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吳永志不一樣的自然養生法3

Trip to Botswana

Botswana for their date and stay . 
Prince Harry booked a stay at the bush camp Meno a Kwena in August 2017, buying two plane tickets from London to Johannesburg, before boarding a private two-hour flight to Maun International Airport.

there’s plenty more to enjoy in Botswana. Read on for 12 surprising facts and compelling reasons to follow in the royal couple’s footsteps...

1. It has more elephants than anywhere else

The African elephant is found in greater numbers here than anywhere else on the planet. Poaching is pushing these gentle giants to the brink across the continent, but Botswana’s conservation efforts have seen its population triple over the last 30 years to as many as 160,000. Indeed, they are so numerous that earlier this year the country made the controversial decision to overturn a ban on elephant hunting.

Botswana has more elephants than anywhere else in the world Credit: getty

2. It has a thriving metal scene

Yes, really. Proving heavy metal isn’t just the preserve of caucasian head-bangers is Botswana’s booming underground scene, which has moved into the mainstream more recently thanks to bands like Overthrust, whose brand of death metal has graced the stages of European music festivals.

3. And one of Africa’s healthiest big cat populations

You don’t have to have the eyes of a hawk to spot big cats in Botswana, particularly Chobe National Park, which is one of the best places in Africa to see leopards, lions and cheetahs. Their bountiful numbers have made the country one of the best safari destinations in Africa.

The country is also a sanctuary for big cats like this lion 

• Where to see big cats in the wild

4. Nearly half of the country is protected

Botswana has set aside 45 per cent of its land for protection, which is one of the reasons why the country has such an abundance of wildlife.

The world's 17 greatest countries for animal lovers

5. There’s plenty of space

With just 3.5 people per square kilometre, Botswana is one of the world’s least crowded countries. Just the tonic if you live in bustling Britain, which, by contrast, is one of the most crowded, with a claustrophobic 262 inhabitants per square kilometre.

6. It’s home to the Okavango Delta

One of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, the Okavango Delta also enjoys World Heritage status – and it’s easy to see why. Spreading out across 15,000 sq km, this dramatic delta provides a vital habitat for some of Botswana’s most celebrated wildlife, including the African elephant, Nile crocodile, spotted hyena and black rhino.

The vast Okavango Delta is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa 

7. There’s a “Louvre” in the desert

World Heritage status has also been bestowed upon Tsodilo, which Unesco describes as the “Louvre of the Desert”. And with good reason: this corner of the Kalahari Desert is home to one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world. Revered by the Hambukushu and San communities, Tsodilo boasts some 4,500 paintings, some of which are 100,000 years old.

Tsodilo boasts 4,500 odd rock paintings earning it the nickname "Louvre of the Desert" Credit: ALAMY

8. It’s landlocked, but you can go on a cruise

And not just any cruise: a cruise down the Chobe River, one of Africa’s richest waterways. Teeming with wildlife – from hungry hippos to boisterous buffalo – a boat trip down this life-giving river gives passengers the chance to quaff a G&T whilst watching elephants go for a dip. To experience all of this in unabashed luxury, book a cabin aboard the opulent Zambezi Queen, which plies this limpid waterway.

A cruise up the Chobe River offers the chance to see hippos 

9. It boasts one of the world’s largest salt flats

The Makgadikgadi Pan is all that remains of the defunct Makgadikgadi Lake, which once covered an area the size of Switzerland. Tourists can traverse the arid salt flats on quad bikes by day and watch zebra and wildebeest migrating across it by night. 

The Makgadikgadi Pans

10. It’s one of the freest countries in Africa

According to Freedom House, there are only eight countries in Africa that can truly be described as free – and Botswana is one of them. The other seven are: Cape Verde, Senegal, Tunisia, Ghana, Benin, Namibia and South Africa.

11. It’s big on rhino conservation

Another beleaguered African species, the rhino, which is hunted for its horn, is the star attraction at the Khama Rhino Sanctuary in the east of the country. Home to white and black rhinos, the reserve’s inhabitants are closely monitored by conservationists, who are keen to boost the number of rhinos living in Botswana.

Rhino populations are facing a poaching crisis, but Botswana is working to protect them Credit: AP/FOTOLIA

12. You don’t need a visa

At least not if you’re travelling on a British passport, which allows travellers to spend up to six months exploring the country


Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/  telegraphtravel

Tributes paid to Professor Rayson Huang Li-sung who made contribution to HK's education & politiics

Professor Rayson Huang Li-sung
1920-2015

Professor Rayson Huang Li-sung, a prominent chemist and the first Chinese vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, died peacefully in Britain on Wednesday. He was 94.

The only alumnus turned vice chancellor to date for the 104-year-old HKU, Huang led the institution as its 10th chief from 1972 to 1986, through the economic downturn and political uncertainty that were plaguing the then British colony.

"Dr Huang made great contributions to Hong Kong, in academic, social and political arenas alike," incumbent vice chancellor Professor Peter Mathieson told students, alumni and staff in an email on Sunday.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying expressed profound sadness. "He was actively involved in the work for Hong Kong's return to the motherland."

Born on September 1, 1920, in Shantou , Guangdong, Huang was educated at Munsang College, where his father Rufus Huang was the founding principal. He studied at HKU from 1938 to 1942 with the help of a government scholarship, majoring in chemistry.

In 1944, he went to Oxford University on a Rhodes Trust Scholarship, attaining a doctorate before starting postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, where he met and married his wife Grace. She died in 1999.

Violin making was among his many hobbies.

From 1951, Huang began two decades of teaching in the Malay peninsula, at the University of Malaya - now the National University of Singapore - in Singapore followed by Kuala Lumpur.
He became vice chancellor of Nanyang University in Singapore in 1969, but returned to Hong Kong in 1972 to serve as vice chancellor of his alma mater.

In his autobiography, A Lifetime in Academia, Huang recalled having to "resort to putting pressure on the [students'] union to bring them to order". Undergrad, the union's newspaper, had published a report accusing an officer of taking bribes, without substantial evidence. Huang decided HKU would stop collecting annual fees for the union until it retracted the article.

"He wasn't the kind of vice chancellor who maintained a close relationship with students," former HKU pro-vice-chancellor Rosie Young said.

Bank of East Asia chairman David Li Kwok-po remembered his close friend of many years with fondness. "He was a very smart and sharp person, while at the same time a very good leader," Li, whom Huang had appointed as HKU treasurer, said .

Politically, Huang served on the Legislative Council and the Basic Law drafting committee.
Fellow committee member Martin Lee Chu-ming hailed him for facilitating a Basic Law provision on allowing universal suffrage in 2007 at the soonest, five years earlier than suggested by other proposals.

To Lee, Huang was unflappable even amid national crises. "Huang telephoned me on June 4, 1989. He asked me whether he should resign from the drafting committee. He was too saddened," Lee said, referring to the Tiananmen Square bloodshed.

Huang stayed on upon Lee's advice. He left in 1994 for Britain, where his sons, Christopher and Freddie, were university scholars.

"It was the second time, in half a century, I took leave of Hong Kong - this place on earth with so many dear friends which I hold in lasting affection."

Reporting by Jeffie Lam, Stuart Lau and Enoch Yiu, SCMP

Fugitive businessman Jho Low, accused of buying with stolen money from a multibillion-dollar heist

Fugitive businessman Jho Low, accused of orchestrating a multibillion-dollar fraud of a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to forfeit over $100 million worth of luxury real estate as part of a wide-ranging settlement with U.S. prosecutors.

That includes two posh London apartments, two New York City condos—one on the city’s famed Billionaire’s Row—and a contemporary mansion in Los Angeles, all of which U.S. prosecutors accused Mr. Low of buying with stolen money from a multibillion-dollar heist, known as the 1MDB scandal, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

The collection of lavish properties are only a slice of some $700 million in assets, including a private jet, fine art and diamond jewelry, that Mr. Low has agreed to give up, according to court documents filed this week.

Mr. Low, 37, has denied all charges against him. He said in a statement that the settlement did “not constitute an admission of guilt, liability or any form of wrongdoing by me.”

The three U.S. homes were already headed to the market as part of prior agreements between Mr. Low and federal prosecutors, Mansion Global has previously reported. 

One of them, a lavish penthouse atop the Mandarin Oriental Residences by Central Park South, a stretch of Midtown Manhattan referred to as Billionaire’s Row for its superlatively expensive apartments, is already in contract, according to listing records on StreetEasy. 

The three U.S. homes were already headed to the market as part of prior agreements between Mr. Low and federal prosecutors, Mansion Global has previously reported. 

One of them, a lavish penthouse atop the Mandarin Oriental Residences by Central Park South, a stretch of Midtown Manhattan referred to as Billionaire’s Row for its superlatively expensive apartments, is already in contract, according to listing records on StreetEasy. 

A forfeited four-bedroom Manhattan penthouse of fugitive financier Jho Low is already in contract with a buyerThe four-bedroom penthouse went into contract earlier this month, asking $30 million—approximately $500,000 less than Mr. Low bought it for in 2011.

Agents for Mr. Low are expected to help the U.S. government manage and dispose of the assets, including his five homes, the Justice Department said.

But the intermediaries are likely to face an uphill task selling off the properties for figures close to what Mr. Low originally paid, as both New York City and London are in the midst of a downturn in their prime housing markets.
  
For example, Mr. Low’s other New York City property is located on the second floor of a historic pre-war building in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood. The apartment, which features 14-foot ceilings, decorative interior columns and built-in bookshelves, is asking $9.2 million—several million less than the $13.8 million Mr. Low purchased it for back in 2014, according to a listing for the property and court documents.

A historic SoHo apartment Mr. Low purchased for $13.8 million in 2014 is now listed for $9.2 million.It’s not just a change in market conditions that presents a hurdle for those charged with unloading the properties, as some have fallen into disrepair.

For instance, the sprawling Los Angeles mansion, set on 1.2 acres off the city’s Sunset Strip, “will need full restoration,” according to a listing for the property with Ernie Carswell and Christopher Pickett, both of Douglas Elliman. The brokerage has declined to comment on the property.
The Los Angeles house, which prosecutors said Mr. Low purchased with embezzled funds, is on the market for $24 million—less than two-thirds of the $39 million the businessman paid in 2012, according to property records and court documents.

Meanwhile, the sale of Mr. Low’s London properties face a similarly daunting market, as higher transfer taxes in the U.K. paired with a rancorous political environment ahead of Brexit have combined to depress home values in the city’s center since 2014. 

It’s not clear how much Mr. Low paid for the two London apartments, which include a 12,000-square-foot penthouse and a nearby flat, both in the city’s posh Mayfair neighborhood. Federal prosecutors claim he wired at least £35 million to a U.K. bank account for the purchase of the penthouse atop Stratton House in 2010, according to court documents.

But the developer of the building, Grafton Advisors, claims the lavish aerie set a record nine years ago at over £4,000 per square foot, according to Grafton’s website. That would mean a final sale price at the time of over £48 million. At the moment, there are no publicly listed apartments priced that high in London.

Mr. Low, who is reportedly in self-imposed exile in China, is accused of orchestrating the theft of $4.5 billion from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad, known as 1MDB. U.S. prosecutors maintain that he laundered the ill-gotten gains through banks around the world and used the funds to run a lavish lifestyle.

“Thanks to this settlement, one of the men allegedly at the center of this massive scheme will lose all access to hundreds of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California in a statement on Wednesday. “This settlement agreement forces Low and his family to relinquish hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains that were intended to be used for the benefit of the Malaysian people, and it sends a signal that the United States will not be a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption.

link:   https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/

A forfeited four-bedroom Manhattan penthouse of fugitive financier Jho Low is already in contract with a buyer.

A historic SoHo apartment Mr. Low purchased for $13.8 million in 2014 is now listed for $9.2 million.

 

 

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