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University gives resident cat an honorary doctorate

<p>A university in the US has handed out an honorary doctorate to a surprising recipient: the resident campus cat. </p> <p>For four years, Max the cat has been a respected member of the Vermont State University, putting a smile on students' faces through his friendly demeanour. </p> <p>When Max's owner Ashley was contacted by the school and told their plans to give Max the special honour, she "thought they were crazy", but it brought a big smile to her face.</p> <p>"We live on the main entrance to campus and when my daughter started attending as a junior, she started seeing everyone and how they kind of doted on Max," Ashley told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/today/vermont-state-university-resident-cat-max-dow-given-honorary-doctorate-in-literature/57d96d7c-ecc5-460f-85ac-ceee24e119b5" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Today Extra</em></a>.</p> <p>"So we started an Instagram page that we keep updated with some of the photos and then I started getting tracked down by people on campus saying, 'Oh Max has been on the Dean's desk and he's been on the desk of the head of graduate studies, and he just kind of makes himself at home.'"</p> <p>Ashely said that Max's calming presence has helped many students who are stressed about their studies, or those who are feeling homesick. </p> <p>"They were just talking about how he was so helpful during finals week because everybody was picking him up and doing selfies with him and he was making everyone calmer," she said.</p> <p>"There's a real sense of community because I heard he was getting attacked by feral cats if he was on campus after 5pm, so I put up some posters and asked the students to give me a call or shoot me a text if they see him out after dark and they started arriving on our doorstep with him saying 'Hey, we brought Max home.'"</p> <p>Max was bestowed the honorary degree of "doctor of litter-ature", although will not be attending the next graduation ceremony. </p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 24px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.333; font-size-adjust: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;"><em>Image credits: Today Extra / Vermont State University</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“Unlike any other”: World’s highest 360-degree infinity pool opens in Dubai

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dubai has welcomed the world’s first 360-degree infinity pool as its latest record-breaking tourist attraction.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 750-square-metre pool deck sits on the 50th floor of the Palm Tower, which offers unbeatable views of Dubai’s skyline.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At 200-metres in the air, the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://auraskypool.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aura Skypool</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> also takes out the top spot as the world’s highest infinity pool and has been described as “an island in the sky”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The new space also features a lounge with VIP sun beds and a bar serving tapas dishes and cocktails.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Guests have the choice of booking in for a morning or sunset session by the pool, or a full-day VIP “island” experience, costing between $NZD 67 ($AED 170) and $NZD 227 ($AED 600).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Aura is truly unlike any other destination in the UAE and the world,” Antonio Gonzalez, the CEO of Sunset Hospitality, the company behind the pool, </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/worlds-highest-360degree-infinity-pool-opens-in-dubai/25d66d7e-2ef6-4673-be13-825aab58a0da" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in a statement last month.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“With 360-degree views of some of the world’s most iconic sights, from the man made Palm Jumeirah - celebrating this year 20 years since its construction - through to Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa and Ain Dubai - all in one view, it’s a breathtaking new destination that will continue to showcase the very best of Dubai.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The opening of Aura Skypool comes after the launch of a 240-metre high observation deck at The Palm, two floors above the infinity pool.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The residential building and hotel also features the Middle East’s first SushiSamba restaurant - a chain of fusion restaurants found across the UK and USA.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Aura Skypool</span></em></p>

International Travel

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"The most terrified I’ve ever been in my life": Passengers hurt as cruise ship tilts 45 degrees

<p>The Norwegian Cruise Liner which tilted on a “45-degree angle,” on Sunday night, according to one cruiser, is blaming the incident on a strong, sudden gust of wind.</p> <p>The Norwegian Escape began slanting over at roughly midnight, shocking passengers who were enjoying their trip in the piano bar.</p> <p>“Just before midnight on Sunday, March 3, Norwegian Escape encountered unexpected weather in the form of a sudden, extreme gust of wind, estimated at 100 knots, which resulted in the ship heeling to the port side,” the cruise line wrote in a Twitter post.</p> <p>“Several injuries were reported, and those guests and crew received immediate attention or are being treated by the ship’s medical staff,” the statement continued.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjunmar.beltrano%2Fposts%2F10213907759358579&amp;width=500" width="500" height="681" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>The ship, which is capable of carrying over 6,000 people, says it was pushed suddenly by a gust of wind about 185km – a burst similar to that of a wind from a Category 3 hurricane.</p> <p>The cruise line said the ship sustained no damage during the incident.</p> <p>Not only passengers of the vessel were injured, crew members were also wounded, but the exact amount has not been disclosed.</p> <p>American publication <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wesh.com/article/cruise-ship-headed-to-port-canaveral-after-sudden-extreme-gust-of-wind/26650652" target="_blank">WESH</a> reports around a dozen ambulances were at a Port Canaveral, Florida port on Tuesday morning when the ship arrived back to shore.</p> <p>Aaron Black, one of the cruisers onboard, told <a rel="noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/05/us/norwegian-cruise-line-ship-passengers-hurt/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> he was at the piano bar on Sunday night when the ship started to slope. Tables, chairs and even passengers slid across the room, as other terrified passengers watched.</p> <p>In a video Black recorded, screams, shattering glass and items sliding and being thrown by the wind can be heard.</p> <p>“I remember thinking about how calm it was for sailing out of New York in March and suddenly we got hit by a large gust of wind and the whole ship kind of just tilted to the side for about 30 seconds,” he said in a video he recorded from aboard the ship Tuesday afternoon.</p> <p>“Suddenly everything around me was starting to move.</p> <p>"I was used to some movement, but it was a very surreal escalation to, 'Oh this is normal' to, 'This is very unusual and probably shouldn't be happening,'” he said, explaining he had been on many cruise ships before.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Honestly, <a href="https://twitter.com/CruiseNorwegian?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CruiseNorwegian</a>, the gust of wind that threw all of the shattered glass all over my bed and floor is all on mother nature, but where my pro-rated premium plus discount for all the bottled water I was going to drink tonight? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/norwegianescape?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#norwegianescape</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nclescape?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nclescape</a></p> — AJ Black (@aaronjosef) <a href="https://twitter.com/aaronjosef/status/1102445860074516480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Passengers on the Escape shared their terrifying experience onboard the vessel Sunday night, reporting damage to interior cabin and common areas of the ship.</p> <p>“The scariest s---t just happened on this cruise. Chairs, tables, glass, people went flying to one side of the ship,” one passenger wrote.</p> <p>“Everything in our room falling and sliding ...I have never been so scared in my whole life,” Samantha, another cruiser wrote in a Facebook post.</p> <p>“All the plates and glassware smashed on the floor. A lotto machine fell on a lady. Blood everywhere.</p> <p>“Hands down the most terrified I’ve ever been in my life. Can’t wait to hit solid ground...”</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10213908155728488%26set%3Da.2411388614568%26type%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="594" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>Photos from inside the ship also show glass and debris on the ground, as well as passengers running away from the indoor pool area, which showed tilted water.</p> <p>“There’s no exaggeration on statements and pictures posted online. Ship was like at 45 degrees angle … freaked out everyone … but they said it was normal lol,” claimed a separate passenger.</p> <p>The ship is due to stick to its schedule on its next voyage on Tuesday for the Bahamas, the cruise line reports. </p> <p>Have you ever been on a cruise during rough conditions? Let us know in the comments below. </p> <div class="body_assets"></div> <div class="details"><span class="detail_tools"><span> </span>just now<span class="who_watched"><span class="people_count_container"><span class="people_count current">2</span></span></span><a class="likebtn"><span class="post_like_button icon icon-dapulse-thumb"></span></a></span></div> <div></div>

Travel Trouble

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You can now experience a 360 degree view of Uluru online

<p>With ever-growing troves of valuable data on its shelves, Google has expanded its Street View range further to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Northern Territory, Australia.</p> <p>However, rather than eyeing ad revenue, Google seems intent on documenting the cultural heritage of the area in this project, and after two years of collaborative development the Story Sphere of Uluru is now live online.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yocf-lFF49g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><span style="text-align: center;">Since 2007, Street View has captured some of the world's most famous sites across 83 countries, including the Grand Canyon in the US and the Taj Mahal in India.</span></p> <p>The service offers 360 degree panoramas from various vantage points around each site, in what are like dynamic brochures for curious parties and potential visitors, who are probably many kilometres away.</p> <p>The new Uluru coverage includes nine sites, under labels including Uluru View, Kata Tjuta View, Tjukurpa and Watering Hole in line with existing Street View scenarios.</p> <p>However, when tackling Uluru, the Google team thought the unique Australian site needed the presence and voices of its people to fully capture the Tjukurpa, or way of life of the local Anangu people.</p> <p>Working closely with Parks Australia, the local community and Tourism NT, the company engaged its existing Story Sphere platform to bring the Street View to life for the special site.</p> <p>After clicking through to the Story Spheres from Street View, the scenes become animated with voice-overs and music, adding rich currents of songlines and stories.</p> <p>Click on the white notes that hover over certain areas of the scene to be taken on a guided tour by Anangu traditional owner Sammy Wilson about its history or cultural relevance, with songs and music by traditional owner and Anangu Elder, Reggie Uluru.</p> <p>It respectfully avoids climbing the rock, in line with wishes of traditional owners, and rather traces paths around its base away from sacred sites deemed inappropriate for the project.</p> <p>"If people see this, they will hopefully have more of an understanding about Uluru. They will also want to come and visit," Wilson says.</p> <p>"Everybody in the world has their own culture, their own ways of expressing and celebrating their belief systems and culture. The natural world holds our belief system".</p> <p>"Guests can arrive informed of more than just the picture postcard views and with an appreciation and a desire to learn more when on the ground," says Jason Pellegrino, managing direction of Google Australia and New Zealand.</p> <p>"For locals, it's an opportunity to share their heritage amongst themselves in a new way. Younger generations have taken up new technology. Traditions are now transferred in multiple ways, in addition to the oral telling of stories.</p> <p>"This platform is not monetised whatsoever. There's no money being made".</p> <p>Have you ever been to Uluru?</p> <p><em>Written by Richard McLeish. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>. </em></p>

International Travel

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360 degree videos of Aussie tourist destinations

<p>To say Tourism Australia has lifted their game would not be doing justice. In this series of videos we get a 360 degree experience of some of Australia’s tourist destinations.</p> <p>Check out the above video as a taster, then head to Tourism Australia’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLajBrt9lvgr4v5pDW1L5T4mETnVVyI8dn" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">YouTube channel here</span></strong></em></a> for the full experience.</p> <p><em>Video credit: YouTube / Tourism Australia</em></p> <p><em><strong>Have you arranged your travel insurance yet? Tailor your cover to your needs and save money by not paying for things you don’t need.</strong></em> <a href="https://elevate.agatravelinsurance.com.au/oversixty?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=link1&amp;utm_campaign=travel-insurance" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Click here to read more about Over60 Travel Insurance</span>.</strong></em></a></p> <p><strong><em>For more information about Over60 Travel Insurance, call 1800 622 966.</em></strong></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/02/tips-for-handling-flight-delays/">5 tips for dealing with flight delays</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/02/photo-shows-german-shepherd-enjoying-flight/">German Shepherd really enjoys plane ride</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/02/tips-for-travelling-with-people-that-get-on-your-nerves/">Tips for travelling with people that get on your nerves</a></strong></em></span></p>

International Travel