A disease called “Panama” is threatening supplies of the world's most popular fruit—banana.Two years ago,the United Nations warned that the "Panama disease" could destroy "much of the world's banana crop."Since then,things have not gotten better.A new outbreak was discovered last year in Australia.The disease started in Asia in the 1990s, and later spread to Africa and the Middle East.

    World health officials worry the disease could travel to Latin America,one of the top banana producers in the world.All this is a big concern because bananas are an important source of income and nutrients for millions of people.They are grown in 135 tropical nations.The United Nations lists bananas as one of the most important foods, along with rice,wheat and corn.

    Randy Ploetz is a professor at the Tropical Research & Educational Center at the University of Florida.Many consider him as America's top banana expert.As he explained,Panama disease affects the Cavendish banana.The Cavendish is one of more than 500 kinds of bananas.But it is the most popular.

    “The industry is waking up to the problem,”Ploetz said.“They are pretty scared.”He was speaking Thursday by telephone from Miami,Florida,where he is among 1,000 people attending the International Banana Congress.The meeting was supposed to take place in Costa Rica,but was moved at the last minute.There were concerns banana growers could spread Panama disease from dirt collected on their shoes,Ploetz said.

    Ploetz said reports that Cavendish banana production could end are not correct.But if the disease spreads to Latin America,it could hurt the world's economy along with food supplies for millions of people.Still,he said there is reason for hope.Scientists in Australia are working on a genetically engineered banana that might not be at risk of getting Panama disease.

    So many of us hold on to little resentments that may have come from an argument, a misunderstanding, or some other painful event. Stubbornly, we wait for someone else to reach out to us—believing this is the only way we can forgive or rekindle a friendship or family relationship.

    An acquaintance of mine, whose health isn't very good, recently told me that she hadn't spoken to her son in almost three years. She said that she and her son had had a disagreement about his wife and that she wouldn't speak to him again unless he called first. When I suggested that she be the one to reach out, she resisted initially and said, "I can't do that. He's the one who should apologize." She was literally willing to die before reaching out to her only son. After a little gentle encouragement, however, she did decide to be the first one to reach out. To her amazement, her son was grateful for her willingness to call and offered an apology of his own. As is usually the case when someone takes the chance and reaches out, everyone wins.

    Whenever we hold on to our anger, we turn "small stuff" into really "big stuff" in our minds. We start to believe that our positions are more important than our happiness. They are not. If you want to be a more peaceful person you must understand that being right is almost never more important than allowing yourself to be happy. The way to be happy is to let go, and reach out. Let other people be right. This doesn't mean that you're wrong. Everything will be fine. You'll experience the peace of letting go, as well as the joy of letting others be right.

    You'll also notice that, as you reach out and let others be "right," they will become less defensive and more loving toward you. They might even reach back. But if for some reason they don't, that's okay too. You'll have the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your part to create a more loving world, and certainly you'll be more peaceful yourself.

Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you'll realize they're everywhere—the crazier, the better.

    ⒈Bibimbap Festival

    In the South Korean town of Jeonjuloves, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce (韩国的辣椒酱) so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.

    Like any festival there's music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that's whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.

    ⒉Waikiki Spam Jam (怀基基午餐肉节)

    Who knew this canned meat had so much love? Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May serving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.

    ⒊Bessieres Easter Egg Festival

    At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it's all about an egg far less sweet.

    Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) - 15,000 eggs strong - for the townsfolk (市民).

    ⒋Potato Days Festival

    This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota(明尼苏达州), the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five-and six-year-old girls.

    The Pew report—which was based on surveys carried out in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland and the Czech Republic—concluded that the European Union was “ the new sick man of Europe”.

    The percentage of Europeans with a favorable view of the EU has plunged from 60 percent last year to 45 percent now.

    The UK may be considered the most Eurosceptic（欧洲怀疑论者）country, but its support for the union has barely changed in the past 12 months, slipping only two points to 43 percent.

    By contrast, France's backing for the EU has slipped sharply, from 60 percent last year to 41 percent today.

    On the question of whether to remain in the EU, 46 percent of the British want to leave the union and surprisingly, the same percentage want to stay.

    The Pew report's authors said, “The long-drawn economic crisis has created bad forces that are pulling European public opinion apart, separating the French from the Germans and Germans from everyone else.”

    They added, “The effort over the past half century to create a more united Europe is now the main disaster of the euro crisis. The European project now stands in a bad reputation across much of Europe.”

    The only European leader rated highly by their own voters was the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with 74 percent voters in favor of her.

    Prime Minister David Cameron was the next highest with a positive score of 37 percent among the British public, although he can take some comfort from the fact that 58 percent of Poles（波兰人）and half of all French people think he is doing a good job.

    In spite of the dark economic future and growing doubt of the EU, there were strong majorities of more than 60 percent in favor of keeping the euro in the five countries surveyed that use the single currency.

    Fire fighting is a serious matter. Knowing what to do during a fire can save people's lives. It is important to know the ways you can use and show them to everyone else in the family, such as stairways and emergency exits, but not elevators.

    From the lower floors of buildings, escape through windows is possible. Learn the best way to get out from a window with the least chance of serious injury.

    The second floor window is usually not very high from the ground. An average person, hanging by the fingertips will have a drop of about 6 feet to the ground. It is about the height of an average man. Of course, it is safer to jump a short way down than to stay in a burning building.

    Windows are also useful when you are waiting for help. Be sure to keep the door closed before opening the window. Otherwise, smoke and fire may be drawn into the room. Keep your head low at the window to be sure you get fresh air rather than smoke that may have leaked(漏)into the room.

    On the second or third floor, the best windows for escape are those which open onto a roof. From the roof a person can drop to the ground more safely. Dropping onto cement might end in injury. Bushes and trees can help you to have a soft landing.

Today's world is not an easy adjustment for young adults. A key skill set for success is persistence(毅力), a characteristic that researchers say is heavily influenced by fathers. Researchers from Brigham Young University discovered that fathers are in a unique position to help their adolescent children learn persistence.

BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 American families over several years. And over time, the persistence gained through fathers led to higher achievement in school.

"There are relatively few studies that stress the unique role of fathers," Padilla-Walker said. "This research also helps to prove that characteristics such as persistence—which can be taught—are key to a child's life success."

Researchers determined that dads need to practise an "authoritative" parenting style. Authoritative parenting is not authoritarian: rigid, demanding or controlling. Rather, an authoritative parenting style includes some of the following characteristics: children feel warmth and love from their father; responsibility and the reasons behind rules are stressed; children are given an appropriate level of autonomy(自主权).

In the study, about 52 percent of the dads exhibited above-average levels of authoritative parenting. A key finding is that over time, children raised by an authoritative father were significantly more likely to develop persistence, which leads to better outcomes in school.

This particular study examined 11 to 14-year-olds living in two-parent homes. Yet the researchers suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the benefits of persistence, which is an avenue of future research.