The world’s ceaseless fascination with the Titanic disaster resulted in fresh tragedy this week when five people were killed by the “catastrophic implosion” of a submersible bound for the ship’s final resting place.

Titanic is just one of many wrecks lying in the deep and hostile waters of the Atlantic. The roiling ocean lays claim to many more maritime calamities than the iceberg collision that sank Titanic and resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people on the ship’s maiden voyage in 1912.

Yet it is to Titanic that people are often drawn, time and again. The historic tragedy has inspired novels, movies and a thriving tourism industry in the shape of museums and exhibitions that pull in hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

And, of course, inevitably, for those with the budget to spend, there have been the trips to see the wreck site itself. The expense and the extreme risk apparently worth it for some just to spend a few moments peering through black waters at a decaying nautical hulk.

So why does Titanic exert such a powerful allure? The heartbreaking plight of the five lost on board the submersible was doubtless all the more captivating for news audiences around the planet because of the destination of their ill-fated trip.

Much of Titanic’s magnetism comes from the hubris and glamor involved in the original tragedy, says Brent McKenzie, a professor at Canada’s University of Guelph and author of upcoming book “Dark Tourism: Is the Medium Still the Message.”

“The fact that so many lives were lost, and that the ship was ‘unsinkable’ and the famous people on board seems to ensure ongoing interest,” says McKenzie.

“Also the fact that it was over a century ago means no longer can new first-hand accounts be made, and the true tragedy of horrific events becomes more difficult for future generations to understand or even to care about.”

Titanic tourism is one of the more established industries in what’s become known as “dark tourism.”

“Rightly or wrongly, more and more tourists are drawn to sites and attractions related to death, tragedy, and suffering,” says McKenzie.

“There are a number of reasons. One being the increased choice and opportunities to visit these sites due to greater travel options. There has also been influence from increased numbers of media that focus on dark tourism,” he says.

The war in Ukraine might recharge interest in Chernobyl, or “sadly new sites of death and tragedy,” speculates McKenzie, but also “it will be interesting to see how dark tourism may be affected by the Covid pandemic as people will want more traditional rest and relaxation.”

Booming industry

For most ordinary people interested in exploring Titanic’s history, there are standard tourism options: Titanic museums in Belfast, where the ship was built;  in Liverpool, where it was registered; in Southampton, where passengers set sail; and in Cobh, the last port of call.

At Halifax in Nova Scotia, the cemeteries where the victims are buried are a tourist draw and at Cape Race in Newfoundland the story of the rescue effort is told at The Myrick Wireless Interpretation Centre.

McKenzie points to Titanic-related attractions in places with no clear relation to the tragedy – such as Florida and Tennessee – and cruise vacations that retraced the original route.

There’s the long-delayed project by Australian businessman Clive Palmer to build a full-size replica “Titanic II,” about which there are occasional fresh bursts of news.

And then there are the expeditions. A couple of hours’ drive north of the Titanic cemeteries, St. John’s, Newfoundland, has been the launch point for OceanGate Expeditions’ eight-day trips with a $250,000 price tag, including a 12,500-foot descent to the Titanic wreck itself.

OceanGate began operating trips to Titanic in 2021. At least 28 people visited the wreck with the company last year, according to court documents, despite legal accusations over unseaworthiness and doubts over the OceanGate submersible’s unusual design.

The fact that there is such an appetite that people have been willing to risk the dangerous depths for a glimpse of the wreckage has helped create an unhealthy demand for Titanic experiences, says Titanic expert Dik Barton.

“This Titanic world is toxic,” says Barton, who has completed 22 expeditions to the Titanic shipwreck and is the former vice president of operations for RMS Titanic, Inc., the US company with sole salvaging rights to the Titanic shipwreck. (Paul-Henri Nargeolet – the French Navy veteran who died on board the Titan submersible – served as director of underwater research for the operation.)

Barton says it’s “a privilege” to visit the wreck, and points out, with distaste, the occasion in 2001 when a couple controversially got married in a submersible floating on the bow of the wrecked ship.

“Let’s face it, if somebody built a travelator to the top of Everest,” people would go up it, says Barton. “If there’s a way, there’s an opportunity to go, then somehow, someone will go because they can afford it or it’s available.”

But now, following the inevitable investigation into this recent tragedy, “people are going to have to rethink it. The risk factors, the legislative and regulatory aspects of it. I think it also could even extend into tourist trips to the moon and to space and all the other things.”

The loss of the Titan submersible “is a game changer,” says Barton. “This is going to significantly force a review of two things. One is deep sea operations, the compliance and the complexity and the obligation to make sure we are not only safe, but we’re also legal, regulatory-wise.”

The question of artifacts

Appetite for Titanic experiences has also helped drive a thriving if controversial industry around the recovery of items from onboard the ship.

Through his work with RMS Titanic, Inc, Barton was involved in the recovery of artifacts, of which he estimates there are now nearly 10,000 in existence. In the wake of this week’s tragedy, there’s a question mark over whether there will be any more such salvage operations in future.

All the artifacts will have been carefully cleaned, preserved and painstakingly itemized; Barton says it was “one of the mandates of the company” when he worked there to take the utmost care in guardianship and treating the artifacts with respect.

More than half of the artifacts – some 5,500 – are owned by RMS Titanic, Inc and exhibited everywhere from Las Vegas to Paris. They’ve even, contentiously, branched out into the digital world of NFTs.

The dissolving wreck

The Titanic Museum in Belfast, which – supported by Robert Ballard, discoverer of the shipwreck – was part of a failed bid in 2018 to purchase the 5,500 artifacts that make up the RMS Titanic, Inc collection. Its website states that “to date, we have decided not to include artifacts from the Titanic Wreck Site and Debris Field for ethical reasons.”

The “Titanic is a very disparate and very fractious and very emotive subject and the Titanic fraternities even more so,” says Barton, pointing to the broad range of positions on the ethical issues involved. There are those who view the site as a mass grave, others who see it as merely a maritime wreck;  those who think the site should be left alone and that visits are only speeding its decay, others who think it’s important that we document the site and the wreck’s content as much as we’re able.

What cannot be argued with, however, is that the shipwreck will one day disappear, along with all the artifacts that remain at the bottom of the ocean.

The estimates of how long it will take for metal-eating bacteria to erode the remains completely vary from seven years to 50, but “nobody knows,” says Barton.

“The structural strength of her, in the bow section principally, is going to fall in on itself” and once that structural integrity has been undermined, it will “literally fall into a huge great pile of rust.”

The land-based industry that surrounds the disaster, however, with interest further revived by the tragic developments this week, is set to long outlive the wreck’s last physical traces.

The Canadian Department of National Defense has confirmed two Royal Canadian Air Force members who went missing in a helicopter crash have died.

A Chinook helicopter crashed into the Ottawa River with four people on board during an early morning training flight Tuesday.

Two survivors were found and taken to Pembroke Hospital with minor injuries, according to a news release Wednesday from the Defense Department. Both have since been released and are being monitored by Canadian Armed Forces medical personnel, the release said.

“I join all Canadians in mourning the loss of two Royal Canadian Air Force members from 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron,” Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said. “These brave Canadian Armed Forces members served Canada with honour, dedication, and immeasurable courage. I extend my deepest condolences to their loved ones. I also send my prayers to the two members injured in the crash, who are now recovering. We are with you.”

About 110 Canadian Armed Forces members scoured the river and its banks for the two missing crew members, according to the Defense Department. An Ontario Provincial Police marine and dive unit and the Petawawa and Pembroke fire departments also helped, according to the release. The missing crew members’ bodies were found Tuesday evening, according to a news release.

“There are no words to describe a loss as tragic as this,” said Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force. “On behalf of the entire Air Force family … I offer our deepest condolences and support to the families, friends and loved ones of all those affected by this accident.”

The accident is now under investigation by the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Directorate of Flight Safety. “Further information about the accident itself will not be released to preserve the integrity of this independent investigation,” according to the Defense Department.

Military spokesman Brigadier Felix Kulayigyesays said “two terrorists” were killed and two guns recovered from them inside the Virunga National Park in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo,

Around 42 people, including 37 students, some as young as 12, were killed on Friday when members of the ISIS-linked ADF attacked the Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe, hacking some of their victims to death with machetes and setting off fire at the dormitories.

The arrests followed earlier disclosure by authorities that the ADF may have spent days planning the attack with the help of local residents in town.

On Wednesday, the police said a self-proclaimed member of the militia group had been trailed and arrested after the 25-year-old suspect, Kalenzi Resto, identified by police as a shop attendant, admitted his alleged involvement in the deadly school attack in a video that has been widely shared on social media.

“The investigation into his alleged participation in the attack is currently underway,” the police said in a tweet.

Grieving families began retrieving the bodies of their loved ones from a local morgue this week for burial. Police said 23 bodies have so far been handed over to their relatives.

On Sunday, President Yoweri Museveni announced the deployment of additional Ugandan troops to the western part of the country and across Uganda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo to pursue the ADF.

The Lhubirira school is located in the town of Kasese, which sits along Uganda’s border with the Congo, which serves as a hideout for the deadly militia group.

More young Arabs see China as an ally of their countries than the United States, a survey of regional youth has found.

The US ranks seventh among nations considered as friendly, compared to China, which ranked second in the Arab Youth Survey conducted by Dubai-based public relations firm ASDA’A BCW.

The findings show that support for China has gradually risen over the years as Beijing expands its footprint in the region. But they also reveal that as much as Arabs want the US to play a smaller role in the Middle East, many believe the superpower will continue to be the most influential actor.

Eighty percent of respondents consider China to be an ally of their country, while 72% found the US to be one. Support for both countries has grown from last year, when the US stood at 63% and China at 78%.

By contrast, the 2018 edition of the survey found that other Arab nations dominated the top five countries seen as allies, with the exception of Russia, which ranked fourth. Neither China nor the US were among the top five. The 2015 survey ranked the US second.

This year’s survey, in its 15th edition, included face-to-face interviews with 3,600 Arabs aged 18 to 24 across 53 cities in 18 Arab countries, reflecting evolving sentiments prompted by a changing political landscape in the region.

While the US continues to remain popular, other nations have overtaken it in ranking over the years. Turkey was found to be the country that most young Arabs considered an ally this year, at 82%.

Of those polled, 61% said they support US disengagement from the Middle East, with most support for this being recorded in North Africa and the Levant.

Arab states, particularly those in the Gulf, have been frustrated at what they see as the US’s waning interest in the region, and have in recent years begun charting their own foreign policy. They have refused to take sides in the Ukraine war and have grown closer to China, insisting that the world is moving towards multipolarity.

“The perception that the US is strategically pivoting away from the Middle East seems to be trickling down from governments to citizens in the region,” said Anna Jacobs, a senior Gulf analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank. “But this perception should be taken with a grain of salt. US soft power and its role as a security guarantor in the region is nowhere close to being replaced by other global powers like China or Russia.”

Young Arabs realize that, according to the survey. Despite the rise in China’s popularity, two-thirds still believe the US will be a “more important ally” than China and Russia over the next five years.

Analysts say that the US’ Middle East policy continues to be unpopular in the region, particularly its support for Israel, which the survey found is consistently ranked as the number one “enemy” among respondents.

“Its recent diplomatic forays in the region, however, suggest China sees the US role there as being in relative decline, and is seeking opportunities to exert influence and build its own influence at American expense,” he said.

Venturing into diplomacy

Unlike the US, Beijing presents its agenda in the region with a focus on the economy and no strings attached. A 4,000-word joint statement between Saudi Arabia and China in December affirmed they would “defend the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states, rules of international law and basic principles of international relations.”

China has grown to be the largest trading partner of the region’s oil exporting states. Its trade with Saudi Arabia went from $4.1 billion in 2001 to $87.3 billion in 2021 – more than the US and the EU combined.

“The Middle East is already an arena of US-China competition, but regional actors have made it clear that they will not be cornered into choosing a side in great power competition,” said Jacobs. “They have too many interests in both the East and the West and feel they must maintain balanced relations with all the great powers.”

Traditionally an economic player in the region, Beijing has however begun venturing into Middle East diplomacy, long seen as an American domain.

China scored a diplomatic victory in March when it brokered a peace agreement between long-time rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

In April, China offered to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians. And just last week, it welcomed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with full military honors during his four-day state visit to China. Abbas is yet to visit the White House under the Biden presidency. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also not yet been invited since returning to office in December.

“Biden has apparently abandoned the traditional US role as an honest broker,” said Dunne. “This retreat to a traditionalist Middle East policy… seems to me an acknowledgment that the president has enough problems – a hostile Congress, a tough re-election fight, the war in Ukraine, confrontation with China, and a domestic agenda that needs a lot of work – to take on a lot of new ones.”

The country whose reputation has suffered the most since last year’s survey is Russia, which fell to the rank of nine among nations Arab youth consider an ally, from third last year. It also ranks third among those countries Arabs consider an enemy this year, replacing the US which held that position last year, but now ranks fifth. Israel (86%) and Iran (57%) ranked highest as countries Arabs consider an enemy.

Russia’s involvement in conflicts across the Middle East may be responsible for the drop in its popularity, said Jacobs. “Their invasion of Ukraine seems to have exacerbated this.”

Aaron Rodgers has continued to advocate for the legalization of some psychedelics, claiming this week that ayahuasca helped to improve his performance on the football field.

Speaking in Denver, Colorado, at Psychedelic Science 2023, which calls itself the largest psychedelic conference in history, the NFL quarterback referred to his experience of using ayahuasca, a drink made from Amazonian plants that contain a psychoactive ingredient.

“It’s going to be hard to cancel me because the previous year [in 2019] – 26 touchdowns, four interceptions, we had a good season,” Rodgers, who was then playing for the Green Bay Packers, said on Wednesday. “Ayahuasca – 48 touchdowns, five interceptions, MVP. What are you gonna say?”

Rodgers has often been the subject of ridicule for embracing alternative therapies, but has previously credited psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca for helping to alleviate his fear of death and deepening a sense of self-love.

Last year, residents in Colorado joined Oregon in voting to legalize psilocybin, the mind-altering component of magic mushrooms. Rodgers, who recently left the Packers for the New York Jets, made reference to the decriminalization of psilocybin in Colorado while speaking in Denver.

Small clinical trials have shown that one or two doses of psilocybin, given in a therapeutic setting, can make dramatic and long-lasting changes in people suffering from treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, though scientists are still exploring the how and the why behind the connection between psychedelics and improved mental health.

Experts also warn that taking psilocybin and other hallucinogens comes with potential health risks, such as psychosis or other longer-term mental health issues in some, as well as physical effects such as raised blood pressure and heart rate abnormalities.

In February, the 39-year-old Rodgers underwent a four-day darkness retreat as a way, he explained, to “get in a better headspace and have a greater peace in my life.”

Speaking to podcast host Aubrey Marcus about his use of psychedelics on Wednesday, Rodgers said: “Is it not ironic that the things that actually expand your mind are illegal and the things that keep you in the lower chakras [energy points in the body] and dumb you down have been legal for centuries?

“I guarantee you all these bums who want to come after me online about my experience and stuff, they’ve never tried it. They’re the perfect people for it, we need to get these people to take it.”

The four-time MVP said that he has been approached by athletes in the NFL and across other sports for guidance on taking psychedelics.

“The response from other people in the sports industry has been pretty incredible,” said Rodgers.

“To see basketball players and baseball players and surfers, entertainers and my own teammates and colleagues across the league reach out and either share their story about their own medicine journey or ask to be a part of an upcoming one was pretty special.”

Measuring earthquakes is no easy task, given they strike suddenly and sometimes at global scale.

When the Earth’s crust shifts abruptly, an earthquake occurs, with energy radiated out as seismic waves and shaking that’s sometimes experienced by people, buildings and infrastructure.

Seismic waves and factors related to the shifting ground determine an earthquake’s magnitude, as measured through 10 on the scale most commonly used to describe quakes.

How strong the shaking feels is an earthquake’s intensity, as measured on a scale that uses Roman numerals to assign categories based on assessed damage and people’s observations.

Here’s what the scales indicate:

Measuring an earthquake’s magnitude

Scientists largely use the moment magnitude scale to categorize earthquakes’ strength and size in a way that’s more accurate than the long-used Richter scale, the US Geological Survey says.

This moment magnitude scale is based on the earthquake’s “seismic moment,” which accounts for how far the Earth’s crust shifts in a quake, the size of the area along the crustal crack and the force required to overcome friction at that spot, along with the seismic waves the shift creates.

The moment magnitude will be larger if there is more friction and shifting across a longer distance. Seismic waves are measured by seismometers, which use a pendulum attached to a spring that moves with the shaking of the Earth, generating a kind of graph called a seismogram.

Magnitude is ranked through 10, with each whole-number increase equal to 32 times more energy released.

Measuring an earthquake’s intensity

The intensity of an earthquake is measured using the Modified Mercalli Intensity, or MMI, Scale.

It measures the strength of an earthquake’s shaking at specific locations around its epicenter – the spot on Earth’s surface directly above a quake’s underground origin.

The MMI scale uses Roman numerals I through X (1 through 10) to determine how intense an earthquake was based on structural damage assessments and reports from observers.

Intensity is important to consider since the terrain, depth, location and many other factors play a significant role in the devastation an earthquake can cause.

Chris Gloninger spent the last 18 years breaking down Iowa’s latest local weather news. This week, he is making the news.

His departure comes months after receiving a series of harassing emails from a viewer who disagreed with one thing he did on-air: he explained how weather was linked to the climate crisis. He also received other negative feedback via private messages and social media, which has become a common experience for weather and climate communicators.

The decision was not easy, Gloninger told the Washington Post, but in a tweet announcing his exit, he cited a “death threat stemming from my climate coverage” which he said resulted in post-traumatic stress. He also mentioned the need to address family health issues.

The emails from the viewer, according to screenshots Gloninger’s tweeted, called the meteorologist a “liberal conspiracy” theorist and told him to “go east and drown from the ice cap melting.”

It escalated last summer when he received a more menacing threat from the viewer.

“It is mentally exhausting and at times I have not been ok,” Gloninger tweeted at the time. “The threat of course was concerning, but the stream of harassing emails is even more distressing.”

Gloninger said he plans to “embark on a new journey dedicated to helping solve the climate crisis,” in addition to spending more time with family. His last day is on July 7.

A statement from KCCI about his departure said Gloninger plans to go into climate consulting: “Gloninger is leaving television to focus on caring for his family and his own mental health. He plans to pursue work in climate consulting.”

Gloninger’s experience is not an isolated one. Climate change has become a highly politicized topic, despite hundreds of global scientists concluding it is “unequivocal” that humans have caused the crisis and that “widespread and rapid changes” have already occurred around the world.

Climate communicators, journalists, meteorologists and national weather services, including those in the US, Spain and Australia, have reported an increase in harassment, threats and abuse for connecting extreme weather events to climate change.

In a series of tweets posted Friday, Jeff Berardelli, the chief meteorologist at WFLA in Tampa Bay, said while the group of people who strongly deny climate change make up only a small fraction of the US population, “they are very loud, giving the impression they are a much larger slice of the public.”

Berardelli acknowledged it is hard to change the minds of those who deny climate science. Instead, he said he tries to educate those who are open to learning.

“Climate was made political in recent decades, but inherently it is not, so simply don’t accept that frame,” he said in a tweet. “Science is science. Period. Push back [with] science fact, but only with those who are open. Ignore those who would politicize.”

Gloninger has worked for seven news stations across five states. He shared news of his departure from TV news on air this Wednesday, the same date as Climate Stripes Day, where climate-minded people, including scientists and meteorologists, join a campaign to turn the world’s attention toward the climate crisis.

The #ShowYourStripes campaign is a visual one, designed to illustrate how much the Earth has warmed. And during his farewell segment, Gloninger wore a necktie with the iconic pattern on air.

Ethiopian food is distinctive and delicious, befitting a remarkable country with a cultural heritage that stands out from the rest of Africa.

While the cuisine of Ethiopia is becoming better known, it still remains something of a secret.

Eating Ethiopian-style means rethinking some assumptions you might have about dinnertime – for most of us, this means starting with eschewing cutlery and being ready to get messy fingers. The foundation of the vast majority of Ethiopian meals is injera, a giant gray spongy pancake-like bread, upon whose strangely rubbery surface are served an array of foods, including multicolored mounds of spicy stews, vegetable curries and cubes of raw meat.

This mode of eating is highly communal, with everyone gathering around a large circular metal tray of injera heavily laden with food as hands go back and forth scooping up food with strips of injera torn from the edges.

Like Indians, the Ethiopians aren’t shy of adding spices. One of the most common accompaniments is berbere, an spice mix containing up to 16 constituent elements including chile powder, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, cardamom and cinnamon.

Beyond the endless dishes, it’s essential to try Ethiopian coffee after a meal. Ethiopia is reportedly the birthplace of quality Arabica coffee, and its coffees are praised as some of the best in the world.

Here are 15 essential dishes to try:

Tibs

Sliced beef or lamb, pan-fried in butter, garlic and onion, tibs is one of the most popular dishes among Ethiopians.

It comes in a variety of forms, varying in type, size or shape of the cuts of meat used, and can range from hot to mild or contain little to no vegetables. A particularly recommended variation is shekla tibs, in which the strips of meat arrive at your table roasting atop a clay pot stoked with hot coals – dramatic and delicious.

Historically, tibs was served to pay a compliment or show respect to someone. Today it’s still viewed as a special dish, hence its popularity for commemorating special events and holidays. At the same time, though, if you walk into a rowdy bar on a Friday afternoon in Ethiopia’s rambunctious capital, Addis Ababa, it’s likely that most of the revelers will be enthusiastically ordering and eating tibs.

Typically, the meat of the tibs that arrives at your table has just been cleaved from carcasses hanging outside beside the restaurant’s entrance. Don’t be put off; meat rarely comes fresher or tastier.

Kitfo

Made from the leanest meat, kitfo is viewed as a big treat by ordinary Ethiopians, while its nutritional powers are also praised.

Similar to French steak tartare, the meat is minced and warmed in a pan with a little butter, mitmita (a stronger version of berbere) and sometimes thyme. Kitfo is typically served leb leb (warmed, not cooked), though you can ask for it to be betam leb leb (“very warmed,” which basically means cooked).

Kitfo can be served with aib (like dry cottage cheese) and gomen (minced spinach), a recommended pairing making the meal even more delicious, as well as especially filling – highly recommended after a hard day’s traveling or if one is confronted with a hangover after a long night.

Beyainatu

The name of Ethiopia’s most popular vegetarian dish translates as “a bit of every type,” hence your injera arrives blanketed in piles of tasty and colorful vegetables, potatoes, curries, lentil stews and more, creating a riot of colors and tastes.

Because of Ethiopia’s strong tradition of religious fasting and abstaining from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, beyainatu is widely available around the country, and served just about everywhere from fancy hotels to tiny food shacks beside the road. Hence when traveling or faced with a menu only printed in Amharic, beyainatu is a safe and simple go-to.

Many visitors to Ethiopia return proclaiming – regardless of whether they are vegetarian or not – beyainatu their favorite meal.

Fuul

Popular across East Africa and the Middle East, Ethiopian fuul is a mix of stewed and spiced fava beans eaten by many Ethiopians for breakfast.

Regular fuul is usually served as a modest portion for one – while still filling you up – supplemented with an endless supply of fresh bread. So-called special fuul is usually large enough to share, and served with yogurt, tomato, green chile, onion, egg and occasionally avocado. Locals mash this together and season further with salt, additional spices and fresh chiles.

You can tell you are in the right sort of fuul-serving diner if it’s brought to you in small metal bowls that are too hot to touch, with eaters using a piece of torn-off bread to grip the bowl’s side.

Fuul serves as a healthy fast food, especially in Addis Ababa, where it is often cooked and dispensed out of vast pots, with most customers well fed in under ten minutes before they head off into the teeming city for their day’s work.

Tere siga

Not for the faint-hearted, one of Ethiopia’s most popular delicacies is cubes of raw red meat. Two people typically order half a kilo of tere siga to share, which is eaten with injera or bread to clasp the meat you carve off the raw slab, and dipped in copious amounts of mitmita.

One of the stories about how Ethiopians developed a love of raw meat is that it was developed as a military tactic during the 16th century so fighters could avoid detection by not having to start fires to cook their meat.

While most Ethiopians seem to suffer no adverse effects from eating tere siga – the majority avow it makes them feel on top of the world – eating raw meat does carry a relative health risk.

This ranges from tapeworm to salmonella, though this author hasn’t experienced any problems post-tere siga. If you’re concerned after a trip to Ethiopia, a simple tablet available from pharmacies can be taken to neutralize any tapeworm risk.

Doro wot

Wot is Ethiopia’s version of curry, and the ubiquitous companion of injera. While beef and goat are often used with wot, chicken – doro in Amharic – reigns as the wot champion.

Doro wot is made with chicken drumsticks or wings cooked and served in a hot sauce of butter, onion, chile, cardamom and berbere. In the midst of this stew incongruously bobs a hard-boiled egg. It proves a delicious accompaniment – typically offered to a guest as a sign of respect.

For Ethiopians, doro wot is the go-to meal of celebration during national and religious festivals (the day before, women can be seen everywhere carrying upside-down clucking chickens by their feet).

Enkulal firfir

While basically just scrambled eggs, which might not sound that exciting, Ethiopia’s enkulal firfir is not to be missed at breakfast. Cooked with nitre kibe – Ethiopian spiced butter – it is further enhanced with a combination of green and red peppers, chile, tomatoes and onions, all of which is scooped up with fresh tasty bread rolls, often still warm from the bakery.

A notable feature of enkulal firfir is how fantastically yellow it is, which translates into a far superior taste compared to the results of pallid egg yolks in the west. The omelet version is known as enkulal tibs. Be warned: your appreciation of scrambled eggs back home will never be quite the same after savoring enkulal firfir.

Dulet

For the uninitiated, this dish of mixed meats might be more enjoyable if not translated and explained. It’s made with minced tripe (an animal’s stomach lining), along with liver and lean beef fried in butter, onions, chile, cardamom and pepper.

Like kitfo, much of its popularity stems from it being very filling and hitting the spot after a hard-going day or night. Offal has never tasted so good – give it a go.

Shiro

A lightly spiced chickpea or bean purée, shiro is particularly favored by Ethiopians on fasting days. One of the most unassuming dishes you’ll encounter, it can appear as not much more than slop. Don’t be deceived, it’s very tasty.

Shiro is often prepared with the addition of minced onions, garlic and, depending upon regional variation, ground ginger or chopped tomatoes and chile peppers, further boosting the flavor.

Tegabino shiro is a type of shiro made with heavily spiced legumes, flour, oil or butter, and water brought to the boil, and then brought bubbling all the way to the table in a miniature clay pot.

Ti’hilo

A specialty in Tigray, Ethiopia’s most northern region, Ti’hilo is Ethiopia’s answer to Swiss fondue, consisting of barley balls pierced by carved sticks with two prongs at the end and dipped in a fiery-looking sauce made from pulses, flour and spices.

As with much eating in Ethiopia, a touch of ceremony attends this dish: A person comes and sits by your table while scooping from a triangular wedge of barley and rolling the barley between hands into little balls to be placed on the tray of injera for you to pierce, dip and eat.

Having long been associated with just a small part of Tigray, around the city of Adigrat especially, the tasty and nutritious benefits of ti’hilo mean it’s now catching on and spreading around Ethiopia.

Dabbo firfir

Comprising torn-up bits of unleavened bread mixed with clarified butter and berbere, and often accompanied by yoghurt, dabbo firfir is a good example of Ethiopian cooking’s ability to take something simple and do much more with it.

Like shiro, it might not look much but dabbo firfir is surprisingly tasty. And as another incentive, in this rare instance Ethiopians are willing to resort to a spoon or fork.

Fatira

A breakfast dish popular around the Horn of Africa, fatira usually comprises a thin pastry top and bottom with scrambled eggs and honey wedged in the middle. Typically served as a large portion, this perfect combination of savory and sweet can happily feed two.

Fatira also comes in a street food version comprising small square pieces cooked in the open on a giant frying pan in the likes of Ethiopia’s beguiling eastern city of Harar.

Accompanied by freshly brewed Ethiopian coffee, there aren’t many better ways to start a day of exploring Ethiopia.

Asa

Eating fish – asa – in Ethiopia is quite an experience. Typically, a fish such as Nile perch is fried and served entirely whole, the gaping mouth of jagged little teeth looking like you have a piranha on your plate.

As ever, it’s eaten by hand with either bread or injera, accompanied by a fiery sauce to dip into. Bar a few bones, Ethiopians eat every bit, and justifiably so – the grilled fins are particularly tasty.

Asa tibs are chunks of fish marinated in berbere spice and lime juice and then fried in sesame oil, olive oil and paprika, with grated garlic and ginger added. It’s a good option if you don’t want the hassle of picking out bones or having to contemplate the fish’s angry-looking face.

Spriss

Dotted all over Addis Ababa are juice houses – often not much more than a shack – serving spriss, delicious juice mixes made from the likes of avocado, guava, papaya, mango, pineapple and orange.

Spriss is mixed by pouring layers of juice – typically from three fruits – on top of each other. There’s no water added, no sugar and no ice, just unadulterated pureed juice topped with a lime squeezed over the top. Some Ethiopians choose to add a squirt of a purple cordial that the author has never quite identified, though it adds a satisfyingly sweet touch.

A juice is often served with a triangular wedge of sweetened bread, the combination of which serves as an effectively filling snack, especially if you opt for your glass to just be filled with pureed avocado. Spriss is extremely refreshing and a nice sweet break from all the other spicy foods.

Pasta beu injera

Italy’s historical involvement in Ethiopia means that if you need a break from endless injera – or if your stomach is feeling tender and you need to play it safe – help is at hand in the form of pasta beu atkilt, pasta with vegetables, being readily available all over the country.

Ordering pasta beu siga – pasta with meat – will get you something resembling a tasty spaghetti Bolognese.

Alternatively, if you haven’t been overwhelmed by injera and you want a quirky mix that would be sure to raise eyebrows in Italy, you could try pasta beu injera: a great dollop of pasta incongruously lumped in the center of injera.

Even in this challenging instance, Ethiopians stay true to tradition: a fork is only used to cut the pasta into manageable bits, after which it is all scooped up with injera clasped between fingers, as usual.

Particularly tricky for first-timers, but one of the most filling meals you can get. Carbs galore.

The apparent prison riot broke out Tuesay at the Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social, a women’s penitentiary outside the capital city Tegucigalpa, and there are fears the death toll will rise.

Mora said the death toll could increase as rescue teams continue to work, adding that some of the deaths were the result of burns while others had gunshot wounds.

The main assistance center in Tegucigalpa has received several injured people, he said

A brawl is believed to have broken out in the prison in the early hours of Tuesday between rival gangs Barrio 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Delma Ordonez, the president of an association for prisoners’ families, told Reuters.

The country has a history of incidents at its prisons – criticized for being overcrowded places with poor conditions amid an increase of organized crime Some 63 people died in a prison riot in 2003, and more than 300 people died in a prison fire in 2021.

In the distant past, Muslim pilgrims came to the holy city of Mecca on foot. Now, though, they can come via high-speed train.

About 50 times a day these sleek, long-nosed javelins shoot across the baking-hot deserts of Saudi Arabia, reaching speeds of up to 300 kph (186 mph) carrying pilgrims and other passengers.

The trains, among the world’s top 10 fastest, are just the beginning of a rail network expected to expand right across the Middle Eastern kingdom as it invests billions in infrastructure to boost tourism and diversify revenues beyond oil.

From Jeddah, the country’s second largest city, religious pilgrims and leisure travelers alike can now transfer from the arrivals terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport to a gleaming station where electric express trains hurtle out across the country.

With the 2023 hajj period taking place between June 26 and July 1, the country has added extra trains to handle the large number of travelers coming to take part in the religious event.

According to Tawfiq Al Rabiah, Minister of Hajj in Saudi Arabia, “over two million pilgrims from over 160 countries will come together” this year.

“With a well-connected road and train network, shuttle bus services, and integrated infrastructure, pilgrims are guaranteed a seamless travel experience, regardless of their language or unique needs,” Al Rabiah said in a media release.

Getting on board

Although only Muslims can visit Mecca, all travelers can enjoy these new Haramain high-speed trains on a 450 kilometer (280 mile) line that stretches out along a section of Saudi’s Red Sea coastline.

Haramain means “two sanctuaries” in Arabic, named for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina that sit on the line’s opposite ends. Opened in 2018, it also connects Jeddah’s airport, Jeddah Al-Sulimaniyah (near the city center) and King Abdullah Economic City.

So what’s it like to ride?

On a typical weekday in early 2023, an economy ticket between Jeddah Al-Suleimanyah and the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC, pronounced like “kaish”) cost 57.50 Saudi riyals, (about $15.30), while a business class seat was 97.75 riyals (about $26).

The app accepts Apple Pay and other digital wallet options.

Choosing specific seats is a snap. The app shows the layout of train cars so passengers can choose a window or aisle seat and decide on whether or not they want to face the direction of travel. When booking for groups or families, the app will automatically select seats next to each other if they’re available.

Station to station

The stations along the route are efficient, modern, and comfortable. They’re also beautiful. Both Jeddah and KAEC stations – which are nearly identical – are said to be inspired by diamonds. Designed by UK architects Foster + Partners, they have sharp, crisp angles, sleek black walls, and small starlike carvings in the ceiling that allow different variations of light to filter in throughout the day.

These hubs don’t have the busy, lived-in feel of a commuter rail station like New York City’s Grand Central or Paris’ Gare du Nord.

The stations are stunning, but they’re also, for the most part, empty.

There aren’t many amenities in the stations, and travelers tend to show up shortly before their scheduled trains rather than spend time milling around.

KAEC has a Dunkin’ Donuts and not much else. Al-Sulimaniyah in Jeddah is busier, with a few tea and coffee shops (including a Starbucks) and a grocery store.

While the stations may be gorgeous but a bit lonesome, the train experience is buoyant and alive.

The pilgrimage track

It takes just 32 minutes to travel from Jeddah to KAEC – a distance of 111 kilometers (69 miles).

On a pre-Ramadan Thursday journey at around 2 p.m., business class was fairly quiet, while the economy class cars were full, mostly with passengers en route to Mecca for umrah.

Unlike its better known counterpart the hajj, umrah is an optional pilgrimage for Muslims who want to visit the holy city and the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam. While the hajj is considered a religious duty for Muslims to be undertaken at specific times of the year, umrah can be done at any time and isn’t considered an obligation.

It is easy to tell which passengers were heading to Mecca for this exact purpose: Men and boys undertaking umrah wear two unstitched white toweling garments, and many shave their heads when they complete the trip. Women can also wear similar white garments, although it’s not required for them to do so.

The car was packed with multi-generational families, who were occupied with entertaining small children and listening to Arabic-language pop music. The atmosphere was celebratory and spirited.

Umrah has become big business for the railway. According to the Saudi Gazette, demand has been so high for train tickets for religious pilgrims that HHR will run more than 100 train trips per day during the month of Ramadan, which runs between mid March and mid April in 2023 – many more than usual.

Though more sparsely populated, business class offered more perks.

Even on a short journey like the one from Jeddah to KAEC, business class passengers are entitled to a full meal service. This consists of hummus, a few rounds of pita bread, a chocolate chip muffin, a fruit cup, a croissant, and a choice between apple juice and water. It is served by a uniformed attendant out of an airplane-style beverage cart.

There are also small seat-back TVs with limited viewing options – on this trip: Paw Patrol, Formula E racing or an Islamic sermon.

Especially on short journeys, simply taking in the dusty view outside your window is a much better alternative.

Still, this isn’t a slow, daydreamy ramble through remote regions. You’ll mostly see Jeddah exurbs, not a wide-open desert landscape, and the nearby Red Sea is just tantalizingly out of view.

Announcements on board are made in Arabic and English, and all signage is in both languages as well. Once travelers walk to the train platforms, uniformed attendants will help them find their boarding zone, carry luggage and help with wheelchairs and strollers.

In economy class, seats are in a two-by-two configuration. Half the seats face forward and half backward, with small tables where the center rows meet to face each other. Meanwhile in business class, the seats are arranged with two on one side of the aisle and single seats along the other.

In both service classes, seats have armrests and seat-back tables, and there are spaces for luggage storage at either end of the cars. The seats and other interiors are mostly in shades of tan, light gold, and white, all the better for offsetting the desert landscape outside.

Seamless is a good word to sum up the HHR train experience. The train is quiet and the ride smooth – no abrupt turns or sudden jolts.

Steering into the future

Although passengers can’t see the train’s driver, it is a possibility that their train may have a woman at the helm.

In January 2023, the first class of 32 women graduated from a one-year training program at the Saudi Railway Polytechnic, qualifying them with licenses to conduct high-speed trains on the Haramain network.

By contrast: in 2018, when the rail line first opened, women in the kingdom had just begun to drive cars.

When it comes to high-speed railway, it seems as though the Haramain line is only the beginning in Saudi Arabia. There are also enhancements to existing lines in the country’s northwest, with more high speed services planned.

In January 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih announced plans to build 8,000 kilometers (4,970 miles) of rail across the entire country.

Riyadh to Jeddah via bullet train? It could happen.