Girls' school principal sends class on new path

Zhang, who was born in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, was 17 when she moved to Yunnan in 1974.A year after her husband's death in 1996, she volunteered to teach at a middle school in Huaping. She soon found that many of the female students in her class disappeared before finishing their studies as some were forced to work or get married at a young age.

“A girl can influence the next three generations “she once said. “An educated and responsible mother will never let her children drop out of school”

Students enrolled at Huaping follow a strict schedule, getting up at5:30 am and going to bed after mid- night. Even their lunch break is limited to 15 minutes.

Zhang keeps the same daily routine as the students, accompanying them to classes and going to bed after the senior students finish their studies at midnight.

One of students, Mi, said that after she did not perform well in a trial exam, Zhang showed her fingers to her, which were bound with medical tape, according to a video report by Xinhua News Agency. “I need to put the tape on everyday as my fingers hurt badly every morning when I wake up Zhang told Mi, making the point that sacrifice was needed to succeed.

Li Li, another graduate interviewed by Xinhua, said Zhang is a role model. “Like you, I will also make contributions to people around me and to society. Thank you Mrs. Zhang”

“ She is a respectable principal” wrote one netizen. Another said,“1 hope she will take good care of herself and have a good rest”.

For 21-year-old Malhar Kalambe, weekends are not about hanging out with friends. Instead, they have a different mission — cleaning the Datar Beach. Collectively， they have made such a huge difference to the beach that the United Nations has recognized their contributions.

“Actually the idea stemmed from my vacation to Bali, the clean beach leaving a great impression on me. After returning, I found our beaches in shambles. During a conversation with my mother, I was complaining about how bad our beaches are compared to beaches in Bali, and my mother just said, 'Don't complain, if you care, just go and clean. ^? and thus 'Beach Please'," Malhar said. “It began on September 10, 2017 and since then cleaning the garbage on the beach has become a weekend routine. Currently, there are 25 odd volunteers spending our weekends cleaning the beach.”

After cleaning the beach for months, Malhar and his friends realized that it was of a little help and there is no end to this. They needed to contain the source which dumps garbage in the ocean. They found that the Mithi River is being used to dump the industrial waste, construction waste and even domestic waste into the ocean and they decided to also clean the river. Now on Saturday, they clean the Mithi River and on Sunday, they focus on the Datar Beach. In order to make a sustainable （可持续的）difference, they must make people understand that they have to stop dumping garbage into any source. “Awareness, recycling and cleaning up are three steps which can bring a change. I hope people realize it's their duty to   keep their surroundings as well as the ocean clean,“ Malhar added.

A pond in Hawaii has turned so pink that it could be from the Barbie movie-but it’s no cause for a dance party. Drought may be reason for the strange color, scientists say, and they’re warning against entering the water or drinking it.

Workers at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge (遇难所) on the island of Maui have been watching the situation of the pink water since October 30, 2023, after getting a phone call from somebody who was walking on the beach.

“I just got a report from somebody who was walking on the beach, and they called me up like ‘There’s something weird going on over here’,” said Bret Wolfe, the refuge manager.

Wolfe was concerned the bright pink could be a sign of an event called an algae bloom (绿藻泛地), but lab tests found such algae was not causing the color. Instead, an organism (微生物) called halobacteria might be the cause.

Halobacteria are a type of organism that lives in bodies of water with high levels of salt. The salinity (盐度) inside the Kealia Pond outlet area is now greater than 70 parts per thousand, which is twice the salinity of seawater. Wolfe said they will need to study the DNA to confirm the organism.

Maui’s drought is likely leading to the situation. Normally Waikapu Stream feeds into Kealia Pond and raises water levels there, but Wolfe said that hasn’t happened in a long time.

When it rains, the stream will flow into Kealia’s main pond and then into the outlet area that’s now pink. This will reduce the salinity and potentially change the water’s color.

The refuge has seen an increase in visitors after photos of the pink pond were posted on social media. Wolfe said he would love to have visitors come to learn about local aims to protect nature.

But officials have announced a special warning for people not to enter the water or eat any fish caught there.