From a scientist's laptop to the syringe used to inject the UK's first Covid vaccine dose, an exhibition that opened Wednesday in London recounts the quest to produce a coronavirus jab through objects.. The museum began collecting objects related to Covid in February 2020 as "objects associated with epidemics and pandemics are largely missing from historic collections", said Emmens.
The traditional knowledge held by Cuba's light rum masters was on Wednesday added to UNESCO's list of intangible heritage, a prestigious designation that recognizes a tradition dating back eight generations on the island.. Cuba already has several traditions listed as intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO. The "tumba francesa" (French drum), songs and dances accompanied by percussion that arrived in Cuba with the French colonists and their Haitian slaves in the late 18th century, was recognized in 2008.
It is as much a part of French culture as the Eiffel Tower or Edith Piaf but the origins of the humble baguette, which UNESCO on Wednesday added to its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, remain a mystery.. Standardised at 80 centimeters (30 inches) and 250 grams (eight ounces) with a fixed price until 1986, the baguette was initially the mainstay of wealthy metropolitans, but after World War II became the emblem of all French people. rap-eab-cb/jmm
The French baguette -- "250 grams of magic and perfection," in the words of President Emmanuel Macron, and one of the abiding symbols of the nation -- was given UNESCO heritage status on Wednesday.. More than six billion are baked every year in France, according to the National Federation of French Bakeries -- but the UNESCO status comes at a challenging time for the industry.
Britain's government on Wednesday rejected union pay demands after ambulance workers joined nurses in voting to go on strike.. The strike will affect London and four other regions of England as the ambulance service joins nurses across most of Britain in striking over government pay offers, which fall well short of double-digit inflation.
Experts hailed full data Wednesday showing a new drug can slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients, but warned improvements were comparatively small and the treatment can have serious side effects.. Preliminary data from a trial of lecanemab was released in September and found it slowed cognitive decline by 27 percent across an 18-month period.
In Belgium's port city of Antwerp, residents live in fear of eruptions of violence between the gangs that control Europe's vast cocaine trade.. The city is the main port of entry into Europe for Latin American cocaine, a business controlled by transnational cartels with an increasing reputation for the most extreme violence.
From torture and murder in the Netherlands and Serbia to an unprecedented web of corruption in Belgium, the Sky ECC investigation has shone a light into some of Europe's darkest corners.. After English, the most common language used on Sky ECC was Albanian, investigators found.
With rainbow flags and "OneLove" armbands, World Cup fans have protested against host Qatar's anti-LGBTQ policies, but many queer Arabs fear a Western solidarity push could do more harm than good.. Alhussein, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said growing Western criticism of anti-LGBTQ policies in the region "has failed to produce change, and is unlikely to do so at least for the short term".
Twitter said it has stopped enforcing a policy intended to prevent the spread of Covid misinformation, as new owner Elon Musk -- who has clashed previously with US officials over pandemic safety rules -- continues to remake its content moderation policies.. During the pandemic, Twitter took to labeling misleading tweets about Covid and booting users who persisted in spreading such misinformation.
