Lifestyle

Oh rats! New York seeks 'bloodthirsty' rodent czar

If you are "somewhat bloodthirsty" and willing to consider "wholesale slaughter" of vermin then you might be the ideal candidate to become New York City's new rat czar.. But above all the successful candidate must possess "the drive, determination and killer instinct needed to fight the real enemy -- New York City's relentless rat population."

Algeria's Rai music makes UN cultural charts

Raucous, expressive and revolutionary: Algeria's Rai music took its place on the United Nations' list of intangible cultural heritage on Thursday.. "New inscription on the #IntangibleHeritage List: Rai, popular folk song of #Algeria," UN cultural agency UNESCO announced in a tweet.

Tunisia's spicy Harissa gets UNESCO heritage status

UNESCO on Thursday added Tunisia's spicy national condiment Harissa to its list of intangible cultural heritage, saying it was part of the North African country's identity.. The United Nations' cultural agency is meeting in Morocco to examine proposals for its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which aims to protect cultural traditions, practices and knowledge. 

Spiking costs, fading snow squeeze Austrian ski resorts

One of Austria's top ski resorts is making as much artificial snow as possible to lay a thick base on the slopes before its energy bills leap.. The soaring energy bills for Austria's famed ski resorts have translated into pricier tickets, but also shorter hours and reduced service.

Pride and pain in Albania's 'Little London'

In the town hall of Has, in Albania's mountainous northeast, the Union Jack flag has pride of place next to a framed photo of the late Queen Elizabeth II. It is an expression of gratitude towards the United Kingdom as the small town, dubbed 'Little London', owes everything to residents who left to find work across the Channel.. Meshi, a Has town hall employee, has two other children still living in London.

Sudan's Rastas fear new crackdown but vow to fight on

With his distinctive long dreadlocks and slouchy beanie, Abdallah Ahmed has always known his choice of lifestyle means trouble in Sudan, where long-oppressed Rastafarians say they are being targeted anew. . Rastafarianism considers former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie to be its Messiah, but like many followers in Sudan, Ahmed told AFP that he saw it "not as a religion" "It's a lifestyle, and it's me."

Virtue or signalling? World Cup protests get mixed reaction

Human rights protests at the World Cup have drawn everything from sympathy to indifference and outright hostility, with Qatar's critics often finding themselves in the firing line.. The highly charged, often offensive exchanges on social media follow a bad-tempered build-up to the World Cup, when European officials and media led criticism of Qatar's rights record.

Crunch UN biodiversity meeting seeks to save 'planet in crisis'

Delegates from nearly 200 countries meet in Montreal next week to hammer out a new global biodiversity deal to protect ecosystems and species from further human destruction.. Observers are hoping the COP15 biodiversity talks in Montreal will deliver a landmark deal to protect nature and reverse the damage humans have done to forests, wetlands, waterways and the millions of species that live in them. 

Hackers dump Australian health data online, declare 'case closed'

The hackers leaking stolen Australian health records to the dark web on Thursday appeared to end their extortion attempt by dumping a final batch of data online and declaring:"Case closed.". The first batches of stolen data started appearing on a dark web forum on November 9, in curated posts highlighting medical records about drug addiction, pregnancy terminations and sexually transmitted infections.