Life

Stranded beluga whale removed from France’s Seine river

SAINT-PIERRE-LA-GARENNE, France (AFP) – The beluga whale stranded in the river Seine in northern France was removed from the water early Wednesday in the first stage of an ambitious rescue operation, an AFP journalist said. After nearly six hours of work, the 800-kilogram (1,800-pound) cetacean was lifted from the river by a net and crane at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) and placed on a barge under the immediate care of a dozen veterinarians. The […]

Forever 16: America’s teens succumbing to deadly fentanyl

by Maria DANILOVA Agence France Presse Makayla Cox, a high school student in the US state of Virginia, thought she was taking medication that her friend had procured to treat pain and anxiety. Instead, the pill she took two weeks after her sixteenth birthday was fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. It killed her almost instantly. After watching a movie — a prequel to “Harry Potter” — with her mother Shannon […]

Climate deniers use past heat records to sow doubt online

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – With Europe gripped by successive heatwaves, climate-change deniers are spreading scepticism by publishing data on social media on extreme temperatures allegedly recorded decades ago to imply scientists are exaggerating global warming. But experts say the figures cited from the past are often incorrect or taken out of context — and even if accurate do not change the fact that heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense. The posts typically include heat […]

New US strategy to make monkeypox vaccine go further

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US health authorities on Tuesday authorized a new procedure for injecting the monkeypox vaccine that should make it possible to inoculate more people with the same amount of the drug, at a time when doses are running short in the country. The Food and Drug Administration also authorized giving the vaccine to people under the age of 18 who are considered to be at high risk of infection. For those […]

Tennis star Zverev launches diabetes charity

PARIS, France | (AFP) – Tennis world No.2 Alexander Zverev has launched a charity to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, a condition the 25-year-old recently revealed he has been suffering from. The 6ft 5in (1.98m) German said he had tried to hide his diabetes when younger and that the ‘Alexander Zverev Foundation’ would help young people to avoid fixing limits on themselves due to the condition. “As a type 1 diabetic myself, I want […]

Google outage reported by tens of thousands of users

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Tens of thousands of users reported being unable to access various Google services on Monday night, according to outage monitor Downdetector. “User reports indicate Google Maps is having problems since 9:36 PM EDT (0136 GMT),” Downdetector tweeted. More than 40,000 users, including in New York City and Denver, Colorado, reported disruptions when trying to use Google’s services, particularly the maps and search engine. After around two hours, reports […]

Grease’ star Olivia Newton-John dies aged 73

  LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Singer Olivia Newton-John, who gained worldwide fame as high school sweetheart Sandy in the hit musical movie “Grease,” died on Monday after a 30-year battle with cancer. She was 73. Newton-John “passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” said a statement from her husband John Easterling posted on her official social media accounts. The multiple Grammy-winning entertainer, whose career […]

Study shows environmental impact of 57,000 products sold in supermarkets

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Eating fruits and vegetables is better for the planet than eating meat and cheese, but a new study by scientists released Monday showed chips and sugary drinks also have a very low environmental impact. Scientists analyzed some 57,000 products sold in supermarkets in Britain and Ireland, in a large study published by the scientific journal PNAS. The researchers, who hope that their study may allow consumers to shop more sustainably […]

Torrential rain, flooding in Seoul kill seven

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Subway stations and major roads were underwater in the South Korean capital Seoul after record-breaking rains caused severe flooding, with at least seven people dead and seven more missing, officials said Tuesday. Dramatic images shared on social media late Monday showed people wading through waist-deep water, metro stations overflowing, and cars half-submerged in Seoul’s posh Gangnam district after torrential rain battered the city. The downpour that began Monday is the […]

‘Total art’: Inside France’s vast video game archive

by Yassine KHIRI Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — In the bowels of an imposing modernist tower in Paris, Laurent Duplouy carefully handles a pristine copy of “Tomb Raider” before slotting it back on the shelf alongside thousands of other classic video games. Duplouy oversees a huge archive of games at France’s National Library (BNF), one of the longest-running efforts to preserve a part of global heritage that is often overlooked by cultural institutions. […]

Millions hungry but drought overlooked as Kenya prepares to vote

by Nick Perry Agence France-Presse PURAPUL, Kenya (AFP) — In the dust bowl of Kenya’s drought-stricken north, the people of Purapul are edging closer to starvation, surviving on nothing but wild berries as their children waste away from hunger. Loka Metir knows the bitter fruits make her children sick, further weakening their frail condition. But it hasn’t rained properly in three years, and there’s simply nothing else to eat. “This is the only way to […]