- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong reverses after surge
- Tunisia readies for vote as incumbent Saied eyes victory
- High childcare costs in US weigh on women's employment
- US voters seek help with crushing childcare costs
- Taiwan shuts down for second day as Typhoon Krathon to land
- Supercharged storms: how climate change amplifies cyclones
- Biden official urges talks as US port strike enters second day
CMSC | -0.3% | 24.665 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.33% | 24.808 | $ | |
NGG | -0.85% | 66.405 | $ | |
BCC | -0.2% | 138.02 | $ | |
GSK | 0.45% | 38.545 | $ | |
RIO | -0.26% | 69.65 | $ | |
JRI | -0.18% | 13.276 | $ | |
BTI | 0.4% | 35.25 | $ | |
SCS | 1.98% | 12.875 | $ | |
RBGPF | -3.17% | 58.93 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.98 | $ | |
AZN | -0.7% | 77.39 | $ | |
BCE | -0.3% | 33.74 | $ | |
VOD | -0.21% | 9.67 | $ | |
BP | 1.71% | 33.025 | $ | |
RELX | -1.3% | 46.01 | $ |
Raymond Briggs, author of UK Christmas classic 'The Snowman', dies aged 88
British cartoonist and illustrator Raymond Briggs, whose creation "The Snowman" became a Christmas staple for generations of children, has died aged 88, his publisher Penguin Random House said Wednesday.
The 1978 picture book about a young, ginger-haired boy who builds a snowman that magically comes to life has sold more than 5.5 million copies globally and was transformed into an animated film in 1982.
First shown on British TV, with an introduction by David Bowie in some later versions, the film and its memorable musical score has become synonymous with Christmas ever since, being shown every year.
"Raymond's books are picture masterpieces that address some of the fundamental questions of what it is to be human, speaking to both adults and children," said Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children's.
Reflecting his own curmudgeonly nature, Brigg's first major success came in 1973 with "Father Christmas", in which Santa Claus is an irascible old man who hates the cold and snow, and finds delivering presents a chore.
In 1977's "Fungus the Bogeyman", the eponymous hero of the slimy underworld scares vicars, wakes human babies and makes things go bump in the night.
Briggs later admitted that it was based on himself -- a "miserable, disillusioned, depressed middle-aged man".
H.Müller--CPN