レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

A ship likely cut cables in the Red Sea that disrupted internet access in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, experts said, showing the lines' vulnerability over a year after another incident severed them. The International Cable Protection Committee told The Associated Press (AP) that 15 submarine cables pass through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern mouth of the Red Sea that separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. Authorities in multiple countries identified the cables affected as the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4, the India–Middle East–Western Europe and the FALCON GCX cables. Then that list expanded to include the Europe India Gateway cable as well, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at the firm Kentik. Initial reporting suggested the cut happened off the coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, something authorities in the kingdom have not acknowledged, nor have the companies managing the cables. "Early independent analysis indicates that the probable cause of damage is commercial shipping activity in the region," John Wrottesley, the committee's operations manager, told the AP. "Damage to submarine cables from dragged anchors account for approximately 30% of incidents each year, representing around 60 faults." Madory also told the AP that the working assumption was that a commercial vessel dropped its anchor and dragged it across the four cables, severing the connections. Cabling in the Red Sea can be at a shallow depth, making it easier for an anchor drag to affect them. Undersea cables are among the backbones of the internet, along with satellite connections and land-based cables. Typically, internet service providers have multiple access points and reroute traffic if one fails. However, rerouting traffic can cause latency, or lag, for internet users. Madory said it appeared at least 10 nations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East had been affected by the cable cut. Among those nations were India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

For more than 20 years, a self-proclaimed “Cycling Chef” has been giving two-wheeled gastronomic tours of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. He even cooks on the go, leading guests on a foodie adventure with his kitchen-bike. Pedaling through the streets of Copenhagen on his custom-built bicycle-turned-portable kitchen, chef Morten Kryger Wulff flips prawns in a frying pan while leading guests on a culinary tour with a twist. In a city famous for fine dining—including Michelin-starred restaurants Noma, Geranium and Alchemist—Kryger Wulff’s five-course tour may be the most unique dining experience of all. “We have, over the last 20 years, been working on this concept, bringing people on gastronomic rides, cooking for them along the way. And that is what it's all about,” smiles Kryger Wulff. The Danish chef, who’s worked in prestigious kitchens, including London’s Savoy, first became the “Cycling Chef” back in 2002, cooking outdoors at private events, such as garden parties, corporate functions and picnics. The idea was born when he and his friends were turfed out of a Copenhagen royal park by a park officer for illegally barbecuing. With no other option, they placed the cast-iron grill onto his old vintage cargo bike and kept cooking. “Right there, while I was biking, and my friend was running alongside turning the steaks, we were looking at each other. You need that, you need a bicycle kitchen,” he recalls. Kryger Wulff now gives several “Gastronomic Rides” each year, pedaling through city streets and parks, then stopping at hidden spots to prepare and share food. That wouldn’t be possible without his custom-built portable kitchen: an adapted cargo bike fitted with a stove, foldable work surface, fridges, cupboards, plus space for glasses, cutlery and more. Each tour includes five courses consumed at five different city stops. The experience lasts about four and a half hours, with guests cycling between three and five kilometers. It costs 1,695 Danish kroner (approximately $265) per person. Guests bring their own bikes or rent one if needed. Rain ponchos are even provided, though not always required. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

School attendance rates in the Australian state of Victoria have declined and remain lower than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one school is thinking outside the box. It's reconnecting with its students via a food truck—bringing education beyond the classroom. Called the Bitter Sweet Café, this hands-on environment is delivering lessons in literacy and numeracy. It's an initiative set up by MacKillop Education—a school designed for children who are disengaged or at risk of disengaging from education. "I've learnt how to make coffees is one thing I do, I interact with people, so my people skills have improved," explains Daniel, a MacKillop Education student. Daniel didn’t believe he would ever graduate before enrolling at MacKillop Education in Year Eight. He was studying at a mainstream school where he said he felt isolated and lacked support for his learning needs after being diagnosed with autism. Now in Year 12, he’s feeling confident and gaining practical life skills through hands-on experience. The Bitter Sweet Café and food truck is just one initiative that’s helped reconnect dozens of students with their education. Since its launch in 2018, the program has grown and now serves the wider Geelong community. Students learn to design menus, conduct market research, collaborate with others, and build social and problem-solving abilities. "Attendance rose, we saw students' confidence in themselves and their sense of self-worth also improved," explains MacKillop Education Geelong Principal Skye Staude. School refusal continues to be a challenge in Australia, with attendance rates steadily declining over the past ten years. “We see social impacts of not finishing school, we see health, mental health outcomes,” says Deakin University psychology associate professor Glenn Melvin. It’s not just about having fun. These students are also earning accredited industry qualifications through the program. It’s a clear example of how schools can adopt more flexible approaches to better connect with disengaged students, a recommendation highlighted in the Victorian Government’s education inquiry. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Rick Clough spent some four decades fishing for lobsters and sea urchins off the Maine coast before spotting one of the ocean's most recognized predators—a great white shark. The approximately 8-foot (2.4-meter) shark, seen off the beach town of Scarborough in July, surprised Clough, but didn't make him fear the ocean—though he admitted, "I'm not sure I'd want to go urchin diving now." Boaters, beachgoers and fishermen like Clough who spend time in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada are learning to live with great white sharks, the creatures made famous by the 1975 film Jaws. Sightings of the apex predators are up in places like Maine, where they were once very rarely spotted. Scientists link the white shark sightings to increased availability of the seals the sharks feast on, and say beachgoers are generally very safe from shark bites. The sharks can grow close to 20 feet (6 meters) long, though most don't get that big. Why are great whites going north? Sightings of great whites off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have become increasingly frequent in recent years, and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has documented hundreds of the animals over more than a decade. But new data shows the sharks are heading even farther north into New Hampshire, Maine and beyond, said Greg Skomal, a senior fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and a veteran white shark researcher. Skomal said the average residency in these northern waters has also increased from 48 days to 70 days, suggesting that white sharks appear to be increasingly comfortable farther north. A key reason for the shift seems to be the successful conservation of seals off New England and Canada via laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which has allowed seals to thrive and provide a food source for the predatory sharks, Skomal said. Great white sharks also benefit from protections, including a ban on fishing for them in U.S. federal waters that has stood since 1997. They are still considered vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The ‘kidult’ market is keeping the toy industry buoyant in Japan. At Tokyo Big Sight, a trade show in Tokyo, toys specifically aimed at adults grabbed people’s attention. More than 35,000 products were on display from 200 different companies. Japan’s toy market has expanded for five consecutive years and now tops 1 trillion yen ($6.8 billion) according to the Japan Toy Association. At the Tomica booth, some of the toys on display were produced with adults in mind. “The biggest factor is what we call ‘kidults.’ With this target in mind, more and more products have been introduced into the market, and the success they have received has been a very significant driver of this growth,” explains Akihiro Sato, Executive Director of the Japan Toy Association. The ‘kidult’ phenomenon—adults buying toys for themselves—is happening even as the number of children being born in Japan declines. The sprawling Plarail display at the Tomica booth made it one of the busiest booths at the event, combining nostalgia for parents who grew up with the brand and fresh appeal for a new generation of young fans. Toy manufacturers aren’t forgetting about kids—they are, after all, the adult customers of tomorrow. “The key is to consider what kind of impact we can have with today’s children, and what kind of value we can provide. The memories they make now, in a few decades, will lead them to return to these toys again as kidults, engaging with them again,” says Sato. At the Sega booth, there were still plenty of toys for children to enjoy. But the manufacturer also had to cater to the disposable income that adults wield. “The trend in the toy market is that it’s currently shrinking among children, but purchases from adults who are very fond of toys have contributed steadily to the overall expansion of the toy market. At our company as well, products that adults can enjoy—such as the acrylic dolls—have become extremely popular,” explains Mihashi Takenori, Chief of Promotion Department at Sega Fave Corporation. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A driver was clocked going 27 kilometers per hour (17 mph) over the speed limit on a street in the Swiss city of Lausanne, and now he's facing up to 90,000 Swiss francs (over $110,000) in fines as a result. But he can afford it. Why the eye-popping penalty? Because the speedster, a repeat offender, is one of Switzerland's wealthiest people, and the Vaud region serves up fines based on factors like income, fortune or general family financial situation. The Swiss are not alone. Germany, France, Austria and the Nordic countries all issue punishments based on a person's wealth. The recent fine isn't even a record in Switzerland. In 2010, a millionaire Ferrari driver got a ticket equal to about $290,000 for speeding in the eastern canton of St. Gallen. Back then, the Swiss safety group Road Cross said rich drivers had been lightly punished until voters approved a penal law overhaul three years earlier that let judges hand down fines based on personal income and wealth for misdemeanors like speeding and drunk driving. Under today's rules, an indigent person might spend a night in jail instead of a fine, while the wealthiest in the rich Alpine country could be on the hook for tens of thousands. A court in the Swiss canton of Vaud recently ruled that the tycoon must pay 10,000 Swiss francs ($12,300) up front and could be forced to pay the rest—80,000 more—if he's caught for a similar roadway infraction over the next three years. Switzerland's 24 Heures newspaper first reported the case and said the man, who was not identified, was a French citizen listed by the Swiss economic weekly Bilan among the 300 richest people in Switzerland—with a fortune in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The newspaper reported that he had already been caught for a similar speeding infraction eight years ago, and also paid 10,000 Swiss francs in penalty and faced another 60,000 if another infraction had taken place within the following two years. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Before New York Fashion Week kicked off in Manhattan, some of the incoming brands made an early first stop elsewhere—out in Queens, on the blue hard courts of the U.S. Open. In a sport where brands like Nike and Adidas were once the only players, the logos of Gucci and Miu Miu have started to weave their way in. Tennis fashion has been surging, and the luxury fashion industry doesn't want to feel left out. Luxury fashion partnerships in the tennis world have historically been somewhat sparse. They've been testing the waters in recent years, and lately, the deals have been flowing—Bottega Veneta with Lorenzo Musetti, Burberry with Jack Draper, Canali with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dior with Zheng Qinwen have all come since January. Coco Gauff wore tennis dresses partially designed by Miu Miu for three tournaments this summer. “Fashion helps bring casual fans to the sport,” she said. And top-ranked Jannik Sinner often has carried a Gucci tennis bag onto the court since their partnership began in 2022. The collaborations are multiplying. And they’re causing a buzz. When Musetti debuted as a Bottega Veneta ambassador, the brand’s first athlete, by wearing their white jacket at Wimbledon this summer, both the sports and fashion worlds were taken. “It was really cool because every magazine, every fashion magazine was talking about it,” Musetti said with a smile, a few days before he started playing in New York. “I think the tennis courts can also be a stage.” Tennis’ increasing cultural capital has made the sport just that—a stage—for players and fans alike. But luxury fashion brands are flocking in for more than just its recent popularity. “Tennis is a marketer’s dream because it crosses so many demographics and still has prestige,” said Meeta Roy, an associate professor of fashion business at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York who previously worked in the luxury fashion industry. The sport's historical association with the wealthy, coupled with its skyrocketing general popularity, is making its courts the perfect marketing opportunity for the luxury space. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Sales of non-alcoholic (NA) drinks are soaring as more people rethink their relationship with booze. But experts warn these alcohol-free alternatives may not be the right choice for everyone. Moderate drinking was once thought to be good for your heart, but recent research shows that drinking less, or nothing at all, is a much healthier way to go. Alcohol has been linked to cancers, injuries, cardiovascular disease and a host of other problems. So the low- or no- alcohol drinks are seen as an attractive alternative. "They have less than 0.5% alcohol by volume. So that's compared to a standard beer, that would be about 5%, or a standard wine, that would be about 12%. But they do contain a lot of the alcohol-related cues, so the same taste, smell, sipping experience, sometimes even the same brand as alcoholic products," explains Molly Bowdring from Stanford University. Retail sales of non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits surged to $823 million last year. That's according to market research firm NielsenIQ, which says more than nine in 10 NA customers also buy alcohol. Retiree Ann Kopp Mitchell, who recently tasted various NA beverages at Monday Morning Bottle Shop in San Diego, says they're a positive addition to her life. “If I want a glass of wine with my dinner, I don’t feel guilty. I can enjoy that glass of wine. And if I want to have a spirit because we’re celebrating someone’s birthday, or champagne, I will do that. But I’ll only have one, and then let it go, and then maybe go to a non-alcoholic," she says. Still, health experts say non-alcoholic beverages aren’t for everyone, especially if they might trigger cravings for alcohol. These so-called NA drinks are meant to mimic alcohol in many ways, such as appearance, smell and taste. Some drinks, like mocktails made with soda and sweet syrups, have high levels of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to no more than about six teaspoons a day for women and nine teaspoons a day for men. A 12-ounce can of soda on its own contains 10 teaspoons. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Honey bee researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) are enlisting a four-legged ally to sniff out a disease that threatens the vital insects. Maple, an English Springer Spaniel, used to work for law enforcement, but now she's doing her bit for the planet to help keep nature's prized pollinators in good health. In her latest role, she's the queen bee among researchers at Michigan State University—helping to sniff out danger to honey bees. The Pollinator Performance Center's wide range of projects includes developing a training program for dogs to use their sensitive noses to uncover a bacterial disease called American foulbrood that threatens honey bee larvae. “It's pretty much the same across the board, whether you're training a narcotics dog or explosives dog: You take the target odor, you present it to them, and through a series of kind of systematic and repetitive training, you start to—the dog starts to learn to correlate the odor, the target odor, with something good is going to happen,” Sue Stejskal, a Michigan State grad who has been training dogs says. A panting Maple stands patiently as Stejskal, her longtime owner/trainer/handler, slowly places the once-retired K-9 in a yellow protective suit, complete with a veil for her head and four booties that are slipped over her paws in case Maple steps on a bee. “Much like with humans, we recognize that if a dog is going to be in an active bee yard, they need to wear the same personal protective equipment as people do. And so, that is a bee suit. You can’t buy them on Amazon for dogs. So, there’s been some altering and testing,” says Stejskal. Meghan Milbrath, an MSU professor whose lab studies risk factors that affect honey bees’ health, was working to establish diagnostic and screening tools for honey bee diseases and to train honey bee veterinarians. One of the vets put her in touch with Stejskal. They met, and the dog detection plan was born. Stejskal then set about teaching an old dog a new trick. New to Maple, anyway. Maryland’s agriculture department previously used canine detection methods in beehives. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

For more than 150 years, horse-drawn carriages have been trotting through Manhattan’s Central Park, weathering the arrival of the automobile, years of criticism from animal rights activists and even a mayoral administration that vowed to ban the tourist activity. But now the influential nonprofit that manages the 843-acre park—and has previously stayed out of the debate—has thrown its support behind a proposal to wind down the industry as early as next summer. The Central Park Conservancy argued in an August 12 letter to the City Council that horse carriages have an outsized impact on public safety and road infrastructure in the increasingly crowded park. “Horses are too unpredictable and the roadways are too busy with too many different kinds of users now,” said Elizabeth Smith, the conservancy’s CEO. Smith noted global cities, including London, Paris and Beijing, have already banned the nostalgic rides, some of them even embracing horseless, electric-powered versions. Eliminating carriage horses also goes against famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision for the park, with its hilly paths and undulating roads tailor-made for leisurely carriage rides, argues Christina Hansen, a longtime carriage driver and industry spokesperson. “We’re seeing the park the way it was meant to be seen,” she said. Animal rights groups have long complained that horses can get easily spooked on busy city streets, leading to accidents and injuries. They also claim the horses are overworked and live in inadequate stables, and their drivers flaunt city regulations, including leaving behind piles of horse manure. All animals are supposed to be fitted with manure-catching devices. Carriage horse owners and drivers maintain that their horses enjoy a life of relative ease. Under city regulations, each is inspected by a veterinarian twice a year and must retire by the age of 26. They work a maximum of nine hours a day and must stop giving rides if it’s above 89°F (32°C) or above 80°F (27°C) with high humidity. They also don’t work if there’s severe weather, and must get at least five weeks’ vacation a year outside city limits with daily access to pasture. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Banks in Thailand are now required to set a daily limit of 50,000 baht ($1,537) on many online transfers to lessen financial fraud, particularly those involving customers judged vulnerable, such as children and older people. The rule announced by the Bank of Thailand is meant to help combat the huge criminal industry of online scams, which makes billions of dollars annually and is especially active in Southeast Asia. In many countries, there is increasing pressure on banks to play a more active role in safeguarding the assets of customers targeted by scammers. The new measure aims to curb financial fraud by preventing criminals from receiving and transferring a large amount of money at one time, and enabling timely freezing of illicit funds in order to increase the chances that victims will be able to recover at least some of their money, according to Daranee Saeju, the bank's assistant governor for Payment Systems Policy and Financial Consumer Protection. The daily transfer limit will be applied to transfers in three different tiers: under 50,000 baht ($1,537), under 200,000 baht ($6,147) and above 200,000 baht ($6,147), depending on each customer's risk profile and the banks' assessment under know-your-customer, or KYC, rules. Customers with established records of responsibility can continue transferring at their usual levels. This measure will be implemented for new mobile banking and internet banking customers by the end of this month and for existing customers by the end of this year. Thailand has around 12 million mobile banking users, according to a report in the Bangkok Post newspaper. It said previous central bank safeguards capped mobile banking transfers at 50,000 baht ($1,537) per transaction—with facial recognition required—and 200,000 baht ($6,147) per day in total. In June alone this year, 24,500 scam cases related to money transfers were reported to the authorities, causing total losses of 2.8 billion baht ($86.1 million)—an average of 114,000 baht ($3,504) per case. The largest single fraudulent transfer amounted to 4.9 million baht ($150,591), the Post reported, citing the central bank. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A medical museum in Philadelphia has redrawn its policies on the collection and display of human remains, limiting its acceptance of additional specimens and working to follow “evolving modern medical ethical standards” in how it handles the 6,500 organs, bones and other body parts in its collection. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which owns the Mütter Museum, announced it is restricting the taking of photos and videos of human remains, allowing it only with the museum’s permission. Photography by the public will remain prohibited. The museum “will allow photography as long as it sort of serves an educational purpose,” said Sara Ray, its director of interpretation and engagement. “But education itself is a pretty broad net that we’re working through.” The great majority of the remains were collected from about 1840 to about 1940, mostly from Philadelphia, largely body parts and organs that were considered to be helpful in medical education and taken during autopsies or surgery. Such collections were not uncommon among medical societies at a time when specimens were critical to understanding how the body is structured and how it works. But most of those museums are long gone. The Mütter Museum said it is also working to “de-anonymize” its collection by looking into the personal histories of its human remains to figure out who they are, if possible, and to “do justice” in how it displays them and tells their stories. The goal is to exhibit them in the context of the history of medicine, bodily diversity and the tools and therapies used to treat them. “The goal is not finding an identity for finding an identity’s sake,” Ray said. “The goal is to find an identity so that we can build a richer biographical profile, through which we can then ask questions about the way that this person navigated the world. And so that’s going to look very different for every single specimen.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Wiesława Juroszek was only 6 years old when she learned the intricate handicraft of lace crocheting from the women in her family as part of a long tradition in their little mountain village. Now, 53 years later, she is part of a new generation of women using those skills to make Koniaków famous far beyond Poland's borders. Their uniquely crocheted, beautiful wedding dresses, skirts, blouses and even traditional tablecloths are enjoying a surge of popularity and elevated prices for the skilled work. "In Koniaków, almost all the women do hekla, as we call it," Juroszek told The Associated Press. "For us it's a passion, for us it's our whole life." Around 700 women work as lace makers in Koniaków, which is nestled high in the Beskid Mountains in southern Poland near the border with Slovakia. The techniques have been passed down for years by Koniaków women, who were following the tradition of previous generations of Polish women who embellished bonnets worn over their hair by crocheting lace ribbons to be tied around their foreheads. "It was a decorative element. When a woman was married, she had her own," Juroszek said. " Later, women started making them as table decorations, like napkins, and the shape became round. And the women sold them, which was a way to earn money." What began more than 100 years ago simply as work to support household budgets has been transformed into a prized craft. Blouses sell for at least 3,000 to 4,000 złoty ($750 to $1,000) and wedding dress prices reach up to tens of thousands of złoty. The steep costs are based on the amount of time the women need for their needlework, with even a simple blouse requiring several weeks. Unlike some other traditional craftworks around the globe, crocheting lace is not fading; it's flourishing. Koniaków lace has drawn the attention of international designers. The ladies of Koniaków say each of their lace creations is one of a kind, so it comes as no surprise that international fashion designers noticed the pieces. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

On the Mercator projection, one of the world’s most popular maps, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same size. But on the Equal Earth projection showing continents in their true proportions, 14 Greenlands would easily fit inside the African continent. Criticism that the Mercator projection does not accurately reflect Africa’s real size is not new. However, a recent campaign by African advocacy groups is gaining momentum online as it urges organizations and schools to adopt the Equal Earth projection, which they say more accurately displays the size of the continent of more than 1.4 billion people. The African Union, the continent’s diplomatic organization with 55 member countries, endorsed the campaign last month in what advocates call a major milestone. The Mercator map was created in the 16th century by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. Designed to help European navigators at sea, the map distorted landmasses by enlarging regions near the poles, such as North America and Greenland, while shrinking Africa and South America. The 2018 Equal Earth projection is a modern map that follows the Earth’s curvature and shows continents in their true proportions, unlike the distorted Mercator map. The Mercator projection is still common in classrooms and tech platforms. Google Maps dropped the widely used projection for a 3D globe when viewed on a desktop browser in 2018, but users can switch back to the old map. The mobile app still defaults to the Mercator projection. Two African advocacy groups, Africa No Filter and Speak Up Africa, launched a campaign in April to push schools, followed by international organizations and media outlets, to use the Equal Earth projection, which it says more accurately reflects the true size of Africa. “Correcting the map is not only an African issue. It is a matter of truth and accuracy that concerns the entire world. When whole generations, in Africa and elsewhere, learn from a distorted map, they develop a biased view of Africa’s role in the world,” said Fara Ndiaye, co-founder and deputy executive director of Speak Up Africa. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Matcha is suddenly popping up in all sorts of things, from lattes and ice cream to cakes and chocolate. No one knows for sure who started the global matcha boom, which has been going on for several years. But it's clear that harvests, especially of fine-grade matcha, can't keep up with demand. Matcha is a type of tea that's grown in shade, steamed and then ground into a very fine powder. It's processed differently from regular green tea. The Japanese agricultural ministry has been working to boost tea growth, offering help to farmers with new machines, special soil, financial aid and counseling to try to coax tea growers to switch to matcha from regular green sencha tea. “We don’t want this to end up just a fad, but instead make matcha a standard as a flavor and Japanese global brand,” said Tomoyuki Kawai, who works at the tea section of the agricultural ministry. Japan's tea exports have more than doubled over the last decade, with the U.S. now accounting for about a third. Much of that growth is of matcha, according to Japanese government data. The concern is that with labor shortages as aging farmers leave their fields, the matcha crunch may worsen in the coming years. Other countries, including China and some Southeast Asian countries, are also producing matcha, so Japan is racing to establish its branding as the origin of the tea. Tea ceremony practitioners aren’t angered by the craze, just perplexed. They hope it will lead to people taking an interest in sado or “the way of tea,” whose followers have been steadily declining. But they aren’t counting on it. Business owner Minoru Handa has a longtime relationship with growers in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, and has a steady supply of matcha. To guard against hoarders, he limits purchases at his store to one can per customer. Handa, who has exhibited his prize-winning tea in the U.S. and Europe, expects that growers will increase the supply and shrugs off the hullabaloo over the matcha shortage. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

A young Kenyan entrepreneur is harnessing AI to break communication barriers for the deaf community. His web app, Terp 360, aims to become Africa’s first sign language translation platform built for local use. Signvrse’s Terp 360 claims to be Africa’s first AI translation platform built specifically for local use. It translates text and speech into Kenyan Sign Language through avatars, enhancing communication for both deaf and hearing individuals. “We like to call it Google Translate for sign language—and how this works is it interprets text and speech input and outputs very fluid natural avatars, which is a digital human that now signs the same way a human being does at scale,” explains Elly Savatia, the 24-year-old founder of Signvrse. Founded in 2023 and a recipient of the Kenya Presidential Innovation Award, Signvrse is on a mission to digitize Kenyan Sign Language by using motion capture systems to accurately record sign language motion from real interpreters. The combination of body movement, hand rotation and articulation, and facial expressions allows the application to accurately capture the linguistic and vibrant nature of sign language. Eventually, the company hopes the solution can be used in both business and personal contexts through a subscription. For the deaf community, it could be a very helpful solution to the challenges of daily life. “I had a lot of challenges when searching for a job, and sometimes when I go to hospital, I have a lot of challenges,” says Kelvin Munene, a deaf waiter working in Nairobi. “I think when using this app, it will help those challenges and it will make communication easier,” he adds. However, he says he hopes the application can one day use both English and Kiswahili. Leakey Nyabaro, a member of the deaf community and the founder and director of Galaxy Sign Language Training Centre in Kenya, says, “We find that there are a lot of errors. It’s not that perfect, but somehow I find it more effective when it is sign-to-voice (translation). We find that it is voiced correctly, benefiting more of the hearing community but not the deaf.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

How much is a wave worth?It’s a question gaining global attention as surfing evolves into a booming commercial industry. Locals on the southern coast of Western Australia believe they may have found a solution: an artificial reef they hope will revolutionize the town’s surfing landscape. Wave riders are taking full advantage of the ideal conditions at Middleton Beach in Albany. But things weren’t always like this. Longtime surfer Peter Bolt, who was raised in Albany, has strolled this stretch more times than he can count to check the waves. For much of that time, he saw little more than unrideable close-outs at Middleton Beach. So, over the last three decades, he’s been at the forefront of efforts to change that. “I think I came back to Albany in 1990. We just felt that’s where we needed the juniors to have something decent to surf at, you know, in town where they can get access to it,” says Bolt. With financial backing from the City of Albany, along with support from both state and federal governments, expert marine engineers have successfully crafted an ideal surfing wave. The 13 million Australian dollar ($9 million) initiative saw 70,000 tons of rock strategically placed on the ocean floor. Yet, there were moments when Peter Bolt doubted it would ever become a reality. Despite strong support from its advocates, the Albany surf reef has faced criticism from some who argue it’s a poor use of funds and worry it could harm the beach environment. For now, though, surfers remain unfazed, saying the beach is in good shape and the investment has been worthwhile. “Well, I’m a surfer. I like a good wave. Don’t really care how much money was spent,” says a surfer who just came out of the water. And Bolt agrees. “When I see the kids come down here before school, in the dark, to get a wave before they go to school, and then they zip down here again after school, I go, yeah, that’s it. That’s what this was all about.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Prize money at the U.S. Open rose to nearly $85 million across all competitions this year, including a record $5 million each to the women's and men's singles champions, and total player compensation jumped 20% to $90 million, the most in tennis history. The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) announced the payouts for the year's last Grand Slam tournament, which began with the new mixed doubles event and its $1 million top check on August 19-20. Singles competition started on a Sunday for the first time—August 24—as those brackets expand from 14 days to 15. The increases at Flushing Meadows—where last year's total compensation was $75 million—come as the sport's leading players have been in discussions with each of the four major tournaments in a bid to receive a higher percentage of revenues at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, French Open and Australian Open. Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff and 2024 U.S. Open champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner were among 20 players who signed a letter sent to the heads of the four Grand Slam events in March seeking more prize money and a greater say in what they called “decisions that directly impact us.” Since then, some players have held talks with the majors. The previous high amount for a U.S. Open singles championship was $3.85 million in 2019, before decreasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's $5 million check represented a 39% hike from last year's $3.6 million. The same percentage increase was applied to the singles runners-up, who get $2.5 million each. Semifinalists earned about $1.26 million, a 26% rise. The news came after the USTA said in May that its main arena, Arthur Ashe Stadium, would be overhauled as part of an $800 million project touted as the “largest single investment” in U.S. Open history. This article was provided by The Associated Press.

President Donald Trump reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. “This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. An executive order he signed in August also reinvigorates a national sports council that the president stocked with former and current athletes and other figures from the sports world. Several prominent athletes joined Trump and top administration officials. In the test, children had to run and perform sit-ups, pull-ups or push-ups, and a sit-and-reach test, but the program changed in 2012. It evolved into the Youth Fitness Program, which the government said “moved away from recognizing athletic performance to providing a barometer on students’ health.” The then-first lady Michelle Obama also promoted her “Let's Move” initiative, focused on reducing childhood obesity through diet and exercise. The Youth Fitness Test, according to a Health and Human Services Department website last updated in 2023, “minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health.” The return of the exam brought mixed reactions from some who study exercise. Trump is putting a welcome focus on physical activity, but a test alone won’t make America’s children healthier, said Laura Richardson, a kinesiology professor at the University of Michigan. The exam is only a starting point that should be paired with lessons to help all students improve, she said. “It’s not just, you get a score and you’re doomed,” said Richardson, whose teaching focuses on obesity. “But you get a score, and we can figure out a program that really helps the improvement.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Milwaukee Brewers are bringing manager Pat Murphy's strange eating habits to fans. Murphy went viral in a recent interview for pulling a pancake out of his uniform pocket and taking a bite—sharing the flapjack with the reporter—as he detailed different ways he shoved food into his pockets to snack on in the dugout. The moment has spawned quite the movement in Milwaukee. The ballclub announced that "Murph's Pocket Pancakes" would be sold at American Family Field during Sunday games for the rest of the season, starting with the August 10 series against the New York Mets. Murphy was asked before a game what he thought of the promotion. "A little late, we've been doing this since 2017," said Murphy, noting he occasionally has been keeping food in his pocket for about that long. "I guess I never did it during an interview (before). It used to be mostly bagels. I had bagels in the morning. ... I'd always have one (at) day games usually—a bagel, a waffle, a pancake rolled up, something. Day games, the day gets away from you and need a little something." The Brewers haven't lost since Murphy whipped the pancake out of his pocket a few weeks ago, building the best record in the Major Leagues. He went on to continue eating his pancake in the postgame press conference while detailing other food items he had brought into the dugout. "Waffles, pancakes, pizza," Murphy said then. Murphy was then asked how he could put a slice of pizza in his pocket without staining the uniform. "If it's cold pizza, you fold it up like a sandwich, you know what I mean," Murphy said. "You can eat it during the game. And then when I wear a hoodie, I have the pocket right here, and that's full of crumbs." This article was provided by The Associated Press.