Hạ Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quảng Ninh Province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and is a part of Vân Đồn District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. Hạ Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long Bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà Island to the southwest. These larger zones share a similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate and cultural characters.
Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst…
2. The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, Aparecida, Brazil.
3. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral, Seville (Andalusia, Spain).
4. The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the Cathedral Church of Saint John: The Great Divine in the City and Diocese of New York, is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
5. Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy.
6. The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland.
7. Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England Cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James’s Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool.
The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is 207 yards (189 m) making it the longest cathedral in the world; its internal length is 160 yards (150 m). With a height of 331 feet (101 m) it is also one of the world’s tallest non-spired church buildings and the third-tallest structure in the city of Liverpool.
8. Ulm Minster is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, Germany.
It is the tallest church in the world, and the 4th tallest structure built before the 20th century, with a steeple measuring 161.5 metres (530 ft) and containing 768 steps.
9. The Cathedral of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium.
10. Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine on Westmount Summit in Montreal, Quebec. It is Canada’s largest church.
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a 1964 American science fiction comedy film directed by Nicholas Webster, produced and written by Paul L. Jacobson, based on a story by Glenville Mareth, that stars John Call as Santa Claus. It also features an eleven-year-old Pia Zadora as Girmar, one of the Martian children.
The film also marks the first documented appearance of Mrs. Claus in a motion picture (Doris Rich plays the role), coming three weeks before the television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which also featured Mrs. Claus.
The film regularly appears on lists of the worst films ever made, is regularly featured in the “bottom 100” list on the Internet Movie Database and was featured in an episode of the syndicated series of the Canned Film Festival of 1986. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians took on newfound fame in the 1990s after being featured on an episode of the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
That episode became a holiday staple on the Comedy Central cable channel in the years following its premiere in 1991. It has since found new life again, as it has been the subject of new riffing by Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax, both productions of former MST3K writers and performers. The film was also featured on Elvira’s Movie Macabre.
A powerful Arctic winter storm sweeping across the US and Canada has been linked to at least 19 deaths ahead of the holiday weekend.
The storm, which extends more than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Texas to Quebec, is affecting some 135 million people on the busiest travel days of the year.
Severe weather alerts stretch from coast to coast and reach as far south as the US-Mexico border and Florida, the Sunshine State.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) says more than 100 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken in the next few days. Nashville, Tennessee, has already seen its temperatures fall below zero for the first time in 26 years.
High winds whip around 7.5 inches of new snow at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as workers prepare a Sun Country Airlines plane for take off.
Major airports elsewhere have cancelled thousands of flights as the storm intensifies. In anticipation of disruptions, airlines including United, Delta and American have offered to waive fees for travellers who wish to reschedule their flights.
Some travellers were still arriving for flights at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Thursday – even with more warnings being issued.
A storm warning in Chicago is in effect until 6:00 (CST) Saturday, with forecasts of several inches of snow and winds topping 50mph (80km/h)
Workers were already out in force clearing away as the snowfall began in a western suburb of Chicago.
In many states, people have been urged to stay indoors. As temperatures dropped, only a handful of commuters were waiting for an L train during the lighter-than-usual evening rush hour in the city.
Conditions deteriorated further, into what is known as a “bomb cyclone” – a term given to an explosive storm that intensifies rapidly.
In Colorado, temperatures dipped to a record-breaking low of -9F from 42F on Thursday.
The extreme winter driving conditions shut many roads, including the I-70, in Silverthorne, Colorado.
Snow falls on Broadway, a popular tourist street in Nashville, Tennessee.
The governors of Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Oklahoma have also declared states of emergency, while Wisconsin declared an “energy emergency”.
Dec. 22 (UPI) — Authorities in a Missouri county confirmed a kangaroo was recently spotted roaming loose around a road.
Jefferson County Services Director Eric Larson confirmed a kangaroo was spotted near a High Ridge road recently, although animal control was not contacted in the incident.
At least one local resident captured the animal on camera during its time on the loose.
Larson said the kangaroo is believed to have escaped from S and S Farms Exotic Petting Zoo in High Ridge.
Officials with the petting zoo confirmed the kangaroo seen on the loose is named Rueben and was safely returned to the facility after only a short time on the loose.
A two-year-old boy was swallowed and spat out by a hippo while playing near his home in Uganda.
Paul Iga was clenched in the mouth of the animal around 800 yards away from the edge of Lake Edward.
The hippo had grabbed the toddler from the head and swallowed half of his body when a local man noticed and started throwing stones at the animal.
The hippo seemed taken aback by the attack and vomited up the child — before trudging back to the water.
Paul Iga was clenched in the mouth of a hippo just a few hundred yards away from the edge of Lake Edward, Uganda
‘It took the bravery of one Chrispas Bagonza, who was nearby, to save the victim after he stoned the hippo and scared it, causing it to release the victim from its mouth,’ police added.
While Paul was injured and taken to a clinic for treatment, he miraculously survived.
It has been reported that the toddler was transferred to a hospital in Bwera but was sent home after taking a rabies vaccine.
In a statement, Ugandan Police said: ‘This is the first such kind of incident where a hippo strayed out of Lake Edward and attacked a young child.’
Police told residents of Katwe Kabatoro Town Council, which is located within Queen Elizabeth National Park on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to remain vigilant around hippos.
The hippopotamus is the world’s deadliest large land mammal, killing an estimated 500 people per year in Africa, according to the BBC.
They are aggressive creatures and have very sharp teeth.
At up to 2,750kg, the animals can easily crush a human to death.
Despite their primarily vegetarian diet, the hippopotamus is extremely aggressive and territorial.
The combination of sheer size, sharp teeth and mobility both in and out of water make for a deadly mammal.
They are agile and aggressive and kill large animals and sometimes humans.
A yawning hippo, although it might look cute, can be a sign of a threat.
Over the years hippos have been spotted eating impala, kudu, eland, wildebeest and buffalo.
They are very protective of their habitat, normally dwelling in rivers.
In Niger in 2014, 13 people drowned when hippos overturned their boat.
The MarkoZen Blog 