Videos

Business Views: Ostrich Farming In Pakistan

Ostrich meat may seem foreign to American taste buds, but it’s a common delicacy in parts of Africa, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Now, Pakistan is trying to break into the market — but the industry is experiencing setbacks just as it was taking off, leaving a small group of farmers to keep it alive.

In 2016, the Pakistani government began a project to kick-start the ostrich industry there, offering subsidies to ostrich farmers. Soon, the number of ostrich farms in the country rose from about 60 to 400. Some observers called the industry a “gold mine.”

But in 2018, the subsidy program expired when the government declined to renew it.

Many of those farmers haven’t been able to pay off their initial investments.

“This business is more profitable than other livestock, but the farmer needs a lot of patience,” Raja Tahir Latif, an ostrich farmer who consulted on the government program, said. 

Walking Tour: Colmar In Northeastern France (4K)

Colmar is a town in the Grand Est region of northeastern France, near the border with Germany. Its old town has cobblestone streets lined with half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings. The Gothic 13th-century, Eglise Saint-Martin church stands on central Place de la Cathédrale. The city is on the Alsace Wine Route, and local vineyards specialize in Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines.

Walking Tours: San Polo District In Venice, Italy (4K)

Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs.

Video timeline: 0:00:00​ – Intro 0:02:02 – CAMPO ERBERIA 0:05:10​ – RUGA VECCHIA S. GIOVANNI 0:06:30​ – C. DELLA MADONNA 0:07:42​ – RIVA DEL VIN 0:08:34​ – RIALTO BRIDGE 0:16:44​ – CAMPO S. BORTOLOMIO 0:18:31​ – GRAND CANAL 0:21:18​ – PONTE DE L’OGIO 0:22:13​ – SALIZADA S. GIOVANNI GRISOSTOM 0:23:02​ – CORTE DEL TEATRO 0:24:48 – CORTE SECONDA DEL MILION 0:25:46​ – CALLE SCALETA 0:27:08​ – CALLE CARMINATI 0:27:46​ – CAMPO SAN LIO 0:28:40​ – SALIZADA S. LIO 0:30:52​ – CALLE DEL MONDO NOVO 0:32:37​ – CAMPO SANTA MARIA FORMOSA 0:34:56​ – CAMPIELLO QUERINI STAMPALIA 0:36:04​ – FONDAMENTA DEL REMEDIO 0:37:06​ – PONTE DEL REMEDIO

Aerial Travel: Seneca Rocks In West Virginia

Seneca Rocks is famous for its distinctive looks, emerging from the ground like giant teeth. It’s also a challenging, dangerous climb – over the past 40 years, at least 15 climbers have lost their lives here.

Seneca Rocks is one of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia.  These rocks have long been noted as a scenic attraction and are popular with rock climbers. The rocks are a magnificent formation rising nearly 900 feet above the North Fork River.

Watch Full Episodes Here: https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/

Analysis: Drinking Water – Is The World Drying Up?

Only 0.3 percent of the Earth’s total water supply is suitable for human consumption. Ominously, this precious resource is beginning to shrink. Natural water reservoirs are drying up due to climate change.

Glaciologist Daniel Farinotti surveys melting glaciers in the Swiss Alps. If glaciers continue to melt at the current rate, he says, there will be no ice left by the end of the century. The disappearance of glacial meltwater would have fatal consequences. From the heights of the Swiss Alpine glaciers, the documentary travels down to the seafloor, off the coast of Malta. Here, the crew of the German expedition ship “Sonne” wants to track down mysterious freshwater deposits in the Mediterranean.

Next up is Peru where, in a bid to counteract the threat of water shortages, work is underway on projects that use ancient Incan methods.

Walks: Cherry Blossoms In St. James Park, London (4K)

St James’s Park includes The Mall and Horse Guards Parade, and is surrounded by landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Whitehall.

The park’s famous flower beds at the front of Buckingham Palace are a familiar backdrop to pageants including Trooping the Colour, as well as state visits and other ceremonial occasions.

African Lodges: Hoanib Skeleton Coast In Namibia

Hoanib’s eight pale olive, luxury tented suites peak like whitecaps on an ocean of sand. Totally solar-powered, Hoanib has a fresh, contemporary design, with a colour palette reflecting the surrounding desert. The camp (suites, common areas, pool) looks out on a wide, rugged valley that slopes down to the usually dry Hoanib River. One of many highlights: dining under impossibly starry skies, perhaps perhaps at the firepit as a jackal cries, or a lion roars, punctuating the stillness of the inky night.

Explore the Namib Desert’s rust-coloured crags and arid plains in search of desert-adapted wildlife – elephants, lions, hyaenas, giraffes, oryxes among the regular sightings. Take a rollicking drive over the floodplain and dunes to the Skeleton Coast, a wild stretch of the Atlantic where the desert meets the sea, where white sand beaches are littered with whale bones and shipwreck remains. Fly back to camp for an aerial view of what seems uninhabitable, but is full of life. Walk with a guide to witness that life, including the smaller creatures, a fascinating variety of birds and unusual flora. Discover the remnants of Strandloper – Beachcomber – lifestyle from centuries past. Linger in the camp’s wildlife research centre to learn about the latest local conservation initiatives.

Village Walks: Bolsena In Lazio, Central Italy (4K)

Bolsena is a town and comune of Italy, in the province of Viterbo in northern Lazio on the eastern shore of Lake Bolsena. It is 10 km north-north west of Montefiascone and 36 km north-west of Viterbo. The ancient Via Cassia, today’s highway SR143, follows the lake shore for some distance, passing through Bolsena.