La Bestia: the most desired and dangerous world train

They call him La Bestia-the beast in Portuguese-or the train of death, and for many is the only opportunity to live a decent life. Every day, this freight train traverses part of Mexican territory to the border with the United States, and about 1,500 people end up traveling on your roof in search of a new life in America.

Most of these migrants are from Central America â€" many of them minors. According to the Daily Mail, between October and the end of June about 44 thousand unaccompanied minors traveled in La Bestia.

To worsen the already precarious situation, many of these people end up falling from the train, getting seriously injured â€" there is even a temporary treatment center for these refugees, the Alberge de Buen Pastor Jesus.

According to the Daily Mail, the situation at La Bestia is several times referred to the high-level meetings of the rulers of the United States, Mexico and Central American countries. However, so far, nothing has been done to solve this issue.

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The joys and anxieties of an adoption very desired

When Megan and Jamie Parker discovered that they could not have children, they went into a long process to adopt Sam, a baby who revolutionized their lives. "We are so in love with this young man who brought so much love to our lives," explained the child's parents to the international press.

What makes this adoption in news is the work that Megan's sister, Kate, developed to document the love of Megan and Jamie-and, eventually, the entire family â€" for this baby so desired.

"There are so many interesting things and wonderful that I'm documenting: the power of love, the agonizing wait for an adoption, welcome to someone in our clan and what it means to be a multiracial family," explained Kate of 37 years.

The photographer had already documented, in recent years, the growth of its daughters, in a work with the friendly name "Srong is the new Pretty" â€" "strong is the new beauty", in Portuguese.

The Parker live in Roswell, Georgia. See some of the photos of the documentary.

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How to protect the goat coil and still make money (with video)

In Viana do Alentejo, a country estate lies at the heart of the arteseanal brand of soaps Olivae, which uses milk from cabral coil to create a cosmetic product and beauty. The idea came from Carla January and Elza Neto, who last year created the company Planet lavender and launched the brand.

"[We value] the good quality products that are made in Portugal. That's why we have selected olive oil produced in Portel, the goat's milk a serpentine race that only exists in Portugal. We also have selected the oils produced by steam distillation, a race that only exists in Portugal, "explained Carla January to green economy.

Meet the brand on Facebook.

Besides being Alentejo, the serpentine goat milk with high protein content. However, there are only 4,300 adult females, making the species in all State threatened with existence. Thus, this investment may draw attention to this race and, maybe, bring new producers.

"We want to produce and promote the region. But [it also] for the sake of economy and shorten the distances between the producer and raw material and who makes his transformation, "added Soares Neto.

The Olivae brand can now be found in 30 stores across the country â€" and in Barcelona, Spain â€" and assumed an initial investment of € 10,000. Currently, 2,000 soaps are made per month, all handmade and natural.

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Would be able to cross a bike the second largest bridge of Europe?

To Copenhagen to be the second most bike-friendly city in the world don't seem to get. The Danish capital is now considering one of the most ambitious ever cycling projects: the construction of a bike path over the Øresund bridge linking Copenhagen to Malmo, the third largest city in Sweden.

The two cities are separated by sea, particularly the Strait of Øresund. However, since 2000 it is possible to travel from one city to the other via a bridge with about 7.8 kilometres and is on this road crossing is considering to build a bike path. The bridge has two trays â€" a road and another railroad. And now the Swedish construction companies Skanska and Sweco presented a project for the construction of another cycling tray.

This new international bike path is just one aspect of an ambitious social project and ongoing engineering and that can be even more daring than Europe ever witnessed. Since the bridge opened, the Sweden and Denmark have worked together to create a new international metropolitan area, linking Copenhagen and Malmö, with nearly four million inhabitants, two Governments, two official currencies and two languages.

However, plans for the construction of bicycle paths are not easy. This new Board would have to be suspended above the road Board and covered to provide protection for cyclists. The Oresund Bridge is not always about sea, since it crosses land Danish side, on artificial island Peberholm. The bridge continues then to Copenhagen via an underground tunnel, built to allow the passage of vessels in the Strait. In this final section underground, with about four kilometres, the bike path would have to be implemented in a tunnel specially constructed for the purpose. The project will be quite expensive, but a large part of the funds would come from fees of crossing the bridge, referred to Atlantic City Lab.

The whole project may seem megalomaniac and the possibility of leaving the plant is unlikely. However, projects such as this seem to be becoming a regional speciality. This project is only part of a thorough plan for the region, called the Øresund 2070, which includes a new integrated rail system and new railway lines, a new tunnel to remove lorries from the roads and trains, 300 miles of new bike lanes, as well as housing for over one million people.

The plan may seem surreal, but to the South, the Danes are building one who will be the world's largest road and rail tunnel, an underground passageway of 18 kilometres under the Fehrmarn Strait that separates Denmark from Germany. The construction of the tunnel will reduce the connection between Copenhagen and Hamburg in 90 minutes.

While the remaining projects are not completed, the Oresund Bridge is to remodel the region dramatically. Since the opening of the bridge crossings between Copenhagen and Malmö have increased dramatically. Every day approximately 300,000 people crossing the bridge, since many Danes choose to live in Sweden, where the cost of living and of dwellings are smaller, and continue to work in Denmark, since the Danish Krone is stronger than the Swedish krona.

The ports in the region are regulated by a single regulatory authority and the universities of the region (including many of the best and oldest in Scandinavia) are working to create a single Consortium that allows students to choose courses throughout the region.

Foto:  vaktra / Creative Commons

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Madagascar: Arts and crafts by give me that straw

"Straw and BAMBOO STRIPS, or softwood of SMALL TREES are the materials used to manufacture objects of everyday life in Madagascar: different straw hats, according to the tribe, carrycots to go shopping, bags and trays for cleaning and transporting rice, mats for the floor ... but also brooms, boxes (fabulous, the Malagasy Tupperware!), and even toys and decorative objects â€" all handmadesometimes in happy coexistence with the flashy colors of Chinese plastics that already reach some sites.

Straw's work is especially visible in street markets, where we can sometimes assist the manufacture of objects and buy them directly to the artist. But the dialogue between who's delighted to see art and manufactured piece, and who makes almost ashamed, is practically impossible.

In Madagascar, the artist believes he's still show their poverty. Only in the areas most exposed to tourism is starting to exist the concept of crafts as art; Here, in the villages where I'm passing between Fort Dauphin and Tulear, makes by hand who can't buy more modern and flashy. A more colorful and durable material than wood or straw. This is another tip of the iceberg gigantic that divides the world into two â€" the "rich" and "poor". And the "poor" definitely do not believe that what they do has value. All that is traditional manufacturing them seems to have the seal of poverty and survival.

And yet these are unique pieces and ancestors. The work is good, solid and creative, without excess detail. The lids fit, rugs are soft, the hats have various sizes, such as those made by machines. The bags are small colorful details, sometimes made with twines. Wooden spoons have stripes that stretch, the figures of cows and humans have humor. And the brooms, frankly, encantariam the most demanding of witches!

RIP a few smiles when you buy several wooden spoons and a box, to a family that makes right there, in the Tsihombé market. It was for the money that is lacking, or for assessing who desperately tried to communicate. At home I can now serve my coconut vary with a genuine scoop â€" and no less genuine feeling of witnessing the final years of an art rejected ... "

Travel journalist, Ana Isabel Martinez has published in Portuguese magazines as the big story, around the world and Routes, Destinations and Spanish &, like Discover and the Altair. Right now she dedicates herself with equal interest to travel and vegetarian food, regularly publishing the findings and oddities in site Landscape eaters. Is the Green Savers reader and writes regularly here.

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Urban rehabilitation vista as needed and priority

Urban rehabilitation and sustainability are inextricably linked to the future of the construction industry, said Kings Fields, President of the Association of industrial construction and public works (AICCOPN).

Responsible, who spoke during the Conference the GPA "Cities for people," said that 470 thousand dwellings are overcrowded in Portugal, there is a housing for every 16 people, who are at risk of poverty, and about 260 thousand houses need urgent intervention.

According to a AICCOPN study, conducted by the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto (FEUP) and quoted by Kings, Fields will need 38 billion to rehabilitate more than 900 thousand housing buildings that need to be repaired.

"In all, 27% of national buildings need works, with 11.4% are very degraded or require medium or large repairs. Therefore, the sum of 600 million euros, to be made available by the Government in Portugal for 2020 urban renewal, it's nothing ", considers Kings Fields.

"For a long time we lost the opportunity to rehabilitate our cities. We degrade the housing assets, "concluded the responsible, predicting that the" investment in rehabilitation will be private, but you have to be the next State of the construction industry ". "We're a long way from a Europe in which the urban renewal represents 37%", pointed out.

On the other hand, Ricardo Guimarães, the Confidential real estate, showed that the market for buying and selling is recovering the feeling of confidence, pointing to stabilisation of prices and that at lease a less dynamic in the offer, helping to stem the fall in rents.

According to Ricardo Guimarães, "Rehab is a reality in Lisbon, with 90% of the buildings and 81% of licensed fires". During the first panel discussion, the opinion was unanimous that "there is still much to do in Portugal" and the urban rehabilitation is necessary and a priority.

For Pedro Rutkowski, CEO of Worx, the "real estate asset is an excellent investment." But we must bear in mind that "rehabilitation has to be thought also outside the urban centers".

Citing a study that the Worx published market halls, Pedro Rutkowski mentioned that the student housing is a niche market with great potential, not just because of the interest it arouses in terms of development, but also due to the existence of several buildings in the country that can be adapted to the thread.

Isabel Santos, already Managing Director of Ecochoice, stated that "use resources in a rational way is today a priority across all sectors of activity and it is important to create solutions and strategies to attain sustainability in buildings and territory.

Rui also Fragoso, from the direction of Buildings of ADENE-Agency for energy, stressed that energy efficiency "can not pass alongside the urban rehabilitation". "The assets requires improvement. Is far short of the levels of efficiency that are possible to achieve and therefore needs a strong investment, being that part of the work is facilitated, since we have a good heritage registered, with knowledge of the areas in which bet, "said Rui Fragoso.

The existence of disparate realities from North to South of Portugal was one of the conclusions of the Panel "urban regeneration". "The reality of Lisbon as regards urban redevelopment is not the reality of the country. We need to learn, share experience and implement good examples from Lisbon to other areas, "concluded Salvador Ferreira da Silva, of the municipality of Ovar.

The third Conference of the GPA was sponsored by Renault and the support of Adene-Agency for energy, Breeze and green dot Corporation.

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Marine explorers find rare alien-looking creature

Although there is no shortage of bizarre ideas in the field of science fiction, in particular about the appearance of alien creatures, in the real world we still continue to amaze with the animals that are found on planet Earth.

Recently, a team of Nautilus Live expedition â€" through a remotely operated vehicle-have you encountered one of the rarest creatures and bizarre in the world: a purple sifonóforo roaming the depths of the ocean. Even though marine explorers with experience, the team of Nautilus was amazed to find such a creature, since it is rarely sighted.

Although at first glance the animal looks like a jellyfish, is actually a colony of zooids, which can be several Lynch syndrome or medusoides and that are morphologically and functionally specialized, referred to the Dodo.

In addition to the strange shapes that this animal can assume the unusual purple color of this specimen makes it even more bizarre.

The species of sifonóforo best known is the caravela-portuguesa, which is also one of the most dangerous and often is confused on the beaches with jellyfish.

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