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

In a mirrored basement studio in Kharkiv, just 32 kilometers from the Russian border, seven women in their 50s and 60s are practicing jumping splits. They shake silver pompoms to Tom Jones’ “She’s A Lady,” wearing matching Ukraine T-shirts, smiling as if the ground above them isn’t routinely shaken by airstrikes.

They call themselves Sunrise, a competitive cheer squad created not for trophies, but for survival.

“We train no matter what,” says captain Iryna Nesterenko. “When it’s dark, and we’re walking through the street while everything is burning. When there’s no light. I tell my girls: ‘We are the light.’”

The name itself is a reclamation. “We used to be fearful of the sunrise,” Nesterenko says. The full-scale invasion began at dawn, and their city was often bombed at daybreak. She wanted the team to turn that fear into something joyful.

Ukraine has embraced cheerleading since the early 2000s, says Andriy Bolyak, president of the country’s Cheerleading and Cheer Sport Federation. Many teams fled after the 2022 invasion. Today, numbers have rebounded, with new squads forming — including teams made entirely of women over 50. Sunrise, and another team called Nice Ladies, both come from Kharkiv, one of Ukraine’s most heavily targeted cities.

For every Sunrise member, the war left deep emotional marks.

Nesterenko, 63, used to be a competitive gymnast. Her home was bombed in February 2022. “We hid in the basement for five days,” she says. “Then our food ran out, our cat food ran out, everything ran out.” She and her husband fled west with their cats, returning only after Ukrainian troops forced Russian soldiers from the region months later.

Her friend and teammate, chemistry teacher Inna Skryl, says nightly strikes pushed her into depression. “We were bombed every night at the same time,” she says. “We huddled in the hallways.”

The stress was constant. There was no “after,” just the endless now. “You think, tomorrow the war will be over, or in a month, or soon,” Nesterenko says. “But no no no, we are living with this war. So we decided to stop waiting and start living.”

In 2024, Nesterenko brought pompoms to an aerobics class she taught. The moment the group moved in sync, something clicked. “We moved as one, like a united Ukraine, everything synchronized,” she says. “And suddenly cheerleading was the only choice.”

The women renamed themselves Best Friends before finally settling on Sunrise. The emotional lift was immediate.

Economist Halyna Plakhuta, 63, had spent the war as a full-time caretaker and felt physically weakened. She told Nesterenko she had bad knees and a bad arm — hardly cheerleader material. Now she jumps high enough to impress her granddaughter, who made lucky charms for the team’s competitions.

Another teammate, 59-year-old accountant Natalia Pivovarova, cared for her bedridden mother as explosions shattered their windows. Cheerleading, she says, has been her therapy. “My friends abroad call me, saying they’re depressed. And I say, come to Kharkiv. We will heal you.”

The team includes a doctor, an accountant, a beautician who designs their costumes, and a handful of women who admit they never imagined cheerleading in their 60s.

At rehearsals, they dance to ABBA. Nesterenko beams as she leads them. “We are living our best life,” she says. “We may train underground, we may huddle in shelters from bombs, but no matter what, this is going to be our best life.”

Weeks later, they travel to Kyiv for a national competition. Sunrise is the only team in the over-25 age category — a detail they treat as a punchline, not a problem. They arrive in navy leotards dusted with glitter, ready to perform in an arena packed with teenagers and children who cheer them on as if they’re rock stars.

“We always compete to win,” Nesterenko says. “But really, we have already won.”

She isn’t talking about medals. She means the victory of finding joy in a place that tries daily to steal it.

“Look around,” she says. “Listen to all that joy.”

And when Sunrise runs to center stage, the room roars — a reminder that resilience, like cheerleading, is something you can practice until it shines.

Ukrainian Women Over 50 Are Finding Hope and Healing in Cheerleading Amid War's Shadows

Gizmodo

If medical breakthroughs had a “leap of faith” category, this one would be near the top. Scientists have now shown that stem cells can be delivered safely to a fetus still in the womb — and early signs suggest the treatment might help children born with spina bifida live healthier lives.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis conducted the world’s first in-utero stem cell trial for spina bifida, pairing the therapy with prenatal surgery. Six pregnant women took part between 2021 and 2022, each carrying a fetus diagnosed with the condition.

“Putting stem cells into a growing fetus was a total unknown. We are excited to report great safety,” said lead author Diane Farmer, chair of the UC Davis Department of Surgery.

Spina bifida happens when the spine and spinal cord fail to close properly during early development. Even with standard prenatal repair surgery, many children grow up facing serious challenges, from mobility issues to bladder and cognitive complications. Researchers have long wondered whether stem cells — prized for their ability to promote healing — could improve those outcomes.

This trial, called CuRe, offered the first real test. During prenatal surgery, doctors placed a stem-cell patch derived from donor placentas directly onto the exposed spinal tissue before closing the fetal wound.

Phase I trials focus on safety, and this one delivered. There were no signs of tumor formation or other complications tied to the stem cells. Every surgery went smoothly, and all fetal wounds healed fully. The babies were born without infections and showed promising early results. MRI scans revealed that each newborn experienced a reversal of hindbrain herniation, a key indicator that the repair worked. None required a shunt for hydrocephalus before leaving the hospital, another common complication.

The study, published Friday in the Lancet, stops short of declaring long-term success. Researchers will follow the six children as they grow, tracking mobility, independence and neurological outcomes. Still, the early data has generated cautious optimism.

“It paves the way for new treatment options for children with birth defects. The future is exciting for cell and gene therapy before birth,” Farmer said.

That future is already taking shape. UC Davis has begun enrolling participants for a larger Phase I/IIa trial involving 35 children. If results continue to look promising, fetal stem cell therapy could become a major new tool in treating spina bifida — and potentially other conditions that begin before birth.

First-Ever Fetal Stem Cell Trial Offers New Hope for Babies With Spina Bifida

The Guardian

On the edge of a yawning 4-kilometre chasm in the Sicilian town of Niscemi, a library now hangs partly in mid-air — the aftermath of a January landslide that sheared away an entire slope and forced more than 1,600 residents to evacuate. With the building perched so precariously that a section appears suspended above the void, firefighters had to improvise a rescue that felt closer to a movie script than a municipal operation.

Their mission: save about 400 rare books before the structure gives way.

The team began on Monday, after studying floor plans and interior photos to pinpoint exactly where the most valuable shelves stood. Firefighters then drilled through the wall of a building behind the library, entering for only minutes at a time. Once inside, they strapped bookcases together and hauled them backward to reach the volumes. Among the collection are roughly 4,000 works of literature, history and general nonfiction, including editions on Sicilian history published before 1830. One of the most precious pieces is a volume from the 16th century.

“It was like pulling off a bank heist,” said Salvatore Cantale, the provincial fire brigade commander in Caltanissetta. “We had to be quick and try to take away as much as we could.”

Speed wasn’t the only concern. A drone streamed live images overhead, while laser sensors fixed to the section of the building hanging over the drop could detect even slight movement. Another device tracked vibrations and changes in the building’s tilt. The goal was simple: get the books out before the library moved — or fell.

The landslide, which began on 25 January, ripped open asphalt, cracked buildings and swallowed part of a road lined with parked cars. Several structures later collapsed into the void. Geologists working alongside firefighters believe the landslide’s front will retreat another 10 to 15 metres, likely pulling down more buildings, including the library itself.

The basement still holds many of the remaining volumes, but that area is considered the highest risk. Officials are discussing the use of robots to retrieve them, though none are currently available in Niscemi. “If we can find the robot, we’ll use it immediately,” Cantale said. “Otherwise, we’ll have to wait.” He added that because the library is effectively a single reinforced-concrete block, if it collapses, it will fall as one. In an odd twist, that might make recovery of the remaining books easier once the building has slid downhill.

Some of Italy’s most celebrated writers publicly urged authorities to recover the collection, which sits inside what officials call the “black zone.” Stefania Auci, author of The Florios of Sicily, told Adnkronos: “I don’t know whether our appeal truly helped ensure that some of those ancient volumes were saved, but I like to think it played at least a small part.”

For now, the rescued books are safe — a small victory pulled from the edge of a cliff.

Firefighters Pull Off ‘Bank Heist’-Style Rescue to Save Rare Books From Collapsing Sicilian Library

BBC News

Most 13-year-olds spend their free time glued to a controller. Ryan, from Solihull, spends his crushing cans — literally — and turning them into thousands of pounds for local charities.

His idea grew into We Can CIC, a community interest company with an ambitious goal: collect 20,000 aluminium cans every seven days. Residents bag them up, local businesses pitch in, and Ryan’s family drives around picking them up before crushing them at home. His dad John estimates the work takes “up to 20 hours a week,” on top of storing and hauling everything to scrapyards.

The money, after costs, goes straight to food banks. “We’re happy to grow the charity,” John said. “It all goes for a good cause.”

The timing couldn’t be better for Birmingham, which hasn’t had regular recycling collections for more than a year due to a bin workers’ strike. The family says their operation helps fill the gap, and they’re happy to collect cans from households who want to contribute.

Ryan said local businesses “give us all of these bags of cans,” and while he admits he’d “rather be playing video games,” the bigger picture wins out. “When I think about it, I just love what I do because I get to help people in need, families, by giving back.”

The scale of the operation is striking. The family processes about a tonne of cans a month, and community support keeps growing. John said recycling is increasingly important to people, and that enthusiasm has helped the project thrive.

So far, around £5,000 in cash and food is donated to charities each year, including Anawim, a women’s support hub in Birmingham. And the partnership goes both ways. Angela — known as Miss P — volunteers by gathering cans five days a week with a litter picker and bin bags. “It is satisfying for me and to all the ladies, them that benefit from it,” she said.

Megan Heath from Anawim said the impact is felt every day. “It keeps our food bank very well stocked. It keeps our champions busy and gives them purpose in their days that they might not otherwise have.”

What began as a teenage idea has become a small but mighty recycling network: lighter on waste, heavier on community spirit, and run by a kid who says helping people matters more than screen time.

Teen Turns Cans Into Cash for Charity, Donates Thousands While Tackling Recycling Woes

Alexandra Szilvasi set out for a quiet Monday with her puppy, Snickers. A change of scenery, a pub lunch, maybe a long walk along the River Trent. Instead, the day ended with a rescue, a near miss, and a search for the stranger who pulled her from the water.

The 36-year-old had taken her 10-month-old spaniel mix to Gunthorpe, Nottinghamshire, for only the second time. After about 40 minutes of walking, she started kicking a ball for Snickers to chase. One bounce off a rock sent the ball straight into the river. Snickers didn’t hesitate. “She saw it and just did a big belly jump into the water,” Szilvasi said.

The puppy managed a couple of metres before the current grew too strong. That was the moment Szilvasi’s instincts took over. “My mind went blank and I just ran in,” she said. The problem: she can’t swim.

She climbed down a ladder on the water’s edge and leaned out as far as she could, hooking her feet around the bottom rung to steady herself. “Just as the current started to take Snickers, she started swimming again, enough so I could grab her and bring her to the ladder with me.” The water was freezing, and once she had the dog, she realised she couldn’t climb back up while holding her.

They were stuck there for nearly five minutes. That’s when a man who’d been fishing farther down the bank appeared. Szilvasi passed Snickers up to him and then climbed out herself. She was shaking and in shock. “I don't know if we would still be here if it wasn't for the man,” she said.

He told her they were “very lucky” and explained he wasn’t from Gunthorpe at all, but Beeston, about 24 kilometres away. Then he left quickly before she could catch his name.

Now Szilvasi hopes he’ll see her message somehow. “We just really want to say thank you and take him out for a pint – or whatever he wants,” she said.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service praised the bystander’s quick action but used the moment to offer a reminder. It “commends the bystander for their bravery, which contributed to saving a life,” a spokesperson said, but also “strongly advises members of the public never to enter the water to rescue people or pets.” In any emergency, they said, call 999 and ask for fire and rescue.

Szilvasi understands the warning. But in the moment, logic didn’t stand a chance. “I just had to go in, she's my dog,” she said. Snickers, she added, is part springer spaniel, part cocker spaniel, and completely adored. “I always wanted a dog, because they are great for your heart, great for everything. The house would be empty without her.”

She still hopes the man who helped them will come forward. Until then, she and Snickers are staying on dry land.

This Woman Rescued From a River Hopes to One Day Thank Her Mystery Hero — With a Pint

It’s not often that a nutrition study makes researchers stop and say, now that’s interesting. But a new analysis of more than 1.8 million people has done exactly that, showing that vegetarians face meaningfully lower risks for several major cancers compared with meat eaters.

Published in the British Journal of Cancer, the work found reduced risk across five cancer types. Vegetarians had a 21 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer, 12 percent lower risk of prostate cancer, and 9 percent lower risk of breast cancer. Those three alone account for roughly one in five cancer deaths in the UK.

The drops didn’t stop there. Vegetarians also had a 28 percent lower risk of kidney cancer and a 31 percent lower risk of multiple myeloma. Dr Aurora Pérez-Cornago, the study’s principal investigator, called the findings “really good news for those who follow a vegetarian diet.”

Researchers pulled data from several long-running health studies worldwide, giving them a rare sample size large enough to study not just common cancers, but the rarer ones too. In total, the analysis covered about 1.64 million meat eaters, 57,016 poultry eaters, 42,910 pescatarians, 63,147 vegetarians, and 8,849 vegans, tracked for an average of 16 years. Key factors like smoking and body mass index were accounted for.

But the picture wasn’t uniformly protective. Vegetarians had nearly double the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus compared with meat eaters, something the researchers suggest may be tied to nutrient gaps, including B vitamins. Vegans, meanwhile, had a 40 percent higher risk of bowel cancer, which may reflect low average calcium intake and other dietary deficiencies. Their typical calcium intake in the study, 590 mg per day, fell below the UK’s 700 mg recommendation.

The team is cautious about drawing firm conclusions on what drives the differences. Prof Tim Key, a co-investigator, said it isn’t yet clear whether risks stem from meat itself or from something specifically protective in vegetarian diets. “My feeling is the difference is more likely to be due to the meat itself, but that’s an opinion that we haven’t looked at directly,” he said.

One notable wrinkle: vegetarians in this study didn’t show a lower risk of bowel cancer. Key said that finding aligns with previous research, given that red and processed meat intake in this cohort was relatively low. “It could be that if we had had more people with very high intakes of meat in the meat-eating group, the results could have been different,” he added.

The study also found benefits in other diet groups. Pescatarians had lower risks of breast, kidney and bowel cancers. Poultry eaters saw a lower risk of prostate cancer.

The researchers point out that diets have changed since many participants entered the studies in the 1990s and 2000s. Ultra-processed foods are more common, and vegan products today are often fortified with nutrients like calcium, which could shift future results. Prof Jules Griffin of the University of Aberdeen, who wasn’t involved in the study, praised the scale of the work but noted one gap: there was no comparison group eating the NHS Eatwell diet, which emphasises moderation in meat and fish and could represent a strong benchmark for reducing cancer risk.

For now, the study offers a clearer map of how diet and cancer risk intersect across millions of lives — and where researchers still need answers.

Massive Study Finds Vegetarians Have Lower Risk for Several Major Cancers

France24

Jim Carrey has spent decades surprising audiences, so it feels fitting that France’s biggest film awards handed him a moment to surprise them right back. At the César Awards on Thursday, the 64-year-old Canadian-American actor accepted a lifetime honour and did it entirely in French — with a punchline ready. “How was my French? Almost mediocre, right?” he joked, adding that his French roots go back “around 300 years ago.”

The ceremony opened with a tribute sketch from presenter Benjamin Lavernhe, who slipped into Carrey’s signature green-faced swagger from The Mask, one of the films that made Carrey a global star in the 1990s. The crowd didn’t need reminding, but the moment landed anyway. Carrey’s career, after all, started on stand-up stages before exploding into cult comedies like Dumb and Dumber, The Mask and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Then came the turn no one entirely expected. Carrey pushed into drama, earning a Golden Globe for 1998’s The Truman Show, playing an ordinary man slowly realising his life is a TV production. He earned more critical praise in 2004 for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring opposite Kate Winslet as a heartbroken man choosing to erase his memories.

He later found mainstream success again in franchises like Sonic, before stepping back from Hollywood in the early 2020s. The César d’honneur acknowledges that entire arc, from elastic-faced comedy to soulful character work.

The night also spotlighted American director Richard Linklater, who won best director for Nouvelle Vague, his 2025 black-and-white film about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless. The win added another international nod to the filmmaker behind Boyhood and the Before trilogy.

For Carrey, the honour marked a rare public appearance after years out of the spotlight. For the crowd, it was a reminder that the performer whose career spanned slapstick, surrealism and quiet melancholy still knows exactly how to make an entrance — in any language.

Comedy Legend Jim Carrey Receives Lifetime Honour At France’s 2026 Cesar Awards

It started the way these stories always seem to. A tired parent, a rushed airport connection, and a binder that somehow didn’t make it home. But for a seven-year-old named Reid, losing his Pokémon cards at Denver International Airport ended up triggering a wave of generosity so big it reached across continents.

His dad, Graham, posted about the missing binder on Reddit, hoping someone might have spotted it. Airport staff even searched the terminal. Nothing. The family assumed the cards were gone for good. His wife filed a lost item report anyway, more out of hope than expectation.

What the family didn’t know was that United Airlines’ social media team had seen the Reddit post and connected it to the missing-item ticket. From there, they did something unexpected. They asked employees if anyone wanted to donate cards to help rebuild Reid’s collection. According to Graham, “They've put two and two together, asked if they could do something, if they could ask some employees if they'd like to replace this kid's collection... and apparently it just detonated.”

United initially estimated they’d gather about 2,000 cards. Even that number felt enormous. But when the family returned to the Denver airport on January 19 for what they thought would be a small handoff, employees had something else waiting. More than 15,000 cards had been flown in from as far as Hawaii and Ireland, boxed up and weighing around 40 kilograms.

Jonna McGrath, vice president of United’s Denver hub, said the request rippled through the airline. “We were able to gather more than 15,000 Pokémon cards from employees as far away as Hawaii and Ireland to help him start a new collection,” she wrote. She added that once employees heard Reid’s story, “they immediately jumped to action.”

Graham said Reid was stunned into silence when he saw the mountain of cards, and both parents teared up. And while the sheer volume thrilled Reid, Graham said the joy wasn’t only in the cards. It was in the notes. “Those letters... are like the coolest part, right? Because that's not just a physical gift, but it's the thinking behind it.”

Many employees included messages about their own childhood love for Pokémon. Some sent cards in hard plastic cases, the kind reserved for personal favourites. “This isn't just people refilling the volume of cards,” Graham said. “It was like, ‘this guy was my favorite, or this was my favorite card when I was a kid, and I want you to have it now.’”

Since then, Reid has been sharing the kindness. He hosted a trading party for his class, giving each student a bag of 60 cards. The family plans to donate more. “We still have 14,000 cards,” Graham laughed. “My son has to learn the value of having received such generosity... and the role he needs to play as the giver.”

For now, the collection lives in their living room, where Reid slowly works through the stacks. “This volume means he always has something new to explore,” Graham said. Even the rare cards, the ones collectors would guard, now sit in the hands of a kid who just loves the game.

Graham isn’t a Pokémon expert, but he’s seen enough to understand why strangers rushed to help. “There are a lot of adults who were very interested in it, and it's cool that they see themselves in this 7-year-old who has this passion, and they don't want his soul to be crushed or his passion to go away because he lost these cards,” he said.

How a Lost Binder Turned Into 15,000 Pokémon Cards for One Very Lucky Kid

Upworthy

The internet’s favorite monkey, Punch, continues to star in rain or shine for visitors at Ichikawa Zoo in Japan.

Video posted on a rainy February 25 shows Punch taking his cue from an older monkey as they shelter from the downpour. “So cute!” the recorder wrote on X.

Punch won hearts around the world after videos showed him cuddling a stuffed toy after he was abandoned at birth.

Despite difficulties, including receiving a beating from one of his zoo-mates, Punch has begun settling in and making friends, the zoo said.

📸 @tate_gf via Storyful

'So Cute!': Viral Punch Mimics Older Monkey During Rain Shower

People

If you think your joints creak in the morning, meet Fancy, a Virginia mare who just trotted past nearly four decades and straight into history.

The 37-year-old brown mare has been officially crowned the oldest living horse by Guinness World Records, a title confirmed when she reached 37 years and 329 days. Born on April 1, 1988, Fancy now spends her days in Aldie, Va., doing what most retirees dream of: slow strolls, good meals, and time with her best friend. In this case, that best friend happens to be a donkey.

Her owner, Paige Sigmon Blumer, first crossed paths with the American Quarter Horse in the late 1990s at a training facility, back when Fancy went by a very different name: Josey Wales.

"I met Fancy and was immediately drawn to her strength," Blumer told Guinness World Records. "She also had such a loving presence. I just always trusted her to take care of me, no matter the situation. Her loyalty never wavers."

The bond formed fast. By June 2000, Blumer was eight years old and Fancy was twelve when her parents made the purchase official. The name didn’t last long. “I told my parents she was ‘way too fancy to have such an ugly name,’” she recalled. And just like that, Fancy became Fancy.

She has since outlived the typical lifespan of her breed, which usually tops out between 25 and 35 years. Blumer says there’s nothing mystical at play — just steady care, a team of attentive veterinarians, and a whole lot of love. “Any horse needs a steady and loving home, a talented farrier, a knowledgeable team of veterinarians, a consistent diet and good company,” she said.

That “good company” includes Rosie, Fancy’s seeing-eye donkey. As Fancy’s eyesight has weakened with age, Rosie has stepped in like an old friend who won’t let you miss a step. “Fancy and Rosie took to each other like two old peas in a pod,” Blumer joked, adding that she imagines the pair spending afternoons reminiscing about “the good old days.”

Fancy’s later years haven’t been without challenges. She manages Cushing’s disease, a condition that causes the body to overproduce cortisol and requires careful nutrition and medical oversight. Still, she sticks to her routine of twice-daily “granny walks” around the farm, proving that old age can come with a gentle rhythm instead of a full stop.

Those quiet moments seem to mean as much to Blumer as they do to her mare. "For anyone who puts their love, time, energy, and pocketbook into a horse — it is such an honour to see them grow old," she shared. "For me, Fancy has taught me way more later in life than she ever did when we were riding and competing."

With her Guinness title secured and her 38th birthday just around the corner on April 1, Fancy is settling comfortably into her well-earned spotlight. A long life, a loyal friend, and a donkey sidekick — not a bad way to grow old.

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