David Garcia places a pizza on a lava river that comes down from the Pacaya volcano at the Cerro Chino hill in San Vicente Pacaya municipality, Guatemala on Wednesday. (AFP)
David Garcia places a pizza on a lava river that comes down from the Pacaya volcano at the Cerro Chino hill in San Vicente Pacaya municipality, Guatemala on Wednesday. (AFP)
Guatemala's Pacaya volcano has been erupting since February, keeping local communities and authorities on high alert. But for David Garcia, the streams of molten lava oozing down the mountainside have become his kitchen.
Garcia, a 34-year-old accountant, serves up "Pacaya Pizza" cooked on the smoldering volcanic rock to awed tourists and locals.
"Many people today come to enjoy the experience of eating pizza made on volcanic heat," Garcia told AFP from a rocky area that leads to the Pacaya crater, and which he's converted into his workplace.
In his makeshift kitchen, Garcia spreads the dough on a metal platter that can resist temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit), slathers it with tomato sauce, a generous helping of cheese and pieces of meat. Wearing protective clothing from head to his military style boots, Garcia places the pizza on the lava.
"It's done, just let the cheese melt some more," he announces 10 minutes later.
"That pizza looks so good!" exclaims one of the tourists as the cheese bubbles.
Garcia's kitchen has become a magnet for tourists that work up an appetite climbing the massive volcano -- one of three active ones in Guatemala -- located just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the capital.
He first started baking pizzas on the mountain side in 2013 in small caverns he found amongst the rocks.
"I didn't sell much the first few days," said Garcia, whose fame has now spread throughout social media.
In recent weeks, with Pacaya regularly spitting out molten rock, he started cooking the pizzas directly on the moving lava, some of which has come close to population centers. It's a potentially risky undertaking given the plumes of volcanic ash blasted into the sky by the angry beast, putting local villagers at great risks.
"Having a pizza cooked in the embers of a volcano is mind-blowing and unique in the whole world," said Felipe Aldana, a tourist trying out one of Garcia's specialties.
He found about the pizza joint on Facebook and thought: "I have to have this experience."
"It's ridiculous just thinking that you're going to eat something cooked on lava, but it's something that you can see only here" in Guatemala, said Kelt Van Meurs, a Dutch visitor.
Yau Yiu-wai, 73, one of the few remaining umbrella repairmen in Hong Kong, is closing his 183-year-old family-run business at the end of the year. Tommy WANG / AFP
Yau Yiu-wai, 73, one of the few remaining umbrella repairmen in Hong Kong, is closing his 183-year-old family-run business at the end of the year. Tommy WANG / AFP
Scores of residents flocked to a cramped shop in Hong Kong's old district to bid farewell to the city's "king of umbrellas", who is retiring after spending decades repairing umbrellas at his family business.
Established in 1842 during the Qing Dynasty, the Sun Rise Company was founded by the Yau family in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
Current proprietor Yau Yiu-wai, 73, announced earlier this month that his 183-year-old family business would close its doors at year's end.
The family-run shop has been passed down through five generations, but due to shifting consumer habits towards online shopping and his advancing age, it has to cease operations, Yau told AFP on Friday.
"We've upheld our family's reputation, and this legacy has come down to me... It truly pains me to end it," Yau said. "I'm sorry to my ancestors."
After enduring wartime turmoil, the shop relocated to Hong Kong, eventually finding its place amid the bustling meat and vegetable vendors in Sham Shui Po district.
"(Today's) wheel of time rolled over me and crushed me beneath its weight," Yau said.
News of the closure spread across social media, with one user calling it "another loss of a wonderful community business".
"He genuinely cared about selling customers a good, practical umbrella," student Niki Lum told AFP, referring to Yau.
"I could tell he put his heart into running this shop," said the 20-year-old.
Resident Peter Tam, 60, said witnessing the disappearance of these classic shops felt like the end of an era.
"It's such a pity... These are all pieces of history," he said. "And we ourselves are becoming history too."
While most retailers rely on customers replacing damaged umbrellas with new ones, Yau said he aims for durability.
"This is for environmental protection. It's a social responsibility."
Those who brought umbrellas for repair included couples hoping to mend their relationships and married couples who had used umbrellas as tokens of affection.
Yau said fewer than five repairmen like him remain in Hong Kong practicing this "barely profitable" umbrella trade.
But now, Yau said he has no choice but to end the service he took pride in.
"I'm getting old. You have to forgive me, I just can't carry on any more," he said, adding he had suffered a stroke several years ago.
"The most important thing for you is to stay smart... and learn to be eco-friendly," he added.
Winter Storm Bears Down on US Northeast, Disrupting Airline Travelhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5223598-winter-storm-bears-down-us-northeast-disrupting-airline-travel
Workers clear snow from the ice rink at Bryant Park during a winter storm in New York City, US, December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
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Winter Storm Bears Down on US Northeast, Disrupting Airline Travel
Workers clear snow from the ice rink at Bryant Park during a winter storm in New York City, US, December 26, 2025. (Reuters)
A winter storm packing a frosty mix of snow and ice bore down on the US Northeast early on Saturday, disrupting post-holiday weekend airline traffic and prompting officials in New York and New Jersey to issue weather emergency declarations.
The National Weather Service posted ice storm and winter storm warnings throughout New York state and Connecticut, forecasting some of the heaviest snowfall totals - up to a foot in localized areas - for Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
New York City could see its highest accumulations since 2022, with peak snowfall rates of 2 or more inches per hour, according to an emergency declaration on Friday from Governor Kathy Hochul, warning of treacherous road conditions.
In many areas snow was forecast to be mixed or glazed over with sleet and freezing rain.
"The safety of New Yorkers is my top priority, and I continue to urge extreme caution throughout the duration of this storm," Hochul said in a statement, admonishing residents to "avoid unnecessary travel."
Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were likewise posted for most of Pennsylvania, much of Massachusetts, and most of New Jersey, where a state of emergency also was declared. High winds were forecast as part of the storm.
Snow began falling in western New York state and the New York City area on Friday evening and was expected to intensify on Saturday.
More than 1,600 commercial airline flights within the United States and into or out of the country were canceled on Friday, and 7,800-plus were delayed as weather conditions began to worsen, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.
The three major airports serving the New York City area - John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia Airport - accounted for the bulk of Friday's flight cancellations. All three issued alerts on social media platform X warning travelers of potential disruptions.
Another 650 flights that had been scheduled to depart or land in the US on Saturday were canceled, FlightAware reported.
Representatives from American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways told Reuters those carriers had waived change fees normally charged to re-book for passengers whose travel plans may be affected by weather-related disruptions.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania issued commercial vehicle restrictions for some roads, including many interstate highways.
"This storm will cause dangerous road conditions and impact holiday travel," New Jersey's acting governor Tahesha Way said in a statement. "We are urging travelers to avoid travel during the storm and allow crews to tend to roads."
Cypriot Fishermen Battle Invasive Lionfish and Turn Them into a Delicacyhttps://english.aawsat.com/varieties/5223597-cypriot-fishermen-battle-invasive-lionfish-and-turn-them-delicacy
A cat stands next to a table with fried lionfish at Stefanos restaurant in Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)
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Cypriot Fishermen Battle Invasive Lionfish and Turn Them into a Delicacy
A cat stands next to a table with fried lionfish at Stefanos restaurant in Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)
Photis Gaitanos’ rough fingers adroitly untangle the venomous spikes of a lionfish from a net, throwing the exotic-looking creature into an ice-filled rubber bin along with other fish from the day’s catch.
Unlike a few years ago when he would have mostly caught local staples as sea bream, red mullet or bass, the veteran fisherman now hunts for the invasive species that made its way from the Red Sea to the warming waters of the Mediterranean,
Lionfish, with their red and orange-hued stripes and antennae-like barbs that menacingly ward off enemies, threaten to decimate indigenous fish stocks, wreaking havoc on the livelihoods of the roughly 150 professional fishermen in Cyprus.
The prickly fish has even made its way as far north as the Ionian Sea, where Italian authorities have asked the public to photograph and report sightings.
The East Mediterranean has also seen another invasive Red Sea fish in the last decade: the silver-cheeked toadfish. Known as an eating machine whose powerful jaws cut through fishing nets, decimating fishermen’s catch, it has no natural predators off Cyprus, allowing its population to explode.
That toadfish also produces a lethal toxin, making it inedible.
Warmer waters are the culprit
Gaitanos, the 60-year-old fisherman, has fished for years in an area a few kilometers off the coastal town of Larnaca, once famous for its fishing bounty. Now, he says, it’s been more than two years since he’s caught a red mullet, a consumer favorite.
"I have been practicing this profession for 40 years. Our income, especially since these two foreign species appeared, has become worse every year. It is now a major problem (affecting) the future of fishing," he said. "How can it be dealt with?"
Europe’s General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean says with the sea warming some 20% faster than the global average, the presence of invasive species "is progressively increasing in the western basin."
Models show that warmer seas as a result of climate change could see lionfish swarm the entire Mediterranean by the century’s end. Warmer waters and an expanded Suez Canal "have opened the floodgates" to Indo-Pacific species in general, according to Cyprus’ Fisheries Department.
Lionfish, center, are seen at Stefanios restaurant in Larnaca, Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP)
The European Union’s Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, a Cypriot himself, told The Associated Press that more frequent and intense extreme weather, often linked to climate change, could make the Mediterranean more hospitable to invasive species.
And that’s taking a heavy toll on Europe’s fishing industry as fishermen’s catches diminish while their costs shoot up as a result of repairs to fishing gear damaged by the powerful intruders.
"The native marine biodiversity of a specific region, as in the case of Cyprus, faces heightened competition and pressure, with implications for local ecosystems and industries dependent on them," said Kadis.
Fishermen cry for help
Gaitanos, who inherited his father’s boat in 1986, is not sure the fishermen’s grievances are being handled in a way that can stave off the profession’s decline.
"We want to show the European Union that there’s a big problem with the quantity of the catch as well as the kind of fish caught, affected by the arrival of these invasive species and by climate change," he said.
Some EU-funded compensation programs have been enacted to help fishermen. The latest, enforced last year, pays fishermen about 4.73 euros ($5.5) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) to catch toadfish to control their number. The toadfish are then sent to incinerators.
Another project, RELIONMED, which began in 2017, recruits some 100 scuba divers to cull lionfish around wrecks, reefs and marine protected areas. The Cyprus Fisheries Department says surveys show that frequent culls could buy time for native species to recover, but it’s not a permanent fix.
Some try eating the problem
What local fishermen are hoping will catch on with the fish-loving public is a new campaign to serve lionfish as a delicacy after its poisonous spines are carefully removed.
Kadis, the EU Fisheries commissioner, said a social media campaign that began in 2021, #TasteTheOcean, had top European chefs and influencers plugging invasive species as a tasty alternative to the more commonly consumed fish. Renowned Cypriot chef Stavris Georgiou worked up a lionfish recipe of his own.
For most Cypriots, local taverns with their rich meze menus that feature numerous plates different fish is the way to go. Although eating lionfish has been slow to catch on, many tavernas and fish restaurants have started to introduce it as part of their menu.
The bonus is that lionfish is now priced competitively compared to more popular fish like sea bass. At the Larnaca harbor fish market, lionfish cost less than half as much as more popular fish like sea bass.
"By incorporating invasive species such as lionfish into our diet, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity for the fisheries sector and at the same time help limit the environmental threat caused by these species," Kadis said
Stephanos Mentonis, who runs a popular fish tavern in Larnaca, has included lionfish on his meze menu as a way to introduce the fish to a wider number of patrons.
Mentonis, 54, says most of his customers aren’t familiar with lionfish. But its meat is fluffy and tender, and he says it can hold up against perennial tavern favorites like sea bream.
"When they try it, it’s not any less tasty than any other fish," he said.
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