Swedish Ambassador to North Korea Practices Yoga on Streets

Swedish Ambassador Joachim Bergstrom practices yoga next to the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo taken in early July, 2020. Joachim Bergstrom/Handout via REUTERS
Swedish Ambassador Joachim Bergstrom practices yoga next to the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo taken in early July, 2020. Joachim Bergstrom/Handout via REUTERS
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Swedish Ambassador to North Korea Practices Yoga on Streets

Swedish Ambassador Joachim Bergstrom practices yoga next to the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo taken in early July, 2020. Joachim Bergstrom/Handout via REUTERS
Swedish Ambassador Joachim Bergstrom practices yoga next to the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo taken in early July, 2020. Joachim Bergstrom/Handout via REUTERS

Barefoot and blonde, Swedish Ambassador Joachim Bergstrom makes an unlikely sight in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, as he practices yoga poses near some of its most iconic landmarks. One of the few Western diplomats who has not evacuated from North Korea amid coronavirus restrictions, Bergstrom has relied on yoga to endure the deepening sense of isolation.

Bergstrom, who has been in North Korea as an ambassador since September 2019, came prepared to use the exercise regimen as a way to stay healthy and unwind in a country where foreigners and residents are under constant restraints. But the sense of isolation deepened when the coronavirus began to spread in neighboring China in January, prompting North Korea to shut its borders, cancel most flights and train service, and send foreign residents into more than a month of quarantine, Reuters reported.

North Korea says it has zero confirmed cases of the coronavirus, but has taken significant measures to prevent the spread of the disease. Bergstrom has stayed on, and teaches occasional yoga classes to a dwindling number of international diplomats and aid workers. Foreigners were allowed out of their compounds at the beginning of March, but still face restrictions on travel and movement around the city.

Occasionally, Bergstrom says, he rides his bicycle and practices yoga in parks or other public spots, often prompting smiles and stares from residents, who he says are curious and friendly.

He has posted photos on social media of him striking yoga poses in front of some of Pyongyang's landmarks, including the Juche Tower, the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel, and the Arch of Triumph. Above all, yoga has given him something to rely on during uncertain times that include power cuts, water shortages, limited communication, and now, coronavirus lockdown.

"A physical practice totally independent of all these factors is an amazing thing in a place like this. No matter what happens around me, I can do my thing," Bergstrom said.



Greece Battles Wildfires Fanned by Gale Force Winds

A plane drops water during a wildfire, in Kitsi, near the town of Koropi, Greece, June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A plane drops water during a wildfire, in Kitsi, near the town of Koropi, Greece, June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Greece Battles Wildfires Fanned by Gale Force Winds

A plane drops water during a wildfire, in Kitsi, near the town of Koropi, Greece, June 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A plane drops water during a wildfire, in Kitsi, near the town of Koropi, Greece, June 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Hundreds of firefighters struggled on Saturday to contain wildfires fanned by gale force winds on two Greek islands and in other parts of Greece, as authorities warned many regions face a high risk of new blazes.

More than 30 firefighters backed by two aircraft and five helicopters were battling a wildfire burning οn the island of Andros in the Aegean, away from tourist resorts, where four communities were evacuated as a precaution.

"More firefighters (are) expected on the island later in the day," a fire services official told Reuters, adding there were no reports of damage or injuries.

Wildfires are common in Greece, but they have become more devastating in recent years amid hotter and drier summers that scientists link to climate change. A wildfire near Athens last week forced dozens to flee their homes, which authorities said they believed was the result of arson as well as the hot, dry conditions.

Meteorologists say the latest fires are the first time that the country has experienced "hot-dry-windy" conditions so early in the summer.

"I can't remember another year facing such conditions so early, in early and mid-June," meteorologist Thodoris Giannaros told state TV.

On Friday, a 55-year-old man died in hospital after being injured in a blaze in the region of Ilia on Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, as several fires burned on Greece's southern tip.

Several hundred firefighters have been deployed to battle more than 70 forest fires across the country since Friday. High winds and hot temperatures will extend the risk into Sunday, the fire service said.

Earlier on Saturday, firefighters tamed a forest fire on the island of Salamina, in the Saronic Gulf west of Athens, and another about 30 kilometers east of the capital.

After forest fires last year forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes and killed 20 in the northern mainland, Greece has scaled up its preparations this year by hiring more staff and stepping up training.