- French mayor sorry for 'no one died' remark over mass rape trial
- Mohamed Al-Fayed, outsider shunned by British high society
- Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women
- India in box seat after Bumrah takes four against Bangladesh
- Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases
- Ferrari's Leclerc sets early pace in Singapore ahead of Norris
- 10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost
- France poised to finally get new govt
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson doubtful for Bournemouth clash
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Kimchi threat as heatwave drives up South Korea cabbage prices
- UK economic data delivers fresh blow to new govt
- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
- India minister blames dam release for flooding
- O'Rourke strikes early for Kiwis as Sri Lanka trail by three
- Israel pounds Lebanon's Hezbollah after device blasts
- Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
- Ashwin's 113 powers India to 376 in Bangladesh Test
- Biden opens home to 'Quad' leaders for farewell summit
- Sally Rooney returns with 30-something questions
- Wallabies sense 'massive' chance to upset All Blacks
- Taiwan questions two in probe into Hezbollah pagers
- Viral Korean Olympic shooter scores first acting role as assassin
- Farrell set for 'challenge' of downing Bordeaux in Top 14
- Springbok Etzebeth diverts attention from looming caps record
- Inter on a high ahead of Milan derby as Napoli face Juve test
- Bank of Japan leaves key interest rate unchanged
- Asian markets track Wall Street record to extend global rally
- Guirassy and Anton to return to Stuttgart with new side Dortmund
- Marseille bidding to continue 'almost perfect' Ligue 1 start
- Arnold quits as coach of Australia men's football team
- Harris and Oprah hold star-studded US election rally
- Allies to remember failed WWII parachute operation
- Perez leading new-look Villarreal charge against leaders Barca
- Man City face Arsenal in Premier League title showdown, Postecoglou under pressure
- Fake celebrity endorsements, snubs plague US presidential race
- Documentary brings Argentine 'death flights' to the big screen
- Strike shows challenge to Boeing 'reset' of labor relations
- World leaders to gather at UN as crises grow and conflicts rage
- How plastic pollution poses challenge for Canada marine conservation
- Scientists track plastic waste in pristine Canada marine park
- South Africa's Buhai grabs LPGA Queen City lead
- Japan inflation firms to 2.8% ahead of BoJ rate decision
- Russia's Kadyrov accuses Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck
- Titan sub had to abort a dive days before fatal implosion: testimony
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases
- Barca downed by Monaco as Arsenal held in Champions League stalemate
Whale dies after washing ashore in northern France
A 7.6-metre (25-foot) whale died on a beach in northern France on Monday, hours after being discovered washed up and alive but wounded, authorities said.
Experts had hoped the rising tide would come in time to help the cetacean back on its way, but the animal died as it struggled to reach the water.
"It probably drowned" during its efforts, said Jacky Karpouzopoulos, head of CMNF, an association for the protection of wild mammals in northern France.
The appearance of this type of beaked whale, a northern bottlenose, this far south is rare.
"These animals usually swim deep in Arctic waters," said Thierry Jauniaux, a sea mammal expert at Liege university in Belgium.
The female cetacean, weighing 3.5 tonnes, probably ended up on the beach "because it was disorientated", Karpouzopoulos told AFP.
"I've never seen anything like it in my 40 years on the job," he said.
Experts had ruled out lifting the animal back into the water, hoping that the tide would allow the animal to refloat and swim away, he said.
Jauniaux said a number of whales belonging to the same species have washed up recently on the coast of Belgium and the Netherlands.
This phenomenon could be due to "pollution, the appearance of new illnesses or increased sea traffic" leading to a change in the whales' behaviour, he said.
In February, a 9.5-metre female humpback whale was found dead on a northern French beach -- another "extraordinary" event, according to Karpouzopoulos.
In the spring of this year, an orca -- named "Sedna" by marine life protection group NGO Sea Shepherd -- was seen lost in the river Seine but died despite intense efforts to save it.
This summer, an ailing beluga whale that strayed into the Seine was put down by vets after a last-ditch rescue attempt failed because of its rapidly deteriorating health.
P.Queiroz--PC