- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- Trumpet star Marsalis says jazz creates 'balance' in divided world
- No children left on Greece's famed but emptying island
- Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- Climate change made deadly Hurricane Helene more intense: study
- A US climate scientist sees hurricane Helene's devastation firsthand
- Padres edge Dodgers, Mets on the brink
- Can carbon credits help close coal plants?
- With EU funding, Tunisian farmer revives parched village
- Sega ninja game 'Shinobi' gets movie treatment
- Boeing suspends negotiations with striking workers
- 7-Eleven owner's shares spike on report of new buyout offer
- Your 'local everything': what 7-Eleven buyout battle means for Japan
- Three million UK children living below poverty line: study
- China's Jia brings film spanning love, change over decades to Busan
- Paying out disaster relief before climate catastrophe strikes
- Chinese shares drop on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- SE Asian summit seeks progress on Myanmar civil war
- How climate funds helped Peru's women beekeepers stay afloat
- Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded as wars rage
- Pacific island nations swamped by global drug trade
- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- Mozambique elects new president in tense vote
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Balkan summit to rally support for struggling Ukraine
- New stadium gives Real Madrid a headache
'Sharing the magic': Mermaids embrace inclusivity
Like mythical creatures from an animation classic brought to life, hundreds of people donned finned outfits and took to Virginia's indoor waters to celebrate the magic of mermaids, a glittering spectacle hailed by participants embracing diversity and inclusion.
The MerMagic Convention held at an aquatic center in Manassas, in the eastern United States, is billed as the world's largest dedicated to mermaids, and attracts enthusiasts from all walks -- or swims -- of life.
Among those diving deep into the glimmer and glam is Helena McLeod, who lives with Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a nerve disease that has left the 33-year-old redhead unable to fully swim as a mermaid.
She still gets into her elaborate ridged silicone fin, with the help of her husband Darren, and splashes at the pool's edge when she isn't navigating the convention booths, her wheelchair fashioned into a purple-and-gold clamshell.
"Sharing the magic and making kids smile" is her passion at conventions, she told AFP. "I love it when they go 'Ah, a mermaid!'"
When she started playing the role, the number of mermaids with disabilities was small, "but there's a lot more now," said McLeod, who carries with her a sign bearing her "helenathemermaid" Instagram address and the hashtag #merabled.
With multiple ages, orientations, ethnicities and abilities represented in and out of the pool -- which can get crowded, with dozens of mermaids and mermen diving, flipping and swimming at once -- organizers have embraced the inclusivity of their mission.
In addition to programs on fin treatment and water safety, the convention hosted workshops this weekend on "Diversity in Mermaiding" and "MerMakeup for All Shades of the Lagoon" -- not to mention a panel boldly titled "Fat Mermaids Make Waves."
For 19-year-old Merlot, being a mermaid is about participants expressing their creative selves.
"Anybody -- any age, race, body type, disabled people, anyone -- can be a mermaid," she said after squeezing into her red-and-white glittery suit much as a teenager would lie on the floor to wriggle into a pair of too-tight jeans.
"There is no limitations," she added. "It's whatever you think it should be."
A woman who calls herself Chobo said she has been part of the mermaid world for six or seven years.
Herself disabled, the beaming 27-year-old with pink, purple and aquamarine hair plunged into the pool, propelling herself by kicking her fluke-like monofin.
"Mermaiding has been really great for me to be inclusive and be able to do... sport, but also be able to express myself," she said.
Coral Koi, 32, said the conventions allow attendees to "unwind and let go."
"It's just fun self-care," she said. "Where else can you find so much magic?"
F.Dubois--AMWN