City Life: Now and Then
Explore the (1) evolution of city life at our exhibition, “City Life: Now and Then”.
This exhibition, held at The Urban History Museum, reminds visitors (2) how cities have grown and changed over the decades. It showcases a(n) (3) of photos, objects, and videos, helping you (4) both old traditions and modern developments.
Designed to educate and inspire, the exhibition offers visitors the chance (5) guided tours and hands-on activities. Some displays focus on what remains timeless in city life, while (6) highlight the exciting transformations.
Dates: December 1–15
Location: Urban History Museum
Admission: Free
Don’t miss this incredible journey through the history of urban living!

Ride into a Greener Future with the Eco-Friendly GlideBike!
Looking for an efficient, eco-friendly bike that combines style and sustainability? The (7) ensures strength and comfort, making the GlideBike ideal for your daily commute. This bike, designed to reduce your carbon footprint, allows you to (8) green while saving on fuel and maintenance (9) . (10) with ergonomic features, the GlideBike ensures comfort and functionality for riders of all ages. (11) traditional vehicles that emit harmful gases, this bike lets you enjoy a cleaner, healthier lifestyle. By choosing the GlideBike, you can also (12) transportation costs while contributing to a sustainable planet.
Ride smarter, live greener. Choose GlideBike today!

Recycling is an innovative way to reduce waste and promote sustainability. Discarded materials, such as wood, metal, and fabric, are often repurposed into functional objects, giving them a second life instead of ending up in landfills. Items that are no longer needed, collected from households and businesses, (18) .
One inspiring example is the process of turning old wooden pallets into furniture, designed to fit modern spaces. By carefully sanding and painting the wood, (19) . Similarly, worn-out clothes can be converted into reusable shopping bags, a step toward reducing single-use plastics, which significantly harm the environment.
Motivated by creativity and the desire to protect the planet, many people have embraced DIY recycling projects. (20) , creating a ripple effect in communities to adopt sustainable practice. Recycled by skilled artisans, (21) .
Recycling old items demonstrates how waste can be reimagined as a resource, (22) . This practice is an essential part of building a greener future and showing that even the smallest changes can make a big difference.

Weddings have always been important moments for families and societies. Not surprisingly, they involve celebrations and rituals. Apart from the religious celebrations, there are many interesting elements in Southeast Asian countries' wedding rituals.
In Vietnam, a bridal shower is usually held the night before the wedding ceremony. In this event, gifts are presented after older women in the family give the bride some tips on how to behave well toward her husband's family. The most common gifts are gold pieces and gold jewellery. These are considered the bride's dowry and also a way to help the couple to partly cover the expenses of starting their own family.
Meanwhile, in Thailand, it is not gold but water that plays a central role in Thai wedding rituals. While the bride and the groom sit next to each other and are joined by a headdress made from a single white thread, their most honoured guests will use a blessed conch shell to pour water on their hands. The water is also blessed from a ceremony that was held earlier. This ritual is believed to bring good luck to the couple.
Among the Hindus in Singapore, however, good luck is brought about by henna. A natural dye made from the henna plant, henna has been used for centuries as a form of body art. Before the wedding ceremony, the bride has henna patterns applied to her palms, her hands, and her feet. People believe that the deeper its colour is, the happier the couple's marriage will be.
(Adapted from Explore New World)

(I) Every summer, three billion birds of some 300 species-songbirds, waterbirds, and many others migrate from northern Africa to Europe and Asia. (II) In the winter, they return to Africa's warmer shores. (III) As they travel from one place to another, they navigate using the sun, the stars, smells, and land forms to help them find their way. (IV)
The birds’ migration is long and difficult, and some of the animals inevitably die during each trip. However, it is not this twice-a-year journey that poses the greatest risk to these animals. The main threat to the birds’ survival comes from human hunters. All over the Mediterranean, millions of migrating birds are killed for food, profit, and sport every year. In nations along the Mediterranean, many migratory birds are illegally trapped or shot. In addition to traps, hunters also use electronic calls to catch birds. This tool, which a hunter can operate from a cell phone, mimics bird sounds and is very effective in attracting the animals so effective that in some countries, bird populations have plummeted.
Countries all over the Mediterranean are aware that bird populations are in danger, and many are working to address this problem. In the European Union, hunting migratory birds is illegal in some countries, while in others, it is strictly controlled - the birds can only be hunted at a certain time of year. This hasn't completely stopped bird poaching in Europe, but more nature-protection groups are making sure that laws are obeyed.
Across the Mediterranean, another group - Nature Conservation Egypt - is working to increase protection of its country's natural scenery and wildlife, including its migratory birds. As part of a current project, the organisation is trying to promote activities such as eco-tourism along the coasts. Wildlife organisations around the Mediterranean are helping to bring about change. Hunting bans are working, says Martin Schneider-Jacoby, a bird specialist for the German organisation EuroNatur. But there is still more to do. Conservationists hope to stop hunting and restore bird habitats all over the Mediterranean. If this can be done, the birds’ numbers will increase. There's a long way to go, Schneider-Jacoby says, but like an Oasis in the desert after a long journey, there is hope.
(Adapted from Reading Explorer)