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Flower power and diplomacy: Versailles perfume gardens transport public back in time

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

VERSAILLES, France (AP) — The Versailles flower gardens were once a symbol of the French king’s expeditionary might and helped water-deprived courtiers perfume their skin. Now, they have been reimagined to give today’s public a glimpse — and a sniff — into the gilded palace’s olfactory past.Holding secrets to the original concept of flower power, scents of Bulgarian rose, mint and citrus from hundreds of vividly colored historic blooms unveiled this week waft into the nostrils of paying visitors at the Chateauneuf Orangery of the Grand Trianon, transporting them back in time.“Those discovering the gardens will, from flower to flower, understand what we loved in history,” Versailles Palace president Catherine Pegard said. “Many are the original scents.”The aim of the Perfumer’s Garden is to unlock the mysteries and significance behind the scented flowers of the 17th-century French court — yet also remind us that it was no accident that the Versailles Palace was the very place where t...

In Denmark, potatoes on key bridge cause havoc

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 57-year-old truck driver was detained Thursday after loads of potatoes were found spilled on a key bridge linking two Danish islands, police have said. The driver was held on suspicion of causing reckless endangerment to life. A first spill was reported on the westbound side of the Storebaelt bridge at 6.35 a.m. (0435 GMT), police spokesman Kenneth Taanquist said. The bridge connects the island where the capital, Copenhagen, is located to the rest of Denmark. A similar incident happened on the eastbound side a short time later, Tanquist added. ”It looks weird,” he said. “We are working on two hypotheses: it is either an accident or it is something that has been done deliberately.”Police said the roads had become slippery and urged drivers to drive slowly. According to the Danish Road Directorate, lines of vehicles were reported on either side of the roughly 18-kilometer (11 .2 miles) bridge and tunnel link between the islands of Funen, where Odense...

Know any airplane mechanics? A wave of retirements is leaving some US industries desperate to hire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kwasi Bandoh, a senior recruiter for an airline, stood before a group of aviation mechanic students at their graduation ceremony last month and congratulated them for all having jobs.As some of the students began nudging each other, Bandoh realized that perhaps not every one of them had already been hired. “Who doesn’t have a job?” Bandoh demanded, surveying the 15 graduates before him at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics’ training facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. “Who doesn’t? Because I have a job for you.”The crowd of about 70 friends and relatives, gathered in a hangar where the students had been trained, laughed appreciatively. Fourteen of the 15 graduates did have jobs, and the only one who didn’t had an interview lined up for the next day.As happy as the moment was for the graduates, it epitomized the struggles of recruiters like Bandoh, who are desperately seeking mechanics for the airlines, plane manufacturers and repair shops...

EU data authority warns Frontex of action over migrant interview breaches

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s border and coast guard agency is collecting information from migrants that could end up identifying vulnerable people seeking sanctuary from persecution in their homelands, according to a report by the EU’s data protection supervisor.The agency, Frontex, said Thursday that it conducts “debriefing interviews” with migrants entering Europe without authorization “on a voluntary and anonymous basis.” It said the interviews aim to collect information about migratory routes and cross-border crime and help to plan its operations.But in a report submitted to Frontex last week, the European Data Protection Supervisor, or EDPS, said that some debriefings reveal “a combination of distinguishing features about that individual and their journey that would be sufficient to render those individuals identifiable.”The data protection supervisor said this means the information gathered would amount to “personal data” under EU laws, and it has “serious doubts” abou...

Boots Riley’s provocative and surreal ‘I’m a Virgo’ among June streaming highlights

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Here’s a roundup of standout TV series and films debuting on subscription streaming platforms in June: “I’m a Virgo” Writer-director Boots Riley’s definitive visual style made his 2018 comedy “Sorry to Bother You” a buzzworthy big-screen success and his new TV series promises to push the boundaries of surreal social commentary even further. “I’m a Virgo” follows Cootie, a 13-foot-tall young Black man whose parents sheltered him from the outside world in their Oakland, Calif., home. Confident, curious and born under an astrological sign that craves adventure, Cootie marches into the real world with fresh eyes which almost immediately lead him into trouble. Riley brings an absurdist vantage point to modern America and all its pitfalls, led by a charming performance by Jharrel Jerome, who won an Emmy for Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us.” The giant teen is backed up by a strong supporting cast that includes Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo a...

Investigators say damaged ties caused German derailment that killed 5

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A train derailment a year ago in the German Alps that left five people dead was caused primarily by damaged concrete ties on the track, investigators said Thursday.The double-deck regional train derailed on June 3, 2022, shortly after leaving the Alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for Munich. A 13-year-old boy and four women aged between 30 and 70, including two refugees from Ukraine, were killed. More than 70 people were injured, 16 of them seriously.Germany’s federal agency for rail accident investigations said in a preliminary report Thursday that damage to concrete ties used on the line where the accident happened appears to have led to the structure failing and to supports that attach the rails to the ties breaking away, causing the derailment.The ties already had been identified as a potential factor in the derailment in recent months, leading railway operator Deutsche Bahn to launch a “special inspection program” and replace some ties elsewhere a...

Chile closes state copper smelter that polluted bay for decades

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s state-owned copper mining giant Codelco on Wednesday shut down its Ventanas copper smelter after decades of polluting Quintero Bay with toxic gases and turning it, along with 15 other companies, into what environmentalists called a “sacrifice zone.”Eight years ago, the Chilean government declared that the three municipalities surrounding the bay — Quintero, Puchuncaví, and Concón, located 160 kilometers northwest of the Chilean capital — were saturated with fine particulate matter, inhalation of which is associated with discomfort and respiratory ailments.During a formal ceremony held on Wednesday in Puchuncaví, images of flames from the smelter’s furnace were shown gradually diminishing until they were fully extinguished, marking the closure of the copper smelter 59 years after its founding. A Codelco refinery will continue to operate at the site.The latest mass intoxication by pollution in the region took place only a week ago and affected near...

French Open hopes AI can help tennis players block death threats, other social media hate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Frances Tiafoe says he receives death threats via social media after he loses professional tennis matches. Jessica Pegula says the same. So does Donna Vekic — directed at just her or her family, too.“Everybody gets them after a loss,” said Tiafoe, a 25-year-old from Maryland who was scheduled to play in the French Open’s second round on Thursday and was a semifinalist at last year’s U.S. Open. “It’s just how society is today. I know how that affects people’s mental health. That’s very real.”Sloane Stephens, the 2017 champion at Flushing Meadows and 2018 runner-up at Roland Garros, says she often deals with racist messages directed at her online, and said some prompted the FBI to investigate.“It’s obviously been a problem my entire career. It has never stopped,” said Stephens, who is Black. “If anything, it’s only gotten worse.”In a bid to try to protect athletes from that sort of abuse at Roland Garros during the 15-day Grand Slam tournament that ends June 11, the Frenc...

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative wins Spain’s Princess of Asturias award

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

MADRID (AP) — The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a non-profit that undertakes research and delivers treatment to millions of marginalized patients worldwide, has won Spain’s Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.The Spanish foundation said Thursday the award was given to the medical research organization for its collaborative efforts across international health care systems and the private sector on lifesaving drug research that is largely unprofitable for major pharmaceutical companies.DNDi tackles diseases that proliferate in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America including Dengue fever, malaria, pediatric HIV, hepatitis C, and cryptococcal meningitis. The research group has already saved millions of lives since its foundation in 2003, it says.The DNDi will receive a 50,000-euro prize for the international cooperation award.The eight Princess of Asturias prizes are among the most prestigious in the Spanish-speaking world. The awards cerem...

Turkish election body confirms Erdogan’s victory in runoff vote

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s election board certified the results of the May 28 presidential runoff election on Thursday, confirming that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been a dominant force in Turkish politics for the past two decades, has won a third term as president.Ahmet Yener, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council said Erdogan won 52.18% of the votes, while main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu garnered 47.82%.“According to these results, it is understood that Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been elected president and the results were sent to the Official Gazette for publication,” Yener announced.He said turnout was 85.72%Already Turkey’s longest serving leader, Erdogan, 69, can now govern until 2028. Unconfirmed reports say he is scheduled to take the oath of office on Saturday, after which he is expected to announce the lineup of his new Cabinet.Erdogan faces a host of domestic challenges, from a battered economy to pressure for the repatriation of millions of Syrian...