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Watch: Free Solo Climber Conquers One of the World’s Tallest Buildings

For 92 minutes on a clear Sunday morning in Taipei, thousands of spectators with jittery nerves stared upwards, while people across the world were glued to their screens, as famed climber Alex Honnold made a death-defying attempt to scale one of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth.He clambered up the last inch of the metal spire atop Taipei 101 at 10:43 am local time and stood on the 1,667-foot (508-meters) summit with a grin, waving to the cheering fans below – a sight that will undoubtedly become an iconic moment in climbing folklore.He’s the first known climber to free solo Taipei 101, meaning an ascent without ropes, safety nets, or other equipment – just his bare hands and a chalk bag to help with grip.“It’s amazing, I’m sure I’ll be glowing for days, it’s incredible,” Honnold said in a news conference after finishing the climb. “You spend so long thinking about it and imagining it’s possible, but then to actually do it always feels different.”Honnold, 40, has been a recognized figure in the climbing community for nearly two decades – rising to prominence in his early 20s for successful free solo climbs of challenging routes.But he became a household name worldwide after becoming the first person to free climb El Capitan, a vertical rock formation at Yosemite National Park, in 2017 – a nail-biting ascent that was captured in the award-winning documentary “Free Solo.”Since then, he has continued climbing and setting new records. Despite having had his eyes on Taipei 101 for more than a decade, the opportunity never materialized until it was pitched to Netflix, which live-streamed his ascent. Honnold called it “the biggest urban free solo climb ever.”The climb was meant to happen Saturday morning local time, but was rescheduled due to poor weather. Sunday dawned sunny and clear with blue skies and little wind, allowing the climb to go ahead.“For me, personally, the biggest challenge was staying calm. Having the crowd, having the whole experience, having all the people around just made it feel a little more intense,” he added. “But as I climbed, I relaxed more and more, like, ‘Oh, this is so fun, this is why I do it.’”He’s not the first person to climb Taipei 101: French climber Alain Robert summited the building in 2004, but with ropes. Robert had been invited to climb it as part of the building’s official public opening, but conditions were far worse that day, with rain and heavy winds – making his climb four hours long, compared to Honnold’s one and a half hours.Both Robert and Honnold described the ascent as not overly challenging or complicated compared to the usual rock formations and mountains they climb. For instance, Honnold wasn’t holding onto the sheer slippery glass of the skyscraper – he had metal structures, ledges and beams to hold onto.There were several more technically difficult moves toward the top. But Honnold cleared those without much difficulty, moving up the building at a rapid pace. At points, he stopped on balconies to take a break and wave at the crowd below.His nervous wife Sanni McCandless was watching from inside Taipei 101, waving to her husband on the other side of the glass as he passed her floor on his way up. After he summitted, she met him at a balcony below the spire, embracing him and joking: “I was basically having a panic attack the entire time.”When it opened in 2004, Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world – a title it held until it was usurped by Dubai’s 2717-foot (828-meter) Burj Kalifa. Ten other buildings taller than Taipei 101 have since been built, including New York’s One World Trade Center, but it remains a spectacle in Taipei as it is the tallest building in the city.Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te was quick to congratulate Honnold on his “truly nerve-wracking” spectacle. He hoped the event would allow the world to see “the warmth of the Taiwanese people and the island’s beautiful hills and landscapes,” he said.After the climb, Honnold said he hoped people watching could be inspired by his climb to pursue their own challenges or goals. And, in his signature matter-of-fact way, he summed up his achievement with few words:“It’s so great. What a nice day.”

25-01-2026 10:19

Gen Z predict this name will be the Millennial version of 'Karen'

The name "Karen" has been widely adopted by the internet to describe a stereotypical demanding, nosey middle-class, middle-aged baby boomer or Gen X, white woman with a short, choppy bob style haircut who complains and always asks to "see the manager."This term was widely adopted back in 2020, when a woman called the police during a disagreement over the requirement for her dog to be leashed in an area of Central Park.Since then, in similar viral videos, women have been dubbed as "Karens," but some have noted how the term, in certain circumstances, can be misogynistic, with one judge at an employment tribunal calling the “pejorative” slang term "borderline racist, sexist and ageist."Now there's a new name Gen Z is using to describe the Millennial equivalent - but what name has been chosen?Well, after much debate online with suggestions such as Jennifer, Ashley, Lisa, and Amanda, the name was ultimately decided as the Karen successor is... Jessica.The two names share a similar trend in that Karen was the third and fourth most popular girls' name in both the UK and the US back in the 1960s, and meanwhile, two to three decades later, Jessica was a popular name in the 1980s and 90s when Millennials were born.Although, this is a question that has been making the rounds online for the past few years, with people questioning which name will take the unfortunate baton.TikToker @wouldyakindly predicted that Jesscia would be chosen, as she showed the US baby name charts with Jessica, along with Lisa and Jennifer being popular in the decades after the 60s."I'm guessing it is going to be Jessica because I don't know I feel like Jen seems nice, if she goes by Jennifer, probably not that nice. Jessica will mess you up, Jess is gonna fight somebody if she gets angry," the creator said.But another question is, what would be the male Baby Boomer, Gen X and Millennial equivalent?There is one clear standout if we're looking at popular baby boy names through the decades, as Michael tops the list from the 60s to the 90s, with Christopher in second place.Elsewhere from Indy100, 'David' takes over 'Karen' as the UK's biggest complainer, and Woman sobs over $300 haircut that makes her look like a ‘Karen’.

20-01-2026 12:46

Italian Fashion Designer Valentino Dies at 93

Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant evening gowns were favored for decades by some of the world’s most glamorous women, has died at 93, according to his foundation. He “peacefully passed away today at his residence in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family,” a statement posted to Instagram said.Born in the northern town of Voghera, Italy, in 1932, Valentino — who was popularly known by his first name — learned his trade in the haute couture ateliers in Paris before founding his own line in Rome in 1959. Early on, he became known for his red dresses, in a rich scarlet shade that became his signature color to the extent that it was known within the industry as “Valentino red.”In 1960, he met his long-time business partner (and, for 12 years, romantic partner) Giancarlo Giammetti, then a young architecture student. Together, the pair turned Valentino SpA into an internationally recognized brand.One of Valentino’s first famous customers was the actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met while she was filming “Cleopatra” in Rome in the early 1960s. Other glamorous followers — and buyers — of Valentino’s work in the early years of his career included Begum Aga Khan, Queen Paola of Belgium, the actresses Audrey Hepburn and Joan Collins and Jacqueline Kennedy, who even wore a Valentino gown to wed Greek shipping giant Aristotle Onassis in 1968.His popularity would continue as the decades progressed. Valentino spent much of the 1970s in New York, surrounded by a wide circle of friends that included the artist Andy Warhol and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. In the 1990s, he became a favorite of the decade’s supermodels, including Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.His creations also featured regularly on the red carpet. At the Oscars alone, noteworthy Valentino ensembles over the years have included the heavily-beaded gown Jane Fonda wore in 1981 when she accepted the Best Actor prize for her father, Henry; the vintage black-and-white gown Julia Roberts wore in 2001; the pastel mint caftan-style gown Jennifer Lopez wore in 2003 and the sunshine yellow gown Cate Blanchett wore in 2005. (Both Roberts and Blanchett won Oscars in those respective years.) At the 2011 Academy Awards, Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet in an ornate Fall 2002 Valentino couture gown, accompanied by the designer himself.In more recent years, Zendaya, Carey Mulligan and Gemma Chan have been among fashion plate Oscars attendees wearing the label to much acclaim.With his precision tailored suits, suntan and perfectly coiffed hair, Valentino was every bit the quintessential Italian gentleman. He was an avid collector of Chinese antiques and indulged his love of flowers and topiary in the landscaped grounds of his 17th century Chateau Wideville, outside of Paris, which he bought in 1995. He also had homes in London, Paris, New York, Spain and Gstaad, Switzerland.He was passionate about his pug dogs and at one time owned six of them: Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie and Molly.“I don’t care about the collection,” he memorably proclaimed in the 2008 documentary “Valentino: The Last Emperor.” “My dogs are more important.”In 1998, Valentino sold his company to the Italian conglomerate HdP for some $300 million, although he continued to work for the company. Valentino retired from the industry in 2008, after more than 45 years, marking the end of one of the longest careers in fashion. The occasion was marked with a star-studded fashion show at the Musée Rodin in Paris. For the finale, models donned identical “Valentino red” gowns.The designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were appointed as Valentino’s creative directors that year. In 2016, Chiuri was named artistic director at Christian Dior; Piccioli stepped down in 2024 and was appointed creative director at Balenciaga last year. Following Piccioli’s departure, Alessandro Michele has helmed Valentino’s design for nearly two years amid a wider industry reshuffling.For many, Valentino’s passing represents the end of a generation of old-world fashion maestros. And it seems he knew this too. When he was asked, in the 2008 documentary about his life, about others’ claims that he was irreplaceable, Valentino replied with a wry smile: “After me, the deluge.”

19-01-2026 19:52

Indian Scientists Predict How Bird Flu Could Spread to Humans

For years, scientists have warned that bird flu - better known as H5N1 - could one day make the dangerous leap from birds to humans and trigger a global health crisis.Avian flu - a type of influenza - is entrenched across South and South-East Asia and has occasionally infected humans since emerging in China in the late 1990s. From 2003 to August 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 990 human H5N1 cases across 25 countries, including 475 deaths - a 48% fatality rate.In the US alone, the virus has struck more than 180 million birds, spread to over 1,000 dairy herds in 18 states, and infected at least 70 people - mostly farmworkers - causing several hospitalisations and one death. In January, three tigers and a leopard died at a wildlife rescue centre in India's Nagpur city from the virus that typically infects birds.Symptoms in humans mimic a severe flu: high fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches and, at times, conjunctivitis. Some people have no symptoms at all. The risk to humans remains low, but authorities are watching H5N1 closely for any shift that could make it spread more easily.That concern is what prompted new peer-reviewed modelling by Indian researchers Philip Cherian and Gautam Menon of Ashoka University, which simulates how an H5N1 outbreak might unfold in humans and what early interventions could stop it before it spreads.In other words, the model published in the BMC Public Health journal uses real world data and computer simulations to play out how an outbreak might spread in real life."The threat of an H5N1 pandemic in humans is a genuine one, but we can hope to forestall it through better surveillance and a more nimble public-health response," Prof Menon told the BBC.A bird flu pandemic, researchers say, would begin quietly: a single infected bird passing the virus to a human - most likely a farmer, market worker or someone handling poultry. From there, the danger lies not in that first infection but in what happens next: sustained human-to-human transmission.Because real outbreaks start with limited, messy data, the researchers turned to BharatSim, an open-source simulation platform originally built for Covid 19 modelling, but versatile enough to study other diseases.The key takeaway for policymakers is how narrow the window for action can be before an outbreak spirals out of control, the researchers say.The paper estimates that once cases rise beyond roughly two to 10, the disease is likely to spread beyond primary and secondary contacts.Primary contacts are people who have had direct, close contact with an infected person, such as household members, caregivers or close colleagues. Secondary contacts are those who have not met the infected person but have been in close contact with a primary contact.If households of primary contacts are quarantined when just two cases are detected, the outbreak can almost certainly be contained, the research found.But by the time 10 cases are identified, it is overwhelmingly likely that the infection has already spread into the wider population, making its trajectory virtually indistinguishable from a scenario with no early intervention.To keep the study grounded in real-world conditions, the researchers chose a model of a single village in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu - the heart of India's poultry belt.Namakkal is home to more than 1,600 poultry farms and some 70 million chickens; it produces over 60 million eggs a day.A village of 9,667 residents was generated using a synthetic community - households, workplaces, market spaces - and seeded with infected birds to mimic real-life exposure. (A synthetic community is an artificial, computer-generated population that mimics the characteristics and behaviours of a real population.)In the simulation, the virus starts at one workplace - a mid-sized farm or wet market - spreads first to people there (primary contacts), and then moves outward to others (seconday contacts) they interact with through homes, schools and other workplaces. Homes, schools and workplaces formed a fixed network.By tracking primary and secondary infections, the researchers estimated key transmission metrics, including the basic reproductive number, R0 - which measures how many people, on average, one infected person passes the virus on to. In the absence of a real-world pandemic, the researchers instead modelled a range of plausible transmission speeds.Then they tested what happens when different interventions - culling birds, quarantining close contacts and targeted vaccination - kicked in.The results were blunt.Culling of birds works - but only if done before the virus infects a human.If a spillover does occur, timing becomes everything, the researchers found.Isolating infected people and quarantining households can stop the virus at the secondary stage. But once tertiary infections appear - friends of friends, or contacts of contacts - the outbreak slips out of control unless authorities impose much tougher measures, including lockdowns.Targeted vaccination helps by raising the threshold at which the virus can sustain itself, though it does little to change the immediate risk within households.The simulations also highlighted an awkward trade-off.Quarantine, introduced too early, keeps families together for long stretches - and increases the chance that infected individuals will pass the virus to those they live with. Introduced too late, it does little to slow the outbreak at all.The researchers say this approach comes with caveats.The model relies on one synthetic village, with fixed household sizes, workplaces and daily movement patterns. It does not include simultaneous outbreaks seeded by migratory birds or by poultry networks. Nor does it account for behavioural shifts - mask-wearing, for instance - once people know birds are dying.Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Atlanta-based Emory University, adds another caveat: this simulation model "assumes a very efficient transmission of influenza viruses"."Transmission is complex and not every strain will have the same efficiency as another," she says, adding that scientists are also now starting to understand that not all people infected with seasonal flu spread the virus equally.She says emerging research shows that only a "subset of flu-positive individuals actually shed infectious influenza virus into the air".This mirrors the super-spreader phenomenon seen with Covid-19, though it is far less well characterised for flu - a gap that could strongly influence how the virus spreads through human populations.What happens if H5N1 becomes successful in the human population?Dr Lakdawala believes that it "will cause a large disruption likely more similar to the 2009 [swine flu] pandemic rather than Covid-19"."This is because we are more prepared for an influenza pandemic. We have known licensed antivirals that are effective against the H5N1 strains as an early defence and stockpiled candidate H5 vaccines that could be deployed in the short term."But complacency would be a mistake. Dr Lakdawala says if H5N1 becomes established in humans, it could re-assort - or intermingle - with existing strains, amplifying its public-health impact. Such mixing could reshape seasonal influenza, triggering "chaotic and unpredictable seasonal epidemics".The Indian modellers say the simulations can be run in real time and updated as data come in.With refinements - better reporting delays, asymptomatic cases - they could give public-health officials something priceless in the early hours of an outbreak: a sense of which actions matter most, before the window for containment snaps shut.

18-12-2025 09:40

Watch: Free Solo Climber Conquers One of the World’s Tallest Buildings

Gen Z predict this name will be the Millennial version of 'Karen'

Italian Fashion Designer Valentino Dies at 93

Indian Scientists Predict How Bird Flu Could Spread to Humans

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Artificial Intelligence in the UAE: Keeping Pace with Progress in the Service of Humanity

Watch: Free Solo Climber Conquers One of the World’s Tallest Buildings

Gen Z predict this name will be the Millennial version of 'Karen'

Italian Fashion Designer Valentino Dies at 93

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Watch: Free Solo Climber Conquers One of the World’s Tallest Buildings

Gen Z predict this name will be the Millennial version of 'Karen'

Italian Fashion Designer Valentino Dies at 93

Indian Scientists Predict How Bird Flu Could Spread to Humans

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Artificial Intelligence in the UAE: Keeping Pace with Progress in the Service of Humanity

Watch: Free Solo Climber Conquers One of the World’s Tallest Buildings

Gen Z predict this name will be the Millennial version of 'Karen'

Italian Fashion Designer Valentino Dies at 93

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