UK man aims for firstround-the-world gyrocopter flight
London: A British adventurer has taken off as he attempts to be the first person to fly around the world solo in a gyrocopter, the media reported on Monday. James Ketchell, 37, will fly over 22,800 nautical miles across 13 different countries including France, Lithuania, Russia, Canada and Greenland, before arriving back in England in six months’ time, reports the Guardian. The gyrocopter travels at just 70 knots, with a range of only 700 nautical miles. During his trip he will stop at schools in every country he visits to give motivational talks and raise money for two charities — Kindled Spirit, which supports victims of trafficking, and Over the Wall, which supports children and young people facing serious health challenges. On Sunday, crowds gathered at the Popham airfield in Hampshire to wave him off before he left to fly across the Channel from Goodwood, Sussex, on Monday. Ketchell is also the first British man to have rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean and reached the summit of Mount Everest. In 2015, he attempted to row across the Indian Ocean but had to be rescued 200 miles from the coast of Australia after his rowing partner sustained an injury. (IANS)
Catholic priests burn Harry Potter books in Poland
Warsaw: Catholic priests in the northern Polish city of Koszalin burned books they say are sacrilegious this weekend, including tomes from British author J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of fantasy novels. “We obey the Word,” priests said in a Facebook post showing photographs of the public book burning and quoting Biblical passages from the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. One passage exhorting believers to destroy the enemies of God includes the passage “burn their idols in the fire”. The post shows three priests carrying a basket of books and other items including an African-styled face mask through a church to an outside fire pit. Photographs show priests saying prayers over the fire pit, where other items including a ‘Hello Kitty’ umbrella and a Hindu religious figurine, are also burning. The Facebook page belongs to the “SMS from Heaven” Catholic evangelical foundation set up to spread Christian message via mobile phone text messages. “I’d like to believe this is a joke… Seriously? Are people burning fantasy literature in the 21st century in some kind of sick ritual?!” one Facebook user said in a comment underneath. “It’s hard for me to believe that we’re so backward!” they added. Launched in 1997, the Harry Potter series of books spins an epic tale of good and evil focused on the adventures of the eponymous bespectacled young wizard. It has sometimes drawn criticism from religious and conservative circles for what they say is its focus on witchcraft. (AFP)