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Meanwhile in ... Portugal, the government is relying on an ancient firefighting technology: goats

And in Sweden, cricket is on the rise.

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Armando Franca/AP
Goats in Algarve, Portugal
  • By Staff

Portugal, the government is relying on an ancient firefighting technology: goats. Last year deaths from wildfires in Portugal reached a record high of 106. This summer, however, hundreds of goats are being deployed to eat underbrush and dry vegetation that can serve as kindling. Working with goats “allows you to treat areas that are difficult to reach otherwise,” Dan Macon, a University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources adviser, told accuweather.com.  

India, one of the world’s most linguistically diverse countries, 122 languages are officially recognized by the government. But Ganesh Devy, a former professor of English from the western state of Gujarat, insisted the number was too low. So with the help of more than 3,000 volunteers in 2010 he launched the People’s Linguistic Survey of India. So far the PLSI has recorded 780 different Indian languages and published 37 volumes detailing them. They predict 50 volumes will be needed to record all the languages.   

Sweden, cricket is on the rise. Just a few years ago there were only several hundred cricket players in the country. Today the Swedish Cricket Federation has more than 2,000 players, only about half of whom were born in Sweden. Most Swedish cricket players, according to Agence France-Presse, are immigrants from countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan that were once part of the British Empire. For some new arrivals, the game is said to ease integration into a different culture. When they play cricket, Tariq Zuwak, chairman of the Swedish Cricket Federation, told AFP, “there is nothing else on their mind than having fun.”

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