WideWorld BULLETIN 4

News in brief

Satellite to map ice loss

A NASA satellite is to record ice loss in detail. Research over recent years has shown a stark pattern in the thinning of global  ice – and the consequential rising of oceans – in parts of Greenland and Antarctica. Whilst this general pattern is clear, details are less so.

The Icesat satellite will use a laser altimeter to acquire high-resolution data that scientists can use to more accurately predict ice loss and rising sea levels around the globe.

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Endurance medals auctioned

Four Polar Medals have fetched £132,000 at auction. Frank Wild, CBE, is often heralded as the hero of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 trans-Antarctic Endurance expedition. After boarding the ship as second-in-command, Wild was left in charge as Shackleton and a smaller crew pursued a rescue mission.

The leadership and courage shown by Wild during his five months in charge caused the Royal Geographical Society to award the explorer four Polar Medals. Before their auction in London, the medals were expected to fetch around £60,000 – an estimate that was more than doubled.

Nature the naturist way

A new naturist hiking path is to open in Germany. The 18km route through the Harz mountains is not opening until next May but has already provoked quite a reaction.

Those in favour of the unusual addition to the European hiking scene are echoing route organizer, Heinz Ludwig, who claims that some naked walkers would enjoy “a special communion with the awakening seasons”. Ludwig’s enthusiasm is likely to be shared by the 50,000-strong German Society of Nudists. More modest travellers should take heed of ‘warning signs’ of nudists along the route.

Honeymoon tragedy

A newlywed Irishman died last week whilst honeymooning with his wife in Laos. The O'Sullivans were on a backpacking holiday in Asia when the pair went ‘tubing’ in northern Laos. ‘Tubing’ involves floating down rivers on tractor inner tubes, and is a popular activity in the region.

Their adventure went horribly wrong when the river was dangerously swollen due to heavy rain, separating the group of tourists on the trip. Mr O’Sullivan, 39, was the only individual out of the group of 20 not to be rescued, and his new wife found his body in the river three days later. 

Tourism literature for backpackers in the area heralds tubing as a must-do whilst in Laos, but warns that there have been fatalities and that a lifejacket should be worn at all times.