places

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15 December 2018
Trump's surprise visit to Arlington in the rain
On Saturday, Trump arrived around 2.15pm at Arlington National Cemetery unannounced for wreath laying, which decorates the graves of fallen troops for Christmas.

19 December 2018
independent.co.uk Trump orders full and immediate withdrawal of US troops from Syria
The US has more than 2,000 troops in Syria. US officials said on Wednesday that a full withdrawal had been requested by Mr Trump. One official told Reuters that the pullout could take up to 100 days. Shortly after news of the plans emerged, the president appeared to tweet confirmation.

*update*
21 December 2018
BBC Trump to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan
The Trump administration is planning to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan, US media say. Reports, citing unnamed officials, say about 7,000 troops - roughly half the remaining US military presence in the country - could go home within months. The reports come a day after the president announced the country's military withdrawal from Syria.

24 December 2018  read more »

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Survivors' story: Jeff Evans' Home Survived Camp Fire Nov 8 2018
"I inherited 11 dogs... my world changed pretty dramatically. I can't leave with 11 dogs. So I stayed here" in the Evacuation Zone.
59-year-old Jeff Evans and his parents, who live with him, told me his house survived unscathed, but his neighbors were not so lucky.
The Camp Fire in Northern California incinerated entire towns. More than 13,000 single-family homes were destroyed in the blaze.

California Camp Fire ravages town of Paradise, destroying more than 6,500 structures
Homes destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.
Trees survived.

Fierce winds picked up in the Sierra foothills that morning, fueling the most destructive fire in California history, which has burned nearly 10,000 homes, killed at least 71 people and left more than 1,000 unaccounted for.

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Photo courtesy NPR and Newsweek

“Poet's Pacific paradise: Pablo Neruda’s homes in Chile”

“There's a little bit of traffic”

Photo courtesy @ThisisChile.cl (via @guardian) and @ThisisChile.cl (via el_jose_patagonia | IG)

“The path that everyone wants to discover”

“There is art in nature”

Photo courtesy @ThisisChile.cl (via heather.photog | IG) and @ThisisChile.cl (via alex_pinilla_photos | IG)

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Stiftsbibliothek Kremsmu¨nster, Kremsmu¨nster, Austria
This monastery library was built between 1680 and 1689 and contains about 160,000 volumes

Biblioteca Statale Oratoriana dei Girolamini, Naples, Italy
The oldest library in Naples which has been open to the public since 1566

Real Gabinete Portugue^s de Leitura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This institution was founded in 1837 by a group of Portuguese immigrants to promote culture amongst the Portuguese community

Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland
The oldest library in Switzerland is also one of the earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world

Strahovska´ Knihovna, Prague, Czech Republic
The library boasts two grand baroque halls but visitors are unable to go inside them: it was found that fluctuations in humidity could affect the paintings

In a new Taschen book, the Italian photographer Massimo Listri travels around the world to some of the oldest libraries, revealing a treasure trove of unique and imaginative architecture  read more »

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The most difficult Wi-Fi password ever! Chinese university makes students answer calculus question to unlock internet access
Students at the elite Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics are asked to solve a complex calculus question before they could access the protected network. 'Wi-Fi password is the first eight digits of the math problem below,' the sign indicated in Chinese.

Ji jun, deputy director of the university's food administration department, told Beijing News that it is a basic question in further maths. 'If a student can't solve it, he/she should really study harder,' she said. 'Don't use the Internet!' The school decided to come up with the question to let pupils have fun with mathematics and to remind first-year students to study hard, she added.

One student told reporters that if a a person has practiced enough, you should be able to solve the equation in 30 seconds. Some posted images of their answers online, completed with steps showing their work. The answer - which is a familiar number to many - is actually 31415926, or pi.

Thai restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, created a brilliant way to make sure that nobody camped out at their restaurant for free Wi-Fi, but still gave its customers the ability to log on to their network. If they're a super math nerd, that is.

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Photo courtesy Weibo / Nanhang Dining Hall

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As the sun rises through the mist, a pair of swans and their seven cygnets glide majestically along in a scene that evokes the end of the hottest summer on record.
The stunning photograph was taken by James MacDonald on his smartphone when he spotted the birds’ stately, single file procession during a morning run in Bushy Park, south-west London.

Mr MacDonald, 40, a mapmaker for DK Travel guides who lives near the park, said: ‘They were on the move along an inlet from a small pond to a larger lake. I’d seen swans with their young in the park earlier in the year, when the parents are still very protective and won’t let you get near, so it was nice to be able to get close enough to take a picture of these now they are bigger.’

Richard Martin-Barton, of forecasters MeteoGroup, said: ‘It will feel a little bit Mediterranean, thanks to slightly warmer air moving in from Northern Spain. But it’s going to be a case of enjoy it while you can if you live in south-east England because – by the middle of next week – they will see the cooler, wetter conditions the rest of the country will be having.’

Emmy-winning 'Born To Explore' shares passion for adventure
Richard Wiese travels to Windsor, England to participate in a swan rescue for an episode of the Westport-produced travel program, "Born To Explore." The program, which airs Saturdays on ABC, recently took home an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Photography.  read more »