Striding through grassy fields in an Indiana Jones-style hat, climbing trees in leopard country — just another day in an increasingly adventurous summer for Russia’s strongman Vladimir Putin.
The prime minister, who in the last days alone has dived in a mini-submarine to the floor of the world’s deepest lake and attached a transmitter to a whale, was this time visiting the remote Russian region of Tuva in southern Siberia.
Putin, dressed in green fatigues, camped out overnight, rafted down the region’s fast-flowing rivers and visited a traditional farmstead, Russian news agencies said.
Pictures taken by his press entourage show him striding through savannah-like fields in ankle-high boots and a hat reminiscent of the Hollywood action hero Indiana Jones.
In another image, Putin was shown nestled on the thick branch of a tree, surveying the scene with quiet authority.
A pose, in fact, that appeared to imitate the fabled snow leopard, one of the region’s most endangered species.
Russian news agencies described the day’s activities as a “holiday” for the premier, although it was clearly aimed at reinforcing his tough-guy image that plays so well at home.
None of the pictures, however, showed Putin in any state of undress, unlike a famous set of images from a past holiday that showed him fishing in Siberia with an impressively muscled naked torso.
Tuva is one of Russia’s most remote and exotic regions, populated by a Turkic people famous worldwide for their astonishing throat-singing.
The holiday was as brief as it was dramatic and by the afternoon Putin was seen at a meeting on agriculture in central Russia. (AFP)
戴著印地安納瓊斯風格的帽子在青草地上馳騁,在野豹出沒的地區爬樹──俄羅斯硬漢弗拉基米爾.普廷這天的行程,為他一天比一天刺激的夏日冒險再添一筆。
這位俄國總理這次到偏遠的南西伯利亞圖瓦地區度假,光是過去這幾天,就搭了微型潛水艇潛入世上最深的湖的底層,還替一隻鯨魚裝上發送器。
俄羅斯媒體報導,身穿綠色工作服的普廷搭營夜宿野外、在圖瓦區湍急的河上乘筏,還拜訪了一間傳統農莊。
在隨行記者拍攝的照片中,他穿著高統靴在非洲大草原般的原野上闊步,頭上還戴著會讓人聯想到好萊塢動作英雄印地安納.瓊斯的帽子。
在另一張照片中,普廷舒服地坐在一顆樹的粗枝上,神態威嚴地眺望風景。
事實上,他的這個姿勢似乎是模仿傳說中的雪豹,雪豹是該區極度瀕臨絕種的動物之一。
俄羅斯媒體形容這天的活動屬於總理的「私人假期」,但他顯然是想藉此強化他鐵漢的形象,因為俄國民眾就愛這一味。
然而,不同於他之前去西伯利亞度假釣魚時的一系列著名照片,這當中沒有讓人眼睛為之一亮的裸露肌肉照。
圖瓦是俄羅斯最偏遠也最有異國情調的地區之一,講突厥語的圖瓦人以他們獨特驚人的喉音歌唱享譽全球。
這場旅程短暫卻引人注目,這天下午普廷已經回到俄羅斯中部開會探討農產議題了。(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
It’s widely recognized that there are far more right-handed people than left-handed people in the world. Being right-handed simply means preferring to use one’s right hand for tasks that involve only one hand, such as writing and eating. But have you ever wondered about the possible reasons behind the global dominance of the right hand over the left? As with many complex biological questions, multiple factors appear to be at play. First, one reason seems to be genetics. __1__ Therefore, the global dominance of right-handedness is something that has been passed down through many generations of humans. Next,
A: What’s even more horrible is that the five suspects who purposely supplied ketamine to actor Matthew Perry were all his “friends.” B: Who exactly are the five suspects? A: They include Matthew’s two doctors, a broker, a drug dealer, and even his live-in assistant. B: Those scumbags should go to jail. A: Yeah, one of the doctors may be sentenced to up to 120 years in prison. A: 更可怕的是,提供男星馬修派瑞「K他命」的5人全是他的「朋友」。 B: 嫌犯是誰啊? A: 其中包括他的2位醫生、1位仲介、1位毒販、甚至他的同居助理! B: 那些人渣真該去坐牢。 A: 對啊,其中1位醫生可能面臨120年徒刑。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from