Is “Abu Fanous” a desert spirit or just a strange light? The glow shows up in Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter and leaves both scientists and villagers baffled. People call it Abu Fanous, Abu Nuwayra or Abu Siraj. It looks like a bright ball or like car lamps that glide along
the horizon shortly before sunrise - blink out. Old stories say the light belongs to a harmful creature that lures travelers toward deadly ground, especially into quicksand.
People report the same kind of glow in other parts of the world - the Marfa Lights in Texas and the Min Min Lights in Australia. Scientists have put forward three main ideas:
• Underground lightning: Former NASA engineer James Bunnell set up cameras around Marfa in 2000 to rule out traffic. He believes rock layers under stress release dusty plasma through cracks - the plasma glows and produces the lights.
• Atmospheric mirages (Fata Morgana): In 2004, University of Texas students tracked the lights and matched them to cars on a nearby road. Warm air sat on top of cool air - light bent upward - distant headlights looked like floating orbs.
• Ignited swamp gases: A few researchers say phosphine and methane seep out of the ground and catch fire when they meet oxygen. Saudi Arabia holds vast oil and gas fields - the gases are present.
Islamic texts add another layer. Certain hadiths speak of “ghouls,” desert beings that lead people astray. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told followers to pray when they meet such beings - yet he rejected fear of their power. The texts accept the existence of jinn but do not grant them supernatural control over human fate - the lights called Abu Fanous fit the same pattern.
Agadir sits on Morocco's south coast. Holidaymakers choose it for long sand beaches, mild air and plenty to do. Visitors rest or play as they wish - sun lie, swim, sight see or book a smart hotel. The city beach runs for ten kilometres. Small waves roll in plus the
water shines blue green. People spread towels, surf or stand on paddleboards. Taghazout Beach lies twenty kilometres north - the sea there shows bigger waves and a slow, friendly mood. Imourane Beach, close to Tamri village, stays quiet - guests practise yoga, walk or watch the sun drop. A top outing is the Agadir Corniche, a paved walk beside the sea. Cafés but also restaurants serve tagines, pizza or grilled fish. Above the town, the old Agadir Oufella Kasbah stands on a hill - from the walls you look over the bay and take clear photos. Bird Valley Park keeps parrots, goats as well as turtles - children like to feed them. On Sundays the big market opens - stalls sell saffron, carpets and bottles of argan oil. Luxury hotels face the ocean. Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa, Royal Atlas Hotel & Spa besides Atlas Amadil Beach Resort give guests sea view rooms, salt water pools or traditional hammam steam baths. For action, riders sit on camels and cross dunes, cyclists follow hill tracks also divers slip into the Atlantic to see groupers and starfish. Town restaurants cook tagine of lamb next to apricots, steam couscous with seven vegetables and char sardines over coals. Le Cabane, La Scala or Bab Agadir earn steady praise. September to May brings warm days plus smaller crowds. Agadir keeps sun, stories and sport in one place - most visitors leave with sharp memories.
Quebec City sits on the St. Lawrence River in eastern Canada. It mixes Old-World looks, deep history and river-and-hill scenery - travelers rank it among North America's favorite places. As capital of the province, it keeps the only intact fortified walls on the continent, a fact that secured its place
on the UNESCO World Heritage list. In Old Quebec, stone streets, French colonial buildings and the river side Château Frontenac greet every visitor.
French roots shape daily life. French is the official tongue plus the food blends classic French recipes with Canadian ingredients. Poutine and maple-sugar pie top the local menu. Each season brings a major party - the winter Carnaval de Québec and the summer Festival d’été de Québec anchor a busy cultural schedule.
Nature sits close at hand. Montmorency Falls drops farther than Niagara and Île d’Orléans, minutes away, shows farm fields, fruit stands but also handmade cheese. Once snow falls, the city turns white - visitors ride dog sleds, skate on outdoor rinks and tour the Hôtel de Glace, a hotel carved from ice blocks.
Rue du Petit-Champlain packs small galleries, cafés and shops under strings of lights. The Musée de la Civilisation tells the story of Quebec besides Canada through hands on displays. Boats cruise the St. Lawrence as well as give passengers wide river views and chances to see whales.
Compact streets, buses, ferries and varied hotels let every sort of traveler move about with ease. Quebec delivers a full dose of Quebecois culture, history or landscape at any time of year.
During the past few years, environmental activism has drawn broad notice - yet people often mix it up with plain environmentalism. The article below sets the two apart and shows how each job helps to keep the planet livable.
Environmental activism means the concrete steps people or groups take to
shield the natural world. Activists spot serious dangers - poisoned rivers rising heat vanishing forests - sound the alarm. They run neighborhood drives, lobby lawmakers, paint murals, stage plays or launch social justice projects. All of it aims to leave behind a planet that later generations can inhabit.
A newcomer needs no grand platform. One morning spent planting saplings or picking plastic from a shoreline serves as a first step. After a few such tasks, the same volunteer often moves on to bigger teams that push for new laws. By meeting council members writing to representatives and joining public hearings, activists help rewrite rules that govern land, air and water.
Strength grows when people of every age work side by side. Teenagers and office workers carry the same banner - their combined voices reach farther than any solo shout. Once enough customers demand cleaner goods, firms shift supply lines, cut packaging or switch to renewable power. Those corporate changes feed into the wider fight to steady the climate.
Trouble starts when the lines blur. A scientist who also pickets must take care not to trim data so it fits a slogan - trimmed numbers erode trust in universities and journals. A campaigner who warps study findings to fire up a crowd spreads myths and replaces debate with slogans. The public ends up unsure whom to believe and both science and protest lose credit. Good advocacy keeps the two roles distinct - researchers stay open about uncertainty, while activists use full, honest evidence to push for laws that protect the earth.
Today's news streams swirl with competing claims from labs, boardrooms and parties. Voters and officials need steady judgment to spot solid facts. When science keeps its neutral standards and activism keeps its moral drive, the joint effort stays on course toward the world's climate targets.
Hair loss on the head troubles many people as they grow older, especially men. Men lose scalp hair far more often than women do - a large industry sells products that claim to stop or reverse the loss. While hair on the head thins or vanishes, hair on the arms,
legs and torso either stays put or falls out so gradually that no one notices.
Humans descend from furry primates. Over millions of years our ancestors lost most of that fur so they could stay cool while roaming hot landscapes. Sweating works better with less body hair - humans ended up almost bare. Yet fur loss is not unique to people - some primates also grow bald patches.
Head hair never disappeared because it protects the scalp. The top of the head takes the full force of the sun and hair blocks ultraviolet light and helps prevent overheating. Scalp hair is built differently and follows a different growth schedule from the shorter, thinner hairs on the rest of the body.
Each hair sprouts from a follicle that moves through three stages - grow, rest, shed. Scalp follicles repeat this loop for about five to seven years. After many cycles the follicle slows down or shuts off. A hormone called DHT, which the body makes from testosterone, attacks scalp follicles in men who inherit the tendency. The older a man gets, the more his follicles react to DHT. The genes that control this sensitivity sit on the X chromosome - the trait usually passes from the mother's side of the family.
Body hair also falls out and regrows all the time, but each fiber is thin and scattered - the loss stays invisible. Every follicle wears out eventually - body follicles just wear out at a much slower pace than scalp follicles. Total loss of body hair is uncommon - yet extreme old age could produce it.
