All posts tagged: The Bright Side

Viral dancing seniors inspire Italy’s ageing population to get moving

Viral dancing seniors inspire Italy’s ageing population to get moving

Published by Sam Flores

Bopping to Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley in a Roman square, an elderly dancing duo has become a viral sensation in Italy – something they hope will inspire other seniors to take up a more active lifestyle. Retired dance teacher Pasquale Iannotta, 70, and his dancing partner Elisa Fava, 79, have won praise from Rome’s mayor and twisted and twirled on national TV since one of their street performances was shared online by a social media savvy tour operator last week. Watch moreDance Theatre of Harlem: The ballet revolution hits Paris “No one ever thought we could go viral like this,” Fava said on Wednesday, as the pair returned to Testaccio square, in the namesake historic working-class district of the Italian capital, for another spin. Their moves have struck a chord with many in Italy – whose population is the oldest in the European Union. The original clip posted by The Tour Guy gathered more than 370,000 likes and thousands of comments on Instagram, including from mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who complimented the “excellent dancers”, writing: “There’s so …

French pastry chef crowned world’s best aims ‘to be world champion every day’

French pastry chef crowned world’s best aims ‘to be world champion every day’

Published by Sam Flores

The smell of warm bread hangs in the air at one of Benoît Castel’s patisseries in Paris, where the newly crowned world’s best pastry chef was hard at work testing new recipes. His fingers covered in cookie dough, the 54-year-old with salt-and-pepper hair had returned to his usual routine as an “artisan-retailer” after the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC) named him World Confectioner of the Year last month. “I have a mission: to be the world champion every day in my shop for my customers,” he said, eyes twinkling. At the helm of several establishments in Paris, Castel has never strayed from his motto: “It’s all about the product.” Watch moreWorld’s best pastry chef Nina Métayer: ‘We Need Cake!’ Three years after fellow French pastry chef Nina Métayer was crowned champion, Castel received the UIBC award presented annually to a leading figure in the profession in recognition of their career and contribution to the trade on July 14 in Singapore. “Our work is no trivial matter, every day we make things that people put …

Nepal’s tiger numbers rise 20 percent to an estimated 429

Nepal’s tiger numbers rise 20 percent to an estimated 429

Published by Sam Flores

Nepal’s tiger population has risen by roughly 20 percent in the past four years to an estimated 429, officials said on Wednesday, a conservation milestone despite challenges from human-wildlife conflict. The latest nationwide survey found tiger numbers had increased from 355 in 2022, reinforcing the Himalayan nation’s reputation as a success story in big-cat conservation. “The data analysis shows that the tiger population has increased by five percent each year, and we are happy to see this increasing trend,” Bed Kumar Dhakal, spokesman for Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told AFP. Read moreCambodia wants to bring tigers back, but should it? The survey was conducted between December and July, and was announced to coincide with International Tiger Day. It covered more than 7,300 square kilometres of Nepal’s southern plains that are home to the predators. Wildlife officials deployed more than 3,600 motion-sensitive cameras across five protected areas, with experts analysing thousands of images to identify individual tigers by their distinctive stripe patterns. “The reason behind the increasing number of tigers is because …

Mexican archaeologists unearth ‘unprecedented’ ancient ruins with Mayan features

Mexican archaeologists unearth ‘unprecedented’ ancient ruins with Mayan features

Published by Sam Flores

Mexican archaeologists unearthed ancient ruins with signs of Mayan culture as well as “never before seen” characteristics in the eastern state of Veracruz. President Claudia Sheinbaum called the discovery “very relevant” during her morning press conference on Friday, saying her government would allocate resources for the investigation and restoration of the site. The site includes a circular stone platform unlike any other unearthed in that part of Mexico. Researchers also discovered a monolith depicting a figure with potential Mayan features, the National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH) said. “It’s a unique, unprecedented finding,” said Lino Espinoza Garcia, an archaeologist for the INAH and one of the coordinators for the Campo Viejo site near the town of Coatepec. Dating back to the Early Classic period between 200 and 600 AD, the pre-Hispanic ruins include a flagstone and limestone platform adorned with almost squared lines or figures as well as the circular stones. These attributes have never been recorded in this region of Mexico, the INAH said in a statement. It’s “a very particular structure”, said …

Turkmenistan’s ‘heavenly’ Akhal-Teke horses celebrated in annual beauty pageants

Turkmenistan’s ‘heavenly’ Akhal-Teke horses celebrated in annual beauty pageants

Published by Sam Flores

Trainers clad in ornate uniforms and traditional white fur headgear led golden-bedecked stallions round a stage arena at an annual horse beauty pageant in the ultra-closed Central Asian state of Turkmenistan. The ancient and endangered Akhal-Teke is the subject of a fervent state cult in the desert nation, built up by horse-loving Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, ex-president and official father of the nation. AFP was given rare access to the competition, held at an equestrian complex in the capital Ashgabat and presided over by strongman president Serdar Berdymukhamedov, Gurbanguly’s son. Crowds of men in matching tracksuits clapped in unison and waved national flags as sand-coloured stallion Hankerven, adorned with jewellery and a traditional carpet, clinched the top prize. “There are no beauty contests for women in Turkmenistan but there are for horses,” said Ashir, a 70-year-old breeder. “We Turkmen are known for our carpets and horses,” he told AFP at his stud farm not far from the capital. “That is why our flag features carpet motifs and our coat of arms depicts the Akhal-Teke.” The beauty of …

Critically endangered New Zealand parakeet gets lifeline from randy pair

Critically endangered New Zealand parakeet gets lifeline from randy pair

Published by Sam Flores

One of the world’s rarest parakeets has seen its numbers surge thanks to a pair of super breeders now responsible for more than 10 percent of the total population. The New Zealand native kakariki karaka – or orange-fronted parakeet – is critically endangered and has twice been declared extinct, only to be rediscovered. There are around 450 of the birds left, mainly in sanctuaries and predator-free islands but also in wild populations. Parents Nacho and Trixie were paired up in 2024 at the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust in Christchurch and have since produced 55 chicks, including 33 this year alone. Wildlife manager Leigh Percasky praised “super-mum” Trixie. “The breeding season has ended and yet she’s still producing eggs and raising chicks,” Percasky said. Read more‘It’s blue!’: Scientists discover new deep-sea octopus near Galapagos Islands “Ideally we’d prefer her to stop so she can have a rest, but she shows no signs of that with another seven chicks in her most recent clutch. “Nacho also deserves credit as he’s responsible for finding food for both Trixie and …

Rescuers transport stranded whale by barge to freedom in North Sea

Rescuers transport stranded whale by barge to freedom in North Sea

Published by Sam Flores

A humpback whale that had been struggling to survive after beaching near the German coast was released into the North Sea off Denmark on Saturday after being transported in a barge, a member of a rescue mission said. Dubbed “Timmy” by the German media, the whale was first spotted stuck on a sandbank on March 23 near the city of Luebeck before freeing itself and then becoming stuck again several times. Watch moreScientists, authorities divided over fate of stranded whale in Baltic Sea The whale left the barge it had been towed on from Wismar Bay on the Baltic coast at around 8:45am (0645 GMT), said Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative. It is now swimming on its own and freely, and at least for the time being, in the right direction, she said. At the start of April, German officials gave up on trying to rescue the animal, saying they believed it could not be saved. But this triggered an outcry and authorities were persuaded to approve a privately financed rescue plan proposed by …

New Zealand’s kiwi bird returns to Wellington hills after a century-long absence

New Zealand’s kiwi bird returns to Wellington hills after a century-long absence

Published by Sam Flores

The kiwi, New Zealand’s sacred national bird, vanished from the hills around Wellington more than a century ago. Now the capital’s residents are waging an unlikely citizen campaign to return the endangered flightless birds to the city. “They are a part of who we are and our sense of belonging here,” said Paul Ward, founder of the Capital Kiwi Project, a charitable trust. “But they’ve been gone from these hills for well over a century and we decided as Wellingtonians that wasn’t right.” A staff member of a conservation organisation carries a kiwi bird during an event at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 28, 2026. © Charlotte Graham-McLay, AP On a hill wreathed in mist above the dark sea that runs between New Zealand’s North and South Islands, Ward and others crossed rugged farmland late on Tuesday night, carrying seven crates in silence by dim red torchlight. Inside each one nestled a kiwi, including the 250th bird relocated to Wellington since the Capital Kiwi Project began. The kiwi gives New Zealanders the name …

Critically endangered Borneo orangutan born at Madrid zoo

Critically endangered Borneo orangutan born at Madrid zoo

Published by Sam Flores

A critically endangered Borneo orangutan has been born at Madrid’s zoo, described by keepers as strong and developing normally. After an eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy, mother Surya gave birth to a male weighing about 1.5 kilos on April 2, the Madrid Zoo Aquarium said in a statement. The zoo released a video showing Surya cradling the newborn, which will be named through a public vote from a list of options proposed by the caretakers. Surya has now given birth to four offspring, with keepers describing her maternal care from the outset as exemplary, and the baby feeding regularly, a key indicator of healthy development. In this handout photo released on April 14, 2026 by Madrid Zoo Aquarium, Surya, a female Bornean orangutan, cradles her newborn shortly after its birth on April 2, 2026 at the Madrid Zoo Aquarium, in Madrid. © Madrid Zoo Aquarium via AFP “When the baby is nursing, everything stops. She stays completely still until he finishes, and only then moves to eat or do anything else. She is a real supermom,” said Maica …

Crowds march with giant phalluses at Japan’s fertility festival

Crowds march with giant phalluses at Japan’s fertility festival

Published by Sam Flores

Showcasing phallus-shaped portable shrines and pink penis candies, Japan’s annual fertility festival teemed Sunday with tourists, couples and families elated by its open display of sex. The spring “Kanamara” celebration near Tokyo features colourfully dressed worshippers carrying a trio of giant phallic shaped objects as they parade through the street with glee. The festival as legend has it honours a local blacksmith in the Edo Period (1603-1868) who forged an iron dildo to break the teeth of a sharp-toothed demon inhabiting a woman’s vagina that had been castrating young men on their wedding nights. The open-minded, all-inclusive annual event attracts everyone from tourists to families with children and LGBTQ supporters sporting rainbow outfits. © Andrew Caballero-Reynolds, AFP Today a three-foot (one-metre) black steel phallus sits in the courtyard of the Kanayama Shrine honouring the Shinto deities of fertility, childbirth and protection from sexually transmitted infections. Over the centuries, sex workers pilgrimaged to the shrine to seek its powers of protection before the festival evolved into a broader fertility rite seeking to destigmatise sex. “I hope …