Kofi Annan, former UN secretary-general, dead at 80

Kofi Annan dies this morning.
one of the world's most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations who rose through its ranks to become the first black African secretary-general, has died. He was 80

Former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan has died at age 80, his foundation confirmed Saturday morning.

Annan, who was born in Ghana in 1938, served as the seventh UN Secretary-General, from 1997 to 2006, and was the first to rise from within the ranks of the United Nations staff.

He had been a member of The Elders, a humanitarian group of a dozen leaders and activists of worldwide stature formed by Nelson Mandela, since it was founded in 2007. In 2013, Annan became its chairman.

The Kofi Annan Foundation confirmed his death with "immense sadness" in a statement posted on Twitter.

French theme park trains crows to pick up attraction's litter

A historical theme park in France is training six crows to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish in a bid to keep it clean.

Nicolas de Villiers, president of the Puy de Fou park in Vendee, said the initiative would show visitors that nature itself could teach them to care for the environment.

He said: "The goal is not just to clear up, because the visitors are generally careful to keep things clean."


 The six "particularly intelligent" rooks are to be put to work from Friday.

 Each time the rook drops a piece of rubbish or cigarette end into the box, they will be rewarded with a small nugget of food.

The theme park is training its crows to pick up litter. Pic: Puy du Fou