Tag: Focus

When is an eSport not an eSport? Olympic event puzzles gamers

By Satish Cheney Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, June 20, 2023 (AFP) — ESports has long been derided as “not a real sport”. But now, an Olympic-organized event is being dismissed by competitive gamers as not real eSports. Many long-time backers of big-money digital contests, which are edging their way towards elite-level recognition, are puzzled by the choice of games at the inaugural Olympics Esports Week that kicks off in Singapore on Thursday. Instead of well-established gaming […]

Canadian Prairies farmers try to adapt to a warming world

By Mathiew LEISER Agence France-Presse DAVIDSON, Canada, June 13, 2023 (AFP) — Following repeated droughts, Canadian farmers are trying to adapt to a new era in agriculture marked by a warming world — including by trapping snow in their fields, planting heat-resistant crops and seeding earlier in the season. But it’s unclear, they are the first to admit, if their slogging will bear fruit. Squatting in the middle of a canola field in Alberta, on […]

Scientists puzzled by killer whale boat attacks off Spain

By Alfons Luna and Anahi Aradas Agence France-Presse BARBATE, Spain, June 12, 2023 (AFP) — Groups of killer whales have rammed hundreds of small boats off the coast of Spain in recent years in “terrifying” behavior that has baffled scientists. “They directly attacked the rudder, not swimming around the boat, not playing with anything,” Friedrich Sommer told AFP as he recalled how his sailboat Muffet was damaged earlier this year by “three or four” killer […]

Dogs die as South Africa snake antivenom shortage bites

By Umberto BACCHI Agence France-Presse JOHANNESBURG, June 12, 2023 (AFP) — Zarza, a much-loved Staffordshire terrier, ended up at a South African animal hospital with a bite from a Mozambique spitting cobra on her snout. The snake’s powerful venom can stop the breathing muscles from working, but normally the bites are treatable with an antidote. The problem, say South African veterinarians, is that they currently have virtually no vials of the antiserum left. “We’ve been […]

Sahara salt diggers struggle to maintain centuries-old trade

By Camille LAFFONT Agence France-Presse BILMA, Niger, June 9, 2023 (AFP) — At the edge of an oasis almost engulfed by the dunes, where the rare caravan still passes, is a desert landscape punctured by holes. The salt pans of Kalala, near Bilma in northeastern Niger, were once an essential stop for traders with their swaying lines of camels. Salt digging, carried on from generation to generation, was a thriving business, involving a commodity so […]

Deadly dreams: record Everest season among most dangerous

By Paavan MATHEMA Agence France-Presse KATHMANDU, June 9, 2023 (AFP) — Scaling Everest is always dangerous, but expedition organizers have warned that a combination of extreme weather, corner-cutting on safety, and inexperienced and “impatient” foreign climbers has resulted in one of the peak’s deadliest mountaineering seasons. As the last search and rescue teams hang up their boots and the tent city at base camp packs up for the year, expert climbers say several of the […]

In Costa Rica, climate change threatens ‘cloud forest’

By Alberto PEÑA Agence France-Presse MONTEVERDE, Costa Rica, June 7, 2023 (AFP) – The “cloud forest” of Monteverde, in the center of Costa Rica, will soon no longer be worthy of the name: climate change threatens this unique ecosystem, and its fauna and flora face an unclear future under a brilliant blue sky. In the forest, what a visitor should hear is the constant drip of moisture falling from the trees. Instead, it is the […]

‘World’s best restaurant’ to reopen in Spain as museum

By Rosa SULLEIRO Agence France-Presse ROSES, Spain, June 7, 2023 (AFP) — Spain’s elBulli, repeatedly voted the world’s best restaurant before it closed over a decade ago, is set to reopen as a museum dedicated to the culinary revolution it sparked. Nestled in an isolated cove on Spain’s northeastern tip, the museum is dubbed “elBulli1846” — a reference to the 1,846 dishes ground-breaking chef Ferran Adria says were developed at the eatery. “It’s not about […]

Royal fever sweeps Jordan ahead of crown prince’s wedding

By Mussa Hattar Agence France-Presse AMMAN, May 31, 2023 (AFP) — Jordan is gearing up for Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding on Thursday, an event already greeted with fireworks, concerts and social media frenzy in the usually quiet desert kingdom. The eldest son of King Abdullah II will marry Saudi fiancée Rajwa Al Saif at the grand royal wedding with regional monarchs, US First Lady Jill Biden and the king of the Netherlands among the guests. […]

In Sudan’s capital, risking death in search of water

KHARTOUM, Sudan, May 26, 2023 (AFP) — Fighting in Sudan has left hundreds of thousands of Khartoum residents without running water, with some forced to risk their lives and seek it out during brief lulls in violence. After nearly six weeks of street battles between forces loyal to rival generals and with temperatures regularly topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), many inhabitants of the capital’s northern suburbs are in desperate need of drinking water. […]

Vietnam battles plastic blight in idyllic Ha Long Bay

  By Alice PHILIPSON Agence France-Presse HA LONG, Vietnam, May 26, 2023 (AFP) — Squinting in the bright light of a hot summer morning, Vu Thi Thinh perches on the edge of her small wooden boat and plucks a polystyrene block from the calm waters of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay. It’s not yet 9 am, but a mound of styrofoam buoys, plastic bottles and beer cans sit behind her. They are the most visible sign […]

Difficult times bring Russia and Cuba closer together

By Rigoberto DIAZ Agence France-Presse HAVANA, Cuba, May 26, 2023 (AFP) — For the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia is taking an intense interest in Cuba as Moscow has become increasingly isolated over its invasion of Ukraine. Top Russian officials have flocked to the island nation this year, starting in March with Nikolai Patrushev, Moscow’s secretary of the Security Council, alongside the executive director of state oil company Rosneft, Igor […]