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“I lost all ability to fly the plane”: Pilot's shock claim after plane drops mid-flight

<p>At least 50 passengers have been injured with a dozen hospitalised after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner suddenly plunged about two hours into the flight from Sydney to Auckland on Monday. </p> <p>LATAM Airlines said that the plane experienced an unspecified "technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement." </p> <p>Passengers on board the flight have recalled the terrifying moment the plane took a nose-dive mid-flight. </p> <p>"The plane dipped so dramatically into a nose dive for a couple of seconds and around 30 people hit the ceiling hard," Daniel, who was travelling from London, told the <em>NZ Herald</em>. </p> <p>“None of us knew what had happened until after the flight, I was just trying to keep everyone calm. We never heard any announcement from the captain." </p> <p>He added that passengers were screaming and it was hard to tell whether blood or red wine was splattered through the cabin. </p> <p>Another passenger, Brian Jokat, told broadcaster <em>RNZ t</em>hat the incident took place in "split seconds". </p> <p>"There was no pre-turbulence, we were just sailing smoothly the whole way,” he said. </p> <p>“I had just dozed off and I luckily had my seatbelt on, and all of a sudden the plane just dropped. It wasn’t one of those things where you hit turbulence and you drop a few times … we just dropped.”</p> <p>He added that a passenger two seats away from him, who was not wearing his seatbelt, flew up into the ceiling and was suspended mid-air before he fell and broke his ribs. </p> <p>“I thought I was dreaming,” he said. “I opened my eyes and he was on the roof of the plane on his back, looking down on me. It was like <em>The Exorcist</em>.”</p> <p>Paramedics and more than 10 emergency vehicles were waiting for passengers when the plane landed in Auckland. </p> <p>Around 50 patients were treated, with 12 of them hospitalised and one in serious condition. </p> <p>At least three of those treated were cabin crew. </p> <p>Jokat told <em>RNZ </em>that after the plane landed, the pilot came to the back and explained what had happened. </p> <p>"He said to me, ‘I lost my instrumentation briefly and then it just came back all of a sudden,’” Jokat said.</p> <p>In another interview with <em>Stuff.co.nz</em>, Jokat recalled the pilot also saying: “My gauges just blanked out, I lost all of my ability to fly the plane.” </p> <p>The airline's final destination was Santiago, Chile, but it was landing at Auckland Airport in accordance with its normal flight path, according to <em>Reuters</em>. </p> <p>"LATAM regrets the inconvenience and injury this situation may have caused its passengers, and reiterates its commitment to safety as a priority within the framework of its operational standards," the airline said.  </p> <p><em>Images: Brian Jokat/ News.com.au</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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The art of ‘getting lost’: how re-discovering your city can be an antidote to capitalism

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-dobson-1093706">Stephen Dobson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a></em></p> <p>Do you remember what it was like to discover the magic of a city for the first time? Do you remember the noises, smells, flashing lights and pulsating crowds? Or do you mostly remember cities through the screen of your phone?</p> <p>In 1967, French philosopher and filmmaker Guy Debord <a href="https://files.libcom.org/files/The%20Society%20of%20the%20Spectacle%20Annotated%20Edition.pdf">publicised the need</a> to move away from living our lives as bystanders continually tempted by the power of images. Today, we might see this in a young person flicking from one TikTok to the next – echoing the hold images have on us. But adults aren’t adverse to this window-shopping experience, either.</p> <p>Debord notes we have a tendency to observe rather than engage. And this is to our detriment. Continually topping-up our image consumption leaves no space for the unplanned – the reveries to break the pattern of an ordered life.</p> <p>Debord was a member of a group called the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Situationist-International">Situationist International</a>, dedicated to new ways we could reflect upon and experience our cities. Active for about 15 years, they believed we should experience our cities as an act of resistance, in direct opposition to the (profit-motivated) capitalistic structures that demand our attention and productivity every waking hour.</p> <p>More than 50 years since the group dissolved, the Situationists’ philosophy points us to a continued need to attune ourselves – through our thoughts and senses – to the world we live in. We might consider them as early eco-warriors. And through better understanding their philosophy, we can develop a new relationship with our cities today.</p> <h2>Understanding the ‘situation’</h2> <p>The Situationist International movement was <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183p61x">formed</a> in 1957 in Cosio di Arroscia, Italy, and became active in several European countries. It brought together radical artists inspired by spontaneity, experimentalism, intellectualism, protest and hedonism. Central figures included Danish artist <a href="https://museumjorn.dk/en/">Asger Jorn</a>, French novelist <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/author/michele-bernstein-10219/">Michèle Bernstein</a> and Italian musician and composer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Olmo">Walter Olmo</a>.</p> <p>The Situationists were driven by a <a href="https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/34141">libertarian form of Marxism</a> that resisted mass consumerism. One of the group’s early terms was “unitary urbanism”, which sought to join avant-garde art with the critique of mass production and technology. They rejected “urbanism’s” conventional emphasis on function, and instead thought about art and the environment as inexorably interrelated.</p> <p>By rebelling against the invasiveness of consumption, the Situationists proposed a turn towards artistically-inspired individuality and creativity.</p> <h2>Think on your own two feet</h2> <p>According to the 1960 <a href="https://hts3.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/situationist-international-manifesto.pdf">Situationist Manifesto</a> we are all to be artists of our own “situations”, crafting independent identities as we stand on our own two feet. They believed this could be achieved, in part, through “<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/psychogeography#:%7E:text=Psychogeography%20describes%20the%20effect%20of,emotions%20and%20behaviour%20of%20individuals">psychogeography</a>”: the idea that geographical locations exert a unique psychological effect on us.</p> <p>For instance, when you walk down a street, the architecture around you may be deliberately designed to encourage a certain kind of experience. Crossing a vibrant city square on a sunny morning evokes joy and a feeling of connection with others. There’s also usually a public event taking place.</p> <p>The Situationists valued drift, or <em>dérive</em> in French. This alludes to unplanned movement through a landscape during journeys on foot. By drifting aimlessly, we unintentionally redefine the traditional rules imposed by private or public land owners and property developers. We make ourselves open to the new unexpected and, in doing so, are liberated from the shackles of everyday routine.</p> <p>In <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-10-8100-2">our research</a>, my colleagues and I consider cities as places in which “getting lost” means exposing yourself to discovering the new and taken-for-granted.</p> <h2>Forge your own path</h2> <p>By understanding the Situationists – by looking away from our phones and allowing ourselves to get lost – we can rediscover our cities. We can see them for what they are beneath the blankets of posters, billboards and advertisements. How might we take back the image and make it work for us?</p> <p>The practise of geo-tagging images on social media, and sharing our location with others, could be considered close to the spirit of the Situationists. Although it’s often met with claims of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/when-why-not-to-use-geotagging-overtourism-security">over-fuelling tourism</a> (especially regarding idyllic or otherwise protected sites), geo-tagging could <a href="https://www.melaninbasecamp.com/trip-reports/2019/5/1/five-reasons-why-you-should-keep-geotagging">inspire us</a> to actively seek out new places through visiting the source of an image.</p> <p>This could lead to culturally respectful engagement, and new-found respect for the rights of traditional custodians as we experience their lands in real life, rather than just through images on our phones.</p> <p>Then there are uniquely personal and anarchistic forms of resistance, wherein we can learn about the world around us by interweaving ourselves with our histories. In doing so we offer a new meaning to a historical message, and a new purpose. The Situationists called this process <em><a href="https://www.theartstory.org/movement/situationist-international/">détournement</a></em>, or hijacking.</p> <p>For instance, from my grandfather I inherited a biscuit tin of black and white photographs I believe were taken in the 1960s. They showed images of parks and wildlife, perhaps even of the same park, and cityscapes of London with people, streets and buildings.</p> <p>I have spent many hours wandering the London streets tracking down the exact places these images were snapped. I was juxtaposing past with present, and experiencing both continuity and change in the dialogues I had with my grandfather. In this way, I used images to augment (rather than replace) my lived experience of the material world.</p> <p>Urban art installations can also be examples of detournment as they make us re-think everyday conceptions. <a href="https://www.cityartsydney.com.au/artwork/forgotten-songs/">Forgotten Songs</a> by Michael Hill is one such example. A canopy of empty birdcages commemorates the songs of 50 different birds once heard in central Sydney, but which are now lost due to habitat removal as a result of urban development.</p> <p>There are also a number of groups, often with a strong environmental or civic rights focus, that partake in detournment. <a href="https://popularresistance.org/dancing-revolution-how-90s-protests-used-rave-culture-to-reclaim-the-streets/">Reclaim the Streets</a> is a movement with a long history in Australia. The group advocates for communities having ownership of and agency within public spaces. They may, for instance, “invade” a highway to throw a “<a href="https://pasttenseblog.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/road-rave.pdf">road rave</a>” as an act of reclamation.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bUL0C_T-Sqk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=999" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>As French avant-garde philosopher <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/07/24/the-poetics-of-reverie-gaston-bachelard/">Gaston Bachelard</a> might have put it, when we’re bombarded by images there is no space left to daydream. We lose the opportunity to explore and question the world capitalism serves us through images.</p> <p>Perhaps now is a good time to set down the phone and follow in the Situationists’ footsteps. <!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221606/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-dobson-1093706"><em>Stephen Dobson</em></a><em>, Professor and Dean of Education and the Arts, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-art-of-getting-lost-how-re-discovering-your-city-can-be-an-antidote-to-capitalism-221606">original article</a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

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"They lost it": Margot Robbie's surprise encounter with Barbie fans

<p>Margot Robbie has recalled a sweet story about when she overheard a group of men talking about the <em>Barbie</em> movie, before giving them the surprise of their life. </p> <p>At a screening of the <em>Barbie</em> movie in Los Angeles, the Aussie actress told the audience of the heartwarming moment she encountered in Scotland, shortly after the film's release last July. </p> <p>At the SAG-AFTRA screening of the blockbuster movie, Robbie began, “I had this brilliant experience.”</p> <p>“I was in a pub in the middle of nowhere in Scotland and I listened for about 30 minutes to a group of guys on a bachelor party discussing the <em>Barbie</em> movie, not knowing that I was sitting two or three feet away from them.”</p> <p>Robbie continued, “It was just truly fascinating. There were people at the table who refused to see the <em>Barbie</em> movie."</p> <p>“One guy was like, ‘Dude, it is a cultural moment, don’t you want to be a part of culture?’ And the other guy was like, ‘I’ll never see it,’ and by the end he did want to see it. It was a whole thing."</p> <p>“I wasn’t going to go up to them, but then I did.”</p> <p>Before leaving the pub, Robbie casually waltzed up to the group of men who “lost it” when they discovered Barbie herself had overheard their conversation.</p> <p>“At the last minute as I was walking out I went to their table and I went ‘Thank you for seeing the <em>Barbie</em> movie’,” she added.</p> <p>“It was very funny, they lost it. It took a full minute for them to realise and I was practically out the door and they went ‘Ohhhh’.</p> <p>“People’s reactions to the movie have been the biggest reward of this entire experience.”</p> <p>The heartwarming story comes fresh on the heels of Margot being <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/entertainment/movies/margot-robbie-snubbed-as-oscar-nominations-announced" target="_blank" rel="noopener">snubbed</a> for a Best Actress nomination at this year's Oscars for the <em>Barbie</em> movie, which caused an uproar on social media. </p> <p>Margot addressed the snub at the LA screening, saying there's “no way to feel sad when you’re this blessed.”</p> <p>“Obviously, I think Greta should be nominated as a director,” she added.</p> <p>“What she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing. What she pulled off, it really is."</p> <p>“We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact. And it’s already done that and some, way more than we ever dreamt it would. And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p>

Movies

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The enduring appeal of Friends, and why so many of us feel we’ve lost a personal friend in Matthew Perry

<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-gerace-325968">Adam Gerace</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a></em></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/world/friends-star-matthew-perry-dies-aged-54/cloatn0ae00ea0jqbpdz0h8td">death of Matthew Perry</a>, best known for his role as Chandler Bing in the television series Friends, has seen an outpouring of grief from fans and the Hollywood community.</p> <p>His passing at age 54 has shocked both those who admired his acting work, as well as those who followed his efforts to bring awareness to <a href="https://people.com/tv/matthew-perry-opens-up-about-addiction-new-memoir/">the pains of addiction</a>.</p> <p>Tributes to Perry have understandably focused on his star-making turn on the incredibly popular television sitcom. Scenes, catchphrases, and his character’s lines have been lovingly repurposed across the internet to memorialise the gifted actor.</p> <p>Meanwhile, many viewers have situated their <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/friends-fans-mourn-matthew-perry-new-york-apartment-1235772520/">recollections</a> of Perry and the series within the context of their own experiences.</p> <p>Viewers who came of age, or were the characters’ ages during the show’s original run, have reminisced about what the work of Perry and his co-stars meant to them at formative times in their lives. Newer viewers have similarly shared how important the series has been to them – their relationship with the show often beginning long after production ended.</p> <p>For many, Friends was the television equivalent of the soundtrack to their lives.</p> <p>To appreciate the staying power of the series for original and <a href="https://www.etonline.com/streaming-friends-how-a-90s-sitcom-became-gen-zs-new-favorite-show-132624">newer viewers alike</a> almost 30 years since it debuted, we need to consider what functions television viewing serves and the bonds we form with its characters.</p> <h2>Enduring appeal</h2> <p>Part of Friends’ popularity lies in its timing. The show premiered in 1994, a period when network television was still dominant. By its end a decade later, while the power of the big television networks had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08838150701820924">eroded</a>, the series had maintained <a href="https://www.ratingsryan.com/2022/09/friends-nbc-ratings-recap.html">an average</a> of more than 20 million viewers each season.</p> <p>The 2004 finale brought in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/08/arts/friends-finale-s-audience-is-the-fourth-biggest-ever.html">record-breaking</a> 52.5 million viewers in the United States. The series then entered repeats around the world. It hasn’t left our screens since.</p> <p>The late 90s and early 2000s have sometimes been referred to as the end of monoculture. While a <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/12/17/21024439/monoculture-algorithm-netflix-spotify">contested and controversial idea</a> because of, among other concerns, who was included and excluded on our screens, monoculture meant we watched <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/bestmusic2012/2012/12/21/167836852/the-year-in-pop-charts-return-of-the-monoculture">many of the same things</a>.</p> <p>One of the most popular shows of its era, Friends brought people together. It was a show we watched with our families or friends, spoke about the next day with colleagues, and it provided a common connection. It allowed bonding with real friends as much as fictional ones.</p> <p>Friends did not only reflect style of the time; it also frequently created it. Jennifer Aniston’s haircut, coined “<a href="https://www.bustle.com/style/the-rachel-haircut">The Rachel</a>”, or Perry’s lovable smart-alecky cadence, typified with Chandler’s catchphrase of “Could I <em>be</em> any more…”, were endlessly imitated. I know I attempted to replicate Chandler’s <a href="https://www.gq.com.au/style/celebrity/unexpectedly-great-fashion-inspiration-courtesy-of-friends/image-gallery/f55ac75cc180e31c462525da961295fc">sweater vests</a> and light blue denim look. Participation provided viewers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00866.x">a sense</a> of identity.</p> <p>As people enter their 30s and 40s, they often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208595">gravitate</a> towards the memories made during their formative adolescent and young adult years. So perhaps it’s no surprise Friends endures for original viewers as it represents – and was a part of – their lives at this important time.</p> <h2>Likeable characters</h2> <p>Television and other fictional media meet our needs for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01368.x">both</a> pleasure and extracting meaning. We get excited, entertained and moved by television.</p> <p>As part of this, we bond with fictional characters. We cannot help but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327825MCS0403_01">empathise</a> with them. A series like Friends with its characters and their combinations of breakups, makeups and other mishaps allowed us to safely use our empathy muscles to cheer on and sometimes commiserate with the group of six. It helped that each character was flawed but inherently likeable.</p> <p>Fictional characters also allow us to <a href="https://theconversation.com/neighbours-vs-friends-we-found-out-which-beloved-show-fans-mourned-more-when-it-ended-212843">experience lifestyles</a> we might not otherwise. In the case of Friends, who didn’t want to live in a rent-controlled apartment like Monica’s, or regularly meet their supportive and funny pals for coffee at Central Perk? As a teen, I imagined such a world for myself in the not-too-distant future.</p> <p>Younger generations might be more aware of how out-of-reach that lifestyle was, or find the show’s <a href="https://ew.com/tv/jennifer-aniston-friends-offensive-new-generation/">humour sometimes dated</a>. But the idea of what the friends’ lifestyle represented – possibility, freedom, a chosen family – evidently still holds appeal.</p> <h2>Fictional relationships, but real sadness</h2> <p>In forming relationships with fictional characters, we form bonds with the performers who bring them to life. The lines between character and creator become blurry, both because of the knowledge about actors’ lives celebrity culture affords us, but also because their characters seem so real. When the actors pass away, we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.042">feel real grief</a>.</p> <p>It’s important for fans of Matthew Perry to <a href="https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/why-with-all-the-sht-happening-in-the-world-its-still-okay-to-grieve-a-celebritys-death/">acknowledge</a> their loss. Even though his character is fictional, and you didn’t know him personally, you can still feel sad. Watching the series may be difficult right now. With time, it will become easier.</p> <p>Matthew Perry wanted <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/matthew-perry-death-addiction-alcoholism-drugs-b2437980.html">his legacy</a> to be awareness of addiction and the help he provided to people struggling with this disorder. Hopefully what will be felt now, alongside collective sadness, is an empathy for those facing addiction. That may be the power of television, and of a character named Chandler, and the actor who brought him to life, who many considered their friend.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216626/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-gerace-325968"><em>Adam Gerace</em></a><em>, Senior Lecturer and Head of Course - Positive Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-enduring-appeal-of-friends-and-why-so-many-of-us-feel-weve-lost-a-personal-friend-in-matthew-perry-216626">original article</a>.</em></p>

TV

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How traditional Indigenous education helped four lost children survive 40 days in the Amazon jungle

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eliran-arazi-1447346">Eliran Arazi</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hebrew-university-of-jerusalem-855">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a></em></p> <p>The discovery and rescue of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/four-missing-colombian-children-found-alive-jungle-sources-2023-06-10/">four young Indigenous children</a>, 40 days after the aircraft they were travelling in crashed in the remote Colombian rainforest, was hailed in the international press as a “<a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/06/11/miracle-in-the-jungle-colombia-celebrates-rescue-of-children-lost-in-amazon-rainforest_6030840_4.html">miracle in the jungle</a>”. But as an anthropologist who has spent more than a year living among the Andoque people in the region, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/100474974/Amazonian_visions_of_Visi%C3%B3n_Amazon%C3%ADa_Indigenous_Peoples_perspectives_on_a_forest_conservation_and_climate_programme_in_the_Colombian_Amazon">conducting ethnographic fieldwork</a>, I cannot simply label this as a miraculous event.</p> <p>At least, not a miracle in the conventional sense of the word. Rather, the survival and discovery of these children can be attributed to the profound knowledge of the intricate forest and the adaptive skills passed down through generations by Indigenous people.</p> <p>During the search for the children, I was in contact with Raquel Andoque, an elder <em>maloquera</em> (owner of a ceremonial longhouse), the sister of the children’s great-grandmother. She repeatedly expressed her unwavering belief the children would be found alive, citing the autonomy, astuteness and physical resilience of children in the region.</p> <p>Even before starting elementary school, children in this area accompany their parents and elder relatives in various activities such as gardening, fishing, navigating rivers, hunting and gathering honey and wild fruits. In this way the children acquire practical skills and knowledge, such as those demonstrated by Lesly, Soleiny, Tien and Cristin during their 40-day ordeal.</p> <p>Indigenous children typically learn from an early age how to open paths through dense vegetation, how to tell edible from non-edible fruits. They know how to find potable water, build rain shelters and set animal traps. They can identify animal footprints and scents – and avoid predators such as jaguars and snakes lurking in the woods.</p> <p>Amazonian children typically lack access to the sort of commercialised toys and games that children in the cities grow up with. So they become adept tree climbers and engage in play that teaches them about adult tools made from natural materials, such as oars or axes. This nurtures their understanding of physical activities and helps them learn which plants serve specific purposes.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="A youg girl holding up an insect as her family works alongside" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A local Indigenous girl on an excursion to gather edible larvae.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy of Eliran Arazi</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Activities that most western children would be shielded from – handling, skinning and butchering game animals, for example – provide invaluable zoology lessons and arguably foster emotional resilience.</p> <h2>Survival skills</h2> <p>When they accompany their parents and relatives on excursions in the jungle, Indigenous children learn how to navigate a forest’s dense vegetation by following the location of the sun in the sky.</p> <figure class="align-left zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=551&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=551&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=551&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=692&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=692&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=692&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Map of the Middle Caqueta region of Colombia." /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Map showing where in Colombia the four lost children are from.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Gadiel Levi</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>Since the large rivers in most parts of the Amazon flow in a direction opposite to that of the sun, people can orient themselves towards those main rivers.</p> <p>The trail of footprints and objects left by the four children revealed their general progression towards the Apaporis River, where they may have hoped to be spotted.</p> <p>The children would also have learned from their parents and elders about edible plans and flowers – where they can be found. And also the interrelationship between plants, so that where a certain tree is, you can find mushrooms, or small animals that can be trapped and eaten.</p> <h2>Stories, songs and myths</h2> <p>Knowledge embedded in mythic stories passed down by parents and grandparents is another invaluable resource for navigating the forest. These stories depict animals as fully sentient beings, engaging in seduction, mischief, providing sustenance, or even saving each other’s lives.</p> <p>While these episodes may seem incomprehensible to non-Indigenous audiences, they actually encapsulate the intricate interrelations among the forest’s countless non-human inhabitants. Indigenous knowledge focuses on the interrelationships between humans, plants and animals and how they can come together to preserve the environment and prevent irreversible ecological harm.</p> <p>This sophisticated knowledge has been developed over millennia during which Indigenous people not only adapted to their forest territories but actively shaped them. It is deeply ingrained knowledge that local indigenous people are taught from early childhood so that it becomes second nature to them.</p> <p>It has become part of the culture of cultivating and harvesting crops, something infants and children are introduced to, as well as knowledge of all sort of different food sources and types of bush meat.</p> <h2>Looking after each other</h2> <p>One of the aspects of this “miraculous” story that people in the west have marvelled over is how, after the death of the children’s mother, the 13-year-old Lesly managed to take care of her younger siblings, including Cristin, who was only 11 months old at the time the aircraft went down.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=450&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=566&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Three Indigenous people in western clothes stood under trees in front of a wide building." /><figcaption><span class="caption">Iris Andoque Macuna with her brother Nestor Andoque and brother-in-law Faustino Fiagama after the two men returned from the search team.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Iris Andoque Macuna.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>But in Indigenous families, elder sisters are expected to act as surrogate mothers to their younger relatives from an early age. Iris Andoke Macuna, a distant relative of the family, told me:</p> <blockquote> <p>To some whites [non-Indigenous people], it seems like a bad thing that we take our children to work in the garden, and that we let girls carry their brothers and take care of them. But for us, it’s a good thing, our children are independent, this is why Lesly could take care of her brothers during all this time. It toughened her, and she learned what her brothers need.</p> </blockquote> <h2>The spiritual side</h2> <p>For 40 days and nights, while the four children were lost, elders and shamans performed rituals based on traditional beliefs that involve human relationships with entities known as <em>dueños</em> (owners) in Spanish and by various names in native languages (such as <em>i'bo ño̰e</em>, meaning “persons of there” in Andoque).</p> <p>These owners are believed to be the protective spirits of the plants and animals that live in the forests. Children are introduced to these powerful owners in name-giving ceremonies, which ensure that these spirits recognise and acknowledge relationship to the territory and their entitlement to prosper on it.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Woman in pink t-shirt sat on chair inside." /><figcaption><span class="caption">Raquel Andoke, a relative of the missing children and friend of the author.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy of Eliran Arazi</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p>During the search for the missing children, elders conducted dialogues and negotiations with these entities in their ceremonial houses (<em>malocas</em>) throughout the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Middle-and-Lower-Caqueta-River-region-State-of-Amazonas-Colombia-Map-from_fig1_255580310">Middle Caquetá</a> and in other Indigenous communities that consider the crash site part of their ancestral territory. Raquel explained to me:</p> <blockquote> <p>The shamans communicate with the sacred sites. They offer coca and tobacco to the spirits and say: “Take this and give me my grandchildren back. They are mine, not yours.”</p> </blockquote> <p>These beliefs and practices hold significant meaning for my friends in the Middle Caquetá, who firmly attribute the children’s survival to these spiritual processes rather than the technological means employed by the Colombian army rescue teams.</p> <p>It may be challenging for non-Indigenous people to embrace these traditional ideas. But these beliefs would have instilled in the children the faith and emotional fortitude crucial for persevering in the struggle for survival. And it would have encouraged the Indigenous people searching for them not to give up hope.</p> <p>The children knew that their fate did not lie in dying in the forest, and that their grandparents and shamans would move heaven and earth to bring them back home alive.</p> <p>Regrettably, this traditional knowledge that has enabled Indigenous people to not only survive but thrive in the Amazon for millennia is under threat. Increasing land encroachment for agribusiness, mining, and illicit activities as well as state neglect and interventions without Indigenous consent have left these peoples vulnerable.</p> <p>It is jeopardising the very foundations of life where this knowledge is embedded, the territories that serve as its bedrock, and the people themselves who preserve, develop, and transmit this knowledge.</p> <p>Preserving this invaluable knowledge and the skills that bring miracles to life is imperative. We must not allow them to wither away.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207762/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eliran-arazi-1447346">Eliran Arazi</a>, PhD researcher in Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (Paris)., <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hebrew-university-of-jerusalem-855">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-traditional-indigenous-education-helped-four-lost-children-survive-40-days-in-the-amazon-jungle-207762">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Caring

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The real reason your luggage is lost in transit

<p>There’s nothing worse than that moment of realisation you get when, standing at an empty luggage carousel, you realise your bags are anywhere in the world but here.  </p> <p>SITA, a company specialising in air transport, has published a study revealing the most common reasons bags are misplaced in transit and tips on how to avoid it.</p> <p>2015 it turns out was a historically good year for luggage retention, with the total number of mishandled bags diminishing about 50 per cent from 2007 to 2015. Worldwide, out of every 1000 passengers only around six bags are being misplaced.</p> <p>But it still wasn’t perfect, and 23 million bags were still misplaced.  </p> <p>SITA has outlined the top reasons luggage doesn’t make it to where it’s supposed to be, as well as some tips to help make sure your bags makes the trip safely.</p> <p><strong>Reasons for lost luggage:</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Lost during a transfer –</strong> This was the major reason for luggage being misplaced and the cause of over half the reported misplaced luggage occurrences.</li> <li><strong>Ticketing errors, bag switches or security issues –</strong> Around 19 per cent of lost bags fell into this category, suggesting that human error still plays a role.</li> <li><strong>Delayed due to airport, customs, and weather or space/weight restrictions –</strong> This broad category accounted for almost 16 per cent of the lost luggage.</li> <li><strong>Failure to load the bag or mishandling at arrival station –</strong> This was the reason behind four per cent of the bags that were mishandled.</li> <li><strong>Tagging Error –</strong> With significant advancements in bag handling technology tagging errors accounted for only four per cent of lost luggage.</li> </ul> <p>SITA also offered some advice for making sure your bag makes it all the way to the desired destination, suggesting air passengers take the following precautions:</p> <ul> <li>Avoid short connections.</li> <li>Put a form of identification on the bag.</li> <li>Double check the destination tag.</li> <li>Pack luggage carefully avoiding restricted items.</li> <li>Consider purchasing a personal luggage tracking device.</li> </ul> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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How to pack like a pro

<p>Whether you’re journeying overseas or enjoying a staycation, you’re likely to leave packing until the last minute. It is the one essential task that must be taken care of before any of the fun can begin!</p> <p>Here’s how to make the most out of your suitcase and be prepared for anything.</p> <p><strong>1. Check the weather</strong></p> <p>Before you start packing, check the upcoming weather forecast for your destination. This way it’ll be easier for you to decide what kind of clothes you need to bring. It will also help to eliminate over-packing and save unnecessary weight in your luggage, and it'll leave some room for you to bring things home without another bag. </p> <p><strong>2. Pack based on your itinerary </strong></p> <p>Depending on the kind of activities you have planned, there will be certain clothing items you must bring. Make sure you check your itinerary and bring the appropriate clothing. </p> <p><strong>3. Roll your clothes</strong></p> <p>If you’re on a longer holiday and need to maximise the space in your bag, roll your clothes. Roll each clothing item separately and you’ll discover just how much more you can fit into your suitcase. </p> <p><strong>4. Limit your toiletries </strong></p> <p>Toiletries can be heavy and space consuming, so only include what you will really need. You can buy reusable, travel-sized containers and fill them with your own products to save space.</p> <p>If you're flying, do not fill the containers completely to the top as changes in air pressure during flights can cause the contents to expand and leak. </p> <p><strong>5. Make a list and check it twice</strong></p> <p>A list can help you see if you’re over or under-packing. Make sure you tick off all of your essentials as you go along.</p> <p>Make packing hassle-free and focus on the fun that's ahead of you.  </p> <p><em>Image credit: Shuterstock</em></p>

Travel Tips

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A Mother’s Day poem for those who have lost their mums

<p><em><strong>Over60 community member Jenny Bush shares this poignant poem on Mother’s Day.</strong></em></p> <p>“I have been thinking about all the mothers out there for whom Mothers’ Day is a source of disappointment and quite often a day filled with a sense of loss and hurt. I have written this poem for those of us who miss what the special day used to mean in our lives.” – Jenny Bush</p> <p align="center"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Mothers’ Day Lament</span></p> <p align="center">Reflecting on Mother’s Days of yesteryear</p> <p align="center">My heart laments with a silent tear</p> <p align="center">Of the significance of what that day used to be</p> <p align="center">And the profound impact it had on me.</p> <p align="center">Cherishing time spent with my Nan and my Mum</p> <p align="center">Never dreaming that the day would eventually come</p> <p align="center">When neither were here to share the day</p> <p align="center">To feast with us and watch kids at play.</p> <p align="center">Our whole family would gather and have so much fun</p> <p align="center">Quite often on picnics – enjoying the sun.</p> <p align="center">With aunts and uncles and cousins too</p> <p align="center">But life was simple back then, it’s true.</p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center">Life now moves on at such a fast pace</p> <p align="center">And every day it seems like we are running a race.</p> <p align="center">People are so busy doing this and that</p> <p align="center">There is so little time to sit, and simply chat.</p> <p align="center">For many reasons families can be torn apart</p> <p align="center">Quite often resulting in a broken heart.</p> <p align="center">There is commercial pressure to buy Mum something new</p> <p align="center">Causing some to resort to writing an I.O.U</p> <p align="center">Many mums now spend the day alone</p> <p align="center">For some it’s a quick chat with family by phone.</p> <p align="center">And some celebrate with friends who are on their own too</p> <p align="center">While accepting that life’s ways are now all new.</p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center">I will miss my mum and my nan this Mothers’ Day</p> <p align="center">But I am so grateful for memories of the special way</p> <p align="center">We used to celebrate their love and care for us</p> <p align="center">Which was usually given with a minimum of fuss.</p> <p align="center">I am sad for the customs we seem to have lost</p> <p align="center">With the emphasis now placed on the financial cost.</p> <p align="center">Progress is great in so many ways</p> <p align="center">But oh how I sometimes miss “the good old days”.</p> <p align="center"> </p> <p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><em>Illustration: Midjourney</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Bring your furry friend’s face along on your next big trip

<p>Devoted pet lovers around the world are no stranger to the struggle of setting out on their next adventure without their faithful companions at their side.</p> <p>And while it can help to set a paw-fect portrait as a phone wallpaper to check in everytime the distance feels too much, it isn’t always enough - especially when you’re used to seeing their sweet little faces every single day. </p> <p>Luckily, the people over at July have come up with a solution in ‘Petsonalisation’. It’s something sure to set tails wagging, offering pet parents the exciting opportunity to have their best friend’s face on their suitcase and travel accessories. </p> <p>Forget limiting yourself to lettered monograms, all customers have to do is upload their desired pet pic, and then July will do the hard part for them - illustrating the image, and personalising the luggage, tags, bottles, kits, and notebooks on offer with the friendliest of faces.</p> <p>“People love their pets, and often pets are the ones you leave behind when you’re off travelling. We wanted to create a way for all travellers to be able to take their pets with them, no matter the journey,” July’s Richard Li explained.</p> <p>“Our personalisation offering has always been unique,” July’s Athan Didaskalou added. “We know that for something to be truly personal the offering needed to be diverse and inclusive. Multiple fonts, colours, emojis, and languages. In a world-first, I am excited to extend our personalisation service once more to include the most loveable beings in people’s lives: their pets.</p> <p>“We’re a customer-centric business and our products are derived from what people want, with over 50% of orders already opting for personalisation. Your suitcase stands out even more on a luggage carousel and is less likely to be mistaken for someone else’s bag when it’s got your initials on it.</p> <p>“A lot of people would love to be able to take their dog or cat on holiday with them, but with cost and customs, that’s just not an option. We like to think this is our way of enabling our customers to bring their pets on their travel adventures.”</p> <p>Since launching in 2019 with their Carry On suitcase, July have progressed in leaps and bounds, now offering <a href="https://july.com/nz/shop/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an entire suite of travel products</a> - from luggage to backpacks, bottles, phone cases, notebooks, and various other travel accessories. </p> <p>And now, the code ‘Petsonalisation’ can be applied for up to two pets per product on all of July’s luggage and accessories until April 25th - at $25 for accessories, and $65 for luggage.</p> <p>While dates are limited for July’s pet offering, they’re no stranger to personalisation, and have been offering enthusiastic customers the chance to create truly unique items since 2019. </p> <p>Their efforts are no small feat either, with shoppers able to “personalise up to five characters with 11 different font styles and 28 colours to choose from, even adding emojis”. And for those worried that they may not be limited in what they can write, July have an answer - they’re one of a limited number of companies worldwide, and the only one in Australia, to offer “personalised Chinese characters and additional Latin based languages such as French and Spanish for monogramming.”</p> <p>There’s no stress when it comes to having it sent your way either - as anyone in Australia or New Zealand is aware, postage costs can be half the battle - as with orders over $100, July offer free shipping.</p> <p>So, if you want to show the world your best pet friend, it’s time to hop on over to check out July’s range before April 25th, and <a href="https://july.com/nz/pet-personalisation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get their face put front and centre</a>!</p> <p><em>Images: July [supplied]</em></p>

International Travel

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Cruise passenger left without a single change of clothes in a lost luggage nightmare

<p>When Australian grandmother Cheryl Stuchbery and her husband, John, set sail with Royal Caribbean cruises from Sydney to New Zealand, they thought they were embarking on their dream holiday. </p> <p>But some dreams are destined to turn into nightmares, as Cheryl soon learned, when it was revealed that staff aboard the cruise liner had lost her suitcase. </p> <p>For the next 11 days, Cheryl was left without so much as a change of clothes, forced to wear the same outfit time and time again. John helped as much as he could, offering his own underwear so that his wife wasn’t entirely going without. </p> <p>Speaking to Australia’s <em>A Current Affair</em>, Cheryl admitted that the entire experience had left her “very depressed. I was in tears a lot at the time.”</p> <p>“Cheryl ended up wearing my knickers,” John explained, adding that it only made sense, because his clothes had actually been available.</p> <p>"I've put a pair on, but the only thing is, I couldn't fill out the little pouch in the front," Cheryl added.</p> <p>When the staff were unable to locate her bag on the second day of the trip, they offered to wash her one outfit for her. Every morning, they would drop by, collect her things, and take them off to wash and dry. </p> <p>While this ensured Cheryl had clean clothes to wear each day, it also meant she started them with three hours sitting in her cabin and waiting. </p> <p>“They [would] give Cheryl a t-shirt and a dressing gown,” John explained, “so for the first sort of three hours each day, we're sitting in the room waiting for the clothes to come back.”</p> <p>In the time since, Cheryl has tried to find humour in the whole situation, though she certainly hadn’t even been able to consider it at the time. </p> <p>It wasn’t the first time the couple had set out on a cruise, it was just the first that their belongings hadn’t made it along with them. </p> <p>“They did say it was very unusual for a suitcase not to turn up at all,” Cheryl noted. </p> <p>“For quite a bit of time we felt that it had been stolen because they'd searched the ship," John said. </p> <p>And, in timing that came as no help to the cruising couple, Cheryl’s bag turned up the very day after they’d arrived back in Sydney. </p> <p>To make matters even worse, it had been onboard the whole time.</p> <p>As John put it, “it had been on [the] boat all the time and they say, 'well, that's okay, you've got your case back'.”</p> <p>Royal Caribbean have since issued a statement in apology, writing that they “sincerely apologise for misplacing Mr and Mrs Stuchbery's luggage. During their cruise, Mr and Mrs Stuchbery were provided with complimentary express laundry, an onboard credit to assist with purchasing incidental items, and specialty dining. </p> <p>“The luggage was located on return to Sydney and Mr and Mrs Stuchbery have been offered additional compensation and documentation to support a claim via their travel insurance.”</p> <p>But it hasn’t done anything to help the sour taste of the whole ordeal left in the Stuchbery’s mouths, with Cheryl declaring that she still “feel[s] very angry.” </p> <p><em>Images: A Current Affair / Nine</em></p>

Cruising

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10 things that are always a waste to pack

<p>All travellers know the hardships of packing the necessities for the trip ahead. And everyone knows how many things you haven’t actually used by the time you get home again – what a waste of precious space in your luggage.</p> <p>Here is a list of 10 things to not bother packing in your suitcase.</p> <p><strong>1. Shampoo and conditioner</strong></p> <p>You can purchase these items at the places you travel. If the locals have easy access to hair products then so will you. Hotels should provide little travel-sized minis which will last a few days. Travelling with liquids can also lead to delays at security check points.</p> <p><strong>2. Shoes</strong></p> <p>Don’t pack more than two pairs of shoes – they take up unnecessary weight and space. Ensure you have a comfortable pair of walking shoes and some shoes that are nice enough to go out in at restaurants and other events.</p> <p><strong>3. Jewellery</strong></p> <p>Don’t bring your favourite expensive jewellery, you are only human and can accidentally leave items behind in hotels or apartments. You could also increase your risk of becoming a target for pickpockets. Try swapping out your diamond earrings for some cheaper substitute studs while you’re away.</p> <p><strong>4. Laptop</strong></p> <p>Don’t bring your laptop. Unless you’re travelling for work, you probably don’t need to bring a computer on your holiday. You could also become a target for thieves while travelling if they notice you have an expensive technological device with you.</p> <p><strong>5. Swimming costume</strong></p> <p>Don’t bring more than two swimming costumes. They are easy to wash and having two on hand always ensures you have a dry one to wear for the next day. Just put the swimmers in the sink filled with cool water and add some mild detergent before rinsing and wringing out to dry.</p> <p><strong>6. Hair dryer </strong></p> <p>Hair dryers are heavy and bulky, so they aren’t the easiest thing to try and squeeze into your suitcase. Hairdryers are usually provided by hotels and although yours may be nicer, they both do the same job in the end.</p> <p><strong>7. Out of season clothing </strong></p> <p>Avoid packing out of season clothing – if you’re going on a summer holiday in Europe, you probably don’t need that heavy winter coat. The excuse for packing these unnecessary items is always “just in case,” but if the situation does arise where there is an uncharacteristic change in weather, you can always buy what you need to face the day.</p> <p><strong>8. Books </strong></p> <p>Turn to paperback books or electronic tablets instead of hardcover novels. The electronic tablets are most helpful as they can contain a whole library of book options without adding the weight of a library in your suitcase. Paperback books are good when you don’t have an electronic tablet, but maybe avoid packing seven books!</p> <p><strong>9. Traveller’s checks </strong></p> <p>Traveller’s checks aren’t used anymore. Although they were once the safeguard of money while on holidays, the traveller’s checks have gone out of style. It’s unlikely you will come across a place that will accept the checks, as these have been replaced by the use of ATMs for cash and the ability to use your debit and credit cards that don’t charge an international transaction fee.</p> <p><strong>10. Double-ups </strong></p> <p>Finally, don’t bring anything your travel partner is also packing. For instance, don’t pack more than one thing that can be shared. You don’t need two tubes of toothpaste, for instance!</p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Airline sends woman 13 brand new suitcases as compensation

<p dir="ltr">A woman has been left shocked and confused after being sent 13 brand new suitcases as compensation. </p> <p dir="ltr">Giséle Rochefort was flying with Delta Airlines in the US when her luggage was badly damaged on her flight. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Delta destroyed my suitcase. I filed a claim, they agreed to replace it," Rochefort explained in a now-viral TikTok video.</p> <p dir="ltr">Giséle’s suitcase had some of the fabric ripped off the cover, while one of the wheels had been completely knocked off. </p> <p dir="ltr">Soon after filing her claim with the airline, Rochefort received a notification that she had been issued a replacement for her luggage and it was ready to be picked up.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, she was greeted with 13 boxes, each one containing a new suitcase in varying sizes and designs: all the same brand of her destroyed luggage. </p> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px; max-width: 100%; outline: none !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7205751910886837547&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40gisele_rochefort%2Fvideo%2F7205751910886837547%3Fq%3DGis%25C3%25A9le%2520Rochefort%26t%3D1678421013573&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fp16-sign.tiktokcdn-us.com%2Fobj%2Ftos-useast5-p-0068-tx%2F0c0dca39b4c14fafa59759c9312e38ad%3Fx-expires%3D1678442400%26x-signature%3DnoEZd10erItVG8BuGildr1uEaAk%253D&amp;key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p dir="ltr">"I was crying laughing, It felt like an April Fools' prank. I thought I was done, only to realise 3 of the large bags had small ones inside them," she added in the comments section of her video.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I think they made a mistake," she added.</p> <p dir="ltr"> Rochefort said the bags, which retail for as much as $300 (AUD) each, are currently stacked up on a wall at her home.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's called interior design sweetie, look it up," she joked, adding, "Thanks Delta!"</p> <p dir="ltr">Her video has been viewed one million times, with many of her followers wondering how they can get their hands on such a haul.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I think I know what everyone is getting for their bday or the holidays," one commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Keep two and sell the rest," another suggested.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And here's an extra 12 Incase we break anymore," another joked.</p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 15pt;"><em>Image credits: TikTok</em><span id="docs-internal-guid-360681aa-7fff-03bc-3e7a-bc44225a1ae4" style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;"></span></p>

Travel Tips

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“You wouldn’t believe all I had to do to survive”: Man rescued after 31 days in the jungle

<p>A Bolivian man has survived 31 days in the Amazon jungle.</p> <p>Jhonattan Acosta, 30, was hunting in northern Bolivia when he was separated from his four friends.</p> <p>He told United TV he drank rainwater collected in his shoes and ate worms and insects while hiding from jaguars and peccaries, a type of pig-like mammal.</p> <p>Acosta was finally found by a search party made up of locals and friends a month after he went missing.</p> <p>“I can’t believe people kept up the search for so long,” he said in tears.</p> <p>“I ate worms, I ate insects, you wouldn’t believe all I had to do to survive all this time.”</p> <p>He also ate wild fruits similar to papayas, known locally as gargateas.</p> <p>“I thank God profusely, because he has given me a new life,” he said.</p> <p>His family said they will still have to string all the details together regarding how Acosta got lost and how he managed to stay alive but will ask him gradually as he is still psychologically damaged after the experience.</p> <p>There has also been significant physical changes. Acosta lost 17kg, dislocated his ankle and was severely dehydrated when he was found, but according to those who found him, he was still able to walk with a limp.</p> <p>“My brother told us that when he dislocated his ankle on the fourth day, he started fearing for his life,” Horacio Acosta told Bolivia’s Página Siete newspaper.</p> <p>“He only had one cartridge in his shotgun and couldn’t walk, and he thought no one would be looking for him anymore.”</p> <p>As for his encounters with wild animals in the jungle, including a jaguar, his younger brother said that his brother used his last cartridge to scare off a squadron of peccaries.</p> <p>After 31 days, Acosta spotted the search party about 300m away and limped through thorny bushes, shouting to draw attention to him.</p> <p>Acosta’s brother, Haracio, said that he was found by four local people.</p> <p>“A man came running to tell us they’d found my brother,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”</p> <p>Acosta has since decided to give up hunting for good.</p> <p>“He is going to play music to praise God,” Haracio said. “He promised God that, and I think he will keep his promise.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: BBC News</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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What to do if you lose your phone

<p>Our smartphones are increasingly becoming a central part of our lives. We use our phones for much more than making calls – we store valuable photos and information on them, surf the web and do online banking and shopping. Plus, they are expensive pieces of technology so losing them can be a complete nightmare. What do you do? Don’t panic and follow our guide.</p> <p><strong>Change passwords</strong></p> <p>Change the passwords to all your online accounts (e.g. email, Facebook, banking) immediately. This means any of your personal or financial information won’t be accessible to anyone who has picked up (or stole) your phone. It also reduces the chance of identity theft.  Make sure you do keep a close eye on your accounts just in case anything suspect occurs.</p> <p><strong>Call and text your phone</strong></p> <p>Use a friend’s phone or landline to call your phone. If it’s nearby you might hear your phone ringing. If not, some honest stranger might pick it up and answer it. If your phone is ringing out, send a text message to your phone letting whoever picks it up know it’s lost. Include a contact number so they can reach you.</p> <p><strong>Tracking it down</strong></p> <p>You must enable the settings on your phone or pre-install these apps for the following to work. If you haven’t done it already, we highly recommend it as it could mean the difference between finding your phone and not!</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">iPhones</span> - A “Find my iPhone” feature is available for iPhones. Log on to it on another device and it uses the GPS on your phone to track it down on a map. You can even force your phone to play sounds to help you track it down. Turning on “Lost Mode” is also an option that lets you remotely lock your device or wipe all your phone data. You can also install the GadgetTrak app which takes photos of whoever has your phone and emails it back to you</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Androids</span> – “Where’s My Droid” is similar to “Find my iPhone” allowing you to text your phone a code word which turns on its GPS and emails the coordinates back to you. Apps like Lookout and Cereberus do similar things letting you remotely lock and wipe your phone. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Windows</span> – Visit the “My Phone” section of Windows Phone website. It will let you ring, lock, erase or show your phone on a map.</p> <p><strong>Tell your phone company</strong></p> <p>If it is becoming likely your phone is unfortunately lost for good, let your mobile phone company know. This is crucial because you are still liable for any calls that are made on your phone until you tell them it’s missing.</p> <p><strong>Report it</strong></p> <p>Report the incident to the police. They might request the serial number of your device so keep it handy. You might also be in luck – someone may have handed it in! If you have insurance, most companies often want a police report. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Technology

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Long COVID: How lost connections between nerve cells in the brain may explain cognitive symptoms

<p>For a portion of people who get COVID, symptoms continue for <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk/6october2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">months or even years</a> after the initial infection. This is commonly referred to as “long COVID”.</p> <p>Some people with long COVID complain of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-and-what-isnt-brain-fog-190537" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brain fog</a>”, which includes a wide variety of cognitive symptoms affecting memory, concentration, sleep and speech. There’s also growing concern about findings that people who have had COVID are at <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(22)00260-7/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased risk</a> of developing brain disorders, such as dementia.</p> <p>Scientists are working to understand how exactly a COVID infection affects the human brain. But this is difficult to study, because we can’t experiment on living people’s brains. One way around this is to create <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41578-021-00279-y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">organoids</a>, which are miniature organs grown from stem cells.</p> <p>In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01786-2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent study</a>, we created brain organoids a little bigger than a pinhead and infected them with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.</p> <p>In these organoids, we found that an excessive number of synapses (the connections between brain cells) were eliminated – more than you would expect to see in a normal brain.</p> <p>Synapses are important because they allow neurons to communicate with each other. Still, the elimination of a certain amount of inactive synapses is part of normal brain function. The brain essentially gets rid of old connections when they’re no longer needed, and makes way for new connections, allowing for more efficient functioning.</p> <p>One of the crucial functions of the brain’s immune cells, or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5768411/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">microglia</a>, is to prune these inactive synapses.</p> <p>The exaggerated elimination of synapses we saw in the COVID-infected models could explain why some people have cognitive symptoms as part of long COVID.</p> <p><strong>Parallels with neurodegenerative disorders</strong></p> <p>Interestingly, this pruning process is believed to go awry in several disorders affecting the brain. In particular, excessive elimination of synapses has recently been linked to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-018-0334-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neurodevelopmental disorders</a> such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-018-0334-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">schizophrenia</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2019.00063/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neurodegenerative disorders</a> such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.</p> <p>By sequencing the RNA of single cells, we could study how different cell types in the organoid responded to the virus. We found that the pattern of genes turned on and off by the microglia in our COVID-infected organoids mimicked changes seen in neurodegenerative disorders.</p> <p>This may go some way in explaining the link between COVID and the risk of developing certain neurological disorders.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=425&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=425&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=425&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A brain organoid used in our study. You can see the microglial cells in red.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sellgren lab</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure> <p><strong>A possible target for treatment</strong></p> <p>One limitation of our research is that our organoid models closely resemble the foetal or early brain, rather than the adult brain. So we can’t say for sure whether the changes we noted in our study will necessarily be reflected in the adult brain.</p> <p>However, some <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33248159/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post-mortem</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35255491/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imaging studies</a> report neuronal death and reduction in grey matter thickness in COVID patients, which hints at similar instances of synapse loss caused by an infection in adults.</p> <p>If this proves to be a fruitful line of enquiry, we believe our findings could point to a mechanism contributing to persisting cognitive symptoms after COVID and other viral infections that affect the brain.</p> <p>SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus and similar <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27337340/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">processes</a> have been seen in mice infected with other RNA viruses that can also cause residual cognitive symptoms, such as the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31235930/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Nile virus</a>.</p> <p>From here we want to study how different drugs could inhibit the changes we saw in the infected models, hopefully paving the way towards effective treatments. In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6410571/">other research</a>, we’ve observed that an antibiotic called minocycline can reduce the degree to which microglia prune synapses in a dish. So we want to see if this drug can help in our brain organoid models following SARS-CoV-2 infection.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192702/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Writen by Samudyata and </em><em>Carl Sellgren</em><em>. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/long-covid-how-lost-connections-between-nerve-cells-in-the-brain-may-explain-cognitive-symptoms-192702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Mind

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740,000km of fishing line and 14 billion hooks: we reveal just how much fishing gear is lost at sea each year

<p>Two per cent of all fishing gear used worldwide ends up polluting the oceans, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abq0135" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new research</a> finds. To put that into perspective, the amount of longline fishing gear littering the ocean each year can circle the Earth more than 18 times.</p> <p>We interviewed 450 fishers from seven of the world’s biggest fishing countries including Peru, Indonesia, Morocco and the United States, to find out just how much gear enters the global ocean. We found at current loss rates, in 65 years there would be enough fishing nets littering the sea to cover the entire planet.</p> <p>This lost fishing equipment, known as ghost gear, can cause heavy social, economic and environmental damage. Hundreds of thousands of animals <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11160-018-9520-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are estimated to die</a> each year from unintentional capture in fishing nets. Derelict nets can continue to fish indiscriminately for decades.</p> <p>Our research findings help highlight where to focus efforts to stem the tide of fishing pollution. It can also help inform fisheries management and policy interventions from local to global scales.</p> <h2>14 billion longline hooks litter the sea each year</h2> <p>The data we collected came directly from fishers themselves. They experience this issue firsthand and are best poised to inform our understanding of fishing gear losses.</p> <p>We surveyed fishers using five major gear types: gillnets, longlines, purse seine nets, trawl nets, and pots and traps.</p> <p>We asked how much fishing gear they used and lost annually, and what gear and vessel characteristics could be making the problem worse. This included vessel and gear size, whether the gear contacts the seafloor, and the total amount of gear used by the vessel.</p> <p>We coupled these surveys with information on global fishing effort data from commercial fisheries.</p> <p>Fishers use different types of nets to catch different types of fish. Our research found the amount of nets littering the ocean each year include:</p> <ul> <li>740,000 kilometres of longline mainlines</li> <li>nearly 3,000 square kilometres of gill nets</li> <li>218 square kilometres of trawl nets</li> <li>75,000 square kilometres of purse seine nets</li> </ul> <p>In addition, fishers lose over 25 million pots and traps and nearly 14 billion longline hooks each year.</p> <p>These estimates cover only commercial fisheries, and don’t include <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-97758-4_15" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the amount</a> of fishing line and other gear lost by recreational fishers.</p> <p>We also estimate that between 1.7% and 4.6% of all land-based plastic waste travels into the sea. This amount likely exceeds lost fishing gear.</p> <p>However, fishing gear is designed to catch animals and so is generally understood as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the most environmentally damaging</a> type of plastic pollution in research to date.</p> <h2>Harming fishers and marine life</h2> <p>Nearly 700 species of marine life <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X14008571?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are known to</a> interact with marine debris, many of which are near threatened. Australian and US <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X15002985#bib6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research in 2016</a> found fishing gear poses the biggest entanglement threats to marine fauna such as sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds and whales.</p> <p>Other marine wildlife including sawfish, dugong, hammerhead sharks and crocodiles are also known to get <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1442-8903.2010.00525.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entangled in fishing gear</a>. Other <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12781" target="_blank" rel="noopener">key problematic items</a> include balloons and plastic bags.</p> <p>Lost fishing gear is not only an environmental risk, but it also has an economic impact for the fishers themselves. Every metre of lost net or line is a cost to the fisher – not only to replace the gear but also in its potential catch.</p> <p> </p> <figure></figure> <p> </p> <p>Additionally, many fisheries have already gone through significant reforms to reduce their environmental impact and improve the sustainability of their operations.</p> <p>Some losses are attributable to how gear is operated. For instance, bottom trawl nets – which can get caught on reefs – are lost more often that nets that don’t make contact with the sea floor.</p> <p>The conditions of the ocean can also make a significant difference. For example, fishers commonly reported that bad weather and overcrowding contributes to gear losses. Conflicts between gears coming into contact can also result in gear losses, such as when towed nets cross drifting longlines or gillnets.</p> <p>Where fish are depleted, fishers must expend more effort, operate in worse conditions or locations, and are more likely to come in contact with others’ gear. All these features increase losses.</p> <h2>What do we do about it?</h2> <p>We actually found lower levels of fishing gear losses in our current study than in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12407" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a previous review</a> of the historical literature on the topic. Technological improvements, such as better weather forecasts and improved marking and tracking of fishing gear may be reducing loss rates.</p> <p>Incentives can further reduce losses resulting in ghost gear. This could include buyback programs for end-of-life fishing gear, reduced cost loans for net replacement, and waste receptacles in ports to encourage fishers to return used fishing gear.</p> <p>Technological improvements and management interventions could also make a difference, such as requirements to mark and track gear, as well as regular gear maintenance and repairs.</p> <p>Developing effective fishing management systems can improve food security, leave us with a healthier environment, and create more profitable businesses for the fishers who operate in it.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/740-000km-of-fishing-line-and-14-billion-hooks-we-reveal-just-how-much-fishing-gear-is-lost-at-sea-each-year-192024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </strong></p> <p><em>Image: CSIRO</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Lost Freddie Mercury song released by Queen

<p dir="ltr">Queen has released a lost song that was originally recorded in 1988, which features the late frontman Freddie Mercury.</p> <p dir="ltr">The track, titled <em>Face It Alone</em>, was written and recorded for the band’s album called <em>The Miracle</em>, but didn’t make it onto the final track listing and was shelved. </p> <p dir="ltr">The song was later rediscovered when the band’s production and archive team returned to the sessions to work on the upcoming reissue of the album. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Face It Alone</em> is the first new song released featuring Freddie Mercury since 2014’s <em>Queen Forever</em> album. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 2014 album included three previously unheard tracks with the singer: <em>Let Me In Your Heart Again</em>, <em>Love Kills</em> and <em>There Must Be More to Life Than This</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking of the rediscovered track, Queen guitarist Brian May said: “I’m happy that our team were able to find this track.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“After all these years, it’s great to hear all four of us, yes, (former bass player) Deacy is there too, working in the studio on a great song idea which never quite got completed... until now.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Drummer Roger Taylor added, “We’d kind of forgotten about this track but there it was, this little gem.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The song’s resurgence comes ahead of the reissue of the band’s 13th album <em>The Miracle</em>, which was first released in 1989.</p> <p dir="ltr">The album - which included tracks<em> I Want It All</em>, <em>Breakthru</em> and <em>The Invisible Man</em> - reached number one in the UK at the time of its initial release. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Music

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Hard vs soft luggage – which is better?

<p>Your suitcase will be your most faithful travel partner, so make sure you choose the right one.</p> <p><strong>1. How are you travelling?</strong></p> <p>When you’re checking your luggage in for a standard flight, it makes very little difference whether it’s hard or soft. But other modes of transport can be difficult with a hard suitcase. It’s much harder to fit in the back of a taxi or car, and it can be trickier to stow on a bus or train. If you’re taking flights on very small planes your luggage might be restricted even further and hard sided bags can even be banned, so read the fine print.</p> <p><strong>2. What are you taking?</strong></p> <p>Hard suitcases can provide more protection if you travel with a lot of breakables, like glass cosmetic bottles or electronics. It’s also good for flimsy souvenirs that you might pick up along the way. If you like to keep all your breakables in your carry on, then soft luggage should suit you fine.</p> <p><strong>3. Are you an organised packer (and unpacker)?</strong></p> <p>Soft suitcases will generally come with a few more internal pockets or dividers, allowing you to separate out your items. Hard suitcases tend to be a big empty space. If you like things to be organised, soft luggage is the best bet. Hard suitcases also take up more room than soft, so if you like to live out of your case on the floor of your hotel room (rather than hanging things up) you could find it gets in the way.</p> <p><strong>4. How often do you travel?</strong></p> <p>Hard luggage is more durable than soft and will usually stand up to the rough treatment of time in the cargo hold or being dragged around cobblestone streets. If you travel frequently, you’ll want your luggage to be able to survive multiple journeys without showing too much wear and tear.</p> <p><strong>5. Do you worry about security?</strong></p> <p>It can be easier to break into a soft suitcase, if only because thieves can simply slash the fabric sides. It’s not usually possible to do this to a hard suitcase, so you are giving yourself an extra layer of protection. However, keep in mind that a good travel lock will usually deter most opportunistic thieves, so most types of suitcase are relatively safe.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Hotel worker busted going through traveller’s luggage

<p dir="ltr">A traveller has shared a hotel story from hell, revealing he secretly filmed a hotel worker going through his possessions after he checked in and unpacked. </p> <p dir="ltr">The guest captured the footage of a housekeeper appearing to sift through his belongings and look in his safe, after he utilised the hidden webcam on his laptop. </p> <p dir="ltr">Sharing the video on TikTok, the traveller issued a warning to his followers, with the caption, “Pro travel tip: you can turn your laptop into a security camera.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The video then shows the housekeeper helping himself to a beverage out of the mini fridge, before starting to rummage through the wardrobe.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Be careful when you’re travelling. This was the first time I set up a camera and caught this.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Luckily, the housekeeper didn’t take any belongings from the savvy traveller, although they still reported the incident to hotel management. </p> <p dir="ltr">They said the hotel “managed the situation professionally”, and the housekeeper was fired “on the spot”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The guest said when booking the hotel, they noticed a series of reviews mentioning thefts but weren’t able to find any proof, hence they felt the need to set up the camera. </p> <p dir="ltr">The video has racked up over 170,000 likes, with many people in the comment section saying they rely on similar technology to keep their belongings secure. </p> <p dir="ltr">One nervous traveller commented, “This is exactly why I barely take anything out of my suitcase, always keep my lock on it and always travel with the keys.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Flight attendant reveals must-have travel items

<p dir="ltr">A seasoned flight attendant has shared the three things she always packs in her carry-on luggage to make every travelling experience a breeze. </p> <p dir="ltr">Rosalie Shaw, who has been a cabin crew member for nine years, says she has learned plenty of travel hacks throughout her career. </p> <p dir="ltr">She says one of the things she always takes is a clear ziplock bag to carry her passport in, in case of unfortunate accidents. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I know it seems like a lot but a damaged passport will literally ruin your holiday,” she said in a recent TikTok video.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The bag protects it from any spills like a water bottle, the rain or in my case a really bumpy boat ride,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">The next thing on Rosalie's list is a “good quality clear bag” for shampoo, conditioner and other liquids you want to take in your carry-on. </p> <p dir="ltr">These sturdy cosmetic bags last much longer than zip lock bags and can contain mess if there is a mid-flight spill.</p> <p dir="ltr">Rosalie puts all of her carry-on luggage in the clear bags because “it's easier to find things” on the go, and also adheres to security requirements of keeping things in a see-through bag. </p> <p dir="ltr">The last thing she recommends is to take two or three changes of clothes in your carry-on, in case anything happens to your checked luggage and you are left with no clothes. </p> <p dir="ltr">When choosing what spare clothes to pack, Rosalie recommends packing your favourite or most expensive items that are harder to replace. </p> <p dir="ltr">She said, “That way if your bag does go missing, you aren't stranded for outfits.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Rosalie always has her favourite linen dress in her handheld luggage, a cardigan, a spare pair of underwear, a bikini and a spare pair of shoes.</p> <p dir="ltr">“One time my bag did go missing but at least I had a bag of backup outfits with me so I wasn't as stressed,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

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