Lost Dolphin Transferred to Sanctuary in Pakistan

Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
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Lost Dolphin Transferred to Sanctuary in Pakistan

Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)
Rescuers pour water over an Indus dolphin inside an ambulance in this still image from a video in Larkana, Pakistan October 30, 2021. (Reuters)

An endangered grey dolphin twitches its flippers weakly as it lies in a truck speeding towards a sanctuary in Pakistan, while rescuers sprinkle water on the animal to keep its skin moist and save it from dying.

The blind Indus River dolphin strayed from its freshwater home into a busy waterway, and had to be lifted out by rescue staff in the southeastern province of Sindh after they trapped it in nets.

Now they must keep it alive as they race to the sanctuary 82 km away where they can free it.

"We have to try and get it to the river as soon as possible," said Mir Akhtar Hussain Talpur, an official of the provincial wildlife department, which has rescued 10 of the animals this year, eight of them in just the last month.

It was a delicate task to keep the skin wet and foster the animal's impression of being still in the water, while ensuring no fluid entered the blowhole by which it breathes, he told Reuters.

The dolphins are being squeezed out of their habitat after human activity, from dams for irrigation projects to pollution, penned them into a 1,200-km stretch of Pakistan's Indus River, or just half their original range.

Living for millions of years in the turbid waters, the mammals, just one of four surviving freshwater species, eventually went blind and use echolocation, or a form of sonar, for navigation.

They can grow to a length of more than two meters and exceed 100 kg in weight, but need waters at least a meter deep to keep alive.



Trump Says Coca-Cola to Switch to Cane Sugar in US

Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
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Trump Says Coca-Cola to Switch to Cane Sugar in US

Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File
Partial view of the Coca-Cola Company's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia on June 29, 2025. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP/File

Beverage giant Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its US production, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on social media.

The company currently uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in its domestic beverages -- a sweetener that has long drawn criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement, AFP said.

"I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them -- You'll see. It's just better!"

The US president did not explain what motivated his push for the change, which would not impact his well-known favorite beverage, Diet Coke.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has re-installed a special button in the Oval Office which summons a helping of the sugar-free carbonated drink.

Coca-Cola did not immediately confirm the ingredient shift.

"We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range will be shared soon," the company said in a short statement.

HFCS became popular in the 1970s, with its use skyrocketing thanks to government subsidies for corn growers and high import tariffs on cane sugar.

Any shift away from corn is likely to draw backlash in the Corn Belt, a Midwestern region that has been a stronghold of support for Trump.

Both HFCS and sucrose (cane sugar) are composed of fructose and glucose. However, they differ structurally: HFCS contains free (unbonded) fructose and glucose in varying ratios -- 55/45 in soft drinks -- while sucrose consists of the two sugars chemically bonded together.

These structural differences, however, don't appear to significantly affect health outcomes.

A 2022 review of clinical studies found no meaningful differences between HFCS and sucrose in terms of weight gain or heart health.

The only notable distinction was an increase in a marker of inflammation in people consuming HFCS. Overall, both sweeteners appear similarly impactful when consumed at equal calorie levels.

Despite this, Mexican Coke -- which is made with cane sugar -- is often sold at a premium in US stores and prized for its more "natural" flavor.

Trump's prized Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame -- a compound classified as a "possible carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).