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The rival to the Panama Canal that was never built
The Panama Canal is essential to global trade, but a recent drought has left large numbers of ships waiting to pass along it, raising questions about whether an alternative route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is needed. It is a traffic jam on a colossal scale. More than 200 ships, according to some estimates,…
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Kvæfjordkak: Norway’s best cake
Made with vanilla sponge, meringue, almonds, custard and whipped cream, Norwegians love this cake so much they nicknamed it “the world’s best cake”. In Norway, there is a cake for just about every celebration and event. For weddings, there is the tower-like kransekake, made of 15 to 20 ground almond-and-egg white rings stacked in concentric…
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France to spend €200m destroying wine as demand falls
Getty Images By Alex Binley BBC News The French government is allocating €200m (£171.6m) to destroy surplus wine and support producers. It comes amid a cocktail of problems for the industry, including a falling demand for wine as more people drink craft beer. Overproduction and the cost of living crisis are also hitting the industry.…
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‘I booked a last-minute flight and bought a castle’
Samantha Kane By Steven McKenzie BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter “Everything looked like it would fall apart,” says Samantha Kane of her first viewing of cliff-top Carbisdale Castle. There was a problem with water seeping into parts of the country house, and some of the rooms were in a serious state of disrepair. When…
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Loch Ness Monster: Hundreds to join huge search for Nessie
Getty Images The biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in more than 50 years is getting under way in the Scottish Highlands. Two hundred volunteers are to help record natural – and any unusual – sights on Loch Ness from vantage points on land. Almost 300 have signed up to monitor a live stream…
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Niger junta gives French envoy 48 hours to leave
Universal Images Group via Getty Images Niger’s coup leaders have given the French ambassador 48 hours to leave the country as bilateral ties continue to deteriorate rapidly. The junta said Sylvain Itte had refused to respond to an invitation to meet Niger’s foreign minister. France, a former colonial power, said the “putschists have no authority”…
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Georgia Republicans look to politics post-Trump
AFP via Getty Images By Kayla Epstein BBC News, Georgia This week, a group of young Republicans gathered at a bar to watch their party’s first presidential debate. There was plenty of conservative zeal in the air, enhanced throughout the night with a steady stream of beer and feisty exchanges from the candidates on television.…
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Georgia renames square after first black Civil War nurse
Getty Images By Max Matza BBC News A public square in Georgia’s oldest city has been renamed after a black woman who played a major role in the US Civil War. Born into slavery in 1848, Susie King Taylor was highly educated at a young age despite laws banning education for black people in southern…
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Dry your eyes, Canada… Kleenex is leaving
Getty Images By Holly Honderich BBC News Canadians with runny noses and teary eyes will soon have to part with their Kleenex after the company announced it was pulling its famous facial wipes from the country. Kimberly-Clark, the company behind Kleenex, said the decision was based on “unique complexities”. Other Kimberly Clark products like Huggies…
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Spain wants Rubiales kiss row to be ‘MeToo moment’
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Guy Hedgecoe BBC News, Madrid Spain’s government has called for the controversy over the behaviour of the head of the football association to become football’s “Me Too moment”. Luis Rubiales said he would not resign over…