Euro News

Bordeaux, France just surpassed Paris in a new ranking of the world's most beautiful cities, with Europe dominating nine out of the top 10 spots. The rankings are based on buildings that adhere to the 'golden ratio' for balanced and harmonious structures. Venice takes the lead as the most beautiful city, followed by Rome and Barcelona in second and third place respectively. Despite iconic landmarks, Paris lands at 12th place. In fifth place is the only non-European city to make the top 10: New York City.

9 Out of 10 of the World’s Most Beautiful Cities Are in Europe, Says New Ranking

Science Daily

Ireland’s rare Old Irish Goat has always looked ancient, but now scientists can say just how ancient. A new study has found that the breed shares a direct genetic link with goats that lived in Ireland roughly 3,000 years ago, during the Late Bronze Age — an unbroken lineage stretching back millennia.

The research, led by University College Dublin with Queen’s University Belfast and international partners, used biomolecular testing, radiocarbon dating and archaeological evidence to assemble one of the clearest pictures yet of Ireland’s early farming history. Published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the work strengthens the case for conserving the Old Irish Goat as a living remnant of the island’s earliest agricultural communities.

Researchers examined goat bones recovered from Haughey’s Fort in Co Armagh — a Late Bronze Age hillfort dated to around 1100–900 BCE — along with medieval remains from Carrickfergus in Co Antrim. Using radiocarbon dating, DNA sequencing and protein fingerprinting, they confirmed that the Bronze Age bones are the oldest goat remains identified in Ireland.

When they compared the ancient genomes to hundreds of modern breeds worldwide, one match stood out: the critically endangered Old Irish Goat.

“Combining genetics, proteomics, and archaeological science has allowed us a glimpse of our animals hundreds and thousands of years ago — and how their descendants likely still live with us, as part of our biocultural heritage,” said co-lead author Kevin Daly of UCD’s School of Agriculture and Food Science.

The Old Irish Goat, historically known as an Gabhar Fiáin — the wild goat — holds an unusual place in Irish folklore. Long before cattle dominated mythology, goats appeared in local customs, place names and seasonal traditions. The best-known example is Puck Fair in Killorglin, Co Kerry, where each August a goat is crowned “King Puck” in one of Ireland’s oldest festival traditions.

For generations, the breed has persisted in small roaming herds, valued for its toughness, ability to survive on marginal land and nutrient-dense milk that once supported rural families.

But goats have often been overlooked in archaeological records because their bones closely resemble sheep. “Goats tend to get overlooked compared to sheep in the archaeological record because it is notoriously difficult to distinguish between their bones,” said co-lead author Professor Eileen Murphy of Queen’s University Belfast. She noted that medieval records suggest goats were kept not only for farming but also for a trade in skins from ports such as Carrickfergus.

To avoid misidentifying samples, researchers first used ZooMS protein fingerprinting to confirm they were indeed goats. Then came the DNA sequencing, which revealed something striking: both the Bronze Age and medieval goats showed their closest genetic relationships with today’s Old Irish Goat. This continuity suggests a stable goat population on the island for more than three millennia.

The study also uncovered a warning. While medieval goats displayed broad genetic diversity, the modern breed shows clear signs of inbreeding — evidence of a more recent population collapse rather than a long-term trend.

“This research is a huge milestone for the Old Irish Goat, and provides powerful scientific validation of what local communities and conservationists have long believed — that the Old Irish Goat represents a living piece of our ancient heritage,” said Sinead Keane of The Old Irish Goat Society. She added that the findings highlight “the urgency of protecting this critically endangered breed, which carries within it a living genetic record of Ireland’s ancient past.”

The work also serves as a tribute to co-lead author Dr. Judith Findlater of Queen’s University Belfast, who passed away before publication. Portions of the research stem from her PhD work examining Medieval Carrickfergus.

For now, the study offers something rare: a direct, uninterrupted thread between Ireland’s earliest farmers and the goats that still roam parts of the island today — living links to a past that is only now coming into full view.

Ancient DNA Reveals Ireland’s Native Goat Has A 3,000-Year-Old Lineage

Sunny Skyz

Some viral moments start big. Others begin on a quiet Chicago doorstep with a mail carrier who likes to sing.

Lavonte Harvey is known on his route for breaking into song as naturally as he delivers letters. On one stop, caught on a doorbell camera, he greeted a resident with a warm, “This is for you, Grandma,” before offering a heartfelt serenade. He didn’t know she had recently lost her husband of 50 years. He also didn’t know the moment would change both of their lives.

The song meant so much to her that she shared the clip with her granddaughter, Whitney Cumbo. Cumbo posted it with a caption that framed the moment perfectly: “My grandmother lost her husband of 50 years, and the mail man is her daily dose of life. You are appreciated.”

Two weeks later, the video had amassed millions of views and more than 10,000 comments. A small, simple act — meant to brighten a single person’s day — became a global moment of comfort.

“I didn’t expect for it to go viral,” Harvey said. Singing, he explained, is something he does to ground himself and connect with people along his route. “For me, singing isn’t just music. It’s about ministry, it’s about spreading hope and joy.”

After the video exploded, Harvey appeared on Good Morning America, where he thanked Cumbo and her family for believing in him from the start. They did more than post a video — they helped launch an online fundraiser that allowed him to buy a new car.

“I love you guys so much,” Harvey said on the show. “It’s because of you so many doors have been open for me that I’ve only dreamed of. There are not enough thank-you’s in this world… Just know that you have my heart.”

Harvey still keeps in touch with the family. What began as a quiet moment of kindness outside one Chicago home has rippled outward, carried by millions of people who saw something in his song: a reminder that small gestures can widen into something far bigger than we ever expect.

Chicago Mailman Sings To Grieving Grandma, Receives Heartwarming Surprise

ABC News

It started with a wobble in confidence and ended with a desk covered in love notes. Not the romantic kind — the kind only a group of fourth-graders could dream up.

At DeBary Elementary School, teacher Joanne Miller had been working on something she calls the Kindness Squad, a gentle nudge for students to notice when someone needs support. But even she didn’t expect what happened next.

A girl in her class was having a tough day. Before Miller could step in, her students quietly took over. When the girl stepped out of the room, her classmates rushed into action, covering her desk and chair with handwritten Post-it notes — encouragement, reminders of her strengths, and tiny declarations of how much she mattered.

Miller later shared the moment on her Facebook page, Head Over Heels for Teaching, where she highlights small classroom victories. This one wasn’t small for long. The video has now been seen by more than 17 million people, earning over 250,000 likes and catching the attention of celebrities Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

In a statement, Volusia County Schools called the moment “a beautiful, student-led” example of the kind of culture schools strive to build — one where social-emotional learning isn’t a buzzword but something that happens naturally between kids who look out for one another.

Miller made sure everyone knew the idea was entirely theirs. “100% their idea,” she wrote, adding that the students filled the girl’s workspace with “sticky notes full of truth, kindness and reminders of who she is.”

After 27 years in the classroom, she called it one of her favorite teaching moments. And she didn’t mince words about why.

“When students learn to champion each other, that’s the real win,” she wrote. “No state test can measure this, it’s empathy in action. This is what building classroom community is all about.”

The girl returned to find her desk transformed. Her classmates didn’t say much — they didn’t need to. The notes spoke for them.

The moment lasted a few minutes in the classroom, but online it’s become something bigger: a reminder that empathy isn’t taught in a lesson plan. It’s modeled, shared, and passed around the room, one sticky note at a time.

A Fourth-Grade ‘Kindness Squad’ Turned One Low Moment Into a Viral Lesson in Empathy

Science Alert

Most people digging through an overgrown garden expect old bricks, lost tools or maybe a gnome that’s seen better days. Daniella Santoro and her husband, Aaron Lopez, found a 2,000-year-old Roman tombstone.

It started as one of those head-tilting moments. Half-buried in the vines behind their historic Carrollton home in New Orleans sat a marble slab etched in Latin. At first glance, it looked like the kind of decorative replica you’d find in a quirky garden shop. But Santoro, an anthropologist, couldn’t shake the feeling that this one was different.

“The fact that it was in Latin really just gave us pause, right?” she told the Associated Press. “I mean, you see something like that and you say, ‘Okay, this is not an ordinary thing.’”

Instead of brushing it off, she called in experts. Archaeologist Susann Lusnia of Tulane University and anthropologist D. Ryan Gray of the University of New Orleans examined the inscription. It didn’t take long for them to recognize the opening phrase: Dis Manibus — “to the spirits of the dead,” a standard dedication on ancient Roman tombstones.

Further translation revealed the man it honored: Sextus Congenius Verus, a Thracian-born Roman soldier who died at 42 after 22 years of service. The stone was commissioned by his heirs, Atilius Carus and Vettius Longinus. Nearly 1,900 years later, his memorial had resurfaced in a backyard in Louisiana.

And remarkably, it wasn’t an unknown artifact. Records showed that the tablet once belonged to the National Archaeological Museum of Civitavecchia, a coastal Italian museum. It had stood in a small cemetery there before the museum was heavily damaged in Allied bombing during World War II. Dozens of artifacts were lost or displaced in the chaos that followed. The soldier’s grave marker was among those listed as missing. Even the measurements recorded by the museum exactly matched the stone found in Santoro’s garden.

How it crossed the Atlantic turned out to be another story, one wrapped in wartime movement and fading family memory. Erin Scott O’Brien, a former owner of the Carrollton house, said the stone once sat in a display cabinet at her grandfather’s home in Gentilly. He was Charles Paddock Jr., an American soldier stationed in Italy during WWII. When O’Brien moved into the home decades later, her mother gave her the slab.

“We planted a tree and said this is the start of our new house. Let’s put it outside in our garden,” she told Preservation in Print. “I just thought it was a piece of art. I had no idea it was a 2,000-year-old relic.”

The full truth of how Paddock obtained the tablet may never be known. The war scattered countless artifacts across Europe, and many paths were never documented. But what matters now is where the stone is headed next.

After more than 80 years away from Italy, the tablet is finally going home. The FBI’s Art Crime Team is coordinating its repatriation to the museum it vanished from so long ago.

A forgotten relic in the weeds turned out to be a missing piece of ancient history — and soon, Sextus Congenius Verus will rest again where his story began.

A New Orleans Couple Just Found a Roman Tombstone in Their Garden — and It’s the Real Deal

YR - Google News Paramedic

Most overnight calls don’t end with a birth announcement, let alone in the middle of Georgian Bay. But on Feb. 7, a crew of Beausoleil First Nation paramedics found themselves doing exactly that — delivering a baby boy aboard the MV Indian Maiden as the vessel pushed through heavy ice in a snowstorm.

“We did deliver a baby in the middle of the night in the middle of Georgian Bay in the ice in a snowstorm,” said primary care paramedic Maggie Monague. “It is the first baby that was born on the MV Indian Maiden. This is one of our older vessels, it just happens to be the first time a baby has been born on this vessel.”

Childbirth is part of paramedic training, but everything else about the night was far from routine. The team had already transported the mother from her home on Christian Island to the dock, carrying their equipment by hand because the community’s car ferry wasn’t operating. Winter conditions had forced service down to the smaller passenger vessel, which usually only runs during daylight. That meant a late-night emergency call to the ferry crew just to get across the bay.

“In this particular incident, it just so happens that we were on our ferry for much longer to get through the ice that night than we typically are,” Monague said. “We were on the ferry for about two hours… We had a pretty good idea we were likely going to be delivering a baby.”

Advanced care paramedic Bensen Carter said firefighters helped first, lifting the mother safely from the house and onto the stretcher. But once aboard the ferry, the crew had no radio signal, no cell connection, and no way to reach a doctor.

“We were kind of all on our own so we brought everything that we could,” Carter said. They heated blankets on the ferry’s passenger warmers to prepare for the baby’s arrival, secured the stretcher to the floor, and worked with whatever oxygen supply they could carry. “It was pretty much a standard delivery with all the obstetrical equipment that we had,” he said, though the isolation added pressure.

Paramedic superintendent Christos Bamparamos said the team — which also included primary care paramedic Rob Rawson — was operating under harsh conditions. “They were in a boat, it’s very loud, the boat is not warmed up… They did everything they needed to do like putting the blankets on the heaters to make sure they had all the resources there. We are extremely proud of them.”

Paramedic Chief Tony Filice said the delivery was a reminder of the unique realities of island life. Travel to a mainland hospital can take an hour in the best conditions — and winter rarely offers the best conditions.

“It’s not really a big part of our job, but certainly a very great and impactful thing when it does happen,” Filice said. With labour often moving unpredictably, “an hour is sometimes just way too long.”

By the time the ferry reached the mainland, the baby boy had already arrived — warm, healthy, and officially the first child ever born aboard the MV Indian Maiden. The crew carried him and his mother into an ambulance for the final stretch to hospital.

A birth in a snowstorm, halfway across a frozen bay, inside a rumbling vessel — not exactly a typical shift. But for the paramedics who answered the call that night, it was a moment of teamwork, improvisation and calm under pressure. And for one family, it was the extraordinary place where their story began.

First Nations Paramedics Just Delivered a Baby Boy on a Georgian Bay Ferry During a Snowstorm

BBC News

When her father died, Kaye Meadows felt swallowed by grief. A year later, she found herself stepping out of a plane — and discovering something she didn’t expect: peace.

Meadows, 43, from Braunstone Town in Leicestershire, says her dad’s death from Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia in 2023 left her struggling to keep going. “My grief was all-consuming,” she said. “All I could see was darkness while still living life, still doing the day job, looking after my daughter.”

She needed something that felt like light again. So in September 2024, she signed up for an Alzheimer’s Society charity skydive, a one-off challenge she’d always wanted to try. She raised £1,300, climbed aboard a plane at Skydive Langar in Nottingham, and watched the ground fall away.

“I rocked up to Skydive Langar in Nottingham, and we hurled out of a plane,” she said. “The exhilaration was just out of this world. I can't really describe it.”

The jump was supposed to be the end of the adventure. Instead, three days later, she started training for more. What began as a bucket-list moment became a full commitment to the sport.

Within months, Meadows earned her licence for unsupervised solo jumps, completed night jumps, and even competed in the Indoor Skydiving Championships. Skydive Langar named her Student of the Year in December. Unbeknownst to her, she was also nominated for the Mike Forge New Skydiver of the Year Award, given out at the 2025 British Skydiving AGM. When she learned she’d won, she said she “burst into tears.”

“Every now and then I look at the trophy and think ‘is this real?’” she said.

But skydiving didn’t come without obstacles. Her very first attempt at a solo jump ended with her panicking and staying in the plane. “They coached me and got me back up,” she said. When she finally stepped off on her own, the fear dissolved into clarity. It became “the most zen moment of my life.”

She kept going through setbacks, including an injury during a canopy course, an ACL tear that now requires surgery, and a malfunction on her 99th jump when her main canopy failed and she had to run through emergency procedures.

“I could have absolutely walked away,” Meadows said. “The trophy isn't about being brilliant — it's about persistence, it's about keeping going.”

She still carries her father with her on every jump. She calls him “the catalyst” for the whole journey. The peace she feels in freefall reminds her of being with him again.

A spokesperson for British Skydiving praised her achievement, noting the award’s legacy. Named for Major Michael Lancaster Forge, who died in the Falklands conflict, it recognises new skydivers who make standout progress and contribute to their club community. “Congratulations to Kaye Meadows,” the spokesperson said. “A fantastic achievement and a strong start to what we hope will be a long journey in the sport.”

For Meadows, skydiving wasn’t just a thrill. It was a way back to a life with colour in it — one jump at a time.

Grieving Daughter Transforms Loss Into Triumph, Wins New Skydiver Award After 100 Jumps

Guide dog puppies are getting a unique training experience at Southampton Airport in Hampshire. The charity Guide Dogs held its first-ever airport training session, aiming to familiarize the puppies with the bustling environment they might encounter later as working guide dogs. 

The young pups toured various parts of the airport, including the baggage carousel, duty-free shops, and departure lounges. They were accompanied by their puppy raisers, who ensured they remained calm and focused amid potential distractions. Morris Boyle, operations director at Southampton Airport, expressed interest in making these training sessions a regular feature.

One of the participants, six-month-old Lee, was among seven puppies attending this session during a quieter time at the airport. The experience offered fresh challenges for the pups. Simon Wallenburg, a puppy raiser, noted that navigating airplane stairs was particularly new for them compared to what they're accustomed to in places like Westquay Shopping Centre in Southampton.

"They've never ever come across stairs like this before," Wallenburg said, emphasizing how beneficial it was for their training.

Puppy raisers play an essential role in preparing these dogs for their future duties. Volunteers care for puppies from six to eight weeks old until they are ready for formal training with Guide Dog staff. During this period, they help with basic training and socialization while introducing them to new environments and experiences.

Sharon Wallenberg, another dedicated puppy raiser, finds this process "very rewarding." She explained that exposing the dogs to different sights and sounds is crucial because "in his future life," a guide dog might accompany its owner on flights. This kind of exposure helps build familiarity and confidence in such environments.

Leanne Kelley from Guide Dogs highlighted the importance of this exposure: "It's sometimes nice just to pause and for the dogs just to learn to relax in that environment." She pointed out that achieving relaxation can be challenging when dealing with lively, playful pups.

The day concluded as a positive experience for everyone involved—humans and canines alike—with many considering it a valuable step in preparing these puppies for their future roles as guide dogs.

Why These Guide Dog Puppies Just Took Their First Trip to the Airport — Without Leaving the Ground

For months, a toucan named Sam turned the Las Vegas desert into his own improbable playground. This week, he finally let someone help him.

SouthWest Exotic Avian Rescue confirmed Wednesday that Sam — who had been spotted all over the city since November — is now safe and getting care. “We’ve all just been so worried about him,” said Skye Marsh, the group’s president and co-founder. “It’s a relief.”

Sam’s saga began when he escaped from his owners’ cage late last year and somehow managed to survive the Mojave’s temperature swings, from chilly desert nights to dry, scorching days. Bird experts had been increasingly concerned about how long an exotic bird like a toucan could last on his own.

In the end, Sam made the decision himself. “(The) little stinker decided it was time for help, and he flew into someone's garage,” Marsh told the Associated Press. The homeowners recognized him immediately and quickly shut the door so he couldn’t slip away again.

After a rescue team arrived, Sam was taken to a veterinarian for fluids and bloodwork. He showed some “wear and tear”— dehydrated skin and a small chip in his beak — but overall, he looked better than expected. Marsh noted that Sam’s health had already begun to improve thanks to the specialized food the rescue group had been putting out near a cage in hopes he’d wander in. Even his droppings looked healthier, she said.

Sam’s owners, who previously posted about his escape on social media, have not contacted the rescue.

For now, Sam will spend 30 to 45 days in quarantine at a staff member’s home to ensure he doesn’t have bird flu, which could spread to other rescued birds.

After months of cheering him on from afar, Las Vegas residents can finally stop scanning the sky for a lone toucan beating the odds above the desert.

Rescuers Just Saved This Wandering Toucan Spotted In Las Vegas

People

Brenda Song has found an unexpected partner in teaching her kids about safety: her fiancé’s childhood alter ego, Kevin McCallister.

Song, 37, says she and Macaulay Culkin have been showing their sons, Carson, 3, and Dakota, 4, the classic holiday film Home Alone. They’re not watching for nostalgia. They’re using it to teach “stranger danger,” even though the boys mostly tune in for the fun.

The two preschoolers “enjoy the movie’s ‘hijinks’ and its elaborate ‘traps,’” Song told E! News, but they “have no real concept” of the danger at the center of the story. Dakota “gets it more,” she added, but they’re both still young enough to focus on the pratfalls, not the burglars.

Song laughed remembering how she tried to turn teachable moments into hugs. After the credits rolled, she looked at her sons and said, “‘See, your mama's here right next to you. Don't you want to give me a hug? I didn't leave.’” She admitted, “I'm so terrible, but I feel like your children have to be a little scared. Fear goes a long way.”

She’s consistent with the lessons, too. One of her go-to lines: “‘They're a stranger if you don't know their name.’” And she backs that up at home. “It doesn't matter if they're someone's parents. If you don't know their name, or you've never seen them before at our house, they are a stranger.”

Beyond safety around people, she’s been guiding them through their environments, teaching them to spot exits and think about how to get home. “Everywhere we go, I’m like, ‘How do we get home?’” she said. “Every building we go in, like, ‘How did we get here? How do we get out?’”

Her husband-to-be isn’t always sold on the intensity. Song laughed that Culkin thinks she’s “absolutely crazy about it.”

Still, “Home Alone” remains a family favorite. When Culkin celebrated the film’s 35th anniversary in 2025, he admitted they watch it “often.” Yet the boys haven’t connected that Kevin — the 10-year-old outsmarting Wet Bandits — is their dad. Culkin says he’s happy to keep it that way “as long as possible.”

Dakota, though, is starting to catch on. He once asked Culkin about his siblings, so Culkin pulled out a family photo of all seven. “[He] immediately looks at me and goes, ‘That kid looks like Kevin.’” Culkin didn’t miss a beat and changed the subject.

He also shared that Dakota now believes he was Kevin. “‘Do you remember when you kicked burglars out?’ And he's like, ‘Yep.’ ‘You slide down the stairs?’ ‘I sure do.’ I was like, ‘You liar! That was me.’”

For now, the illusion holds. Kevin McCallister remains a mystery, a teacher, and — at least in one household — a very effective parenting tool.

Brenda Song Says “Home Alone” Has Become a Parenting Hack at Her House

The Guardian

The UK’s film and TV sector just took a long, overdue look in the mirror, and the reflection wasn’t pretty. After more than a third of workers surveyed described their mental health as “poor” or “very poor,” the Film and TV charity has released a new set of principles meant to change how the industry treats the people who keep it running.

The guidance, announced Thursday, is being described as a defining shift in the sector’s duty of care. It’s the product of a collaboration with more than 45 major organisations, from public broadcasters to streamers, studios, production companies and unions. The push comes after the charity’s Looking Glass survey revealed troubling trends: 35 percent of respondents rated their mental health at the lowest levels, 30 percent had experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous year, and nearly two-thirds felt their work harmed their wellbeing. Another 64 percent had considered leaving the industry altogether.

To tackle that, the charity and its partners laid out nine principles that outline what a supportive production environment should look like. They call for a culture that prioritises wellbeing, respectful and inclusive relationships across teams, thoughtful handling of emotionally heavy material, and more sustainable workloads.

Marcus Ryder, chief executive of the Film and TV charity, said the guidance represents “the biggest industry initiative to address mental health in film and television in a generation.” Speaking to the Guardian, he pointed to years of data showing that “mental health outcomes for those working in film and TV are consistently worse than national averages.”

“Since 2019, our research has found significantly higher levels of stress, burnout, loneliness and poor mental wellbeing across the sector,” he said. And it’s not a matter of personal resilience, he added, but “the systemic impact of working conditions, culture across the industry and the capability of the industry as a whole to deal with these issues.”

Ryder said the goal is to treat mental health the same way productions already treat physical safety. That may mean identifying stress risks during planning, preparing for emotionally challenging content or difficult filming environments, and establishing clear processes for reporting bullying or inappropriate behaviour.

The principles are not regulations, but they draw from existing legal obligations and best practices. How they’re implemented will depend on the organisation. “Some partners may encourage adoption; others may embed them more formally into commissioning frameworks or production requirements,” Ryder said.

He noted that while tools already exist – UK health and safety laws, international standards like ISO 45003, and industry groups such as the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority – the sector has lacked a single, unified framework tailored to the realities of production work. “Film and television production environments are unique; they are freelance, fast-moving, and often high-pressure. Generic workplace guidance doesn’t always map neatly on to those realities.”

Sara Putt, Bafta chair and Film and TV charity chair, said concerns about unstable freelance jobs, limited access to training, and tough production conditions come up repeatedly in conversations with talent. These pressures, she said, are contributing to both a talent drain and a workforce struggling to cope.

Kate Phillips, chief content officer at the BBC, called the launch a “potential watershed moment for the UK creative sector’s duty of care to its production community.” She urged the BBC’s teams and outside suppliers to prioritise the principles “so that people working right across the industry can benefit – and so the industry itself can be stronger, healthier, and more sustainable as a result.”

For an industry that often celebrates resilience, the message is shifting: resilience shouldn’t be something workers have to muster on their own.

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