ENGLAND

According to The New York Times, British owner of the Segway scooter company Jimi Heselden OBE was discovered dead on Sept. 26 as a result of a Segway accident in Leeds, England. According to The Daily Mail, he had, while on a cross country Segway X2, “plunged 30 feet from a rocky path.” Statements from the West Yorkshire police force confirmed that this incident is not believed to be a result of foul play. In an obituary statement, Segway.com honors his memory, writing, “Ït is with great sadness that we have to confirm that Jimi Helsenden OBE, has died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire … Our thoughts go out to his family and many friends, who have asked for privacy at this time.”

SCOTLAND

According to The New York Times, an old fire station in Scotland has been converted into what may be the farm of the future: aquaponics. It thrives on the relationship between fish and plants. Fish waste provides nutrients for plants which, in turn, filter the water in which the fish live. Plants compost to create food for worms which feed the fish. Sweet Water Organics, an organization that is working to promote aquaponics, is working internationally in Milwaukee, India, Afghanistan and several African countries, reported The New York Times. Aquaponics use between 80 and 90 percent less water than traditional growing methods, making it an ideal farming mechanism in places experiencing droughts such as Barbados and Australia. Hopes are that this could be a method that could help solve worldwide food shortages since it is essentially waste-free.

RUSSIA

Women in Chechnya have faced increasing governmental pressures to adopt Islamic dress, which represents one of the latest examples in deteriorating women’s rights under the administration of Ramzan A. Kadryov, the president of the southern Russian republic, reported The New York Times. Women have been taken away by men in cars for wearing improper clothing and attacked by paintball guns. According to The New York Times, Kadryov said he approves of such actions, stating that: “It turns out that the girls who were sprayed with paint had been warned several times previously. After such an incident, a girl should just disappear from the face of the earth, lock herself in the house and not go out because she behaved so inappropriately that such a thing happened to her.”

SOUTH KOREA

This summer, Taco Bell opened its only restaurant in Asia in Seoul, South Korea. According to The Washington Post, this was not Taco Bell’s first attempt; Taco Bell has been forced to close several chains previously in Asia throughout the last 20 years. According to the Post, Taco Bell chose Seoul for its most recent attempt because, as Washington Post Staff Writer Chico Harlan notes, “few cities on Earth can better turn a novelty into a mainstream obsession.” According to The Washington Post, this theory has served Taco Bell well. Already, South Koreans have begun blogging, photographing, and loving this Mexican-American novelty.