Beijing and Washington agreed to work together on narcotics control and artificial intelligence and resume military-military communication, Beijing said, summing up long-awaited talks on Wednesday between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

3. San Francisco mocked in China for moving homeless away from Apec summit venue

San Francisco removed homeless residents from encampments near the Apec summit venue, where world leaders – including US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping – met, sparking derision from commentators in China.

5. Cancer-causing toxins found in several suitcase brands: Hong Kong watchdog

Several suitcase brands have been found to contain cancer-causing chemicals linked to hampering children’s growth and impairing the male reproductive system, Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has said, urging people to wash their hands after touching luggage handles.

4. Prabowo slams West’s ‘unfair’ treatment of Indonesia: ‘we don’t need Europe’

Indonesia’s defence minister and presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, greets supporters at the election commission headquarters in Jakarta on October 25. Photo: ReutersIndonesia’s leading presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto has accused the West of having double standards and losing moral leadership, saying Jakarta has been treated “unfairly” due to protectionist measures imposed on critical minerals.

6. Bedbug infestation fears in Hong Kong spark panic buying of insecticides

Fears over an invasion of bedbugs in Hong Kong has sparked panic buying of insect killers and a leap in inquiries about pest control. But an expert said infestations of the insects, as common as mosquitoes, could be avoided with good hygiene and simple precautions.

7. Woman jumps from first-floor window after police raid Hong Kong massage parlour

A woman jumps to the ground after climbing out the window of a massage parlour when the premises were raided by police. Image: FacebookThree women climbed out the window of a first-floor Hong Kong massage parlour and one jumped to the pavement in a failed attempt to escape arrest after a police anti-vice operation targeted the premises.

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The world’s frogs, salamanders, newts and other amphibians remain in serious trouble.

A new global assessment has found that 41% of amphibian species that scientists have studied are threatened with extinction, meaning they are either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. That’s up from 39% reported in the last assessment, in 2004.

“Amphibians are the world’s most threatened animals,” said Duke University’s Junjie Yao, a frog researcher who was not involved in the study. “Their unique biology and permeable skin make them very sensitive to environmental changes.”

The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that the loss of habitat from the expansion of farming and ranching is the single biggest threat to amphibians worldwide. But a growing percentage of amphibian species are now also pushed to the brink by novel diseases and climate change, the study found.

Amphibians are especially vulnerable animals. They have distinct life stages that each often require separate habitats, so they can be disrupted by changes in either aquatic or land environments, said University of Texas biologist Michael Ryan, who was not involved in the study.

They are also at risk because of their delicate skin. Most amphibians absorb oxygen to breathe through their skin, and so they do not have scales, feathers or fur to protect them. Chemical pollution, bacteria and fungal infections impact them quickly, as do heightened swings in temperature and moisture levels due to climate change.

For example, frogs are usually nocturnal. If it’s too hot, they won’t come out even at night because they would lose too much water through their skin, said Patricia Burrowes, a study co-author and researcher at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. But remaining in sheltered resting places limits frogs’ ability to eat and to breed.

This summer was the hottest on record for the Northern Hemisphere, and 2023 is on track to be the 2nd hottest globally, after 2016.

Juan Manuel Guayasamin, a frog biologist at the University San Francisco of Quito, Ecuador, said that advances in technology to track animals and climate variations allowed the new study to use much more precise data than the 2004 assessment.

“We have a much better understanding of some risks,” said Guayasamin, who was not involved in the report.

The study identified the greatest concentrations of threatened amphibian species in several biodiversity hotspots, including the Caribbean islands, the tropical Andes, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Other locations with large numbers of threatened amphibians include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, southern China and the southeastern United States.

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The world’s frogs, salamanders, newts and other amphibians remain in serious trouble.

A new global assessment has found that 41% of amphibian species that scientists have studied are threatened with extinction, meaning they are either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. That’s up from 39% reported in the last assessment, in 2004.

“Amphibians are the world’s most threatened animals,” said Duke University’s Junjie Yao, a frog researcher who was not involved in the study. “Their unique biology and permeable skin make them very sensitive to environmental changes.”

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The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that the loss of habitat from the expansion of farming and ranching is the single biggest threat to amphibians worldwide. But a growing percentage of amphibian species are now also pushed to the brink by novel diseases and climate change, the study found.

Amphibians are especially vulnerable animals. They have distinct life stages that each often require separate habitats, so they can be disrupted by changes in either aquatic or land environments, said University of Texas biologist Michael Ryan, who was not involved in the study.

They are also at risk because of their delicate skin. Most amphibians absorb oxygen to breathe through their skin, and so they do not have scales, feathers or fur to protect them. Chemical pollution, bacteria and fungal infections impact them quickly, as do heightened swings in temperature and moisture levels due to climate change.

For example, frogs are usually nocturnal. If it’s too hot, they won’t come out even at night because they would lose too much water through their skin, said Patricia Burrowes, a study co-author and researcher at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. But remaining in sheltered resting places limits frogs’ ability to eat and to breed.

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This summer was the hottest on record for the Northern Hemisphere, and 2023 is on track to be the 2nd hottest globally, after 2016.

Juan Manuel Guayasamin, a frog biologist at the University San Francisco of Quito, Ecuador, said that advances in technology to track animals and climate variations allowed the new study to use much more precise data than the 2004 assessment.

“We have a much better understanding of some risks,” said Guayasamin, who was not involved in the report.

The study identified the greatest concentrations of threatened amphibian species in several biodiversity hotspots, including the Caribbean islands, the tropical Andes, Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Other locations with large numbers of threatened amphibians include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, southern China and the southeastern United States.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Feeling thirsty? Not one but four WA distilleries have just taken home huge prizes at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

With over 5,500 entries from around the world, the annual competition is not only considered the largest and longest-running of its type, but the most prestigious.

Subiaco-based distillery Spirit of Little Things took out the gold medal with their signature Botanical Gin, which features hand-picked native thyme, strawberry gum and lemon myrtle.

“It’s a completely unique aromatic profile,” said Spirit of Little Things head distiller, Tom Martin. “Our vision when we started was to create gins with a very Australian identity and native botanicals form the foundation of all our products.”

“It’s incredibly satisfying to see the best judges in the world appreciate its distinctive flavour and acknowledge our dedication to the craft.”

In only their first year of operation, Banks and Bloom Distillery + Lab have taken home a prestigious Double Gold, winning for their Ice Vodka. The vodka is distilled using a unique cold vacuum technique, infusing it with a delicate combination of botanicals including blood lime, saltbush and samphire.

Bayswater-based Lisandras Distillery also took home the gold for their whisky barrel aged gin, alongside two silver medals within the Australian Single Malt Whiskey category.

The cheekily-named Billy Stitch Distillery also dominated in the gin category with six medals – including two Double Golds for their Dry Gin and Berry Mojito Gin.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the recent American Distillers Institute Awards saw the Republic of Fremantle named Best in Class in the International Vodka category.

“Making vodka from wine is challenging and further developing our process has significantly improved my skills as a distiller, to have this recognised in this international competition is hugely rewarding and the feedback is a testament to the complexities you get using wine as the base,” said Republic of Fremantle Head Distiller Tom Hutchings.

Image Credits: Supplied

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Two pregnant women (played by Milena Smit, left, and Penelope Cruz) bond in unusual ways in “Parallel Mothers,” the latest from director Pedro Almodovar.

Two of today’s most acclaimed international filmmakers — Pedro Almodovar and Asghar Farhadi — prove they still wield a master touch in this week’s batch of new releases. Here’s our roundup.

“Parallel Mothers”: Spain’s influential filmmaker Pedro Almodovar shows us that he’s as playful, adventurous and relevant as ever in this wickedly good and surprisingly emotional melodrama, which tackles weighty issues of history, birthright and bonds between women. Almodovar also gives Penelope Cruz a chance to shine brighter than she has in recent memory. She plays Janis, a smart, successful single woman overjoyed about the imminent arrival of her firstborn. At the hospital, she runs into Ana (Milena Smit), a teen not as enthusiastic about her pregnancy. The two different women bond and their lives interweave in incredible, unexpected and 100 percent Almodovaran ways. It’s also one powerful and damning look at Spain’s troubled history and attitudes toward women. Details: 3½; opens Jan. 7 in San Francisco theaters, expands Jan. 14.

“A Hero”: A seemingly good deed — giving back a missing bag of gems — turns into a viral sensation with neighbors, strangers and strategizers praising, sometimes co-opting the Good Samaritan “act” of Rahim (Amir Jadidi), who’s just out of jail after serving a sentence for not paying a debt. Iran-born filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (“The Salesman” and “A Separation”) takes a clear-cut, black-and-white premise and shades it with a whole lot of moral gray areas as circumstances unravel for Rahim, who has a girlfriend and a disabled son. True to form, Farhadi swims into these moral questions without being shrill or even choosing sides. That nonjudgmental approach makes this a wiser, richer story that speaks to the volatile mood of our world, where assigning blame and spewing outrage drown out common decency, compassion and the understanding that we all make mistakes. The final scene is crushing. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; opens Jan. 7 in select theaters; streaming Jan. 21 on Amazon Prime.

“The Book of Boba Fett”: Disney+ dips into the “Star Wars” treasure chest — as it did with the wildly successful “Mandalorian” — and comes up with another gold nugget. Looking like a cross between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel, New Zealand’s Temuera Morrison makes an ideal Fett, a taciturn bounty hunter cleaning up the messes wrought by intergalactic slob/mob boss Jabba the Hutt. Robert Rodriguez directs this series with vigor and style, particularly in the scenes featuring parkour-style derring-do and the flashbacks that pay homage to sci-fi greats Robert Heinlein and Ray Harryhausen. Add in a badass Ming-Na Wen as Fett’s muscle and this first episode holds promise that this will be another winner. Details: 3 stars; available now on Disney+.

“See for Me”: Canadian newcomer Randall Okita puts a new engine into the chugging home-invasion thriller genre, giving this effort visual flair and style. Former Olympics skier Sophie (Skyler Davenport; so good and so strong) remains bitter after an accident puts a fast-track career on ice. Sophie, who was blinded during the accident, runs into unsavory characters while house-sitting at a secluded mansion in the woods. Cue the creepy soundtrack. The clever screenplay from Adam Yorke and Tommy Gushue juices up a predicament that Audrey Hepburn’s character confronted in the 1967 classic “Wait Until Dark.” Details: 3 stars; opens Jan. 7 in select theaters and On Demand.

“Poupelle of Chimney Town”: In this animated fable, a hardworking young chimney sweep named Lubicchi meets his best and only friend, an L. Frank Baum-like creation that is made from garbage. Akihiro Nishino’s spirited adventure does a standout job of world building, creating a town devoid of any greenery. Richly animated and surprisingly touching, “Poupelle” is a gem from Tokyo-based Studio4ºC. Details: 3 stars; in select theaters Jan. 7.

“Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer”: Netflix feeds the insatiable appetite for true-crime stories with a lurid three parter about a serial killer stalking sex workers in 1979 New York. Joe Berlinger pieces together re-enactments, archival footage and interviews to revisit the horrific murders committed most often in rundown motels. It’s irresistible for true crime aficionados, but what makes “Times Square Killer” better than the standard is how it reflects the rampant seediness that blanketed the area. Details: 2½ stars; available now on Netflix.

“The Silent Sea”: This new Netflix sci-fi series from South Korea is as derivative as it is compelling. The eight-parter piles on the cliffhangers in each episode and features an excellent cast as it centers on a defunct lunar space station where the team is tasked with retrieving an undisclosed item. Doctor Song Ji-an (Bae Doona of “Sense8”) arrives  seeking answers, especially about what happened to her sister at the research station. She and others have fled a parched Earth wherein scarce water is controlled with a caste-like system. “Sea ” doesn’t always work, but when it cranks into high gear (near the 5th episode), expect to get your binge on. Details: 3 stars; available on Netflix.

“The Kindred”: Grim and low budget, this claustrophobic horror show finds new mom Helen (April Pearson) awakening from a coma to the devastating news that she’s been in the hospital after her father committed suicide in front of her eyes. Her marriage has hit a rough patch, and Helen suffers from weird visions as she tries to find out what led her dad to end his life. Director Jamie Pearson creates a “Rosemary’s Baby”-like vibe while the screenplay by Christian J. Hearn takes us to some very gnarly and despairing psychological places. Details: 2½ stars; available On Demand Jan. 7.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

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The death of Lucile Randon, a French nun who died on January 17, 2023 at the age of 118 years and 340 days has added another person to the top of the list.

Now the world’s oldest living person is Maria Branyas Morera, an American-born woman from Spain who is currently 115 years and 320 days old (as of January 18, 2023).

Maria was born in San Francisco in 1907 to a Catalan family from Spain. Maria’s family had immigrated to San Francisco in 1906, a year before she was born.

Although Maria’s family emigrated to the United States, they later moved back to their homeland in Catalonia, Spain, in 1915.

On board the ship bound for Spain, Maria fell ill and permanently lost hearing in one ear. Then her father died of tuberculosis, leaving Maria’s mother to raise the children alone.

Maria married in 1931 and had three children.

In 2020, Maria is said to have 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She was believed to be the oldest woman in Spain at the time and despite being diagnosed with Covid-19, she had only mild symptoms and beat the disease.

On March 4, 2022, Maria celebrated her 115th birthday. She had survived two world wars, the Spanish Civil War and global pandemics.

Maria currently resides in a nursing home where she has lived since the mid 90’s. She is said to be active on Twitter and Instagram.

As for her secret to longevity, Maria has claimed that she was just lucky to have good health.

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December 2, 2022

An aerial view of Oracle Park and the surrounding area prior to the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 26, 2022 in San Francisco.

Lance King/Getty Images

According to a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, San Francisco is among the 10 most expensive cities in the world.

The report was produced between mid-August and mid-September 2022. It is based on a cost-of-living survey that takes into account hundreds of factors, including the prices of goods and services, utilities, car payments and housing. A key factor behind the skyrocketing cost of living is global inflation, which the EIU has measured at 8.1% year-on-year, the highest the organization has ever recorded in its two decades of digital surveys.

At the top of the list of the most expensive cities are New York and Singapore, which are tied. It’s the first time that New York — which also now has the highest median rents in the United States, ahead of San Francisco and Boston — has won the title without hesitation. Singapore, on the other hand, has been voted the most expensive city in the world eight times in ten years, according to the EIU.

In third place is Tel Aviv, followed by a tie in fourth place between Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Switzerland’s Zurich and Geneva are at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively. San Francisco finally comes in at No. 8, four full places below LA and just above Paris (No. 9), and a tie at No. 10 between Sydney and Denmark’s Copenhagen.

Other US cities – including Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Portland, Oregon; and San Diego – also saw significant cost-of-living jumps, but not nearly enough to match levels seen in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Alex Shultz is the local editor for SFGATE. You can reach him at alex.shultz@sfgate.com.

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Dec 2, 2022

An aerial view of Oracle Park and the surrounding area ahead of the 2022 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament on March 26, 2022, in San Francisco.

Lance King/Getty Images

San Francisco is one of the 10 most expensive cities in the world, according to a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The report was conducted between mid-August and mid-September 2022. It’s based on a cost-of-living survey that incorporates hundreds of factors, including price of goods and services, utilities, car payments and housing. A major contributor to the skyrocketing cost of living is worldwide inflation, which the EIU measured at 8.1% year over year, the highest mark the organization has ever recorded in its two decades of digital surveys.

Topping the list of most expensive cities are New York and Singapore, which are tied. It’s the first time New York — which also now has the highest median rent prices in the United States, ahead of both San Francisco and Boston — has been given the unceremonious title. Singapore, meanwhile, has been ranked as the world’s most expensive city eight times in 10 years, according to the EIU.

In third place is Tel Aviv, followed by a fourth-place tie between Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Switzerland’s Zurich and Geneva are No. 6 and no. 7, respectively. San Francisco finally comes in at No. 8, four whole spots below LA and just above Paris (No. 9) and a tie for No. 10 between Sydney and Denmark’s Copenhagen.

Other US cities — including Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Portland, Oregon; and San Diego — saw significant cost-of-living jumps as well but not nearly enough to reach the same level as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Alex Shultz is the local editor for SFGATE. You can reach him at alex.shultz@sfgate.com.

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Sometimes, in my daily wanderings through downtown San Francisco, I look to the sky and ponder all the empty office buildings and wonder: What’s going to happen to this city?

For decades, San Francisco and neighboring Silicon Valley have assumed they would remain the world’s top spot for technology and innovation, riding a revenue train that would never ever stop.

Well, our choo choo has slowed down quite a bit. And there’s no guarantee of return ridership. A recent study by the research firm Real Estate Witch ranks San Francisco as the 16th best city in the country to launch a startup, far behind places like Las Vegas (No. 1), Salt Lake City (No. 2) and Miami (No 4). The metrics considered in the study included favorable tax laws, access to an educated workforce and employment growth. San Francisco didn’t stack up. The cost of doing business in the Bay Area has been prohibitive, to put it gently.

That has worried local tech leaders. I recently spoke to Jennifer Stojkovic, executive director of sf.citi, a San Francisco tech trade organization founded by venture capital legend Ron Conway 10 years ago, in partnership with then Mayor Ed Lee. Conway, a centrist Democrat who has been active on the local and national political stage, built the group into a powerhouse, influencing policy while representing giants such as Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, Twitter, Uber and Facebook. The group’s mission is “to empower the San Francisco tech community to have a voice in tech policy decisions and collaborate with government leaders on solving local issues.”

And that’s exactly what Stojkovic plans to do. With Conway retiring from the board chair position, she and two other prominent women in tech — Board Chair Rebecca Prozan (director of government affairs and public policy for Google’s West Coast region) and Vice Chair Kate O’Sullivan (general manager of digital diplomacy within Microsoft’s corporate, external and legal affairs department) — will lead sf.citi forward into an uncertain future. And frankly, they sound worried.

From left: Rebecca Prozan, Kate O’Sullivan and Jennifer Stojkovic are poised to lead sf.citi, a tech trade organization founded by venture capitalist Ron Conway, following Conway’s retirement from the board chair position. (Examiner photo stitch)

“San Francisco has not had the same level of recovery as cities like New York and Austin and Seattle and places like that,” Stojkovic told The Examiner. “One of the things that is very concerning, in our opinion, is that while we have a myriad of quality of life issues that we need to address to make sure that we are reopening our offices safely and reopening our downtown, that’s really a short – term solution. The long-term (question) for economic recovery is, ‘How do we remain the best place for folks to locate their business and to make sure that their talent is located in San Francisco?’”

Unfortunately, Stojkovic doesn’t hear anyone talking about this at City Hall.

“That, in my opinion, is the $14 billion question that we are not talking about at a city leadership level. We have been very, very fortunate to be a city that has been leading as the main capital of innovation in this country and in this world for several decades now. And we are now at a precipice where there’s potential for us to not have that same pull. … We need to make sure that we are, from a regulatory and tax perspective, continuing to be competitive. We’re the most expensive place to do business in the country.”

ugh Just when you thought you were full up on bad news, add this to the list. On my doomscrolling top 10, San Francisco’s tech center status ranks far behind Ukraine, inflation, fentanyl and homelessness. But it’s definitely on the list. We are a city based on technology and tourism, with a crucial convention economy that ties it all together. None of those engines are working at full capacity right now, so we need to pay attention when our tech leaders sound the alarm.

So what does Big Tech want San Francisco to do? You can read through sf.citi’s policy priorities, which map out some key areas one would expect from a business group. Favorable tax structure. Reasonable regulation. Eliminating bureaucracy. There’s also heavy emphasis on the pressing issues facing us all, including our lack of housing, aging transportation infrastructure, rampant homelessness and rising public safety concerns.

I would add one more to sf.citi’s list. Work with our largest tech employers to bring workers back to the office. And at the same time, embrace ideas forwarded in this column, and elsewhere, to repurpose space that will not be reclaimed by business. Empty offices? Make them into housing.

“I think the talk about repurposing the space downtown is one that a lot of folks are having right now. And I think that’s a realistic step and something we should be talking about,” said Stojkovic. “I also think that we have to do a good job of incentivizing people to want to be in San Francisco. At the end of the day, we keep coming back to the same thing. It’s very expensive to live in The City. So if we want folks to be coming downtown, and using the space more, we need folks to locate in San Francisco, which has not been on the forefront of housing development. California is not at the forefront of housing development.”

“(As for) transportation, a lot of our members are having concerns (about) their employees literally getting in and out of the city and getting to their offices. So we are advocating for better solutions from Muni and BART. That is important. Other perspectives? The state of the streets. Everybody says that. SF Travel is saying it, hospitals are saying it, every single association says the state of our streets has to change.”

For the record, sf.citi stands aligned with Mayor London Breed’s current plan to clean things up.

“We support the mayor’s initiatives, everything that she needs for public safety,” said Stojkovic. “But they’re not all tenable at the board level. We think that we need to be realistic about this. “

Conway and his organization have had some wins over the years, helping to make San Francisco startup-friendly while also advocating for improvements in local governance. For instance, this past year’s annual report shows they were heavily focused on mapping The City’s tech exodus and helping City Hall grapple with remote work, remote school and a remote population downtown.

Going forward, the organization’s new leadership wants to focus on keeping San Francisco relevant in the startup scene and helping to reenvision the city’s traditional downtown work spaces. From where I sit, this is core to our future success.

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. The region was the Silicon Valley of the Industrial Age, booming beyond belief in the 1910s and 1920s. The post-war era was a time of prosperity as well. Just like San Francisco, the civic leaders believed the boom times would last indefinitely. But as the companies and factories started moving out, seeking cheaper labor elsewhere, a slow decline began that bottomed out during my childhood.

To Cleveland’s credit, the city has reinvented itself behind strong ties to biomedicine and life sciences, due in large part to institutions like the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University. But that took decades, and it’s still very much a work in progress. The key is to make sure you don’t hit bottom and have to build back from scratch.

trust me I’ve seen a downtown die. It’s not a pretty sight.

Editor’s note: The Arena, a column from The Examiner’s Al Saracevic, explores San Francisco’s playing field, from politics and technology to sports and culture. Send your tips, quips and quotes to asaracevic@sfexaminer.com.

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The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco believes it has the world’s oldest living fish in an Aquarium.

The fish is an Australian lungfish, and it lives in a glass container in a museum. The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper first wrote about the fish in 1947. The story said the fish looked “strange” and might have been an example of the link between animals that lived in the ocean and those that lived on land.

The fish is named Methuselah after a person said to have lived 969 years in the Bible. While she is not that old, biologists at the aquarium think the fish is about 90 years old. They believe it is the oldest living example of a lungfish in an aquarium.

Until a few years ago, the oldest Australian lungfish was at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. But that fish, named Granddad, died in 2017 at the age of 95.

“By default,” said biologist Allan Jan, “Methuselah is the oldest.”

Jan looks after the fish in San Francisco. He believes the fish is female but does not know for sure. The aquarium plans to take a very small part of the fish’s fine and send it to scientists in Australia. The scientists will try to confirm the fish’s age and sex.

Jan said Methuselah likes getting rubbed on her back. He compared her to an “underwater puppy” or young dog. She is a little longer than one meter and weighs about 20 kilograms.

Methuselah, a 4-foot-long, 40-pound Australian lungfish that was brought to the California Academy of Sciences in 1938 from Australia, swims in its tank in San Francisco, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu )

Jeanette Peach is a spokeswoman for the aquarium. She said the fish enjoys eating fresh figs, a type of fruit. “She won’t eat them when they’re frozen,” Peach said.

The aquarium has two other Australian lungfish. Jan said they are thinking to be in their 40s or 50s.

the species is now threatened and can no longer be exported from Australian waters. So, getting another lungfish after Methuselah is not likely.

“We just give her the best possible care we can provide, and hopefully she thrills,” Jan said.

I’m Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press.

Does your country have some old animals or fish? What kind are they? Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

Aquarium– n. a glass or plastic container in which fish and other water animals and plants can live

default – n. used to describe something that happens or is done when nothing else has been done or can be done — usually used in the phrase by default

fine– n. a thin flat part that sticks out from the body of a fish and is used in moving or guiding the fish through water

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants : a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus

drive – v. to grow or develop successfully

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