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Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic

Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic
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Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic

Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic

The first film about confinement amid the pandemic is being written, and many other similar productions are expected to follow. The brain behind the idea is the French producer and actor Dany Boon known for his popular high-grossing movies. In an interview with the RTL television, he announced he is currently writing a movie about a residential building whose inhabitants are confined in order to avoid the Covid-19 infection.

Boon, 53, who was born to an Algerian father, is one of the most popular actors in France. In 2008, he starred and directed a movie named "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" (Welcome to the Sticks), which was seen by 20.5 million people, hitting an unprecedented number of views in the history of French cinema.

During the interview, Boon said the confinement weeks inspired him to make a new movie, and that he and his wife Laurence Arné are currently working on the script. They are taking advantage of their free time to create a fruitful work, he explained. The French director said he was surprised he managed to accept isolation and adapt to it in an unexpected way especially that his life was all about travel, work, festivals, and big events. Earlier this year, right before the coronavirus outbreak, he partook in the "Festival du film de comédie de l'Alpe d'Huez 2020", during which he introduced his latest movie "Le Lion" (The Lion).

Boon was also prepping to shoot a new movie this summer named "The Palm", however, the pandemic made him postpone the project and gave him a new idea. Like any other citizen in this world, the actor has spent confinement weeks with his small family waiting for life to return to normal, despite the persisting concerns linked to the virus.

The new movie highlights the daily life issues of the inhabitants of a Parisian residential building who found themselves banned from leaving their apartments. Each one of them has his own story, from the owners of small shops on the ground floor to the low-income residents living in the small rooms on the roof. The shooting is set to kick off once the lockdown ends, so the movie becomes ready for screening before the end of 2020.

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Varieties

Film Commission Takes Part in 10th Saudi Film Festival

The 10th edition of the Saudi Film Festival. SPA
The 10th edition of the Saudi Film Festival. SPA
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Film Commission Takes Part in 10th Saudi Film Festival

The 10th edition of the Saudi Film Festival. SPA
The 10th edition of the Saudi Film Festival. SPA

The Film Commission is participating in the 10th edition of the Saudi Film Festival, held at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Dhahran from May 2 to 9.

This annual local film event is organized in collaboration with the Saudi Cinema Association, with support from the Film Commission.
The commission's participation aims to advance the film sector and nurture talented individuals. The commission seeks to showcase diverse knowledge and ideas by fostering communication between filmmakers and industry experts.

The commission's festival participation includes a pavilion where it presents its vision, goals, strategies, projects, and initiatives for developing the sector. The pavilion serves as a platform for Saudi companies and talents to network.

In addition to providing financial support to the festival, the commission screens films it has supported, including animated films like "The Menace from Above" and "Saleeq," as well as feature films such as "Within Sand," "Hajjan," and "Salem's Disappearance," which received support through the commission's incentives program.

The 10th Saudi Film Festival features competitions to enhance the quality of screenplays and films. In addition to expanding the range of film screenings to include Arab and international productions, the festival offers an enriching program of workshops, seminars, and networking events for filmmakers.

Varieties

Rescuers Brave Indonesia Volcano Eruptions to Save Pets

A volunteer carries a wounded dog as they bring back animals from the abandoned area at the foot of Mount Ruang volcano (background) on Tagulandang Island in Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on May 4, 2024. (Photo by Ronny Adolof BUOL / AFP)
A volunteer carries a wounded dog as they bring back animals from the abandoned area at the foot of Mount Ruang volcano (background) on Tagulandang Island in Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on May 4, 2024. (Photo by Ronny Adolof BUOL / AFP)
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Rescuers Brave Indonesia Volcano Eruptions to Save Pets

A volunteer carries a wounded dog as they bring back animals from the abandoned area at the foot of Mount Ruang volcano (background) on Tagulandang Island in Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on May 4, 2024. (Photo by Ronny Adolof BUOL / AFP)
A volunteer carries a wounded dog as they bring back animals from the abandoned area at the foot of Mount Ruang volcano (background) on Tagulandang Island in Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on May 4, 2024. (Photo by Ronny Adolof BUOL / AFP)

An Indonesian volunteer returns from a dangerous rescue mission to a remote island where a volcano recently unleashed huge eruptions, cradling an abandoned, emaciated dog covered in burn blisters.

Mount Ruang in Indonesia's northernmost region has erupted more than half a dozen times since April 16, stirring a spectacular mix of ash, lava and lightning that forced the island's residents to be permanently relocated and thousands more evacuated.

But while locals have fled, a team of volunteers travelled to Ruang by boat on daring rescue missions to save abandoned pets from the foot of the volcano that remains at its highest alert level, Agence France Presse reported.

"We know that they (the animals) are still living there. How come we let them die while we know they are still alive there?" 31-year-old volunteer Laurent Tan told AFP on Saturday.

Laurent, the owner of two animal shelters in North Sulawesi province capital Manado, is one of eight volunteers who have made the six-hour ferry journey several times to Ruang's neighboring Tagulandang island following the eruptions.

On one of their missions to the island's ash-covered homes, they retrieved an unnamed pup, a white cat, and a bright turquoise-and-white tropical bird.

The dog, a female with burns on her face and body, was brought to a makeshift shelter on Tagulandang, where a veterinarian treated her on a wooden desk while a volunteer held up a mobile phone flashlight.

She appeared to have survived the eruptions by taking shelter in a large gutter. The surrounding village above ground had been destroyed, Laurent said.

The group, made of volunteers from animal welfare organizations, deployed for a second time on Friday after some pet owners made desperate social media appeals for them to evacuate their pets, and has since rescued "a lot" of animals, she added.

An AFP journalist at the scene said more than a dozen animals had been rescued since Friday.

Some owners had learned their pets were still alive after seeing them in pictures of Ruang island in the media.

Authorities had told locals to evacuate outside a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) exclusion zone around the crater, which was lowered to five kilometers on Sunday, with around 11,000 people earmarked for evacuation.

As of Saturday, more than 5,000 people from Tagulandang had been evacuated, the national disaster mitigation agency said Sunday, while all of Ruang's residents -- more than 800 -- had been taken for permanent relocation.

Authorities had warned of potential flying rocks, lava flows and tsunamis due to debris sliding into the sea.

But despite the risk, the volunteers were getting to work.

One climbed over the fence of an abandoned house to rescue several dogs left behind by their owner, before handing them over to vet Hendrikus Hermawan.

Hendrikus said the owner had asked the volunteers for help rescuing the dogs, which included a five-month-old puppy.

Many of the rescued animals appeared hungry and stressed after their owners left them, he told AFP.

"The first treatment we do here is give food and additional vitamins to relieve their stress," he said, adding that the animals could survive as long as they were nourished.

The volunteers aim to rescue all the dogs, cats and birds threatened by the volcano, bring them to Manado and reunite them with any original owners, said Laurent.

While the initial focus of the eruptions was on the human impact, the volunteer said animals should not be forgotten.

"Our main focus is the animals. Many people have already received help, but these animals had no help," she said.

"For me, their lives matter. We consider them part of our family."

Varieties

Heatwave Hammers Thailand's Stinky but Lucrative Durian Farms

The heat causes the durian to ripen faster so it does not grow to its fullest -- and most valuable -- size. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
The heat causes the durian to ripen faster so it does not grow to its fullest -- and most valuable -- size. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
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Heatwave Hammers Thailand's Stinky but Lucrative Durian Farms

The heat causes the durian to ripen faster so it does not grow to its fullest -- and most valuable -- size. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP
The heat causes the durian to ripen faster so it does not grow to its fullest -- and most valuable -- size. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague's waiting arms some 15 meters (50 feet) below.
Among Thailand's most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent "king of fruits" is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years, AFP said.
But a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry.
"This year is a crisis," durian farmer Busaba Nakpipat told AFP bluntly.
The weather-beaten 54-year-old took over her parents' farm in eastern Chanthaburi province -- Thailand's durian heartland -- three decades ago.
"If the hot weather continues to rise in the future, it'll be over," she said. "Farmers wouldn't be able to produce durian anymore."
Durian season usually lasts from March until June, but the soaring temperatures -- which in her province have hovered around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for weeks -- and subsequent drought have shortened the harvest.
Busaba said the heat causes the durian, which is graduated by weight and size, to ripen faster so it does not grow to its fullest -- and most valuable -- size.
"The quality of the durian won't meet the standard," she said.
And not only is she getting less money for the crop, Busaba's operational costs have risen.
Since March a drought has sucked water from the wells, so to keep her precious durian trees alive Busaba is forced to bring in thousands of liters by truck.
"We have to buy 10 water trucks for 120,000 liters of water for one-time watering the whole 10-rai (1.6 hectares) of our farm," she said, repeating the process every other day, at a cost of thousands of dollars.
"We have prayed for rain," she said. "But there was no rain."
This year, less
Thailand's durian exports are worth billions and are the kingdom's third most valuable agricultural product -- behind rice and rubber.
But in the nearby durian market, anxiety is running high among stall-holders, many of them with family businesses going back generations.
Siriwan Roopkaew, manning her mother's stall, said the lack of water has impacted the size of the fruit, but for now prices remain high thanks to demand from China.
Around 95 percent of Thaliand's durian exports are to China, which shipped nearly $4.6 billion worth of the love-it-or-hate-it fruit from the kingdom in 2023, according to data from Beijing's commerce ministry.
But the weather is threatening Thailand's dominance.
In May Chinese state media reported an almost 50 percent rise in durian imported from Vietnam, citing heat and drought in Thailand.
"Hot weather means there will be less durian. Even this year, there is less durian," Siriwan, 26, said.
"Normally, my stall would be full of durian by now."
While farmers worried about water, she said, sellers like her family were more concerned about the knock-on economics.
"Less durian means our earnings are less," she said, "so it'd be hard for us to live the whole year."
Meanwhile, back at the farm, Busaba sighed as she considered the months ahead.
"The future of durian, it's over if there's no water," she said.

Varieties

King Charles and UK Royals to Relinquish Dozens of Patronages

Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales lays a wreath during the Royal British Legion's Service of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bayeux for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Normandy, northwestern France, June 6, 2019. (Reuters)
Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales lays a wreath during the Royal British Legion's Service of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bayeux for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Normandy, northwestern France, June 6, 2019. (Reuters)
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King Charles and UK Royals to Relinquish Dozens of Patronages

Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales lays a wreath during the Royal British Legion's Service of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bayeux for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Normandy, northwestern France, June 6, 2019. (Reuters)
Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales lays a wreath during the Royal British Legion's Service of Remembrance at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bayeux for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Normandy, northwestern France, June 6, 2019. (Reuters)

King Charles and other senior British royals are to relinquish patronages of almost 200 charities and organizations after a review of their association with more than 1,000 groups, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday.

The review was launched following the death of Queen Elizabeth to examine all the charities and bodies to which she, Charles and his wife Queen Camilla were connected, either as a president or patron.

Elizabeth was patron of 492 organizations, while Charles was affiliated to 441 and Camilla 100. Following the assessment, just over 830 have been retained by the king and queen, or passed to other members of the royal family.

Organizations are able to apply to have a royal patron who in return can provide publicity for their work and help their achievements to be widely recognized.

Among those that will retain their royal connection include the Royal British Legion, the largest armed forces charity, the Dogs Trust, the Jockey Club and the Wildlife Trusts, a grassroots nature organization.

"His majesty has consistently demonstrated foresight, courage and leadership as he has helped communities, charities and businesses grapple with the challenges and opportunities inherent in living more sustainably and in harmony with nature," said Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts.

"It is therefore a great honor that His Majesty has agreed to continue with his patronage."

Conclusions of the review will be shared among the relevant organizations this week, which marks the first anniversary of Charles and Camilla's coronation, the palace said.

Varieties

Face of Neanderthal Woman Buried in Iraq Cave Revealed

The recreated head of Neanderthal woman ‘Shanidar Z’ (Jamie Simonds)
The recreated head of Neanderthal woman ‘Shanidar Z’ (Jamie Simonds)
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Face of Neanderthal Woman Buried in Iraq Cave Revealed

The recreated head of Neanderthal woman ‘Shanidar Z’ (Jamie Simonds)
The recreated head of Neanderthal woman ‘Shanidar Z’ (Jamie Simonds)

Archaeologists have reconstructed the human-like face of a Neanderthal woman who lived 75,000 years ago in a cave in northern Iraq where the extinct species may have conducted unique funerary rituals, Britain’s The Independent reported.

Bone fragments of the Neanderthal woman, named Shanidar Z, were first unearthed in 2018 from a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan where her people may have repeatedly returned to lay their dead to rest, said the report.

Although Neanderthal people, who are thought to have died out 40,000 years ago, had skulls quite different from those of humans, the rebuilt face of this Neanderthal woman – thought to have been in her forties when she died – shows that their appearance was human-like.

The findings are revealed in a new documentary, Secrets of the Neanderthals, produced by the BBC and released on Netflix worldwide.

“Neanderthal skulls have huge brow ridges and lack chins, with a projecting midface that results in more prominent noses,” said Dr. Emma Pomeroy, from Cambridge University’s archaeology department. “But the recreated face suggests those differences were not so stark in life.”

She continued: “It’s perhaps easier to see how interbreeding occurred between our species, to the extent that almost everyone alive today still has Neanderthal DNA.”

The woman’s remains, including a skull flattened to around 2cm thick, are some of the best-preserved Neanderthal fossils found this century, The Independent quoted researchers as saying.

Her head is thought to have been crushed, possibly by rockfall, soon after her death, likely after her brain decomposed but before her skull filled with dirt.

After carefully exposing the remains, including her skeleton almost to the waist, Cambridge researchers used a glue-like consolidant to strengthen the bones and surrounding sediment.

They removed Shanidar Z in small foil-wrapped blocks from under 7.5 meters of soil and rock within the heart of the “flower funeral” cave.

They then pieced together more than 200 pieces of her skull to return it to its original shape, including her upper and lower jaws.

“It’s like a high-stakes 3D jigsaw puzzle. A single block can take over a fortnight to process,” said Pomeroy, who features in the new documentary.

The researchers surface-scanned the reconstructed skull and 3D-printed it, further adding layers of fabricated muscle and skin to reveal her face.

Varieties

China Launches First Probe to Collect Samples from Far Side of Moon

A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
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China Launches First Probe to Collect Samples from Far Side of Moon

A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 mission lunar probe, lifts off as it rains at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan Province on May 3, 2024. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

China launched a probe on Friday to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious program that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030.

A rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 lunar probe blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province just before 5:30 pm (0930 GMT), AFP journalists near the site said.

Heavy rain engulfed the site just minutes before the launch began, they said, with hundreds of onlookers gathered nearby to witness the latest leap for China's decades-long space program.

Washington has warned that the program is being used to mask military objectives and an effort to establish dominance in space.

The Chang'e-6 aims to collect around two kilograms of lunar samples from the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth for analysis.

State news agency Xinhua hailed it as "the first endeavor of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration".

It is a technically complex 53-day mission that will also see it attempt an unprecedented launch from the side of the Moon that always faces away from Earth.

"The whole mission is fraught with numerous challenges, with each step interconnected and nerve-wracking," Wang Qiong, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission, told Xinhua.

The probe is set to land in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system.

Once there, it will scoop up lunar soil and rocks, and carry out other experiments in the landing zone.

It must then lift off from the Moon's surface and retrace its steps back home.

Varieties

Nepal Court Orders Limit on Everest Climbing Permits

(FILES) Tents of mountaineers are pictured at the Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
(FILES) Tents of mountaineers are pictured at the Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
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Nepal Court Orders Limit on Everest Climbing Permits

(FILES) Tents of mountaineers are pictured at the Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)
(FILES) Tents of mountaineers are pictured at the Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Prakash MATHEMA / AFP)

Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, a lawyer confirmed Friday, just as expeditions prepare for the spring climbing season.

The Himalayan republic is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.

The verdict was issued in late April but a summary was only published this week, Agence France Presse reported.

Lawyer Deepak Bikram Mishra, who had filed a petition urging permits to be curtailed, told AFP that the court had responded to public concerns about Nepal's mountains and its environment.

"It has ordered a limit to the number of climbers... and also given measures for waste management and preservation of the mountain's environment," Mishra said.

The verdict's summary said that the mountains' capacity "must be respected" and an appropriate maximum number of permits should be determined.

The full text of the verdict has not been published and the summary does not mention any specific limit to the number of permits issued.

Nepal currently grants permits to all who apply and are willing to pay $11,000 to scale Everest, the world's highest peak at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) above sea level.

Last year, the country issued 478 permits for Everest, a record high.

A massive human traffic jam on Everest in 2019 forced teams to wait hours at the summit in freezing temperatures, risking depleted oxygen levels that can lead to sickness and exhaustion.

At least four of the 11 deaths on the peak that year were blamed on overcrowding.

Varieties

Heatwave Swells Asia's Appetite for Air-conditioning

A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
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Heatwave Swells Asia's Appetite for Air-conditioning

A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP
A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning. Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP

A record-breaking heatwave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning.
AC exhaust units are a common feature of urban landscapes in many parts of Asia, clinging like limpets to towering apartment blocks in Hong Kong or tucked in a cross formation between the windows of a building in Cambodia.
They offer relief from temperatures that have toppled records in recent weeks, with many countries in the region hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or higher.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heatwaves.
Only 15 percent of homes in Southeast Asia have air-conditioning, according to a 2019 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
But that figure obscures vast variations: ranging from around 80 percent installation in Singapore and Malaysia, to less than 10 percent in Indonesia and Vietnam, the IEA said.
Forecasts suggest that higher temperatures and better wages could see the number of air-conditioning units in Southeast Asia jump from 40 million in 2017 to 300 million by 2040.
That would stretch local electricity capacity, which is already struggling under current conditions.
Myanmar is producing only about half the electricity it needs each day, with the junta blaming weak hydropower because of scant rains, low natural gas yields and attacks by its opponents on infrastructure.
Thailand has seen record power demand in recent weeks, as people retreat indoors to cooled homes or businesses.
Air-conditioning is already responsible for the emission of approximately one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, according to the IEA, out of a total of 37 billion emitted worldwide.
Still, cooling options like air-conditioning are a key way to protect human health, especially for those who are most vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat: children, the elderly and those with certain disabilities.
With demand surging, dozens of countries last year signed up to the United Nations' Global Cooling Pledge, a commitment to improve the efficiency of air conditioners and reduce emissions from all forms of cooling.
Some countries have been trying to reduce the impact of cooling for years.
Since 2005, Japan has encouraged office workers to ditch ties and jackets so air conditioners can be kept at 28 degrees Celsius.
The annual "Cool Biz" programme took on new significance during power shortages in 2011 following the shutdown of nuclear plants after the Fukushima disaster.

Varieties

Orangutan’s Use of Medicinal Plant to Treat Wound Intrigues Scientists

This photo provided by the Suaq foundation shows Rakus, a wild male Sumatran orangutan in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, on Aug. 25, 2022, after his facial wound was barely visible. (Safruddin/Suaq foundation via AP)
This photo provided by the Suaq foundation shows Rakus, a wild male Sumatran orangutan in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, on Aug. 25, 2022, after his facial wound was barely visible. (Safruddin/Suaq foundation via AP)
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Orangutan’s Use of Medicinal Plant to Treat Wound Intrigues Scientists

This photo provided by the Suaq foundation shows Rakus, a wild male Sumatran orangutan in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, on Aug. 25, 2022, after his facial wound was barely visible. (Safruddin/Suaq foundation via AP)
This photo provided by the Suaq foundation shows Rakus, a wild male Sumatran orangutan in Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia, on Aug. 25, 2022, after his facial wound was barely visible. (Safruddin/Suaq foundation via AP)

In June 2022, a male Sumatran orangutan named Rakus sustained a facial wound below the right eye, apparently during a fight with another male orangutan at the Suaq Balimbing research site, a protected rainforest area in Indonesia. What Rakus did three days later really caught the attention of scientists.

Researchers on Thursday described observing how Rakus appeared to treat the wound using a plant known for its pain-relieving properties and for supporting wound healing due to its antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and antioxidant qualities.

The orangutan chewed the plant's leaves to produce a liquid that Rakus repeatedly smeared on the wound and then applied the chewed-up plant material directly to the injury, much like a wound plaster administered by doctors, according to primatologist and cognitive biologist Isabelle Laumer of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.

Rakus also ate the plant, an evergreen vine commonly called Akar Kuning - scientific name Fibraurea tinctoria, added Laumer, lead author of the study published in the journal Scientific Reports. This plant is rarely eaten by orangutans in this peat swamp forest area, home to about 150 critically endangered Sumatran orangutans.

"To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of active wound treatment with a plant species with medical properties by a wild animal," said study senior author Caroline Schuppli, an evolutionary biologist at the institute.

Rakus, believed to have been born in 1989, is a flanged male, with large cheek pads on both sides of the face - secondary male sexual characteristics. Rakus was one of the area's dominant males.

The researchers said the orangutan's wound self-treatment did not appear to be happenstance.

"His behavior appeared to be intentional. He selectively treated his facial wound on his right flange with the plant juice, and no other body parts. The behavior was repeated several times, not only plant juice but later also more-solid plant material was applied until the wound was fully covered. The entire process took a considerable amount of time," Laumer said.

The wound never showed signs of infection and closed within five days, the researchers said.

"The observation suggests that the cognitive capacities that are needed for the behavior - active wound treatment with plants - may be as old as the last common ancestor of orangutans and humans," Schuppli said. "However, what these cognitive capacities exactly are remains to be investigated. Whereas this observation shows that orangutans are capable of treating their wounds with plants, we don't know to what extent they understand the process."

Orangutans are one of the world's great apes alongside chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas.

"It is possible that wound treatment with Fibraurea tinctoria emerges through accidental individual innovation. Individuals may accidentally touch their wounds while feeding on Fibraurea tinctoria and thus unintentionally apply the plant's juice to their wounds," Laumer said.

"But it may also be," Laumer added, "that Rakus has learned this behavior from other orangutans in his birth area."

This plant, widely distributed across China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, is used in traditional medicine to treat conditions such as malaria.

Orangutan means "person of the forest" in the Indonesian and Malay languages, and these apes are the world's biggest arboreal mammal. Orangutans, adapted to living in trees, live more solitary lives than other great apes, sleeping and eating fruit in the forest canopy and swinging from branch to branch.

"Orangutans have high cognitive abilities, in particular in the area of physical cognition," Schuppli said. "They are known to be excellent problem-solvers. Wild orangutans acquire their skill sets via observational social learning, and skills get passed on from generation to generation. The population where this observation was made is known for its rich cultural repertoire, including tool use in different contexts."

Varieties

Greek Summer Wildfire Threat Nears, Outpacing Plans to Contain it 

A firefighter sprays water on smoke grenades during a disaster risk training exercise to effectively deal with wildfires, in Athens, Greece, April 4, 2024. (Reuters)
A firefighter sprays water on smoke grenades during a disaster risk training exercise to effectively deal with wildfires, in Athens, Greece, April 4, 2024. (Reuters)
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Greek Summer Wildfire Threat Nears, Outpacing Plans to Contain it 

A firefighter sprays water on smoke grenades during a disaster risk training exercise to effectively deal with wildfires, in Athens, Greece, April 4, 2024. (Reuters)
A firefighter sprays water on smoke grenades during a disaster risk training exercise to effectively deal with wildfires, in Athens, Greece, April 4, 2024. (Reuters)

When firefighters arrived at a blaze in a pine forest on the Greek island of Rhodes last July, flames were already leaping above the trees into the night sky. The volunteers needed to act fast, but dense vegetation on the forest floor blocked access.

With crews unable to get close, the fire spread and within days had engulfed the Mediterranean island, forcing 19,000 people to flee - one of the biggest disaster evacuations in Greece's history.

"Have you ever tried walking through a forest that has not been cleared for more than 10 years? It's so difficult," said firefighter Nikos Karpathakis, who was at the scene.

As another summer approaches, and as climate change makes wildfires ever more deadly across southern Europe, Greece has developed a new doctrine to contain the damage, including deploying an extra fire truck to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.

But five firefighters and three experts said the initiative doesn't address shortfalls in planning and prevention and more devastation awaits.

"We are clinging to a doctrine which insists on fire suppression instead of adopting an integrated fire management strategy," said Theodore Giannaros, a fire meteorologist at the National Observatory of Athens.

Heat waves triggered wildfires across swathes of Portugal, France, Spain and Italy last year and caused dozens of deaths.

The situation is especially dire in Greece, which has just recorded its warmest winter on record, creating ideal conditions for fires that threaten crops, homes and the booming tourism industry.

Last August, a fire in the northern Evros region destroyed an area larger than New York City and killed at least 20 people - the deadliest European blaze of 2023. Fires this year have begun earlier than expected, including one in March in a mountainous area normally blanketed by snow.

"It will be a very tough wildfire season. Climate change is here," Vassilis Kikilias, Minister for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, told Reuters.

MORE NEEDED

Greece has made strides to combat fires, including building firebreaks around power poles in forested areas and stepping up training.

Some 700 additional forest rangers were hired this year. Crews have cleared 12,000 hectares of forest since 2022 and another 7,000 hectares will be completed by the end of May, the environment ministry said.

"For the first time in 50 years, we're stepping into forests and building firebreak zones," Kikilias said. "Certainly, it won't be done at once throughout Greece but it's a good start."

Under a 2.1 billion euro ($2.25 billion) plan, Greece has concluded tenders for more than 1,000 fire engines and seven DHC-515 aircraft, and plans to install sensors to detect smoke.

Experts worry it won't be enough.

The cleared forests make up only a tiny fraction of the nearly 7.5 million hectares of Greek woodland. Some of the tendered trucks and aircraft will not be delivered for years.

They said more money should be spent creating a corps of wildfire specialists who can draft risk maps and analyze how fires are likely to spread. They recommended embracing firefighting methods used in other parts of the world, such as "backfiring", where firefighters light new fires in the path of existing ones to starve them of fuel.

Volunteer firefighter Karpathakis is haunted by last summer. He said crews laid down 2 km of hoses to get closer to the Rhodes fire. It was too late. Gale force winds blew the blaze beyond their reach.

"I worked non-stop for so many days but the situation didn't get any better."