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Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Drowning deaths in France spiked by 58% during heat wave, authorities say
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Young people jump into the Canal Saint-Martin on a sunny and warm summer day in Paris as an early summer heatwave hits France, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson/File Photo PARIS - France's public health authority said on Friday that more than 100 people had died from drowning between June 1 and July 2 this year, an increase of 58% over the same period last year, blaming it on unusually warm weather at the end of June. Sante Publique, the French authority, said 429 total drownings had occurred in France between June 1 and July 2, an increase of 95% over that period last year. "These increases occurred in a context of high temperatures in the second half of June 2025, which led to an increase in people going to swimming areas to cool off," the agency said in a bulletin. Large swaths of Europe, including France, sweltered over a 10-day heatwave ending July 2. Scientists said 2,300 people died of heat-related causes across 12 European cities during the extreme weather. REUTERS
GMA Network
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
Original Birkin bag sells at auction for record $10 million
The original Birkin, the handbag crafted by French luxury fashion house Hermes for artist Jane Birkin and offered to her in 1985, is displayed during a media preview of Sotheby's Paris Fashion Icons Sale at Sotheby's auction house in Paris, France, July 2, 2025. REUTERS/ Tom Nicholson PARIS — The original bag custom-made for actress Jane Birkin, which became one of the era-defining designs of the 20th century, was sold in Paris on Thursday for a record €8.6 million ($10.04 million), auctioneer Sotheby's said. According to fashion lore, the first Birkin bag was born when the Franco-British actress and singer sat next to Hermes executive Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight in 1984 and told him she needed a stylish yet functional bag as a young mother. Dumas immediately sketched out the rectangular handbag, with a dedicated space for baby bottles. The company made that one for her, then started selling smaller versions to the public. The design became a hit and has helped fuel the growth of the fashion brand. Regular Birkin bags sell for more than $10,000. The first one—which has Birkin's J. B. initials on the flap and, unlike its descendants, has a strap that cannot be removed—was bought by a private Japanese buyer over the phone, Sotheby's said. The price was the highest on record for a fashion item, it added. "It was a travel bag. Clearly, it was worn for nine years by Jane Birkin on a daily basis and the form is still very beautiful," Aurelie Vassy, head of the Handbags and Fashion Department at Sotheby's Europe and Middle East, told Reuters. Birkin auctioned the bag in 1994 to support Sidaction, a French charity that fights HIV/AIDS. In 2000, when it went on sale again, a private French collector bought it. When British-born Birkin died in 2023, the French capital's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said the "most Parisian of the English has left us." Birkin had lived in her adopted France since the late 1960s and was remembered as much for her warmth and campaigning as for her acting and singing, most famously on the hit single 'Je t' non plus.' — Reuters
The Star
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
French PM Bayrou survives latest no-confidence motion
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou gestures as he delivers a speech during a debate and vote on a motion of no-confidence against the French government after pension talks collapsed, tabled by members of the Socialist parliamentary group, at the National Assembly in Paris, France, July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
The Star
01-07-2025
- Climate
- The Star
France shuts schools as heatwave grips Europe, sea off Spain at record high temperatures
A tourist holding an umbrella to protect himself from the sun walks at Trocadero square next to the Eiffel Tower as an early summer heatwave hits Paris, France, July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) -More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region. The Mediterranean Sea was up to 6 degrees Celsius warmer than usual for the time of year, hitting a record of as much as 30 C (86 F) in Spain's Balearic Sea as a heat dome trapped hot air above Europe, the country's Aemet weather forecaster said. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, making extreme heatwaves occur earlier in the year, and persist into later months. In France, the heat was set to peak on Tuesday, reaching 40-41 C in some areas and 36-39 C in most others, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Sixteen departments will be on the highest level of alert from noon, with 68 on the second highest. Some 1,350 schools will be fully or partially closed due to the heat, up significantly from around 200 on Monday, the Education Ministry said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with visitors advised to drink plenty of water. The extreme heat also raised the risk of field fires as farmers in France, the European Union's biggest grain producer, start harvesting this year's crop. Some farmers were working through the night to avoid harvesting during peak temperatures in the afternoon. In the Indre region of central France, which has seen a spate of field fires since late June, authorities banned field work between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. HEALTH ALERTS The intense heat could harm biodiversity, some experts said. "In the past we have seen impacts like mass mortalities of invertebrate species, die-offs of seagrass beds and disease outbreaks in mussel farms. It's likely that we'll see similar impacts from this event," said scientist Kathryn Smith of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Health alerts have been issued across Europe, with residents and tourists alike seeking ways to keep cool. Extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually around the world, according to Swiss Re, which notes this exceeds the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. In a retirement home in Grimbergen, Belgium, residents passed a ball to each other in a paddling pool. "To me it's a great activity," said Marie-Jeanne Olbrechts, one of the residents. The DGG association for geriatric care in Germany said most regions of the country were not adequately prepared for a heatwave. "If they were, they could prevent tens of thousands of deaths in the future," said Clemens Becker, author of a study conducted on behalf of the DGG. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are a key cause of climate change, with deforestation and industrial practices being other contributing factors. Last year was the planet's hottest on record. (Additional reporting by Kate Abnett, Gus Trompiz, Rachel More; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
Straits Times
01-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
France shuts schools as heatwave grips Europe, sea off Spain at record high temperatures
A tourist holding an umbrella to protect himself from the sun walks at Trocadero square next to the Eiffel Tower as an early summer heatwave hits Paris, France, July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson PARIS/MADRID - More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region. The Mediterranean Sea was up to 6 degrees Celsius warmer than usual for the time of year, hitting a record of as much as 30 C (86 F) in Spain's Balearic Sea as a heat dome trapped hot air above Europe, the country's Aemet weather forecaster said. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, making extreme heatwaves occur earlier in the year, and persist into later months. In France, the heat was set to peak on Tuesday, reaching 40-41 C in some areas and 36-39 C in most others, weather forecaster Meteo France said. Sixteen departments will be on the highest level of alert from noon, with 68 on the second highest. Some 1,350 schools will be fully or partially closed due to the heat, up significantly from around 200 on Monday, the Education Ministry said. The top floor of the Eiffel Tower will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with visitors advised to drink plenty of water. The extreme heat also raised the risk of field fires as farmers in France, the European Union's biggest grain producer, start harvesting this year's crop. Some farmers were working through the night to avoid harvesting during peak temperatures in the afternoon. In the Indre region of central France, which has seen a spate of field fires since late June, authorities banned field work between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. HEALTH ALERTS The intense heat could harm biodiversity, some experts said. "In the past we have seen impacts like mass mortalities of invertebrate species, die-offs of seagrass beds and disease outbreaks in mussel farms. It's likely that we'll see similar impacts from this event," said scientist Kathryn Smith of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Health alerts have been issued across Europe, with residents and tourists alike seeking ways to keep cool. Extreme heat kills up to 480,000 people annually around the world, according to Swiss Re, which notes this exceeds the combined toll from floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. In a retirement home in Grimbergen, Belgium, residents passed a ball to each other in a paddling pool. "To me it's a great activity," said Marie-Jeanne Olbrechts, one of the residents. The DGG association for geriatric care in Germany said most regions of the country were not adequately prepared for a heatwave. "If they were, they could prevent tens of thousands of deaths in the future," said Clemens Becker, author of a study conducted on behalf of the DGG. Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are a key cause of climate change, with deforestation and industrial practices being other contributing factors. Last year was the planet's hottest on record. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
