PRESS EURO FRANCE

Returning home

YUAN Meng, a six-year-old giant panda, the first of his species to ever be born in captivity in France, was emotionally sent on a journey from France to Chengdu in China on Tuesday, July 25. In 2012, his parents, Yuan Zi and Huan Huan were loaned to Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan by the Chinese authorities, the first time such an initiative had occurred.

Singer stable

The Pogues' legendary frontman, Shane MacGowan,65, has been treated in a Dublin hospital since late June for an unknown illness. MacGowan is married to 57-year-old Victoria Mary Clarke, who said: ‘He is still in hospital but he is doing well and being looked after. He is out of the ICU and doing well.’

Unfortunate mix up

A family from Tipperary, Ireland was left traumatised when a repatriation service delivered the body of a Frenchman, instead of their father, 83- year-old Michael Curley died of a heart attack while holidaying in Lanzarote. The Spanish-based funeral service and an English-based repatriation service recognised the error and quickly rectified it, enabling the late Mr Curley’s funeral to go ahead as planned.

Sentiment index rise

According to a recent survey by the GfK Institute, the way people feel about their financial situation and the economy is improving. They believe that inflation of the rising cost of goods and services will go down soon. This positive outlook on income helped the consumer sentiment index to rise to24.4.

Far-right fortress

The German far-right party, AfD, elected Maximilian Krah as its lead candidate for the European Parliament election. They aim to challenge the EU from within and create a strong anti-migrant stance, rejecting alliances with less radical right-wing parties. Krah received over 65% of the delegates' votes and expressed the party's increasing popularity.

Germany Belgium

Tomorrow today

THE Tomorrowland festival, staged annually in the Belgian town of Boom near Antwerp, is one of the world’s most popular and spectacular live events for fans of electronic dance music. Working with sponsor BMW, Tomorrowland is this year giving music lovers the chance to generate their own dance hits with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

Forest deadline

The Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir had promised over 4,000 extra hectares of forest would be planted in Flanders by the end of 2024, although with just a year until the deadline not even a third (1,127 hectares) has been planted. The Flemish Green Party has stressed that the current efforts are not enough.

Cyber Attack

NORWAY’S government faced a significant cyber-attack on 12 ministries, raising concerns about national cybersecurity. The attack exploited a software vulnerability from a supplier, and its origin and perpetrators remain unknown. The incident highlights the need for robust cybersecurity protocols across all government entities.

Cycling Mayor

NORWEGIAN city mayor, Jonas Andersen Sayed, cycled from Sokndal to Zaliztsi in Ukraine, raising approximately US$14,500 for the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The money funded the purchase of drones, computer equipment, tablets, a thermal imager, and a power generator. This was Andersen's fourth bike trip to Ukraine since the invasion, supporting the military.

Norway Finland

Slimming swim

54-year-old Patrik Kvikant raised €10,000 after a mammoth charity swim from Estonia, across the Gulf of Finland before he arrived nearly three days later on the shore of Helsinki According to Kvikant, he burned as many calories during the three-day swim as an adult male does over two weeks.

Happiest country

For years now Finland has been named as the world’s happiest country. According to a psychology expert, it can be summed up in one sentence: ‘Make yourself meaningful to others.’ Here are Finland’s five pillars of meaningful living. Follow your heart’s desire, share your knowledge, perform random acts of kindness, be a good neighbour and stay close to your loved ones.

Junior approval

INNOVATIVE drugs used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis have been approved for use in children between 6 and 11 years old in Portugal. Infarmed extended the use of Kaftrio and Kalydeco for treatment in the National Health Service, as confirmed by the Medicines and Health Products Authority. Previously, their use was authorised only for the treatment of those aged 12 years or older.

Fishy fears

MORE than half of the freshwater fish species in Portugal's rivers are threatened with extinction. This information was revealed in the 'Red Book of Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes' which stated that six of them were critically endangered. The study looked at 43 species of fish, and confirmed the extinction of the sturgeon in Portugal.