Paris (AFP) – Could humanity finally be gaining the upper hand in our age-old fight against cancer?

Los Angeles (AFP) – There is no clear frontrunner for this year's prestigious Grammy for Best New Artist, but Brazil's Anitta definitely has a strong chance to win -- which would be the perfect way to cap her banner year.

Sollentuna, Sweden-

The frigid water under the frozen Ravalen lake north of Stockholm doesn't intimidate Elton as the 11-year-old schoolboy takes the plunge to the applause of his classmates.

Forty pupils are taking part in an "isvaksovning", or a hole-in-the-ice exercise, part of their school's physical education class to learn what to do if they ever fall through the ice on one of Sweden's many lakes or out in the archipelago.

Every day for three weeks, 750 pupils in Sollentuna municipality will take turns jumping into the hole in the ice, which measures about two by four metres (6.5 by 13 feet).

Courses like this are common in the Nordic country.

For the students taking part on this day, it's optional if they want to jump in -- but all of them do.

Holding his head above the one degree Celsius (34 Fahrenheit) water, Elton grabs two small ice picks hanging around his neck, jabs them into the ice and drags himself out onto the snow-covered lake.

Many Swedes would not think of stepping out onto the ice without a pair of picks.

Without them, it's extremely difficult to get back onto the ice without slipping back into the chilly water.

"It was much colder than I thought it would be," Elton tells AFP, as he warms himself around a fire pit together with his classmates.

"But I still managed to stay in for 30 seconds".

His mother, Marie Ericsson, who works in IT, came to film the scene.

"It's super important. It's really good knowledge and it feels safer for us, because they are always playing around lots of lakes," she tells AFP.

The kids are fully clothed when they jump in wearing winter bonnets, mitts, shoes or boots and all.

They have big backpacks strapped on, which also help them float, and are attached to a safety rope held by gym teacher Anders Isaksson.

- Outdoor way of life -

Some of the kids shriek when they land in the cold water.

"Good! Breathe calmly", Isaksson reminds them as they slither out onto the ice.

Most of the kids look apprehensive before it's their turn.

But once they're done most seem surprisingly unfazed, albeit freezing and soaked. They run to shore to change into dry clothes, and gather around a fire pit.

The classes gained importance in recent years amid a rise in ice accidents after declining for decades.

According to the Swedish Life Rescue Society, 16 people died in Sweden after falling through the ice in 2021 -- mostly elderly people -- compared to 10 the previous year.

Around 100 incidents were reported.

"This is important because this is a country where outdoor activities are a big part of people's lives," PE teacher Anders Isaksson notes.

For some, the plunge also offers an opportunity to test their mettle.

When Siri Franzen, 11, jumps in she endures a full two and a half minutes before dragging herself up.

"I am very proud of her," her mother Louise tells AFP. "She has just beaten her brother's record from four years ago."

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© Agence France-Presse

ZURICH: Swiss watches are in high demand these days, but sales of second-hand timepieces are also booming, driven by Generation Z buyers who want luxury goods but are also sustainability-minded.

The global second-hand watch market is estimated at nearly 20 billion Swiss francs ($21.7 billion) and could reach 35 billion francs by 2030, according to a study out in October by the auditing and consulting giant Deloitte.

Historically the province of collectors scouting for rare watches at auction, the second-hand market is turning increasingly professional with the proliferation of online sales sites that verify authenticity — with even the watch manufacturers themselves getting involved.

"Nowadays, there is a realization that we need to consume more responsibly," said Fabienne Lupo, the former head of the Foundation High Horology, who organized a second-hand luxury watch salon in Geneva in November.

The event was attended by the online auction giant eBay, the watch sales platform Watchbox, and Swiss brands such as Zenith.

Never say new again

Lupo said the craze for second-hand watches could be explained by the consumer choices of Millennials (born between 1980 and the late 1990s) and Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2010) who are "very concerned about the future of the planet, and no longer want to buy new."

There is also the fashion for vintage objects "that you can't find everywhere," she said.

And furthermore, buying certain Swiss luxury watches new is getting harder, as the booming market means longer waiting lists.

Swiss watch exports hit a new record in 2022, climbing 11.4 percent year-on-year to 24.8 billion Swiss francs, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry announced Tuesday.

"And then there is the digitalization which has accelerated with the pandemic," Lupo told AFP.

The growth in the pre-owned watch market is such that the British online platform Subdial has developed an index tracking the 50 most-traded models.

The average price fell from a record 45,000 Swiss francs in February 2022 to 35,000 francs in September, which Deloitte called a "correction" rather than a sign that the market was shrinking.

Sales platforms for certified pre-owned (CPO) watches are multiplying online, with the sector still attracting new entrants, including the US site Bezel, which counts former Disney president Michael Ovitz, comedian Kevin Hart and singer John Legend among its investors.

The luxury giant Richemont — which owns the Cartier, IWC and Piaget brands — entered the field as early as 2018, buying the British platform Watchfinder.

Rolex also took the plunge in December, pulling the rug from beneath the counterfeiters by launching a CPO program with the Swiss retailer Bucherer, which authenticates the watches.

The program is set up in six countries, including Britain and France, with the aim of extending it to the United States in the future.

Watch your image

"Watch manufacturers typically have been worried about the secondary market as it was closely associated with the grey market, where discounted watches could be found," said Jon Cox, an industry analyst with the Kepler Cheuvreux financial services company.

"However, they realize there is a halo effect of having strong secondary prices, enhancing the brand value of the primary watches," he told Agence France-Presse.

For top-end luxury brands like Richard Mille, where average watch prices exceed 260,000 Swiss francs, second-hand timepieces are even a way of enhancing their image.

"We might have a client who tells us, 'there was a limited edition of 100 watches; it was always my dream to buy one and now I have the money — but you no longer make them and they are almost impossible to find'," said Alexandre Mille, who took over from his father who founded the brand.

Mille said his teams can seek out the sought-after timepiece.

Deloitte's study found that buying a cheaper watch was the main motivation for 44 percent of respondents.

But Cox also noted that second-hand watches were a "store of wealth", being "worn and shown off for years but still retaining value to be resold so another watch can be bought in its place."

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – The hundreds of people posting Instagram selfies in leopard-print outfits in recent days launched fashion into geopolitics for Ukraine's successful campaign to get Germany's powerful Leopard battle tanks.

Paris, France - A commission that seeks to act as a guardian of the French language has published a string of recommendations for translations of shopping and style terms, to replace widely-used English ones.

Perhaps inspired by this month's Paris Fashion Week, the non-binding recommendations from the Commission for Enrichment of the French Language were published in Wednesday's Official Journal.

With his nimble fingers and child-like enthusiasm, Danny Cortes re-creates in miniature the hip-hop-infused street scenes of a gritty New York. But what began as a hobby has since brought him fame in the rap community and profitable sales even at Sotheby's prestigious auction house.

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Pretoria, South Africa-For years, students in a South African township have seen their parents struggle to use trains for daily commutes, the railways frequently hobbled by power outages and cable thefts.

To respond to the crisis, a group of 20 teenagers invented South Africa's first fully solar-powered train.

Photovoltaic panels fitted to the roof, the angular blue-and-white test train moves on an 18-metre-long (60 feet) test track in Soshanguve township north of the capital Pretoria.

Trains are the cheapest mode of transport in South Africa, used mostly by the poor and working class.

"Our parents... no longer use trains (because of) cable theft... and load shedding," said Ronnie Masindi, 18, referring to rolling blackouts caused by failures at old and poorly maintained coal-powered plants.

The state power company Eskom started imposing on-and-off power rationing 15 years ago to prevent a total national blackout.

The power outages, known locally as load-shedding, have worsened over the years disrupting commerce and industry, including rail services.

Infrastructure operator Transnet has struggled to keep rail traffic flowing smoothly since the economic challenges of the pandemic fuelled a surge in cable theft.

By 2020, rail use among public transport users was down almost two-thirds compared to 2013, according to the National Households Travel Survey with many commuters turning to more expensive minibus taxis.

Masindi said they decided to "create and build a solar-powered train that uses solar to move instead of (mains) electricity".

The journey has not been without its challenges.

A lack of funding delayed production of the prototype locomotive, and the government later chipped in.

"It was not a straight line," said another student, Lethabo Nkadimeng, 17. "It was like taking a hike to the highest peak of the mountain."

The train, which can run at 30 kilometres (20 miles) per hour, was showcased at a recent universities innovation event.