
-
Mbappe can be Real Madrid 'legend' like Ronaldo: Ancelotti
-
Saka 'ready to go' for Arsenal after long injury lay-off: Arteta
-
Aston Martin to sell stake in Formula One team
-
Three talking points ahead of clay-court season
-
French court hands Le Pen five-year election ban
-
Probe accuses ex J-pop star Nakai of sexual assault
-
Japan leads hefty global stock market losses on tariff woes
-
Saka 'ready to go' after long injury lay-off: Arteta
-
Ingebrigtsen Sr, on trial for abusing Olympic champion, says he was 'overly protective'
-
Tourists and locals enjoy 'ephemeral' Tokyo cherry blossoms
-
Khamenei warns of 'strong' response if Iran attacked
-
France fines Apple 150 million euros over privacy feature
-
UK PM urges nations to smash migrant smuggling gangs 'once and for all'
-
Thai authorities probe collapse at quake-hit construction site
-
France's Le Pen convicted in fake jobs trial
-
Chinese tech giant Huawei says profits fell 28% last year
-
Trump says confident of TikTok deal before deadline
-
Myanmar declares week of mourning as hopes fade for quake survivors
-
Japan's Nikkei leads hefty market losses, gold hits record
-
Tears in Taiwan for relatives hit by Myanmar quake
-
Venezuela says US revoked transnational oil, gas company licenses
-
'Devastated': Relatives await news from Bangkok building collapse
-
Arsenal, Tottenham to play pre-season North London derby in Hong Kong
-
Japan's Nikkei leads hefty equity market losses; gold hits record
-
Israel's Netanyahu picks new security chief, defying legal challenge
-
Trump says US tariffs to hit 'all countries'
-
Prayers and tears for Eid in quake-hit Mandalay
-
After flops, movie industry targets fresh start at CinemaCon
-
Tsunoda targets podium finish in Japan after 'unreal' Red Bull move
-
French chefs await new Michelin guide
-
UK imposes travel permit on Europeans from Wednesday
-
At his academy, Romanian legend Hagi shapes future champions
-
Referee's lunch break saved Miami winner Mensik from early exit
-
Djokovic refuses to discuss eye ailment after shock Miami loss
-
Mitchell magic as Cavs bag 60th win, Pistons and T'Wolves brawl
-
Mensik shocks Djokovic to win Miami Open
-
Duterte lawyer: 'compelling' grounds to throw case out
-
What happens on Trump's 'Liberation Day' and beyond?
-
Clock ticks on Trump's reciprocal tariffs as countries seek reprieve
-
Japan-Australia flagship hydrogen project stumbles
-
Musk deploys wealth in bid to swing Wisconsin court vote
-
Mensik upsets Djokovic to win Miami Open
-
China manufacturing activity grows at highest rate in a year
-
'Waited for death': Ex-detainees recount horrors of Sudan's RSF prisons
-
Japan's Nikkei leads big losses in Asian markets as gold hits record
-
Rescue hopes fading three days after deadly Myanmar quake
-
'Basketbrawl' as seven ejected in Pistons-Wolves clash
-
Four men loom large in Microsoft history
-
Computer pioneer Microsoft turns 50 in the age of AI
-
Trump calls out both Putin and Zelensky over ceasefire talks

Venice glassblowers scorched by blazing energy bills
The blown glass creations forged in the furnaces on Venice's Murano islands are prized around the world -- but soaring gas prices are threatening the centuries-old craft.
"It's a huge problem... A hurricane has hit the economy," Luciano Gambaro, head of the Promovetro glass association, told AFP, describing bills that have risen a whopping 600 percent.
Murano's artisans fashion everything from tiny, coloured animals to majestic chandeliers, seven days a week.
To do so, they need one key thing: heat. Energy is their second biggest expense, after labour costs, and they are suffering from record gas prices worldwide.
They were paying 20 cents ($0.23) per cubic metre until September.
"On the December bill, the price was 1.27 euros, a rise of over 600 percent," said Gambaro, who employs six people and is feeling the strain.
There have been glassmakers on Murano -- a series of islands linked by bridges -- since the 13th century, when they were moved from Venice proper after devastating fires which began in their furnaces.
Some have kept their creations in vogue by partnering with renowned designers. Others have seen their glass included in art displayed in major museums.
In a bid to stave off a crisis, the Veneto region forked out three million euros in November to help compensate for the glassmakers' spiralling energy costs.
"Unfortunately, that will all be used up by the end of February," said Gambaro, who admitted to being "very worried" about the prospect of "paying the full price from March".
It is "a bigger problem than Covid", he said, in reference to the coronavirus pandemic which hit Italy in 2020, forcing a series of financially-punishing lockdowns, and emptying Venice of its big-spending tourists.
- 'Tip of the iceberg' -
Cristiano Ferro, whose company Effetre Murano employs 32 people and makes semi-finished products -- brightly coloured blocks, rods and sheets to be shaped and crafted by glassmakers -- in 16 kilns, says gas prices are "just the tip of the iceberg".
"All the raw materials have increased by 20, 30, 40, 50 percent: sand, soda and all the mineral oxides used to colour the glass," he said.
Companies like his have few solutions, apart from upping their own prices.
"We have increased the costs by 15 to 30 percent, now we'll see how the market reacts," Gambaro said.
There is no quick fix: it is very costly to shut down and restart the furnaces.
Instead, he said European countries need to put pressure on supply countries -- in this case Russia -- with jointly-agreed countermeasures.
- 'We will overcome it' -
It is not just the workshops along Murano's picturesque canals that are feeling the pain.
Manufacturers and consumers across Italy are being hit by soaring gas and electricity bills, and the government has so far pledged 5.5 billion euros in support.
Despite the threat to Murano and its glassmakers, Gambaro refuses to despair.
"We have a problem, but we will overcome it," he said. "We have been here for a thousand years."
P.Martin--AMWN