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What to claim for lost, delayed or damaged bags on overseas flights

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-johnston-123333">Rebecca Johnston</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852">University of Notre Dame Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-hodgkinson-6574">David Hodgkinson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a> If you get on a plane and your baggage ends up being delayed, damaged or lost, who’s responsible: you or the airline? And what rules apply when you’re flying between different countries – even if you don’t have travel insurance? Airlines (otherwise known as carriers) generally include baggage requirements in their terms and conditions of carriage, which are set out or referred to on your ticket. These are the rules that apply to the journey that you have booked. But for international flights, a carrier’s liability for damage, loss or delay of baggage is governed by a number of overarching international treaties, which many passengers aren’t aware of. <h2>International agreements</h2> The <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.1929/doc.html">Warsaw Convention</a> of 1929 was the first of these treaties, and the latest is the passenger-friendly 1999 <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.unification.convention.montreal.1999/">Montreal Convention</a>. In order for one of these treaties to apply to a particular journey, the same treaty must be in place at the point of departure and the passenger’s final destination. For many trips, the agreement that will apply will be the Montreal Convention, which has to date <a href="http://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf">108 state parties</a>, covering everywhere from Albania and Australia to Zambia. In time, the Montreal Convention is expected to apply to almost all air travel. The Warsaw Convention (as amended by the <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.hague.protocol.1955/doc.html">Hague Protocol</a> and <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.montreal.protocol.4.1975/doc.html">Montreal Protocol No. 4</a>) will generally apply where the Montreal Convention does not. It is less favourable to passengers. All these treaties have similar provisions to deal with baggage claims – but very different limits to what you might get if you need to make a claim. <h2>What the airline is responsible for</h2> A carrier is liable if your checked baggage is lost, delayed or damaged regardless of fault. This is so unless the damage resulted from the inherent defect or quality of the baggage or, in terms of delay, if it proves that it took all reasonable measures to avoid the damage occasioned by that delay. As for unchecked baggage (that is, carry-on baggage), the carrier is only liable if the damage is due to the fault of the carrier or its agents. Unless otherwise specified, reference to “baggage” includes both checked and unchecked baggage. <h2>Calculating baggage compensation</h2> Under the Warsaw Convention (as amended by the <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.hague.protocol.1955/doc.html">Hague Protocol</a> and <a href="http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.warsaw.convention.montreal.protocol.4.1975/doc.html">Montreal Protocol No. 4</a>) and the Montreal Convention, liability limits are expressed in <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/sdr.HTM">special drawing rights</a> (SDRs). An SDR is a type of foreign exchange reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund. Its value is based on an artificial basket of currencies consisting of the US dollar, the euro, the pound and the Japanese yen. The liability limits are reviewed every five years. As of October 16, 2014, the <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/param_rms_mth.aspx">value of an SDR</a> is about US$1.49, £0.93 or A$1.70. Current SDR values for other currencies are also listed <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/param_rms_mth.aspx">here</a>. <h2>So what is your baggage worth?</h2> In terms of baggage liability limits, the Warsaw Convention is of relatively little assistance to passengers. If your international travel is subject to Warsaw (for example, if you flew out of the United States on a one way ticket to Guatemala), liability for delayed, damaged or lost baggage is limited to 17 SDRs (about US$25.33, £15.81 or A$28.90) per kilogram per passenger for checked baggage and 332 SDRs (about US$494.68, £308.76 or A$564.40) per passenger for unchecked baggage. In contrast, a carrier is liable to pay far greater damages if the Montreal Convention applies. For any travel covered by Montreal, the carrier’s liability for baggage is limited to 1131 SDRs per passenger (US$1685.19, £1051.83 or A$1922.70), unless otherwise declared. The carrier is not liable for damages caused by delay if the carrier took all reasonable measures, or if it was impossible for it to take such measures. <h2>Time limits on baggage claims</h2> Time limits are imposed on making a claim for delayed, damaged or lost baggage. Any potential claims should be made to a carrier in writing within these specified limits. Article 26 of Warsaw provides that any complaint as to delay of baggage must be made at the latest within 21 days from the date the baggage was placed at the passenger’s disposal. <figure class="align-right zoomable"></figure> Similarly, under Article 31 of Montreal, a complaint must be made within 21 days of a passenger receiving their baggage. With respect to damaged baggage, under Warsaw, any claim must be made “forthwith” after the discovery of the damage and at most seven days from the date of receipt of the baggage. Montreal also gives passengers seven days from receipt of checked bags to report a damage claim. Neither convention imposes a time limit for reporting lost baggage claims. But it is advisable that you make your complaint as soon as possible. Warsaw does not state when baggage is considered “lost”, leaving it up to carriers to make that ruling. Under Montreal, baggage is only considered lost after 21 days or if the carrier admits that they have lost it. If a passenger fails to make a complaint within the specified times, the carrier will not be liable unless there has been fraud on the carrier’s part. <h2>Insurance alternatives</h2> If you are concerned that the contents of your baggage exceed the liability limits outlined above, you can make a special declaration of the value of your baggage prior to check-in and pay any additional fee (if required). In this case, the carrier will be liable to pay a higher amount, unless it is proved that the declared amount is greater than the actual value of your baggage. Alternatively, prior to travelling, check with your insurance company as to whether your travel insurance covers any excess from delayed, damaged or lost baggage. You might also want to <a href="http://www.icao.int/secretariat/legal/List%20of%20Parties/Mtl99_EN.pdf">check this list</a> to see whether the places you’re departing from and finally arriving at are parties to the Montreal Convention. If not, you might just find yourself out of pocket.<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/32111/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-johnston-123333">Rebecca Johnston</a>, Adjunct Lecturer, Law School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852">University of Notre Dame Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/david-hodgkinson-6574">David Hodgkinson</a>, Associate Professor, Law School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a> Image credits: Shutterstock 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/what-to-claim-for-lost-delayed-or-damaged-bags-on-overseas-flights-32111">original article</a>.

Travel Trouble

Lost touch with someone? Reach out – your friend will likely appreciate it more than you think

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peggy-liu-818769">Peggy Liu</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pittsburgh-854">University of Pittsburgh</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-min-1354136">Lauren Min</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-kansas-1588">University of Kansas</a> <h2>The big idea</h2> The next time you wonder whether to reach out to a friend, family member, classmate or other person who’s been out of touch for a long time, go ahead and do it. According to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000402">our just-published research</a>, it’s likely they’ll appreciate it more than you think. In a series of 13 experiments involving over 5,900 participants, we – along with colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0Stzf1cAAAAJ&hl=en">SoYon Rim</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TZQefJAAAAAJ&hl=en">Kate Min</a> – wanted to investigate whether people accurately predict <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000402">how much their social contacts appreciate being reached out to</a>. In one experiment we conducted, college students wrote a note “to check in and say hello” to a classmate they hadn’t interacted with in a while. Then we asked them how much they thought their classmate would appreciate receiving this note. Next, we delivered these notes to their classmates and asked the recipients how much they appreciated receiving them. We found that the students who received the notes were much more appreciative of the gesture than the students who wrote them had anticipated. Other experiments varied the scenario by involving older adults as participants rather than college students, switching the written message to a small gift – such as cookies or coffee – and comparing how much the sender underestimated the appreciation that an emotionally distant contact would feel compared with a close contact. Overall they yielded the same basic finding: People tended to underestimate how much others appreciated hearing from them. What drives this underestimation? Our results suggest that it’s related to how little the people reaching out factor in the surprise felt by those being contacted. When we asked recipients what they focused on when indicating how appreciative they felt, they reported paying a lot of attention to their positive feelings of surprise, which were linked to how appreciative they felt. Comparatively, potential senders did not report focusing much on recipients’ positive feelings of surprise. It also mattered whether the two parties were already in a close relationship. People’s underestimations were even greater when their contact was a distant acquaintance because these recipients were especially surprised at being contacted. <h2>Why it matters</h2> Many people can name at least one person with whom they would like to reconnect. Taking a new job, moving to a different city, becoming a parent, or the busyness of everyday life – these are just some of the life events and circumstances that can cause people to lose touch. Then, if the desire to reconnect arises on one side, doubts may arise about whether the other person may appreciate being contacted out of the blue. When people consider taking the initiative to reach out, especially after a prolonged period of no contact, they may worry about being rejected. This worry might keep them from reaching out in the first place. Our research lessens this challenge by showing that often, these gestures will be much more appreciated than one might expect. <h2>What other research is being done</h2> Our findings fit within a growing stream of research examining the tendency to underestimate others’ appreciation of various social exchanges. For example, other researchers have found that people underestimate how much <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000277">others appreciate receiving compliments</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618772506">expressions of gratitude</a>. Our work adds to this area by broadening the scope of the contexts in which people underestimate how much social exchanges are appreciated. Reaching out could but need not require giving compliments or expressing gratitude – the gesture can be as simple as checking in with someone to show that one is thinking about them.<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/185001/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peggy-liu-818769">Peggy Liu</a>, Ben L. Fryrear Chair in Marketing and Associate Professor of Business Administration, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-pittsburgh-854">University of Pittsburgh</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lauren-min-1354136">Lauren Min</a>, Assistant Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-kansas-1588">University of Kansas</a> Image credits: Shutterstock 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/lost-touch-with-someone-reach-out-your-friend-will-likely-appreciate-it-more-than-you-think-185001">original article</a>.

Relationships

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

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. LATAM Airlines said that the plane experienced an unspecified "technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement." Passengers on board the flight have recalled the terrifying moment the plane took a nose-dive mid-flight. "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 NZ Herald. “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." He added that passengers were screaming and it was hard to tell whether blood or red wine was splattered through the cabin. Another passenger, Brian Jokat, told broadcaster RNZ that the incident took place in "split seconds". "There was no pre-turbulence, we were just sailing smoothly the whole way,” he said. “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.” 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. “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 The Exorcist.” Paramedics and more than 10 emergency vehicles were waiting for passengers when the plane landed in Auckland. Around 50 patients were treated, with 12 of them hospitalised and one in serious condition. At least three of those treated were cabin crew. Jokat told RNZ that after the plane landed, the pilot came to the back and explained what had happened. "He said to me, ‘I lost my instrumentation briefly and then it just came back all of a sudden,’” Jokat said. In another interview with Stuff.co.nz, Jokat recalled the pilot also saying: “My gauges just blanked out, I lost all of my ability to fly the plane.” The airline's final destination was Santiago, Chile, but it was landing at Auckland Airport in accordance with its normal flight path, according to Reuters. "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. Images: Brian Jokat/ News.com.au

Travel Trouble

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

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-dobson-1093706">Stephen Dobson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. <h2>Understanding the ‘situation’</h2> 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>. 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. By rebelling against the invasiveness of consumption, the Situationists proposed a turn towards artistically-inspired individuality and creativity. <h2>Think on your own two feet</h2> 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. 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. The Situationists valued drift, or dérive 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. 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. <h2>Forge your own path</h2> 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? 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. 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. 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 <a href="https://www.theartstory.org/movement/situationist-international/">détournement</a>, or hijacking. 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. 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. 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. 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. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bUL0C_T-Sqk?wmode=transparent&start=999" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> 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. Perhaps now is a good time to set down the phone and follow in the Situationists’ footsteps. <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" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-dobson-1093706">Stephen Dobson</a>, Professor and Dean of Education and the Arts, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Image credits: Getty Images 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>.

Travel Tips

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

Margot Robbie has recalled a sweet story about when she overheard a group of men talking about the Barbie movie, before giving them the surprise of their life. At a screening of the Barbie 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. At the SAG-AFTRA screening of the blockbuster movie, Robbie began, “I had this brilliant experience.” “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 Barbie movie, not knowing that I was sitting two or three feet away from them.” Robbie continued, “It was just truly fascinating. There were people at the table who refused to see the Barbie movie." “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." “I wasn’t going to go up to them, but then I did.” 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. “At the last minute as I was walking out I went to their table and I went ‘Thank you for seeing the Barbie movie’,” she added. “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’. “People’s reactions to the movie have been the biggest reward of this entire experience.” 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 Barbie movie, which caused an uproar on social media. Margot addressed the snub at the LA screening, saying there's “no way to feel sad when you’re this blessed.” “Obviously, I think Greta should be nominated as a director,” she added. “What she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing. What she pulled off, it really is." “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.” Image credits: Getty Images

Movies

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

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-gerace-325968">Adam Gerace</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> 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. 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>. 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. 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. 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. For many, Friends was the television equivalent of the soundtrack to their lives. 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. <h2>Enduring appeal</h2> 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. 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. 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>. 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. 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 be 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. 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. <h2>Likeable characters</h2> 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. 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. 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. 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. <h2>Fictional relationships, but real sadness</h2> 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>. 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. 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" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-gerace-325968">Adam Gerace</a>, Senior Lecturer and Head of Course - Positive Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Image credits: Getty Images 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>.

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

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/eliran-arazi-1447346">Eliran Arazi</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hebrew-university-of-jerusalem-855">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> 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. 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. During the search for the children, I was in contact with Raquel Andoque, an elder maloquera (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. 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. 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. 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. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&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&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532019/original/file-20230614-31-hrdd5z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A youg girl holding up an insect as her family works alongside" /><figcaption>A local Indigenous girl on an excursion to gather edible larvae. Image courtesy of Eliran Arazi, Author provided</figcaption></figure> 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. <h2>Survival skills</h2> 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. <figure class="align-left zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&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&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532012/original/file-20230614-29-ii5s0u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Map of the Middle Caqueta region of Colombia." /></a><figcaption>Map showing where in Colombia the four lost children are from. Gadiel Levi, Author provided</figcaption></figure> 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. 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. 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. <h2>Stories, songs and myths</h2> 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. 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. 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. 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. <h2>Looking after each other</h2> 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. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&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&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532007/original/file-20230614-19-7q92j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Three Indigenous people in western clothes stood under trees in front of a wide building." /><figcaption>Iris Andoque Macuna with her brother Nestor Andoque and brother-in-law Faustino Fiagama after the two men returned from the search team. Iris Andoque Macuna., Author provided</figcaption></figure> 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: <blockquote> 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. </blockquote> <h2>The spiritual side</h2> 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 dueños (owners) in Spanish and by various names in native languages (such as i'bo ño̰e, meaning “persons of there” in Andoque). 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. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&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&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531997/original/file-20230614-15389-7c6oly.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="Woman in pink t-shirt sat on chair inside." /><figcaption>Raquel Andoke, a relative of the missing children and friend of the author. Image courtesy of Eliran Arazi, Author provided</figcaption></figure> During the search for the missing children, elders conducted dialogues and negotiations with these entities in their ceremonial houses (malocas) 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: <blockquote> 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.” </blockquote> 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Preserving this invaluable knowledge and the skills that bring miracles to life is imperative. We must not allow them to wither away.<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" /> <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)., <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/hebrew-university-of-jerusalem-855">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a> 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>. Images: Getty

Caring

The real reason your luggage is lost in transit

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. 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. 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. But it still wasn’t perfect, and 23 million bags were still misplaced. 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. Reasons for lost luggage: <ul> <li>Lost during a transfer – This was the major reason for luggage being misplaced and the cause of over half the reported misplaced luggage occurrences.</li> <li>Ticketing errors, bag switches or security issues – Around 19 per cent of lost bags fell into this category, suggesting that human error still plays a role.</li> <li>Delayed due to airport, customs, and weather or space/weight restrictions – This broad category accounted for almost 16 per cent of the lost luggage.</li> <li>Failure to load the bag or mishandling at arrival station – This was the reason behind four per cent of the bags that were mishandled.</li> <li>Tagging Error – With significant advancements in bag handling technology tagging errors accounted for only four per cent of lost luggage.</li> </ul> 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: <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> Images: Getty

Travel Trouble

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

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

Family & Pets

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

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. 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. 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. Speaking to Australia’s A Current Affair, Cheryl admitted that the entire experience had left her “very depressed. I was in tears a lot at the time.” “Cheryl ended up wearing my knickers,” John explained, adding that it only made sense, because his clothes had actually been available. "I've put a pair on, but the only thing is, I couldn't fill out the little pouch in the front," Cheryl added. 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. 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. “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.” 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. 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. “They did say it was very unusual for a suitcase not to turn up at all,” Cheryl noted. “For quite a bit of time we felt that it had been stolen because they'd searched the ship," John said. 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. To make matters even worse, it had been onboard the whole time. 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'.” 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. “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.” 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.” Images: A Current Affair / Nine

Cruising

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

A Bolivian man has survived 31 days in the Amazon jungle. Jhonattan Acosta, 30, was hunting in northern Bolivia when he was separated from his four friends. 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. Acosta was finally found by a search party made up of locals and friends a month after he went missing. “I can’t believe people kept up the search for so long,” he said in tears. “I ate worms, I ate insects, you wouldn’t believe all I had to do to survive all this time.” He also ate wild fruits similar to papayas, known locally as gargateas. “I thank God profusely, because he has given me a new life,” he said. 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. 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. “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. “He only had one cartridge in his shotgun and couldn’t walk, and he thought no one would be looking for him anymore.” 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. After 31 days, Acosta spotted the search party about 300m away and limped through thorny bushes, shouting to draw attention to him. Acosta’s brother, Haracio, said that he was found by four local people. “A man came running to tell us they’d found my brother,” he said. “It’s a miracle.” Acosta has since decided to give up hunting for good. “He is going to play music to praise God,” Haracio said. “He promised God that, and I think he will keep his promise.” Image credit: BBC News

Travel Trouble

What to do if you lose your phone

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. Change passwords 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. Call and text your phone 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. Tracking it down 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! iPhones - 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 Androids – “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. Windows – Visit the “My Phone” section of Windows Phone website. It will let you ring, lock, erase or show your phone on a map. Tell your phone company 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. Report it 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. Image: Getty Images

Technology

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

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”. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Parallels with neurodegenerative disorders 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. 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. This may go some way in explaining the link between COVID and the risk of developing certain neurological disorders. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&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&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/491380/original/file-20221024-17-9wi5pg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>A brain organoid used in our study. You can see the microglial cells in red. Sellgren lab, Author provided</figcaption></figure> A possible target for treatment 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. 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. 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. 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>. 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" /> Writen by Samudyata and Carl Sellgren. 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>. Image: Getty Images

Mind

"Revolving door of chaos": UK PM quits after 44 days in office

Liz Truss has resigned as UK Prime Minister after just 44 days in the top job. Ms Truss was sworn in as prime minister on September 6 by Queen Elizabeth II. She has now become the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history. Previously, this record was held by George Canning, who served for 119 days in 1827. She explained that she tried to deliver on the "vision for a low-tax high-growth economy" but was unable to continue her role following pressure from members of her party. A leadership election will be held in the next week to find Truss’ replacement but until then she will remain Prime Minister. Speaking in front of Number 10 Downing Street, Ms Truss accepted that she was unable to deliver her promises as leader of the Conservatives Party. Opposition Leader Keir Starmer said the Tory "soap opera" was damaging the country's economy and the issue needed to be sorted. "We can't have a revolving door of chaos," he told the BBC. "We can't have another experiment at the top of the Tory party. "There is an alternative and that's a stable Labour government and the public are entitled to have their say, and that's why there should be a general election." Liz Truss’ Full Speech “I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability,” she said. “Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. “Putin's illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. “And our country had been held back for too long by low economic growth. “I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this. “We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance. “And we set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy – that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit. “I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. “I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party. “This morning I met the Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady. “We have agreed there will be a leadership election to be completed in the next week. “This will ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country's economic stability and national security. “I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen. “Thank you.” Image: Getty

News

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

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. 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. 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. 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. <h2>14 billion longline hooks litter the sea each year</h2> 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. We surveyed fishers using five major gear types: gillnets, longlines, purse seine nets, trawl nets, and pots and traps. 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. We coupled these surveys with information on global fishing effort data from commercial fisheries. 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: <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> In addition, fishers lose over 25 million pots and traps and nearly 14 billion longline hooks each year. 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. 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. 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. <h2>Harming fishers and marine life</h2> 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. 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. 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. <figure></figure> Additionally, many fisheries have already gone through significant reforms to reduce their environmental impact and improve the sustainability of their operations. 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. 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. 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. <h2>What do we do about it?</h2> 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. 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. 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. 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. 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>. Image: CSIRO

Travel Trouble

Lost Freddie Mercury song released by Queen

Queen has released a lost song that was originally recorded in 1988, which features the late frontman Freddie Mercury. The track, titled Face It Alone, was written and recorded for the band’s album called The Miracle, but didn’t make it onto the final track listing and was shelved. 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. Face It Alone is the first new song released featuring Freddie Mercury since 2014’s Queen Forever album. The 2014 album included three previously unheard tracks with the singer: Let Me In Your Heart Again, Love Kills and There Must Be More to Life Than This. Speaking of the rediscovered track, Queen guitarist Brian May said: “I’m happy that our team were able to find this track.” “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.” Drummer Roger Taylor added, “We’d kind of forgotten about this track but there it was, this little gem.” “It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.” The song’s resurgence comes ahead of the reissue of the band’s 13th album The Miracle, which was first released in 1989. The album - which included tracks I Want It All, Breakthru and The Invisible Man - reached number one in the UK at the time of its initial release. Image credits: Getty Images

Music

43 vintage photos of Queen Elizabeth II before she became Queen

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the United Kingdom's longest reigning monarch, having ascended the throne in 1952 at age 25. Following the sad news of her passing at the age of 96, here are some snapshots of what her life was like before her coronation. <h2>1926: Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is born</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York was born on April 21, 1926. She’s pictured here with her mother, Elizabeth, the Duchess of York, who was the wife of Prince Albert “Bertie” of York. Since Bertie was the second-born son of the reigning monarch, King George V, no one, and least of all the princess, herself, had any clue Elizabeth would one day be queen. Here, she’s just a sweet firstborn daughter of the “spare” heir. <h2>A mum, a dad and a newborn princess</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> When Prince Albert (called “Bertie” by his friends and family) married Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, the two became the Duke and Duchess of York. Here, the Duke and Duchess are pictured with their newborn, Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. <h2>1927: Lilibet at 14 months</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-3.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> When Princess Elizabeth was learning to speak, she had trouble pronouncing her name, referring to herself as “Lilibet,” and the name stuck. Lilibet was a happy and friendly child and the darling of her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary. Outgoing and plucky, Lilibet was one of the few people on the planet who wasn’t intimidated by the man she called “Grandpa England,” whom she led by his beard as if he were a horse, according to TIME. <h2>Just out of the terrible twos</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-4.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In this sweet family portrait from 1929, the Duke of York smiles at his toddler daughter, who sits on her mum’s lap. <h2>Daddy’s in military garb; a princess salutes</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-5.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In this photo taken the summer of 1931, the Duke exits the car in military garb after his wife and daughter, while Princess Elizabeth salutes members of the military. <h2>1932: Still a cosy, normal childhood</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-6.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Arriving at the Royal Tournament in 1932, Princess Elizabeth was dressed like the proper princess that she was, but she generally lived a quiet life outside the spotlight. Until the birth of her sister, Princess Margaret Ann, she played with the children of businessmen and doctors, as opposed to the children of royals. Princess Margaret was a playful influence on her sister, who was, as is often the case with older siblings, more conscientious and responsible. <h2>Playing house</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-7.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In their childhood, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret had an adorable miniature house that was a gift from the people of Wales. In this 1933 photo, the two princesses pose with their pups and their parents outside the tiny house. <h2>The Princess bridesmaid</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-8.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Young Princess Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the November 1934 wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent (a younger brother of George) to Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark. Elizabeth is pictured here with her dad, the Duke of York, but what’s most notable about this photo is that it was taken the same day Elizabeth first met her future husband, Philip Mountbatten, who was Prince of Greece and Denmark at the time. <h2>Kids Day at the Horse Show</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-9.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The Duke and Duchess of York and Princess Elizabeth arrive at the Richmond Horse Show for an array of Children’s Day events on June 14, 1935. <h2>A family portrait from 1936</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-10.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> As it turned out, 1936 would be an especially important year for this family, though they couldn’t have known it at the moment this photo was snapped. Earlier that year, King George V had died, and his firstborn son, King Edward VIII, had ascended to the throne. But it wasn’t to last. <h2>Everything was about to change</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-11.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Pictured with two of her Corgis in 1936, Princess Elizabeth likely has little awareness of the constitutional crisis brewing as a result of King Edward VIII’s romance with the still-married, once-divorced American, Wallis Simpson. Her divorce, among other things, made her an inappropriate king’s “consort,” but Edward declared his intention to marry her and make her his queen. By the end of 1936, Edward would abdicate after learning the British people wouldn’t be able to support their King’s marriage to a divorcee, leaving Elizabeth’s father, Bertie, as King (King George VI) and Elizabeth as the presumptive heir. One thing that hasn’t changed, even today? Elizabeth’s love of Corgis. <h2>A newly crowned King and his family</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-12.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> This photo was taken on the balcony of Buckingham Palace just after the coronation of King George VI on May 12, 1937. From left to right, we see the new Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, the Dowager Queen Mary, Princess Margaret, and the newly crowned King. <h2>New King, Queen and heir presumptive</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-13.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> When this photo was taken in 1937, King George VI had just recently ascended the throne. Princess Elizabeth was now the heir presumptive. That isn’t the same thing as an heir apparent; there was still the theoretical possibility that the King would father a male child and, in those days, a younger brother would have taken Elizabeth’s place in the line of succession. This rule, known as “male primogeniture,” ended during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. <h2>The future Queen and her sister at play</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-14.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Princess Margaret famously expressed her “sympathy” for what lay ahead of her dear older sister. <h2>A day at the theatre</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-15.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> King George VI, accompanied by his wife, Queen Elizabeth, and their daughter, Princess Elizabeth, arrive at the Coliseum Theatre in London for a charity matinee on March 27, 1938. <h2>Not the cheap seats</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-16.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princess Elizabeth are seen attending the theatre on March 27, 1939, to benefit The King George VI Pension Fund for Actors and Actresses. <h2>The royal wave</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-17.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On June 22, 1939, the royal family, having just returned from their royal Canadian tour, appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. <h2>A visit to Dartmouth Naval College</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-18.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In this photo, taken during a July 1939 visit to Dartmouth Naval College, Princess Elizabeth plants a tree while her father looks on and holds the hand of Elizabeth’s younger sister, Princess Margaret. <h2>A photo of the King taking a photo</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-19.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> At an August 1939 event at Abergeldie Castle, which is not far from Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, King George VI, wearing a kilt, holds a camera to his face. He was an avid photographer, a hobby Queen Elizabeth II adopted. <h2>Elizabeth as a lover of animals</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-20.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Queen Elizabeth II was one of, if not the, most famous animal lovers in the world. Here she’s seen in 1939 feeding one of the elephants at the London Zoo. Later in life, Elizabeth received one as a gift from the President of Cameroon in 1972. <h2>A closely-knit family</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-21.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> This photo, taken in 1942, shows the royal family, including Princess Elizabeth, 16, doing some knitting for the British troops. <h2>All the pretty horses</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-22.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Queen Elizabeth started riding at age three and owned many horses throughout her life. Here she is in 1943, at age 17, with one of her many horses during Harvest Time at Sandringham in Norfolk. <h2>A princess’s first tour</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-23.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On April 4, 1944, Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, and King George VI stood in a scout car during an inspection of royal artillery units. It was Princess Elizabeth’s first full-length tour with her parents. <h2>The heir presumptive turns 18</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-24.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The 18th birthday of an heir (apparent or presumptive) signifies the heir could become monarch at any time without the need for a regent to act on his/her behalf. Here, Elizabeth answers a telephone greeting on her 18th birthday, April 21, 1944. <h2>Young Elizabeth follows in her father’s footsteps</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-25.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In this photo of the royal family taken on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 1945, Princess Elizabeth wears a military uniform, following in the footsteps of her dad. <h2>1945: A Princess does her military duty</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-26.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> It took a lot of cajoling, but eventually, Elizabeth got her father, King George VI to agree to allow her to join the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II, for which she donned coveralls and trained as a mechanic and truck driver and was known as “Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor.” According to History, the Queen is the only female royal family member to have entered the armed forces. She may also be the only royal female who can change a spark plug. <h2>A laugh between Dad and daughter</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-27.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Here, we see the king sharing a laugh with his oldest daughter in 1946. <h2>The Princess does her duty for fashion</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-28.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The current Princesses of the United Kingdom are not the first to have been on almost constant style-watch. Here, Princess Elizabeth is pictured in 1946 modelling what can only be described as a truly fabulous, fashion-forward hat. <h2>1947: A future Queen’s promise</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-29.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On April 21, 1947, on the occasion of her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth announces her intention to serve as Queen for life (when the time comes) and promises her loyalty and faithfulness in serving. Some say this speech was her commitment to never abdicate. <h2>Meet the (royal) family</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-30.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In 1947, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN, asked Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth for her hand in marriage. She accepted. This photo was specially posed by the royal family in connection with the upcoming wedding. <h2>Later that same day…</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-31.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The royal family sat for a more intimate photo, just the four of them. <h2>Pre-wedding jitters?</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-32.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The bride-to-be, Princess Elizabeth, emerges from her carriage as King George VI looks on. The wedding day had some hiccups, which includes the “tiara incident” that occurred just before this photo was taken. <h2>Wedding day</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-33.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On November 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten were married at Westminster Abbey. To marry Elizabeth, Philip, who was born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark, had to renounce his birth titles (Prince of Greece and Denmark). In return, his father-in-law-to-be created him Duke of Edinburgh, Baron Greenwich, and Earl of Merioneth. <h2>Post-royal wedding photo</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-34.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On November 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth married the Duke of Edinburgh (previously Philip Mountbatten, the former Prince of Greece and Denmark). Here, the future Queen stands between her father, King George VI, and her husband, who is chatting amiably with his new mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth; next to her is the dowager Queen Mary. <h2>1948: The pregnant Princess Elizabeth</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-35.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> During the summer of 1948, Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, are snapped arriving at Ballater Station en route to Balmoral for a family vacation (or “holiday,” as they say in England). At this time, Elizabeth is six months pregnant with her first child, Prince Charles. <h2>Meet His Royal Highness, Prince Charles</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-36.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> HRH Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948. In this photo, we see four generations of the royal family: the newborn Prince Charles; Prince Charles’s mother, then-Princess Elizabeth (holding Charles); Elizabeth’s father, King George VI; and King George VI’s mother, the dowager Queen Mary. <h2>Grandpa’s pride and joy</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-37.jpg" alt="" /> King George VI watches as Princess Elizabeth assists baby Prince Charles as he walks in early 1950. Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth stand to the right, gazing at the future Prince of Wales. <h2>1950: The Princess and her toddler</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-38.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In September 1950, Princess Elizabeth is seen with Prince Charles, age 2, on the train on their way to visit her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral in Scotland. <h2>A family photo from Scotland</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-39.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In this photo taken on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland in late summer 1951, King George VI is on the far left and Queen Elizabeth is on the right; in the centre are Princess Elizabeth, her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and young Prince Charles, who is sitting on the deer sculpture. Princess Margaret is in the background. <h2>1951: Princess Elizabeth and her baby daughter</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-40.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Born Her Royal Highness Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise of Edinburgh on August 15, 1950, Anne will later become Princess Royal, a title the monarch may bestow on his/her eldest daughter. <h2>The Princess cuts a rug</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-41.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> In 1951, during the Royal Tour, which she went on in place of her ailing father, King George VI, Princess Elizabeth dances a traditional Canadian square dance at Government House, Ottowa. <h2>A last look at the Princess</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-42.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On February 2, 1952, Colonel Mervyn Cowie opens the visitor’s book for Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to sign upon their arrival at Nairobi National Park for a tour, during which they slept in a hotel built as a treehouse. Philip is chatting in the background with Cowie’s daughter, Mitzie. Four days later, King George VI would be dead, and the Princess would ascend the throne as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. <h2>Long live the Queen</h2> <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/liz-43.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> On February 7, 1952, Elizabeth, made her first appearance on English soil as Her Majesty, the Queen. She wore black because she was mourning the death of her father, King George VI. He had passed away two days earlier. This article by Lauren Cahn first appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/true-stories-lifestyle/history/43-vintage-photos-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-before-she-became-queen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a> and is reproduced here with permission. Images: HISTORIA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Beauty & Style

Who is Liz Truss, the new UK prime minister?

The United Kingdom now has its third ever female prime minister. Liz Truss was elected as leader by grassroots members of the Conservatives to lead the party – and hence the nation – on a platform that positioned her as the continuity candidate from Boris Johnson. This result will be celebrated on all sides of British politics. Members of the Conservative party – the <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05125/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approximately 180,000</a> people who elected the new leader – will be delighted that the continuity candidate got over the line. Similarly, strategists for the opposition parties – Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party – will also be delighted that the continuity candidate got over the line. In electing Truss as leader, Conservative members have increased their party’s chances of losing the next general election. This is because Truss essentially offers more of the same. She steps into 10 Downing Street at a moment when the views of the Conservative party and the experience of the wider electorate are diverging. As Britons find themselves in the throes of a cost-of-living crisis, the leadership debates between Truss and her main opponent, Rishi Sunak, were focused on the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2901846c-9424-47dc-b986-fc8e570a2098" target="_blank" rel="noopener">extent of tax cuts</a>, weakening the public purse when it is needed most. This was music to the ears of the older and wealthier Conservative members, but a case of “same world, different planet” for the wider electorate. To add insult to injury, Truss disparaged the idea of support for struggling Britons as “<a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/times-liz-truss-attacked-handouts-27838296" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handouts</a>”. Furthermore, her views on British workers as “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62571016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lazy</a>” resurfaced during the leadership contest. This is unlikely to endear her to those one-time Labour voters in the 45 so-called “Red Wall” seats in northern England that switched to the Johnson-led Conservatives at the 2019 election. Newly-minted Conservative MPs in such seats fear that, faced with this disdain, their new supporters <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1657586/UK-election-polls-red-wall-seats-Labour-Tory-voters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may switch back to Labour</a>. Additionally, as someone who symbolises continuity with the Johnson government, Truss may struggle in the 20 so-called “Blue Wall” seats in southern England. Former Conservative voters switched to the Liberal Democrats in three recent by-elections in such seats, heaping pressure on Johnson to resign earlier this year. Conservative MPs in this part of England fear that voters who were switched off by Johnson’s political tone and governing style, <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-tipped-lose-26-blue-27377717" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may not warm</a> to Truss’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/21/the-tory-leadership-contest-could-alienate-voters-in-blue-and-red-wall-seats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">embrace of the same tactics</a>: hostility to the EU, goading the French, and waging a “war on woke”. North of the border, Truss’s embrace of all things British, from her <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1532994/liz-truss-cheese-speech-this-is-a-disgrace-foreign-secretary-chatham-house-spt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">famous support for British cheese</a> to the self-conscious adoption of <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/11/30/liz-truss-ukraine-russia-tank-war-invasion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thatcherite imagery</a>, will consolidate support for Scottish independence. There are only six Conservative MPs in Scotland, but having Truss as leader won’t make the job of retaining seats at the next election any easier. Given these strategic perils, why was she elected? A <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/boris-johnson-would-win-tory-leadership-race_uk_62ea575fe4b0da5ec0f02397" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouGov opinion poll</a> found a plurality of Conservative members did not want to see Johnson ousted from Number 10, despite his record in government. A <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/trackers/should-boris-johnson-remain-as-leader-of-the-conservative-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gulf has emerged</a> between grassroots Conservatives and the wider electorate. If Truss emulates Johnson too closely – as the party seems to want – it is the party that will pay the price. <h2>What does this mean for Australia?</h2> Truss will find a series of pressing yet complex issues in her in-tray. The foremost of these will be the cost-of-living crisis. This will intensify as winter approaches and <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-updates-price-cap-level-and-tightens-rules-suppliers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">energy price caps are lifted</a>, leaving many struggling to heat their homes and buy food. The industrial action witnessed during the summer, will intensify. The next issue is the war in Ukraine. Part of the Russian global strategy is to hope that western states, not least the UK, tire in their support for Ukraine. This will not happen under Truss. She is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/ukraines-greatest-friend-uks-truss-pledges-more-support-kyiv-2022-07-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a firm supporter of Ukraine</a> and can be expected to retain the UK’s current posture of support. Truss is also the continuity candidate as far as Anglo-Australian relations are concerned. Like Johnson, Truss is a big fan of Australia (Dan Tehan’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-21/uk-chair-fight-criticised-canberra-trade-talks/100085830" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uncomfortable chair</a> during free trade negotiations notwithstanding). As the British author of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia and the UK, this form of bilateral relationship will only strengthen. Being very favourably disposed to Australia means the commitment to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/16/what-is-the-aukus-alliance-and-what-are-its-implications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AUKUS</a> – the strategic alliance between Australia, the UK and the US – will remain. Of course, Johnson had an ideological confrère in Scott Morrison as his Australian counterpart. Truss will not enjoy such an ideological affinity with Anthony Albanese or Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Nevertheless, the ALP view of the Australia-UK FTA is broadly favourable, with perhaps some stronger provisions for workers’ rights built in. Less is known about ALP views towards AUKUS, or whether the Australian government will choose British over US submarine designs (or whatever there might be <a href="https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/can-australia-get-nuclear-powered-submarines-this-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on offer in the interim</a>). Questions remain about whether, like her predecessor, Truss believes in herself more than in Britain. Given her ability to hold more than one political position with great conviction (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/30/liz-truss-profile-ambition-charm-thick-skin-thatcher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">she started out as a Liberal Democrat and voted to remain in the EU</a>) it might be that we have a new leader more interested in their own CV than the common good. Boris Johnson <a href="https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/johnsonism-and-the-strange-death-of-conservative-england/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">damaged trust in politics</a>, but Truss may not be equipped to address that particular issue. Her advisers will be tempted to consider a quick election – giving her a spurious “mandate” that the Westminster system doesn’t require – and there are lessons in what happened to Theresa May when that temptation arose. Yet for all his faults, Johnson bequeaths Truss an imposing 73-seat majority. But Truss must tread carefully: she’s the best hope of ousting the Conservatives that the opposition has had in many years. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-liz-truss-the-new-uk-prime-minister-189774" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Getty

Legal

Record-busting droughts are uncovering long-lost relics

As much of the Northern Hemisphere experiences record-breaking droughts, the drying up of lakes, rivers and other bodies of water has exposed more than just dirt and debris. In Spain, a prehistoric circle of stones dubbed “Spanish Stonehenge” has emerged in a drying dam in the central province of Caceres. Since it was first discovered in 1926 and was subsequently covered by floodwaters, the stones have only been visible four times. Elsewhere in Europe, 20 German WWII warships have been exposed, sunken in the Danube River near Serbia’s river port town of Prahovo. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/ww2-ships.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Twenty Nazi warships emerged as the Danue River continues to dry up. Image: Reuters (YouTube) The Nazi German ships were among hundreds that sailed up the Danube while retreating from Soviet forces in 1944, and still hamper traffic traversing the river when water levels are low. In late July, a previously submerged WWII bomb weighing a whopping 450kg was discovered in the River Po, as the country declared a state of emergency in areas around the lengthy river as a result of the low water levels. The ageing explosive was defused in a controlled explosion by military experts earlier this month near the village of Bogo Virgilio, but not before about 3,000 people were evacuated from the area, per <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/20/europes-drought-exposes-wwii-ships-bombs-and-prehistoric-stones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Al Jazeera</a>. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/bomb1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Military experts were deployed to detonate a 450kg bomb uncovered in Italy’s Polo River. Image: Global News (YouTube) Meanwhile, droughts in the US have exposed ancient footprints belonging to dinosaurs, as well as victims of suspected mob killings. In early July, the skeletal remains of a man who was shot in the head, stuffed in a barrel and tossed into Lake Mead, located outside the city of Las Vegas, were uncovered, with experts believing he would have died in the 1980s. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/dino-tracks.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Dinosaur tracks believed to be 113 million years old were found in a state park in Texas. Image: Texas Park and Wildlife Department The lake, along with the Hudson River, provides most of southern Nevada’s drinking water and has reached its lowest point since it was filled 90 years ago, as reported by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/priyashukla/2022/05/03/drought-reveals-homicide-victim-as-lake-mead-recedes/?sh=6d6c198f3943" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes</a>. A discovery of Jurassic proportions was made at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas, after footprints believed to date back 113 million years were found. The tracks belong to the Arocanthosaurus, a bipedal dinosaur with three toes and a claw on each limb, per <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/science/dinosaur-tracks-texas-drought.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. Others that were also uncovered belong to Sauroposeidon proteles, a 15-metre-long dinosaur with a long neck and small head. As the fierce weather continues, experts believe more of these kinds of finds will emerge. Images: Texas Park and Wildlife Department / Reuters (YouTube)

International Travel

Airline havoc and lost luggage become major headache for cruise-goers

With airlines across the globe making headlines for delays, <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/qantas-loses-woman-s-luggage-that-contains-her-mother-s-ashes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losing passengers’ luggage</a>, and a host of other issues, it might seem that going on a cruise would be a safer option. But many cruise-goers have faced even more significant problems as a result of waylaid luggage, with some telling <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lost-luggage-cruise-vacation-travel-transport-europe-trip-airport-airline-2022-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider</a> that they had to choose whether to stay at the airport to find out what happened to their luggage or make it in time for their cruise boarding time. For Ed Perry and his wife, who flew from North Carolina to Amsterdam for a two-week cruise to Budapest and Hungary, flight delays, route changes and having to check their hand luggage resulted in both their carry-on bags and their hold luggage being lost. “It was a disaster from start to finish,” Mr Perry told Insider. He added that he and his wife couldn’t shop for clothes when their ship docked because they’d paid for excursions, but that other passengers stepped in to lend them clothes. Todd McCloud Jr said losing his luggage after last-minute flight changes “put a dampener on our whole trip”. He said a staff member told him his bags would arrive on another flight and be taken straight to the port where his family’s cruise around the Caribbean would be departing from, but that the bags ultimately never arrived. “I’m lucky that I didn’t put our birth certificates in those bags or else we wouldn’t have been able to go on that cruise at all,” Mr McCloud said. Fortunately, his bags were waiting for him when he returned to the airport, along with a voucher and a cheque from Southwest, the airline he flew with, to cover the cost of the replacement items he purchased during the trip Other passengers shared how their luggage was lost during layovers, with some bags being passed between multiple airports as airlines tried to follow cruise itineraries to match up the luggage with their rightful owners. Thomas Hatch, who was meant to arrive in Rome for a 10-day Celebrity Cruises trip around Europe, said a total of eight bags belonging to him and three other passengers failed to arrive in time. British Airways staff told Mr Hatch that the luggage would be flown to Rome on a later flight, but the flight’s cancellation resulted in six of the bags being sent to Athens the day before Mr Hatch’s ship docked there. Despite matching his itinerary, Mr Hatch said the airport was “overwhelmed” with luggage and wouldn’t let the ship's porter collect the bags. He said two of his bags were sent to Thessaloniki Airport in Greece, despite the ship never stopping there. Another passenger, who wished to remain anonymous so as not to jeopardise her chances of compensation, shared photos of luggage tags from her bag, which showed the airline apparently sent it to four European airlines in failed attempts to match up with her cruise. While passengers said they struggled to get help from the airlines, cruise lines went out of their way to be of assistance. Mr Perry said Viking “bent over backwards for us”, with staff lending him their mobile phones so he could call Air Canada, who he said were difficult to reach during the trip and never offered to send his luggage to other ports. Zoe Greenberg had a similar experience to Mr Perry, sharing that Air Canada was “impossible to reach” despite her calling them daily and her husband spending three-and-a-half hours on hold on one occasion. “They had no idea where our bags were,” she said. On the other hand, both Mr Perry and Ms Greenberg said their cruise lines also waived laundry fees during their trip. When she arrived back at Barcelona airport, Ms Greenberg said her husband found her luggage in a storage room “with thousands of bags” but that he didn’t receive his until 26 days after their trip. Image: Getty Images

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Airline havoc and lost luggage become major headache for cruise-goers

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Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

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Keep up to date

Search

What to claim for lost, delayed or damaged bags on overseas flights

Lost touch with someone? Reach out – your friend will likely appreciate it more than you think

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

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

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

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

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Lost Freddie Mercury song released by Queen

43 vintage photos of Queen Elizabeth II before she became Queen

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Airline havoc and lost luggage become major headache for cruise-goers

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