1 . For people suffering from depression, there’s an all-natural treatment they should use — getting more exercise. It could help fight depression, even if people have a genetic risk, new research shows.

For the study, researchers collected information from nearly 8,000 people and found those with related genes were more likely to have depression over the next two years after examining them. But that was less likely for people who were more active at the study’s start, even if they had a family history of depression. Higher levels of physical activity helped protect even those with the highest genetic risk of depression.

Both high-intensity (高强度) exercise and low-intensity activities were associated with a reduced risk of depression. Adding four hours of exercise a week could lower the risk of a new episode (一段经历) of depression by 17%, according to the study. “Our findings strongly suggest that, when it comes to depression, being physically active has the potential to remove the added risk of future episodes in individuals who are genetically risky,” said lead author Karmel Choi. “On average, about 35 additional minutes of physical activity each day may help people to reduce their risk and protect against future depression episodes.”

Depression is a common mental illness globally, with more than 264 million people affected. “Depression is so ubiquitous, and that underlines the need for effective approaches that can impact as many people as possible,” Choi said. And mental health and primary care providers can use the findings to advise patients that there’s something meaningful they can do to lower their risk of depression.

Asad was a 13-year-old boy who was very honest and hardworking. Recently, he had entered a new school, so he had no friends yet. On Monday morning, he was nearly late for school. The night before, his family attended his cousin’s wedding and reached home late, which was why he couldn’t get up on time as usual.

At school, Asad could not pay attention to anything and wanted the bell to ring so that he could buy something to eat. After a few hours, when the bell rang, Asad quickly opened his schoolbag to find his money, but just then he remembered that he had left for school in a hurry in the morning and forgotten to take money. He looked under his books, hoping to find some money but there was nothing.

Not knowing what to do, he walked out of the classroom and sat on a bench in front of the canteen. He saw a few of his classmates there, among them was Fahad. He was one of the richest kids in his class, but he was a very arrogant(傲慢的)boy who thought everyone else was a loser. But as Asad was new, he didn’t know much about Fahad.

When he went towards Fahad and asked if he could borrow some money for his lunch, Fahad laughed a lot and said, “I knew you were a loser, maybe a beggar?” Fahad laughed out so loud that other kids also heard and made fun of the situation. He didn’t answer Fahad, and slowly walked back towards an empty bench.

When he reached the bench, he noticed something lying near it. It was a wallet. He picked it up and recognized it as Fahad’s, as he remembered Fahad showing it to his friends and telling that his uncle bought it for him from the UK. There was quite a lot of money inside for a kid.

At first, Asad wanted to keep it a secret and punished Fahad.

Then Fahad said, “Why are you giving back?”

6 . Harbin Ice Festival 2023

Ever think of what Elsa’s ice palace might look like in real life? Ice stairs ice walls, and ice towers? When winter approaches, Harbin turns into a kingdom of ice and snow.

The annual Harbin Ice and Snow Festival opens in late December and lasts for around 3 months, till late February.

What’s New for Harbin Ice Festival

Every year, there is a special theme for the Ice Festival. A huge Snowflake Ferris Wheel(摩天轮) has already been built inside the park. Visitors will be able to ride on the Ferris Wheel and overlook the ice castles in early 2023. For this upcoming festival, the highlight may be when the giant Snowflake is colorfully lit up at night, shining high in the sky.

Yearly Time Line

Click here and Book Now! Tickets for Harbin Ice and Snow World are on sale now!

*Dec. 25, 2022—Jan. 5, 2023: ¥ 170 / person (half price for children)

*Jan. 6, 2023—Feb. 28, 2023: ¥ 230 / person (half price for children)

Contact us for available tour dates before they are fully booked.

Attention

As long as the ice and snow sculptures are open to visitors, it is impossible to take photos of the charming ice buildings without any visitors in! This might be different from what you see in the media.

7 . Sharon Holland and her husband, Jer, are travelling around the world and saving money at the same time by swapping (交换)houses with strangers to keep the bills low. They only have to pay for their flights, meaning they save hundreds of pounds on their holidays each year.

The couple’s occupation allows them to enjoy long periods of school holidays. Both work as school Deputy Principals, which allows them to take their children, Cian, 23, Miah, 13, and Faye, 11, abroad up to four times per year. On average, they pay £1,250 per year for flights.

Sharon, from Cork, Ireland, has exchanged her home with a stranger 40 times in the last 13 years and says she’s never regret. She said: “I couldn’t imagine travelling in any other way now. Swapping our Irish Georgian farmhouse for another house abroad is amazing. There are home-style houses, modern city apartments and beautiful architectural period houses too. Every holiday is different and staying in someone else’s house makes our experience more rewarding and enjoyable. We are able to meet more locals and understand the culture more than we would if we were to stay at a hotel. We bring our laptops during the summer weeks as we are both responsible for timetabling and school planning but this can be done at a distance”.

Sharon has visited various cities in America, France, Germany, Hungary, ltaly, Spain, Netherlands, the UK and their home country of Ireland. “But our favourite place is Italy. We have been lucky enough to visit there six times. Over the ycars, every experience has been great—from the architecture to the food. We have made some wonderful happy memories for less”, adds she.

10 . A 99-year old Australian swimmer appears to have broken a world record for his age group in the 50 m freestyle. The likely new world record holder, George Corones, clocked 56.12 seconds at an official event in Queensland—a new benchmark for the 100-104 age category. He faded the previous record of 1:31. 19, which was set by British swimmer John Harrison in 2014, by 35 seconds. It will now be affirmed by the sport’s governing body.

Corones, who is quailed for the record because he turns 100 in April, said he was “quite delighted” and “over the world” by the result. He said he had been overwhelmed by the “roaring” crowd on the Gold Coast on Wednesday. The event, in which he was the only entrant (新成员), had been specially staged for him to challenge the record.

Corones was a keen swimmer in his youth but only began to learn swimming again at the age of 80. He gave it up at the beginning of the World War Ⅱ, and he didn’t think he would have a swim of any description until he retired. Then he started swimming again for exercise.

Racing undeniably (不可否认的) challenged him physically, but it was manageable with preparation. On average he swims three times a week, and also fits in gym sessions. “At this age it takes a while to get going... you get exhausted much more easily, but if you do it properly, the rewards are astronomical,” he said.

Corones will challenge the 100 m freestyle record on Saturday night, believing he can beat the current mark of 03:23.10, which was also set by Harrison.

“I’m not a young man by any means, but I am rally looking forward to it and confident I can do it very well,” he said.