Swimming

Rightwing voices seize on plans to offer Black children an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool in the German capitalIt was meant to be an outing for Black children in Berlin and their families, offering them an exclusive afternoon at an outdoor pool set up by a local theatre.But the plans, slated for earlier this month, had to be scrapped after they were seized on by rightwing and conservative voices to whip up outrage, leaving organisers fending off racist emails and threats. Continue reading...

A mother, father and their teenage daughter died after getting into difficulty in water off Shoreham-by-Sea, and a younger girl remains in hospitalAndy Burnham has warned of the dangers of open-water swimming as he called the deaths of a mother, father and their teenage daughter who got into difficulty in water off Sussex “a terrible family tragedy”.The prime minister expressed his sympathies to their loved ones as a young girl from the same family remained in a critical condition in hospital. Continue reading...

Industry body calls for more regular reviews of repeat prescriptions to tackle ‘growing problem’The amount of wasted medicines thrown away in England in one year could fill 75 swimming pools, according to a pharmacy group.The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) estimated that 3,400 tonnes of partly used medicines were disposed of in England in 2024-25. Continue reading...

In sea pools built with sandbags and rubble, Amjed Tantesh gives traumatised children brief respite from their daily livesSwimming classes have started again in Gaza after three years of war, with hundreds of children learning to float, doggy paddle and take their first strokes in five makeshift sea pools built from sandbags and rubble.The lessons allow a few hundred girls and boys to reclaim their childhood for a few hours in a place where there are no playgrounds, no formal education and children live in fear of continuing Israeli attacks. A UN survey in March found that 96% of children felt death was imminent.Activity on the Gaza seafront Continue reading...

A team of firefighters saved the pup from the water in a mission that utilized boats, trucks and a droneFirefighters rescued a small dog that had been missing for weeks after finding it swimming into the San Francisco Bay.The dog had gone missing over the Fourth of July weekend, according to the Menlo Park fire protection district. But someone called 911 on 16 July to say they had seen a dog enter the bay near the Dumbarton Bridge in East Palo Alto. Continue reading...

Officials say 31-year-old woman’s arm was severed in attack at a river in Seminole county’s Little Big Econ forestA woman swimming in a Florida river was killed recently in a rare alligator attack that severed one of her arms, state officials said.The deadly attack took place at Seminole county’s Little Big Econ state forest, about 25 miles north-east of Orlando, on Sunday as the 31-year-old victim was in the Econlockhatchee River. Continue reading...

Policy at Heidesee lake in Halle introduced after cases in which visitors ignored rules and lifeguards’ instructionsAn open air swimming lake in the eastern German city of Halle which has refused entry to bathers who don’t speak German has been told it must lift the ban or face possible legal action.The Heidesee lake, a natural lake in a flooded former open-cast mine, recently introduced a check at the entrance to filter out visitors whose German was deemed not good enough to follow safety instructions. Continue reading...