region, with people celebrating (and competing) the events in ancient Thracians (and other cultural) costumes. The largest event of its kind is The International Festival of Masquerade Games, which is held in the town of Pernik every even year in January.
Simitli is a small village at the south of Pernik; their masquerade games is relatively new and smaller than Pernik but gaining popularity for its more funky and bizarre masks and costumes.
Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber to scale the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, has died aged 88.
Sir Edmund’s health had reportedly been in decline since April, when he suffered a fall while visiting Nepal.
He was the first man to climb the 8,850m (29,035ft) peak, with Tenzing Norgay, on 29 May 1953. [BBC]
A 16-year-old boy scout in the Maldives who has been hailed a hero for saving the president’s life has said that he acted “out of instinct”.
Mohammed Jaisham Ibrahim injured his hand while thwarting a man who tried to knife President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the north of the islands on Monday.
“It all happened so quickly I didn’t have time to think about it,” he said.
The attacker lunged at the president after he had got off a boat during a visit in the north of the archipelago. [BBC]
Everyone would act out of instinct under that circumstance… some would instinctively run away from the attacker, a few would act like the boy to save the president. He is a hero regardless.
The owner of a German company is being sued for unfair dismissal – after he fired three non-smoking workers and replaced them with smokers who ‘fitted in better’. [Metro]
They were sacked on the grounds that they would ‘interfere with corporate peace’, after they requested a smoke-free environment.
Thomas Jensen, the manager of the 10-person IT company in Buesum, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper he had fired the trio because their non-smoking was causing disruptions.
Germany introduced non-smoking rules in pubs and restaurants on Jan. 1, but Germans working in small offices are still allowed to smoke.
“I can’t be bothered with trouble-makers,” Thomas was quoted saying.
“We’re on the phone all the time and it’s just easier to work while smoking. Everyone picks on smokers these days. It’s time for revenge. I’m only going to hire smokers from now on.”
