Category: Extraordinary

Covering Gorbachev: AP remembers his wit, wisdom, warmth

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Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev toasts with a small glass of lemon-flavored vodka at a going-away party for his staff on Dec. 26, 1991, the day after his nationally televised address in which he announced his resignation as president, in Moscow. Associated Press correspondent Brian Friedman is back right of Gorbachev. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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When news hit that Mikhail Gorbachev had died at age 91, Associated Press journalists around the world began sharing their “Gorby” stories from covering the last Soviet leader or interviewing him in Russia or abroad in the three decades that followed. They remember his temper and sense of humor, his sharp intellect even in his later years, when he was willing to talk at length about his hopes and his regrets.

That is if you could follow his long, rambling sentences in his southern Russian accent and his annoying tendency to refer to himself in the third person. For some of them, though, it was the warmth of an aging Gorbachev that they remember. The shared tea, the arm around the shoulder. Gorbachev was a man who changed the world, and the AP was there.

Gorbachev came to power in 1985 with no less of a goal than to transform the Soviet Union and the lives of his fellow citizens, many still desperately poor. The obstacles he faced were monumental. Continue reading

Italy’s Lake Garda shrinks to near-historic low amid drought

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A view of the peninsula of Sirmione, on Garda lake, Italy, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. Lake Garda water level has dropped critically following severe drought resulting in rocks to emerge around the Sirmione Peninsula. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

By ANDREA ROSA and LUIGI NAVARRA Associated Press

SIRMIONE Italy (AP) — Italy’s worst drought in decades has reduced Lake Garda, the country’s largest lake, to near its lowest level ever recorded, exposing swaths of previously underwater rocks and warming the water to temperatures that approach the average in the Caribbean Sea.

Tourists flocking to the popular northern lake Friday for the start of Italy’s key summer long weekend found a vastly different landscape than in past years. An expansive stretch of bleached rock extended far from the normal shoreline, ringing the southern Sirmione Peninsula with a yellow halo between the green hues of the water and the trees on the shore.

“We came last year, we liked it, and we came back this year,” tourist Beatrice Masi said as she sat on the rocks. “We found the landscape had changed a lot. We were a bit shocked when we arrived because we had our usual walk around, and the water wasn’t there.” Continue reading

Cold showers, no lights: Europe saves as Russian gas wanes

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Hadj Benhalima from the the collective “On the Spot” jumps to turn off lights during a night of action where they will extinguish the lights on dozens of storefronts in Paris, Friday, July 29, 2022. The collective had been acting against wasteful businesses in Paris long before Russia started cutting energy supplies to Europe in a battle of wills over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. As such, the campaigners were precursors of the energy economy drive becoming all the rage in France, Germany and elsewhere. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

By JOHN LEICESTER and NICOLAS GARRIGA Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Fanning out like urban guerrillas through Paris’ darkened streets well after midnight, the anti-waste activists shinny up walls and drain pipes, reaching for switches to turn off the lights.

Click. Click. Click.

One by one, the outdoor lights that stores had left on are extinguished. It’s one small but symbolic step in a giant leap of energy saving that Europe is trying to make as it rushes to wean itself off natural gas and oil from Russia so factories aren’t forced to close and homes stay heated and powered. Continue reading

Why Louvre’s Mona Lisa keeps a smile: Paris’ cooling system

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A worker inspects machines at part of Fraicheur de Paris’ underground cooling system, in Paris, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. The system, which uses electricity generated by renewable sources, is the largest in Europe and goes unnoticed above ground. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

By THOMAS ADAMSON and NICO GARRIGA Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The Mona Lisa may maintain her famously enigmatic smile because she benefits from one of Paris’ best-kept secrets: An underground cooling system that’s helped the Louvre cope with the sweltering heat that has broken temperature records across Europe.

The little-known “urban cold” network snakes unsuspecting beneath Parisians’ feet at a depth of up to 30 meters (98 feet), pumping out icy water through 89 kilometers (55 miles) of labyrinthine pipes, which is used to chill the air in over 700 sites. The system, which uses electricity generated by renewable sources, is the largest in Europe — and chugs on around the clock with a deafening noise totally inaudible above ground.

Paris City Hall has now signed an ambitious contract to triple the size of the network by 2042 to 252 kilometers (157 miles). It would make it the largest urban cooling system in the world. The new contract intends to help the city to both adapt to and combat the threat of global warming. Many parts of Europe hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in July. Continue reading

Greece gets European assistance for summer wildfire season

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Romanian firefighters stand in front of fire engines during a ceremony, in Athens, on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Twenty eight Romanian firefighters, the first of more than 200 firefighters from other European countries that will help their Greek colleagues in fighting wildfires, were welcomed by Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides and the leadership of Greece’s Fire Service. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

By DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece is receiving European assistance for the summer wildfire season, with the first group of firefighters arriving in Athens.

The 28 Romanian firefighters were welcomed Saturday by Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Christos Stylianides and the leadership of Greece’s Fire Service. A total of more than 200 firefighters from six European countries will eventually be deployed to Greece.

“Romania is happy to join the pre-positioning program with a specialized firefighting force,” Romanian team leader Col. Alexandru-Adrian Csilik said. “We have a previous experience here in Greece.”

The Romanians, along with other countries, including Russia and Turkey, helped Greece fight widespread wildfires in August 2021, which broke out across the country and devastated the northern part of Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, as well as the southern Peloponnese peninsula. Continue reading

Russian journalist sells Nobel Prize for Ukrainian children

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(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — What’s the price of peace?

That question could be partially answered Monday night when Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov auctions off his Nobel Peace Prize medal. The proceeds will go directly to UNICEF in its efforts to help children displaced by the war in Ukraine.

Muratov, awarded the gold medal in October 2021, helped found the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and was the publication’s editor-in-chief when it shut down in March amid the Kremlin’s clampdown on journalists and public dissent in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading

Will money-back guarantee win over wealthy donors?

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(Hailey Tucker/One Acre Fund via AP)

By DREW LINDSAY of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy

A glossy book is arriving at the homes and offices of America’s wealthiest individuals. Inside is a charity pitch that aims to raise as much as $6 billion for nonprofits fighting global poverty.

The proposition? Donate and get results — or your money back.

The advocacy group Global Citizen and the finance firm NPX are engineering this campaign. It targets Forbes 400 billionaires, Giving Pledge members, and the wealthy generally — a group increasingly criticized for what is seen as tight purse strings. The drive launched recently with dinners, meetings, and a Wall Street Journal ad that asked: “Will you donate … if we achieve results?” Continue reading

BTS visits White House to discuss combating hate crime surge

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(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — K-Pop sensation BTS visited the White House on Tuesday to talk with President Joe Biden about combating the rise in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans — bringing superstar sizzle to an otherwise sad and scary topic.

Band members J-Hope, RM, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin joined White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at her briefing with reporters on the final day of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Jimin said the band had been “devastated by the recent surge” of crime and intolerance against Asian Americans that has persisted since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s not wrong to be different,” Suga said through an interpreter. “Equality begins when we open up and embrace all of our differences.” V said that “everyone has their own history.” Continue reading

Portable Device Creates Drinkable Ocean Water in Minutes

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By Dane Dickerson

A crack team of research engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) develops a user-friendly and portable unit that removes salt and other particles from ocean water in a flash. It is roughly the size of a suitcase and incredibly easy to use.

The portable desalinization unit was born in MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics (RLE), the birthplace of Ion Concentration Polarization (ICP) which is the filtration process behind its compact design.

For over a decade, a team of five, including senior author Jongyoon Han, sculpted a revolutionary desalination device into existence. It is primarily envisioned to help communities without clean drinking water create their own, among other applications. Continue reading

G7 countries to provide $19.8 billion in aid to Ukraine

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(Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany (AP) — The Group of Seven leading economies agreed Friday to provide $19.8 billion in economic aid to Ukraine to help keep tight finances from hindering its ability to defend itself from Russia’s invasion.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner told reporters that $9.5 billion of the total amount was mobilized at meetings of the G-7 finance ministers in Koenigswinter, Germany, this week.

“We agreed that Ukraine’s financial situation must have no influence on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself successfully,” he said. “We need to do our utmost to end this war.”

The money is intended to help the Ukrainian government keep basic services for its people functioning, and is separate from efforts to provide the country with weapons and humanitarian aid.

The needs are vast. Continue reading