Latest news with #Kehl
The Sun
3 days ago
- Science
- The Sun
Rancid-smelling super ants that form whopping colonies & even eat CABLES rampaging across Europe – & could infest the UK
A STINKING species of super-ant is storming through Europe on a path to the UK. The millions-strong mega-colonies have wiped out power supplies and even roads as they overwhelm the ground beneath entire towns. 9 9 9 The species, called Tapinoma magnum, hails from the Med and North Africa - but has been pushing up through the continent. They spread rapidly and establish supercolonies of up to 20million across 60 acres which are "virtually impossible" to eradicate. There were so many ants, you couldn't see the floor anymore Agnes WirthOetwil an der Limmat resident And anyone who dares squash a T. magnum is greeted by the stench of rancid butter. The invaders hit headlines in Sweden this week as officials in regions around the capital Zurich attempt to oust the pests. The ants have also taken root in France - but Germany has suffered the most. In Germany, the sleepy south-western town of Kehl has been swamped. Locals reported watching the town's pavements and curbs sinking as the earth was carted away by the bugs, causing havoc with the roads. And a playground was forced to close after ants took over the entire area and turned it into a nest. City workers had to jet hot water into the labyrinth to wash them out. The wider state of Baden-Württemberg has suffered power cuts and internet outages after the insects chomped through electric cables. Watch incredible vid of ants OUTSMARTING humans to solve puzzle first T. magnum's destructive power comes from the sheer scale of their underground warrens and their tireless determination to expand. While most ant species organise a few thousand workers around a single queen, T. magum clans contain up to 20million and hundreds of queens. Instead of attacking one another, the smaller colonies merge together in alliance. The British Pest Control Association told The Sun that the UK is at risk from the advancing crusade. They explained the ants "spread mainly through horticultural imports, especially potted plants and trees from the Mediterranean". They added: "If T. magnum were to establish here, it could become a nuisance. "They form vast supercolonies, displace native species and can even cause structural issues by excavating under paving." Although the species has not marched into the UK yet, a spokesperson for Defra said the agency "remains vigilant" to the threat. The countryside around Zurich has been tormented by the ants since 2018. 9 9 9 Despite an almighty effort to clear them out, the ants remain "well established" in four areas. In Winterthur, they blocked a billion-pound construction project when they settled exactly where a multi-track railroad tunnel was planned. In the nearby Oetwil an der Limmat region, one supercolony infested an entire five-hectare potato field - about seven football pitches. A local, Agnes Wirth, told Swiss site SRF: "There were so many ants, you couldn't see the floor anymore." But that is dwarfed by the colony in Volketswil, on the other side of Zurich, where an area the size of 35 football pitches is teeming with the busy-body bugs. The infestation is so enormous that the local authority has been legally forced to act. Katharina Weber of the Zurich Department of Construction said: "In areas with large infestations, a coordinated approach by specialists is required. 9 9 9 "This means a plan is needed, and special pest controllers must be deployed. These can target the insecticide at the nests." In the UK, DEFRA recommends that anyone who sees a non-native insect species takes a photo and reports it. Mike Fox, record manager for the Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society, said: "As far as I know, there are no records of Tapinoma magnum becoming established in the UK but of course it could possible in the future." Niall Gallagher, the Technical Manager at British Pest Control Association, said they closely monitor pest species - including Tapinoma magnum. He told The Sun: "Research on Tapinoma magnum supercolonies in Switzerland has found that these ants live outdoors and can continue to forage at temperatures as low as 6 degrees during the winter months. 'Individual efforts by homeowners and gardeners are not sufficient to effectively control an infestation, and specifically tailored pest control solutions are needed to eradicate a colony." He recommend that anyone concerned about an ant infestation contacts a professional pest controller for help. Tapinoma magnum species According to the British Pest Control Association, one of T. magnum's most striking traits is their procession behaviour. These ants form conspicuous trails across pavements and up buildings, often in large, coordinated lines. These trails are reinforced with pheromones and can span several metres, connecting different parts of their supercolony. To the untrained eye, this may look like a very active colony of common ants – but the sheer volume and organised movement can be a telltale sign of T. magnum. In established infestations, these trails may even lead into buildings, across walls or deep into pavements and garden features. If the species were to establish here, pest professionals would likely rely on a combination of bait gels (such as indoxacarb or imidacloprid) and surface treatments, as was done successfully in Zurich, Switzerland. As always, public awareness and early reporting are vital tools in managing invasive pests. Think you've seen something unusual? Here's what to do:
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How Dominic LeBlanc's life was saved by a 20-year-old German college student
As the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, intergovernmental affairs and Prime Minister Mark Carney's 'One Canadian Economy' portfolio, Dominic LeBlanc will face many obstacles in the days and weeks ahead. But the veteran Liberal minister is no stranger to a challenge, having overcome a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma more than five years ago thanks to a stem cell donation from Germany. LeBlanc reflected on his battle over the weekend, sharing a memory of visiting with his donor, Jonathan Kehl, on social media. 'Two years ago, Jonathan, the brave young man who saved my life, welcomed Jolene (Richard) and me to his family's home town in Germany, Bad Hersefeld,' he posted along with two photos of himself and his wife with the now 26-year-old and his family members. 'I will cherish this moment and remember his kindness, and that of his family, forever.' LeBlanc 'was as yellow as a lemon … and had lost a lot of weight' In April 2019, while overseeing intergovernmental affairs, northern affairs and internal trade under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, a 51-year-old LeBlanc, feeling particularly unwell, was informed by Moncton doctors he had a 'lethal form' of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. His only chance at survival: 'very aggressive' chemotherapies and a stem cell donation via an allogeneic transplant — obtaining healthy stem cells from a donor who is not identical to the recipient. In an interview with DKMS, the German-based international blood science organization that ultimately paired him with Kehl, LeBlanc said it took doctors a few weeks to figure out the 'right recipe of chemotherapy' to get his cancer into remission before referring him to Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, a facility renowned for its expertise in hematology and stem cell transplants. 'He was as yellow as a lemon because of the liver failure and had lost a lot of weight,' Dr. Sylvie Lachance, who oversaw his care, told Reader's Digest Canada in 2023. But LeBlanc, who'd announced he'd won a battle with leukemia the year prior, was optimistic and said doctors were, too, reminding him that even if his younger sister, Genevieve, was not a match, the DKMS's global registry of potential bone marrow donors offered added hope. His sister's blood ended up being incompatible, but a perfect match showed up through the database several weeks later, and the anonymous donor agreed to the procedure. International rules prohibit doctors from divulging the identity of the donor to the recipient for two years, but LeBlanc wondered if his potential saviour might be based in Germany, 'just because they had said that so many Germans are in the database, and the German people are so generous when they're asked to donate.' On the other side of the Atlantic, a 20-year-old Kehl, who'd registered as a donor while still in high school two years earlier, was living with his parents in the Hesse state town of Bad Hersfeld when he was told he was a perfect match with a Canadian man. 'I could have said no, but I agreed,' Kehl told Reader's Digest. 'I wanted to save a life! It was a really emotional moment for me, and for my family, who encouraged me to donate.' In early September, he travelled to Frankfurt to have his stem cells collected, after which they were flown to Montreal, where LeBlanc awaited, having just finished a final round of chemotherapy to prepare his body for the transplant. 'So you're obviously not feeling a great deal of energy. All my hair had fallen out. I probably lost 35 pounds,' he said to DKMS. 'But the doctors were very positive. They said I was ready to receive the transplant. And I'll never forget when the nurse comes in to the hospital room and shows you the bag of stem cells, it was maybe half a litre in a bag that had a whole series of stickers of different barcodes on it.' The procedure itself took just two hours to introduce the 570,000,000 stem cells into his bloodstream, followed by a waiting period to see if new blood cells regenerated. 'I was afraid it hadn't worked until Dr. Lachance came into my room with a smile and told me the neutrophils — the white blood cells — had materialized,' LeBlanc said to Reader's Digest. After several weeks of isolation to protect and rebuild a severely weakened immune system, during which he was elected for the seventh straight time as the member of parliament for Beauséjour in the federal election, LeBlanc was discharged in November. He returned to Parliament in January. Blood brothers: 'This young man saved my life' LeBlanc said he first filled out the form to learn his donor's identity about a year after the transplant, and he got an email with Kehl's name and date of birth in October 2021. 'What struck me on the information I got is that he was born in 1999,' LeBlanc said to DKMS. 'I didn't imagine that the donor would have just been 20 years old when he donated the stem cells.' His team quickly obtained Kehl's contact information so LeBlanc could send him a personal message of thanks. He even contacted Stéphane Dion, the Canadian ambassador to Germany, to find out which translation agency they use for official correspondence. Kehl responded in English, which he told Leblanc he'd been studying since childhood. From Trudeau's babysitter to loyal soldier, what we know about the new finance minister, Dominic LeBlanc Liberal MPs urge LeBlanc to reconsider and run for leader COVID-19's Omicron wave delayed an in-person meeting, but the pair chatted on Zoom just before Christmas and agreed to get together when travel rules allowed. That meeting happened the following September when Kehl visited Canada as LeBlanc's special guest. 'This young man saved my life,' LeBlanc said, introducing Kehl in Ottawa, where the young German also met Trudeau and conducted media interviews before the pair went to Montreal and then to New Brunswick for two days of salmon fishing. Kehl returned the favour in May 2023, inviting LeBlanc and Richard to Bad Hersfeld to meet his family. 'He and I have a special bond,' LeBlanc wrote on Twitter at the time. 'Indeed, we have the exact same blood and immune system. Because three and a half years ago, he answered the call to donate some of his stem cells to a man whom he knew was very sick, but whose identity was not known to him at the time.' For his part, Kehl told Reader's Digest that should LeBlanc require more stem cells, he's ready to donate again. 'I consider Mr. LeBlanc to be my genetic twin,' he said. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Edmonton Journal
26-05-2025
- Health
- Edmonton Journal
How Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc's life was saved by a 20-year-old German college student
Article content LeBlanc 'was as yellow as a lemon … and had lost a lot of weight' In April 2019, while overseeing intergovernmental affairs, northern affairs and internal trade under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, a 51-year-old LeBlanc, feeling particularly unwell, was informed by Moncton doctors he had a 'lethal form' of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. His only chance at survival: 'very aggressive' chemotherapies and a stem cell donation via an allogeneic transplant — obtaining healthy stem cells from a donor who is not identical to the recipient. In an interview with DKMS, the German-based international blood science organization that ultimately paired him with Kehl, LeBlanc said it took doctors a few weeks to figure out the 'right recipe of chemotherapy' to get his cancer into remission before referring him to Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, a facility renowned for its expertise in hematology and stem cell transplants.
Calgary Herald
26-05-2025
- Health
- Calgary Herald
How Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc's life was saved by a 20-year-old German college student
Article content As the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, intergovernmental affairs and Prime Minister Mark Carney's 'One Canadian Economy' portfolio, Dominic LeBlanc will face many obstacles in the days and weeks ahead. Article content Article content But the veteran Liberal minister is no stranger to a challenge, having overcome a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma more than five years ago thanks to a stem cell donation from Germany. Article content Article content 'Two years ago, Jonathan, the brave young man who saved my life, welcomed Jolene (Richard) and me to his family's home town in Germany, Bad Hersefeld,' he posted along with two photos of himself and his wife with the now 26-year-old and his family members. Article content 'I will cherish this moment and remember his kindness, and that of his family, forever.' Article content Two years ago, Jonathan, the brave young man who saved my life, welcomed Jolene and me to his family's home town in... Posted by Dominic LeBlanc on Sunday, May 25, 2025 Article content Article content In April 2019, while overseeing intergovernmental affairs, northern affairs and internal trade under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau, a 51-year-old LeBlanc, feeling particularly unwell, was informed by Moncton doctors he had a 'lethal form' of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Article content His only chance at survival: 'very aggressive' chemotherapies and a stem cell donation via an allogeneic transplant — obtaining healthy stem cells from a donor who is not identical to the recipient. Article content In an interview with DKMS, the German-based international blood science organization that ultimately paired him with Kehl, LeBlanc said it took doctors a few weeks to figure out the 'right recipe of chemotherapy' to get his cancer into remission before referring him to Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, a facility renowned for its expertise in hematology and stem cell transplants.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dortmund admit Gittens could be sold this summer
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has hinted at a possible summer departure for Jamie Gittens, with the young winger continuing to attract interest from across Europe. The 20-year-old has long been linked with a move away from Dortmund, and several Premier League clubs are reportedly monitoring his situation closely. A potential transfer fee in the region of €50-60 million has been suggested. Advertisement 'There's definitely a market for him. He's a very exciting player. We'll be having discussions soon. If offers come in, we'll have to deal with them,' Kehl said on Sport1's Doppelpass show on Sunday. The futures of several other BVB players, including Giovanni Reyna, Niklas Süle, Salih Özcan, and Julian Brandt, are also reportedly under review as the club prepare for a busy summer window. 'We want to reduce wages,' Kehl stressed. 'That said, it's possible we'll continue with some of these players. But some may no longer be part of the BVB squad next season.'
