inspiriences

Weather prediction has always been humanity’s most intriguing puzzle. Standing at a crossroads between ancient wisdom passed down through generations and cutting-edge technology that can peer into the atmosphere with unprecedented precision, we find ourselves asking a provocative question: are our grandparents’ weather sayings merely charming relics, or do they still hold secrets that our sophisticated computers miss? The Science Behind “Red Sky at Night” That famous saying your grandmother whispered while pointing at a crimson sunset? It’s not just poetry. This saying is fairly accurate as it has some meteorologic basis. A clear western sky at sunset allows the sun to shine through the atmosphere, its light reddening as a result of Rayleigh scattering and then reflecting off clouds in the eastern sky. When light passes through dust and moisture, creating that breathtaking red glow, it actually signals high atmospheric pressure — which means stable weather ahead. Even Shakespe...

BEIJING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 11 June 2025 - In Liuyang, central China's Hunan Province, the stories of fireworks have been passed down through generations. As the world's largest production and trade hub for fireworks and firecrackers, Liuyang has a history of making fireworks that dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Demand overseas is soaring. Consistent quality, diverse products, and stunning effects have earned Liuyang fireworks accolades from international consumers. In 2024, Liuyang's fireworks exports totaled 6.58 billion yuan ($916.3 million), reaching over 100 countries and regions. China accounted for approximately 90 percent of global firework exports that year, nearly 70 percent of them originating from Liuyang. Behind the fireworks are moving stories of Chinese-style romance, some of which embody memories of lost loved ones. The drone and firework show, titled Tears from the Door of Heaven, was recently staged in Liuyang. The inspi...

LISBON () -U.S. private equity fund Lone Star has decided to sell its 75% stake in Novo Banco to French banking group BPCE in a deal that would value Portugal's fourth-largest lender at around 7 billion euros ($8.14 billion), Portuguese economic news outlet ECO said on Thursday. ECO said the "decision has been taken" and should be communicated to the market later on Thursday. With this decision, Lone Star is abandoning the option of Novo Banco making an initial public offering that was advocated by Novo Banco management. The Portuguese state and a banking resolution fund, which is financed by Portugal's banks, control the remaining 25% stake and enjoy a tag-along clause that allows them to sell on the same terms as Lone Star. In Portugal, BPCE has only a small consumer credit operation and its subsidiary Natixis has a technology centre focused on IT services and support for the group's banking activities. ($1 = 0.8600 euros) (Reporting by Serg...

Have you ever wondered what’s going on high above your head when the sky turns dark and a storm rolls in? Imagine millions of tiny ice balls swirling, growing, and tumbling inside a thundercloud like marbles in a giant washing machine. Hailstones—those icy projectiles that sometimes bash car roofs and shred gardens—aren’t just simple chunks of ice. Their journey inside a thundercloud is a wild adventure of collisions, freezing rain, and relentless updrafts. By the end, you’ll never look at a hailstone the same way again. The Birthplace: Anatomy of a Thundercloud Thunderclouds, technically called cumulonimbus clouds, are like the skyscrapers of the sky. They can tower up to 12 miles high, stretching from the lower atmosphere all the way to the stratosphere. Inside these clouds, temperatures can plummet to nearly -60 degrees Fahrenheit at the top, while the base of the cloud remains close to the ground’s warmer temperatures. This drastic temperature range creates a perfect envir...

Chinese solar and energy-storage companies will continue to press ahead with their overseas expansion with or without a long-term agreement on trade tariffs, as production abroad holds the key to their long-term survival, according to executives at China’s largest solar industry exhibition. Although the US and China reached a 90-day truce in their ongoing tariff war in May, solar panel exports from China and Southeast Asia to the US are still subject to tariffs of as much as 3,521 per cent, with Washington citing unfair trade practices such as subsidies and dumping for the high levies. “The industry used to say that you either go overseas or exit the game,” said Gao Jifan, chairman of Trina Solar, one of the world’s largest solar-panel manufacturers, at the SNEC PV+ Photovoltaic Power Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai. “Now, due to tariffs, simply exporting isn’t enough; you must also localise production abroad.” Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trend...

Research by archaeologists from Chinese and US institutes suggests that pigs were already domesticated in southern China around 8,000 years ago. The team, which included researchers from Dartmouth College and the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, analysed two early Neolithic sites in the province’s Yangtze Delta region. The study – published on June 9 in the prestigious international journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) – “is the first to find that pigs were eating humans’ cooked foods and waste”, according to a Dartmouth College press release. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The findings suggested the domestication process of Sus scrofa – the wild boar – occurred alongside the development...

ITRA board member Rainer Duespohl developed WayMe, which alerts hikers if they stray off beaten path A veteran Hong Kong trail runner has launched an app which automatically sends distress signals if a hiker gets into difficulty. Rainer Duespohl, who has explored the city's trails for more than 17 years and is on the board of the International Trail Running Association (ITRA), launched the WayMe app this week, hoping to add an extra layer of safety to the community. WayMe, which uses real-time location monitoring to send out warnings to users' emergency contacts if something goes wrong, comes pre-loaded with Hong Kong's hiking and trail running routes. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge , our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "There were two main drivers behind launching WayMe,...