Many people have long dreamed of being able to fly around as simply as riding a bicycle. Yet the safety and strength of a flying bike was always a big problem. Over the past 10 years, developments in technology have moved the dream of personal flying vehicles closer to reality. Now, two groups of inventors say such vehicles may be available soon.

    The British company Malloy Aeronautics has developed a prototype (原型) of its flying bicycle. Grant Stapleton, marketing sales director of Malloy Aeronautics, says the Hoverbike is able to get in and out of small spaces very quickly." It can be moved across continents very quickly because it can be folded and packed," he adds.

    Mr. Stapleton says safety was the company's main concern. He says the designers solved the safety issue by using overlapping rotors to power the vehicle.

    The company is testing a full-size prototype of the Hoverbike, which will most likely be used first by the police and emergency rescue teams.

    In New Zealand, Martin Aircraft Company is also testing a full-size prototype of its personal flying device, called the Jetpack. It can fly for more than 30 minutes, up to 1, 000meters high and reach a speed of 74 kilometers per hour.

    Peter Coker is the CEO of Martin Aircraft Company. He said the Jetpack "is built around safety from the start". In his words, “Reliability is the most important element of it. We have safety built into the actual structure itself, very similar to a Formula One racing car.

    The Jetpack uses a gasoline-powered engine that produces two powerful jet streams. Mr. Coker says it also has a parachute that would be used, if there should be an emergency. "It starts to work at very low altitude and actually saves both the aircraft and the pilot," he adds. Mr. Coker says the Jetpack will be ready for sale soon.

    One February afternoon, Jesus Delgado was on break behind T2 Tacos, where he works as a cook, when he heard a commotion(骚动). He ran to the front of the Los Angeles Taco stand and saw a man and a woman arguing. She was screaming for help and had two young boys at her side. All of a sudden, the man hit her in the mouth, seized the smaller boy, and ran down the street.

    "I followed my judgement and chased him." Jesus, 35, told the Argonaut newspaper. The older boy ran in the other direction to get help. A group of teenagers who had witnessed the attack assisted the woman, Lauren Kornacki, and called 911. She told them that she was the boys' babysitter.

    Within a few blocks, Jesus caught up to the man, Andron Gazarov, 33. They fought, and Jesus wrestled (抢夺) the young boy from Gazarov's arms. Then Gazarov threw himself onto the sidewalk. "He was yelling at me that the kid didn't belong to me. I was telling him the kid didn't belong to him," Jesus told the Argonaut.

    Minutes later, Los Angeles police officers arrived and arrested Gazarov, who was charged with kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, and attack. He faces up to 12 years in prison, if convicted (定罪). The kids, Brendan O'Brien, 6, and Grady O' Brien, 4, were unharmed.

    The next night, the boys' father, Tom O'Brien, went to the Taco stand to thank Jesus for his actions. He also started an online fund to help Jesus pay the medical expenses for his special-needs daughter. By May, more than $27,000 had been raised.

    Here are some must-know festivals from a handbook which you cannot miss in some Asia countries.

    Singapore Night Festival

    Aug. 17-25 The annual Singapore Night Festival is a celebration of the island nation's arts and cultural heritage (遗产). A highlight of the festival is the interactive light show that transforms the front of surrounding buildings into artistic wonders. http://www.nightfestival.com

    Royal Floria

    Aug. 25-Sep. 2 This year's event marks the 10th anniversary of the Royal Floria in Putrajaya, with more than 400,000 floral displays. Floral designers and landscape architects from 10 countries are set to show their talent with their arts and cultural creations. http://www.floriaputrajaya.com

    Tet Trung Nguyen

    Aug. 25 It is believed that during Tet Trung Nguyen (Ghost Festival), spirits of the dead return home in search of their loved ones. Vietnamese pay homage(敬意) to their ancestors during the festivals by preparing feasts as prayer offerings. http://www.vietnamtourism.com

    George Town Festival

    Aug. 4-Sep. 2 The George Town Festival was inaugurated(创立) in 2010 in conjunction with the city's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has become one of the region's important cultural festivals, showing myriad events that include musical performances, art exhibitions and film screenings taking place across multiple venues. http://www.georgetownfestival.com

    On the banks of Tanzania's Lake Eyasi lives the world's last hunter-gatherer tribe (部落) — the Hadza. They don't grow food, raise animals or build houses. Instead they live a life unchanged for more than ten thousand years.

    Their world is one of complete freedom — something modern society can barely imagine and is unlikely to ever experience, let alone have the skills to stay alive. Text messages and phone calls don't exist. Nor do cars and electricity. No jobs, timetables, and social structures. No laws, taxes and unbelievably, no money — the closest thing to currency (交易) is the trade for a pair of shorts with a neighboring tribe.

    We spent our time with the Hadza hunting baboons (狒狒), a daily activity for the men. Their land is packed with sharp bushes, poisonous snakes and man-eating lions. But a successful hunting trip is the difference between eating or going hungry.

    The Hadza diet consists mainly of honey, fruit and meat. Men often hunt in pairs to shoot animals with bows and arrows. The Hadza show us how to track animals, from baboons to snakes to lions. They are hugely skilled with their handmade bows and arrows — we have a go and barely get the arrow to go three feet in front of us.

    The language of the Hadza is believed to be the oldest still-spoken language known to man. The Hadza don't have conflict, and have no memory of starvation. Their population never reaches numbers that cannot be supported through hunting or gathering. They never get from their land more than they need.

    Unlike modern-day office workers, the Hadza enjoy an extraordinary amount of free time. Their “work” — hunting for food — takes up around five hours of their day. They've been in such a state of peaceful existence for thousands of years.

    Thirteen hours later we just arrived in Paris after many dramas (戏剧性事件).

    I rented a car, filled it up and moved ahead to Bristol airport that morning. We set off at 8:00 a.m. and all was going well until we got to the turn for Bristol airport. The airport sign (指示牌) suggested we went out from the M5, but Suri asked me to continue going straight ahead, so against my better judgment, I let the airport turn pass us by.

    Next we left for South Wales, the car was back and we had a plane to Paris to catch in a couple of hours. It was about then that I realized we were heading for Wales on a six­road highway. I felt very bad. We turned off the highway and turned into a country road, as directed by Suri and there was a sign saying that the road to the airport was closed. I saw a lady watering her garden and asked her about the best way to the airport. She said we were at least 30 minutes from the airport, but she couldn't help us with the right directions (方向).

    I was so worried as we really were out in the country without any guidance. All I could think of was to turn Suri off and follow the signs myself.

    Then finally after many butterflies in the stomach and feeling like my heart was going to burst (爆裂) out of my chest, there was a proper green sign to the airport and we followed it with so much joy.

    Driving from the airport into Paris was a shock, Lots of homeless people were sleeping under the highways with rubbish everywhere.

Anyway we're now in Paris. The experience of getting lost is now almost laughable. In another 24 hours will be my 50th birthday. I have a big party planned for myself in Paris.

Foldable phones are once again facing questions about their durability(耐久性).The Galaxy Z Flip and the Motorola Razr are now both available to buy in the US-but early reports suggest the screens are easily damaged.

One media published photos of two layers of the Razr's display separating, affecting the touch screen. The Galaxy flip, meanwhile, boasts(自夸)a "flexible glass" display—but tests appear to show it scratching(刮擦)as easily as plastic.

In a statement, Samsung said the display had a protective layer, and had undergone extensive testing. "While the display does bend, it should be handled with care, "it said.

The Z Flip's "pretty thin glass" is one of Samsung's primary marketing messages for the new phone. But a durability test conducted by popular Zack Nelson, a regular buyer, suggested it was no more durable than soft plastic screen, and could even be dented(痕)by fingernail.

Nelson said Samsung's screen scratched exactly how plastic screen would react. "I don't know what material this is, but Samsung definitely shouldn't be calling it glass," he said. He found that the screen of the Motorola Razr scratched as easily but it is not marketed as "glass".

The Motorola Razr was put on sale 13 days ago in the US, but Raymond Wong, an editor says the flexible screen on his handset has already broken. The upper layer of the Razr's screen separated from the bottom, creating "a giant horizontal air bubble" for no apparent reason. He wrote that the fault appeared after 45-minute train ride during which the phone was in his pocket. The screen was completely warped from hinge-to-hinge with the top layer raised like a poorly applied screen protector. But Mr. Wong said that apart from the visual problem, the damage has affected the responsiveness of the touchscreen.