IN CASE YOU MISSED IT–Schedule of Reuters features from this week
Feb 29 - Every week, Reuters journalists produce scores of multimedia features and human-interest stories from around the world.
Below are some stories from this week selected by our editors, as well as explanatory context and background to help you understand world headlines. For a full schedule of news and events, please go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect.
People with tails? No, because of this ancient genetic mutation
WASHINGTON - Director James Cameron's Oscar-winning "Avatar" movies are populated by a species of outsized blue beings resembling humans, except with tails. So why does our species lack a tail, considering that our evolutionary forerunners in the primate lineage had them? (SCIENCE-TAILS/ (PIX), 668 words)
London insect farm hatches plan for greener way to feed animals
LONDON - Buzzing underneath a set of railway arches in central London are hundreds of thousands of little flies, showcasing insect-farming technology that could help fight climate change. (BRITAIN-ENVIRONMENT/SUSTAINABLE FEED (TV, PIX), 444 words)
Astronomers observe scar on white dwarf 'cannibal' star
WASHINGTON - A slowly cooling stellar ember called a white dwarf with a scar on its face is providing new insight into the behavior of certain "cannibal" stars at the end of their life cycle. (SPACE-EXPLORATION/CANNIBAL (PIX), 636 words)
In Cyprus Halloumi war, an ex-pilot champions the old ways
KOKKINOTRIMITHIA, Cyprus - On a cold winter evening in a car park in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, queues are already forming before former airline pilot Pantelis Panteli arrives in a small van to sell his produce. After being made redundant following the closure of Cyprus Airways in 2013, Panteli decided to try his hand at cheese-making. He hasn’t looked back. (CYPRUS-HALLOUMI/ (PIX, TV), 572 words)
After Taiwan's striking lantern festival, school kids help clean up the mess
PINGXI, Taiwan - Every year on the cusp of spring, hundreds of lanterns float into the skies around a small town in northern Taiwan, a spectacular light show that is one of the island's top tourist draws. When the flames go out though, the spent lanterns fall back to earth littering the countryside around Pingxi, in the mountains outside of Taipei. Now a group of volunteers is leading school children to scour the countryside to gather the debris and take it to be disposed of safely. (TAIWAN-ENVIRONMENT/SKY LANTERN (TV, PIX), 346 words)
Spain's Seville plans to charge fee for visiting landmark square
MADRID - Tourists visiting the southern Spanish city of Seville may soon have to pay a fee to explore the wide, ornate Plaza de Espana square, the city hall said, as part of plans to control tourist overload in a public open space. (SPAIN-TOURISM/SEVILLE (PIX), 343 words)
Oscar-nominated 'Past Lives' was inspired by immigrant experience, director says
SEOUL - Korean-Canadian director Celine Song said her life as an immigrant inspired her Oscar-nominated film "Past Lives." (AWARDS-OSCARS/PAST LIVES-SOUTHKOREA (UPDATE 1, TV), 323 words)
Palestinian pop singer hopes to compete for Iceland at Eurovision
COPENHAGEN - Palestinian pop singer Bashar Murad hopes to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest in May, and bring a Palestinian voice to the event, which draws millions of television viewers, he said. (ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/EUROVISION (TV), 431 words)
How to experience Amsterdam from an online travel expert
NEW YORK - Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings, has done more than his share of traveling the globe since becoming the head of the firm back in 2017. Yet Fogel – who oversees online travel brands like Booking.com, Priceline, KAYAK and OpenTable – says his favorite place to visit is Amsterdam. Here are his top ways to experience the Dutch capital. (TRAVEL-48HOURS/AMSTERDAM (PIX), 728 words)
New money advice from Wyclef Jean just dropped – and it's a rap
NEW YORK - As any parent will tell you, teenagers and young adults do not really listen to what you have to say. Nor do they pay much attention to financial firms and their earnest charts and graphs about how much people should be saving for retirement. But here are folks they might listen to: Wyclef Jean, Pusha T, Lola Brooke, Capella Grey and Flau’jae. (MONEY-RAP/SAVING (PIX), 605 words)
EXPLANATORY CONTENT
EXPLAINER-US government shutdown: What would close, what would stay open?
FACTBOX-Who is Mitch McConnell, retiring Senate Republican leader?
FACTBOX-Drugmakers deepen efforts to tap into booming market for obesity drugs
EXPLAINER-Can Ukraine supporters force a US House vote on foreign aid?
FACTBOX-Moon landing puts new space race startups in spotlight
FACTBOX-What airlines, regulators are doing about Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets
EXPLAINER-WTO meeting in Abu Dhabi - what's at stake?
(Compiled by Mark Porter)
