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Owners Reunite with Pets in Quake-hit Colombia

A rescuer pets a dog in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Pereira, Colombia, August 12, 2026. REUTERS/Juan David Duque
A rescuer pets a dog in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Pereira, Colombia, August 12, 2026. REUTERS/Juan David Duque
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Owners Reunite with Pets in Quake-hit Colombia

A rescuer pets a dog in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Pereira, Colombia, August 12, 2026. REUTERS/Juan David Duque
A rescuer pets a dog in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Pereira, Colombia, August 12, 2026. REUTERS/Juan David Duque

A beaming Vickye Giraldo holds her rescued kitten tight against her chest outside her ruined home in quake-hit Cali, Colombia.

The country's third-largest city was pummeled by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Monday, along with swaths of Colombia's coffee region and western coast.

With at least 273 people dead and thousands more injured, rescuers dig tirelessly through the wreckage, searching for survivors before time runs out.

The critical 72-hour window to find people alive came to a close on Thursday, but Giraldo and others are drawing hope from their reunions with furry friends.

"It's an indescribable moment," the 56-year-old lawyer told AFP, planting a kiss on her cat Polux's head after rescuers pulled the animal from the detritus of its owner's apartment.

Giraldo had lived with two dogs and two cats in a building that now slants dangerously to one side.

One dog made it out alive, while the other did not survive and Giraldo's other cat remains missing.

"These have been very hard days, thinking we might not be able to rescue them, but in the end it's a dream come true. It really is," she said, tearing up as she cradled Polux in her arms.

Another Cali resident and animal lover, Andrea Paredes, has not given up hope on reuniting with her dog and cats.

Her husband "managed to grab one little dog" before fleeing the shaking building, Paredes said.

The quake destroyed over 12,000 homes, official data shows, making thousands of families destitute.

Applause met rescuers on Thursday after they rescued a dog from another collapsed building.

A team of veterinarians rushed to assist the visibly feeble creature, giving him water before carrying him away on a stretcher.

"Pets are like children. I insist on that," volunteer Nelson Vidales told AFP.

"I know there are a lot of people thinking about humans, but the time must come when pets are looked for too. That's what I'm here for," he said.

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Varieties

Report: Engine Fragments Caused Ryanair Flight to Lose Pressure

This undated photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, shows the shattered window on a Ryanair plane that was broken by a stray engine part shortly after takeoff, causing a man's head to be sucked into the hole. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
This undated photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, shows the shattered window on a Ryanair plane that was broken by a stray engine part shortly after takeoff, causing a man's head to be sucked into the hole. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
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Report: Engine Fragments Caused Ryanair Flight to Lose Pressure

This undated photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, shows the shattered window on a Ryanair plane that was broken by a stray engine part shortly after takeoff, causing a man's head to be sucked into the hole. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
This undated photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, shows the shattered window on a Ryanair plane that was broken by a stray engine part shortly after takeoff, causing a man's head to be sucked into the hole. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)

Engine fragments struck a window of a Ryanair plane last month resulting in a man nearly being sucked out of the aircraft mid-flight, according to a preliminary report published Thursday by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

A tourist on a flight from Thessaloniki in Greece to Memmingen in Germany on July 16 had his head lodged in a cabin window that had broken off as a result of the breach, and had to be pulled back inside by other passengers.

NTSB said in a preliminary investigation report that the jet's right engine experienced a "fan-blade-out failure" during ascent, meaning a blade in the engine fan broke off.

"Engine fragments breached the fuselage and the cabin depressurized," the report said.

A flight attendant saw that a passenger "was partially lodged in a damaged cabin window, and that the entire window was missing," it continued.

The passenger sustained serious injuries, according to the report.

FILE - The Ryanair desk is seen, Aug. 10, 2018, at the Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain. (AP Photo/Paul White, File)

Investigators said they found bird remains inside the engine, but did not draw any conclusions on why the fan blade broke.

Recounting the incident, a passenger told Radio Thessaloniki that "there was a noise, like a tire bursting."

"We immediately realized there had been a decompression. There were screams... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," AFP quoted the woman as saying.

Engine fragments also damaged other parts of the fuselage and the right horizontal stabilizer, the NTSB said.

The full NTSB investigation, which can take up to two years, is under way and a final report remains pending.

Varieties

In South Korea, Some Savor Last Season of Legal Dog Meat

Dog meat placed on a scale during Malbok, the last of Korea's traditional hottest days of summer, at a restaurant selling dog meat and black goat meat stews in Seongnam, South Korea, August 14, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Dog meat placed on a scale during Malbok, the last of Korea's traditional hottest days of summer, at a restaurant selling dog meat and black goat meat stews in Seongnam, South Korea, August 14, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
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In South Korea, Some Savor Last Season of Legal Dog Meat

Dog meat placed on a scale during Malbok, the last of Korea's traditional hottest days of summer, at a restaurant selling dog meat and black goat meat stews in Seongnam, South Korea, August 14, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Dog meat placed on a scale during Malbok, the last of Korea's traditional hottest days of summer, at a restaurant selling dog meat and black goat meat stews in Seongnam, South Korea, August 14, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

For decades, the three days of summer considered the hottest of the year were among the busiest for South Korea's dog meat restaurants, as diners sought traditional stamina-boosting foods to endure the heat.

The third "boknal", or hot day, of 2026 on Friday carried an added sense of finality. It was the last before a nationwide ban on the breeding, slaughter and sale of dogs for meat takes full effect in February 2027.

At the Moran Market in Seongnam, once the country's best-known hubs for dog meat, lunchtime crowds filled alleyways lined with restaurants.

Yet many businesses have shifted to black goat stew and other alternatives, while the few customers still ordering "bosintang", or dog meat stew, were overwhelmingly elderly.

"It's really desolate now," said Kim Yong-book, head of the Moran Market Merchants' Association, who has worked in the area, which is near Seoul, for more ⁠than 40 years.

What ⁠was once a bustling trade hub has become "a town of old people," he said.

The ban caps a long decline in dog meat consumption as rising pet ownership and changing attitudes toward animal welfare transform public opinion.

In a survey released just before the law passed in 2024, more than 90% of 2,000 respondents said they had no intention of eating dog meat in future, while more than 80% supported a ban. Nearly 95% said they had not eaten dog meat during the previous year.

Government data showed more than 5,600 businesses were affected by the legislation, while officials said most dog farms had already closed ahead ⁠of next year's deadline.

The campaign to end the dog meat trade gathered momentum under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, an outspoken animal welfare advocate who publicly backed a ban.

Parliament passed legislation in January 2024 banning the breeding, slaughter, distribution and sale of dogs for human consumption.

The law provided a three-year grace period and will be fully enforced from February 2027, with violators facing prison terms and fines. Authorities have also promised support for affected farmers, distributors and restaurant owners.

For restaurant owner Lee Kang-chun, a former merchants' association chairman who has spent 37 years in the trade, the change evokes mixed emotions.

Lee said he believed it was right to end dog meat consumption considering South Korea's global image and shifting social attitudes. Yet he struggled to hide his sadness when discussing customers, many in their 70s, 80s and 90s, who travel long distances for a meal that they believe restores strength.

"When I ⁠see elderly people come ⁠all this way and leave because there's no dog meat left, it nearly brings me to tears," Reuters quoted him as saying. The market is one of the last places near Seoul still serving dog meat.

Despite soaring supply costs and minimal profits, he continues serving the dish largely for loyal regulars.

He said authorities should do more to help elderly vendors transition to new businesses.

Many restaurants in Moran Market have switched to black goat stew, marketed as another traditional health food, but owners say the shift has been difficult and does not fully make up for lost dog meat sales.

Among those having dog meat stew on Friday was Yoo Jin-sam, who said he had eaten the dish since his early twenties.

"I'm very disappointed," Yoo said. "People keep looking for it because they believe it's good for their health, and now they're getting rid of it."

Yoo, 69, said he accepted the government's decision, but would miss dog meat.

"I love dogs very much," Yoo said. "But it's still unfortunate. If there were a way, I'd like to be able to eat it again."

Another customer, Kim Jin-suk, 71, said he had few regrets about dog meat going off the menu: "I can just eat something else."

Varieties

Social Media Firms Urge Caution on Early Australia Under-16 Ban Data

Novva Tolson,15, poses while holding a mobile phone, in Sydney, Australia July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Jeremy Piper
Novva Tolson,15, poses while holding a mobile phone, in Sydney, Australia July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Jeremy Piper
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Social Media Firms Urge Caution on Early Australia Under-16 Ban Data

Novva Tolson,15, poses while holding a mobile phone, in Sydney, Australia July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Jeremy Piper
Novva Tolson,15, poses while holding a mobile phone, in Sydney, Australia July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Jeremy Piper

Top social media platforms urged the Australian government not to place too much weight on early evidence showing most children still use their products despite a landmark under-16 ban, as lawmakers weigh tougher penalties and investigative powers for regulators.

Local heads of YouTube owner Google, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, Snapchat and TikTok fronted a Senate inquiry as lawmakers pressed them on multiple studies, including from Australia's internet regulator, showing some 80% of minors were still on social media months after ⁠the ban took effect ⁠in December.

The hearing showed a persisting divide between lawmakers and big tech over whether the ban is working at a time when the eSafety Commissioner is considering legal action against some platforms, accusing them of deliberately slow-walking compliance to discourage other jurisdictions from copying it.

The inquiry is examining amendments that would double maximum penalties to A$99 million ($64 million) and expand the commissioner's powers to compel information ⁠and documents from platforms and their third-party age assurance providers during investigations.

"It is a point in tim, very early on, and we caution against over-reliance on that," YouTube's head of government relations Rachel Lord told the inquiry, noting the government's latest published compliance data was from March.

Age assurance technology had largely been built around a cut-off of 18, which many jurisdictions consider the transition from childhood to adulthood, and "the technologies that we are using to detect users at the 16 age boundary are evolving", Lord added, according to Reuters.

Meta's Australia head of public policy Mia Garlick said the data on which the research was based may not ⁠reflect whether underage users ⁠had an account, even if they claimed to use a platform.

"There can be differences in terms of people accessing versus having an account," she told the inquiry.

"Sometimes survey data is challenging in terms of stated versus revealed."

Meta released figures a day earlier showing it had deactivated 756,000 Instagram and Facebook accounts suspected of belonging to underage users, up from about 500,000 in March. YouTube's Lord said Google has stopped about 740,000 holders of Google accounts from using their accounts to use YouTube.

TikTok's Australian head of public policy Jessica Loftstedt said the company's compliance efforts were an "iterative process". The company had taken down 550,000 accounts when the law took effect and had since been removing about 24,000 a month.

The eSafety commissioner is scheduled to testify at the inquiry later on Friday.