
-
Cuba looks to sun to solve its energy crisis
-
Experts warn 'AI-written' paper is latest spin on climate change denial
-
PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'
-
Late birdie burst lifts Ryder to Texas Open lead
-
Five potential Grand National fairytale endings
-
Trump purges national security team after meeting conspiracist
-
More work for McIlroy even with two wins before Masters
-
Trump hopeful of 'great' PGA-LIV golf merger
-
No.1 Scheffler goes for third Masters crown in four years
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump says 'very close to a deal' on TikTok
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
Postecoglou denies taunting Spurs fans in Chelsea defeat
-
Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list

Syrians turn plastic waste into rugs to make a living
At a rubbish dump in northwest Syria, Mohammed Behlal rummages for plastic to be sold to recyclers and transformed into floor rugs and other items in the impoverished rebel enclave.
In rebel-held Syria, recycling is rarely an environmental impulse but rather a grim lifeline for needy residents looking for work or items they otherwise could not afford.
Braving the stench, insects and risk of disease, 39-year-old Behlal hacks through the rubbish pile with a scythe and his bare hands.
He and two of his six children earn a living sifting through the refuse in Idlib province's village of Hezreh, earning $7 to $10 a week each.
"It's tiring... but what can we do, we have to put up with this hard labour," said Behlal, who was displaced from neighbouring Aleppo province during Syria's civil war.
"Thank God, at least we have work with the trash," he added.
Behlal was shot in the leg during fighting and has had trouble finding employment.
Hunched over to collect pieces of plastic or metal, he throws everything into a bag to sell to a nearby scrap facility.
Syria's conflict has killed more than 500,000 people, and around half of the country's pre-war population has been forced from their homes since fighting broke out in 2011.
More than four million people, most of them dependent on aid, live in areas controlled by jihadists and Turkish-backed groups in Syria's north and northwest.
In a large scrapyard next to agricultural fields, workers sort plastic junk loosely into piles according to colour.
They then cut it up and crush it into small pieces that are washed and melted into plastic pellets.
- Plastic thread -
Farhan Sleiman, 29, is among those who handle the material brought in from the landfill.
"We buy plastic from roaming trash-picker trucks and children," said Sleiman, originally from Homs province.
He expressed fear of the risk of contracting "cholera or chronic illnesses" from working with the rubbish.
Elsewhere in northern Idlib province, workers at a factory making mats and rugs churn out brightly coloured plastic thread while large weaving machines click and clack.
Factory owner Khaled Rashu, 34, says rug-making is a family tradition.
"We have more than 30 employees" at the factory, he boasted as a significant feat in a region where many are jobless.
Large mats featuring geometric designs, some made with striking red or purple plastic thread, emerge from the weaving machines and are stacked into piles.
Shop owner Mohammed al-Qassem, 30, is among those selling the mats, which he says are a hit in an area where many people are displaced and live in basic tents or makeshift dwellings.
The mats made from recycled plastic cost between $5 and $15, while traditional Persian-style rugs are around $100.
"In summer, demand for plastic mats increases" because they retain less heat, Qassem said from his shop in Maaret Masrin, a town in Idlib province.
But "they can also be used in winter and are less costly", he added.
S.F.Warren--AMWN