Queen Camilla visits Wimbledon and Royal Box guests include actress Keira Knightley

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Britain's Queen Camilla is seen in the royal box on centre court at Wimbledon before the start of play, July 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 10 July 2024
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Queen Camilla visits Wimbledon and Royal Box guests include actress Keira Knightley

  • Last year, the queen and Kate, the Princess of Wales, had made separate Wimbledon appearances
  • Unclear if Kate, who was diagnosed with cancer early this year, would visit before the tournament ends on Sunday

LONDON: Queen Camilla made a Centre Court appearance at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Camilla, the wife of King Charles III, took a seat in the Royal Box, where guests included actress Keira Knightley, actor Richard E. Grant and Formula 1 driver George Russell.
Last year, the queen and Kate, the Princess of Wales, had made separate Wimbledon appearances. It was unclear if Kate, who was diagnosed with cancer early this year, would visit before the tournament ends on Sunday.
Camilla was greeted Wednesday by a ball girl and ball boy — the kids who run across the court chasing stray balls after a point is finished or a serve goes awry.
Among others she met was Martyn Falconer, head gardener at the All England Club.




Britain's Queen Camilla is seen in the royal box on centre court before the start of play, July 10, 2024. (Reuters)

The queen missed out on a Novak Djokovic match at Centre Court, though. The seven-time Wimbledon champion had been scheduled to play Alex de Minaur but the Australian withdrew because of a hip injury.
In the first match on Centre Court, Elena Rybakina defeated Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2. Svitolina hadn't realized that Camilla was in attendance.
“It’s such a big privilege to play Wimbledon in front of the queen, even though I didn’t know,” said Svitolina, who won a match Monday despite devastating news about the deadly Russian missile attack on her country. “The support that Ukraine (has) been getting from United Kingdom (has) been really unbelievable.”


The Seine in Paris is open for swimming. Tourists and residents embrace it as temperatures soar

Updated 12 August 2025
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The Seine in Paris is open for swimming. Tourists and residents embrace it as temperatures soar

  • At the Grenelle site in the west of Paris, visitors swim and sunbathe with a unique view of the Eiffel Tower, with small fishes darting near the surface
  • The swimming areas are expected to get even more crowded as a heatwave arrives in the region on Tuesday

PARIS: Swimming in the Seine is an increasingly popular tourist attraction in the French capital — and a must-do for Parisians themselves. Thousands of people have enjoyed a dip in the river since three public bathing sites opened last month, the first in over a century.
The swimming areas are expected to get even more crowded as a heatwave arrives in the region on Tuesday. Paris has been placed under “high vigilance” by national weather service Meteo France, with temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) expected.
At the Grenelle site in the west of Paris, visitors swim and sunbathe with a unique view of the Eiffel Tower, with small fishes darting near the surface.
Water quality is tested daily to conform with European regulations. Swimming in the Seine had been illegal since 1923, with a few exceptions, due to pollution and risks posed by river navigation. The new bathing sites are possible following a 1.4 billion euro ($1.6 billion) cleanup that made it suitable for Olympic competitions last year.
“Imagine that,” said Constanze Martens, a tourist from Mexico. “Swimming with view of the Eiffel Tower and in pure natural water, clean, safe, and with all this lovely people too, you have every age here.”
On Monday, the water temperature in the Seine was 22 degrees Celsius (71 Fahrenheit).
“It’s quite warm, warmer than the sea, which was quite surprising, and is very pleasant,” said Elisabeth Lorin, from the Paris eastern suburb of Montreuil.
Until the end of August, bathing sites are open for free at scheduled times to anyone 10 or older or 14 or older, depending on the location. Details are in the Paris city hall website, in English as well. Each swimmer must be equipped with a yellow buoy, attached to their waist, for safety reasons. There are changing rooms with lockers.
The site welcomes between 800 and 1,200 visitors per day, with a limit of 200 at any one time, said the manager of the Grenelle site, Yann Forêt.
Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan last week said over 40,000 people had swum at the sites since they opened on July 5. That’s despite almost two weeks of closures largely due to rainy weather, which increases water pollution upstream.
“Right now, the water quality is excellent and we have optimal conditions with warm weather,” Rabadan told The Associated Press on Monday. He said the daily decision to open the sites depends on weather conditions and factors including water flow rate and any known pollution.
Several lifeguards monitor the sites, occasionally using their whistles to remind swimmers not to jump or leave the perimeter. No major incident has been reported, Rabadan said.
Marina Gicquel, a 22-year-old lifeguard at Grenelle, said the main difference from a swimming pool is the river current, along with the murky water.
“You can only see people’s heads sticking out. That’s why buoys are useful,” Gicquel said. “And it’s also quite deep. It’s three to five meters (10 to 16 feet) deep, so people find no foothold.”
Some visitors, like Australian Thurkka Jeyakumar, had been skeptical about swimming in the Seine, citing the river’s murky color and bacteria issues.
Unsafe levels of E. coli or other bacteria appear during prolonged periods of rain that overwhelm pipes, leading untreated wastewater to flow into the river instead of a treatment plant. Last year, some Olympic competitions were postponed for that reason.
In the end, Jeyakumar gave it a try because she lost a bet.
“For the moment, I have to say that it was much nicer and cleaner than I thought it would be,” she said. “So the bet worked out for the better!”


Swarm of jellyfish shuts French nuclear plant

Updated 11 August 2025
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Swarm of jellyfish shuts French nuclear plant

  • Reactors 2, 3, and 4 stopped automatically when the filter drums of the pumping stations became packed with with a “massive and unpredictable” swarm of jellyfish

PARIS: Four reactors at France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant were shut down late Sunday due to a swarm of jellyfish in the filter drums that pull in cooling water, operator EDF said on Monday.
The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea. Its six units produce 900 megawatts of power each, or 5.4 gigawatts in total.
Reactors 2, 3, and 4 stopped automatically when the filter drums of the pumping stations became packed with with a “massive and unpredictable” swarm of jellyfish, and reactor 6 went offline shortly after, EDF said.
The entire nuclear plant has now temporarily halted production as the other two units are offline for planned maintenance, EDF data showed.
Several species of jellyfish are native to the North Sea, and are often seen around the shoreline in the summer when the waters are warm.
The event did not affect the safety of the facilities, staff or the environment, EDF said.


Indian top court orders roundup of stray dogs in Delhi

Updated 11 August 2025
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Indian top court orders roundup of stray dogs in Delhi

  • At least 60,000 stray dogs live on the streets of Delhi, according to India’s Livestock Census of 2012
  • India’s Supreme Court warned of action against animal activists who obstruct the removal of dogs

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the removal of tens of thousands of stray dogs from the capital, citing public safety concerns after a surge in dog bites.

India is home to millions of stray dogs and deadly attacks, particularly on children and the elderly, are regularly reported by the city’s media.

At least 60,000 stray dogs live on the streets of Delhi, according to India’s Livestock Census of 2012, the most recent data available.

Some suggest that number to be now far higher, with large rival dog packs patrolling parks and residential neighborhoods across the city.

The country accounts for more than a third of global rabies deaths, according to the World Health Organization, a crisis exacerbated by a lack of sterilization programs and legal restrictions on canine culling.

The court asked city authorities to set up dog shelters within eight weeks, and maintain daily records of the canines captured.

“What is important, and without which the entire exercise would go futile, not a single stray dog should be released,” it said, which applies to Delhi and its satellite suburbs, a megacity home to some 30 million people.

The court warned of action against animal activists who obstruct the removal of dogs.

It also ordered a 24-hour helpline to be set up to report dog bites and officials must publicize locations where anti-rabies vaccines are available.

Data tabled in the Indian parliament showed more than 3.7 million cases of dog bites and 54 suspected human deaths from rabies in 2024.

Other estimates peg the number to be nearly twice as high, with Delhi alone accounting for roughly 2,000 cases of dog bites every day.

In middle class neighborhoods, many of Delhi’s strays are beloved by their residents despite lacking formal owners, with some dogs clothed in special canine jackets to keep warm during the winter.

But they are also a hazard to humans, with Indian media regularly reporting on the mauling of young children by aggressive dog packs.


$7K worth of Labubu dolls stolen from Los Angeles store, authorities say

Updated 09 August 2025
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$7K worth of Labubu dolls stolen from Los Angeles store, authorities say

  • Robbed store located in La Puente, 29 km east of Los Angeles
  • Suspects used a stolen Toyota Tacoma in the incident, say police

LOS ANGELES: A group of masked thieves stole about $7,000 worth of Labubu dolls from a Los Angeles-area store earlier this week, authorities said.
The incident took place early Wednesday morning at a store in La Puente, a city about 18 miles (29 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, the LA County Sheriff’s Department said. The department said the suspects used a stolen Toyota Tacoma in the incident, which was recovered shortly afterward. The agency said it was investigating the case and did not have additional information.
The labubu, a toy created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, have become a popular collectible item a decade after the toothy monsters were first introduced.
Toy vendor One Stop Shop said in an Instagram post that the thieves “took all of our inventory trashed our store.” The store posted surveillance footage showing a group of people wearing hoodies and face coverings breaking in. The suspects are seen shuffling through items and carrying boxes out of the shop.
“We are still in shock,” the store said in its post, urging people to help them find the thieves.


Czech zoo welcomes 4 rare Barbary lion cubs whose population is extinct in the wild

Updated 07 August 2025
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Czech zoo welcomes 4 rare Barbary lion cubs whose population is extinct in the wild

  • The three females and one male were seen playing in their outdoor enclosure at Dvůr Králové Safari Park
  • The majestic member of the Northern lion subspecies, the Barbary lion once roamed freely its native northern Africa

DVUR KRALOVE, Czech Republic: Four Barbary lion cubs were born recently in a Czech zoo, a vital contribution for a small surviving population of the rare lion that is extinct in the wild.

The three females and one male were seen playing in their outdoor enclosure at Dvůr Králové Safari Park on Wednesday, enjoying themselves under the watchful eyes of their parents, Khalila and Bart.

That will change soon. As part of an international endangered species program that coordinates efforts for their survival in captivity, the cubs will be sent to other participating parks, including the Beersheba zoo in Israel.

Chances are that might not be the end of the story for the animal.

Dvůr Králové Deputy Director Jaroslav Hyjánek said that while preliminary steps have been taken for a possible reintroduction of the Barbary lion into its natural habitat, it’s still a “far distant future.”

The majestic member of the Northern lion subspecies, the Barbary lion once roamed freely its native northern Africa, including the Atlas Mountains.

A symbol of strength, they were almost completely wiped out due to human activities. Many were killed by gladiators in Roman times, while overhunting and a loss of habitat contributed to their extinction later.

The last known photo of a wild lion was taken in 1925, while the last individual was killed in 1942.

It’s believed the last small populations went extinct in the wild in the middle of the 1960s.

Fewer than 200 Barbary lions are currently estimated to live in captivity

Hyjánek said that after initial talks with Moroccan authorities, who have not rejected the idea of their reintroduction, a conference of experts has been planned to take place in Morocco late this year or early 2026 to decide whether it would make sense to go ahead with such a plan in one of the national parks in the Atlas Mountains.

Any reintroduction would face numerous bureaucratic and other obstacles. Since the lion has not been present in the environment for such a long time, the plans would have to ensure their protection, a sufficient prey population and cooperation and approval from local communities.

Hyjánek said such a move is still worth trying if it turns out to be sustainable.

“It’s important to have such a vision for any animal, ” he said. “Without it, the existence of zoos wouldn’t make sense.”