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NEW YORK — Morgan Spurlock, the acclaimed filmmaker behind the hit 2004 documentary “Super Size Me,” has died aged 53 of complications from cancer, his family announced on Friday.

Spurlock passed away in New York on Thursday “surrounded by family and friends,” according to a statement released through his publicist.

“Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man,” his brother Craig Spurlock was quoted as saying in the statement.

“Super Size Me”, which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary feature, followed Spurlock as he subsisted on a diet of only McDonald’s fast food for a month.

The witty, caustic movie helped spur a change of tack by fast-food corporations to include healthier options on their menus amid growing concern over rising obesity rates in the United States.

Through his production company, Warrior Poets, Spurlock produced and directed nearly 70 documentary films and television series.

But his legacy was tainted when he confessed to sexual misdeeds at the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017.

In an open letter, he admitted to verbally harassing a female assistant and paying her off. He also said he had been accused of rape in college, though there were no charges or investigations.

Spurlock, who said he had been sexually abused as a child and had a drinking problem, also confessed: “I have been unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I have ever had.”

He said that with his confession he hoped “to empower the change within myself. We should all find the courage to admit we’re at fault”.

The post effectively ended his documentary career.

Super-sized legacy

During the one month it took to shoot “Super Size Me” — which cost just $65,000 to make — Spurlock ate only at McDonald’s.

Mixed in with scenes of his meals are details about the fast-food giant’s advertising techniques to keep the customers happy and the real cost to the consumer from health experts.

The result: He gained 12 kilogrammes, his cholesterol levels shot up and doctors following the experiment ultimately told him to drop it when he began developing liver problems.

Just weeks after the film debuted at the Sundance film festival in 2004, McDonald’s announced it would remove its “super-size” options from the menu.

In the years since its accuracy has been debated, but it remains in use as an educational health aid in some US schools.

Spurlock’s later projects included “30 Days”, which tackled minimum wages and immigrant labour, and the susceptibility of consumers to marketing, with “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”.

In 2008’s “Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?” he set out to capture the Al Qaeda leader, at the time the world’s most wanted man.

“What began as ‘What a great title for a film’ became ‘What kind of crazy world creates an Osama Bin Laden’ and I started worrying about bringing a child into it,” Spurlock told AFP in an interview at the time.

“I learned that what we see on American television, in the media isn’t what others in the rest of the world think of us, or of themselves. It’s much more complicated than good versus evil.”

Spurlock was born on November 7, 1970 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and graduated from New York University in 1993.

According to Variety magazine, he is survived by his two children, his parents and siblings, and two ex-wives.

TOKYO — Men’s volleyball is flying high in Japan with the national team ranked fourth globally ahead of the Paris Olympics and the sport’s soaring popularity fuelled by a manga blockbuster.

“Haikyu!!”, the tale of school teams featuring an inspirational comic-book hero determined to beat the odds and his diminutive stature, has sold 60 million copies since its 2012 inception.

Turned into a hit anime series, now a new film “Haikyu!!: The Dumpster Battle” has taken 10 billion yen ($65 million) at the Japanese box office and will release in North America this month.

Masahiro Yanagida, who captained the national team from 2018-2021, said he was “immensely grateful” that the exploits of the fictional team have helped trigger a boom in numbers hitting the courts.

“I have all volumes of the manga myself,” he told AFP, recalling being “completely hooked” on its “pretty realistic” depictions of the sport.

High-school volleyball club membership for boys jumped from 35,000 in 2012 to more than 50,000 this year, official records show.

Anime-like action 

Among those inspired is Kaede Sakashita, 10, seeking to emulate “Haikyu!!” elite setter Atsumu Miya, and his low-lunge toss, in a Tokyo sports hall.

“He’s my role model,” Sakashita, a member of Tokyo’s Sugiichi junior volleyball club, told AFP.

The “Haikyu!!” fandom goes beyond boys.

For Nanami Fujiki, 22, the manga ignited her “love” for the sport.

“I used to have no interest at all... I didn’t even know the rules,” she told AFP at a pop-up store selling “Haikyu!!” merchandise.

But now thanks to the series “I can enjoy the actual matches in a way I never did before.”

The current national team has a real-life echo of the comic in star players like Ran Takahashi, a wildly popular 22-year-old playing in Italy’s top league.

Despite not being tall by volleyball standards, the 1.88 metre outside hitter stunned the world last year with a pirouetting spike with his back to the net — just like a character in “Haikyu!!”.

“Thanks perhaps to ‘Haikyu!!’, I feel the visually entertaining plays of Japanese volleyball are riveting spectators worldwide more and more,” Takahashi told AFP.

“Some may say the quality of Japanese volleyball is approaching anime.”

‘Miracle in Munich’ 

Japan’s glory days in volleyball date back more than half-a-century.

The women’s team, the “Oriental Witches”, famously defeated the Soviet Union to win gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, followed by the men’s “Miracle in Munich” gold medal in 1972.

The women have since fared better since, winning bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, although they haven’t qualified for Paris yet.

The men, meanwhile, “stagnated for ages”, Japan Volleyball Association spokesman Naohiro Kakitani told AFP.

The turning point came with players such as Takahashi and Yuki Ishikawa, 28, foraying into Italy’s top league, along with the team’s transformation since the 2017 arrival of French coach Philippe Blain, Kakitani added.

Last year, Blain’s squad finished third at the Volleyball Nations League, the first men’s medal at a major international tournament in 46 years.

“They’re now on a whole different level that I wouldn’t have dreamed of in our time,” said Yanagida.

The sport still has challenges, however, with critics pointing to the poor profitability of Japan’s top-level V.League.

The league features many company-backed teams whose players don’t rely on volleyball for a living and can therefore be less motivated, Yanagida said.

Breaking the mould is Yanagida’s current club, Tokyo Great Bears.

Donning pink uniforms, they are “actively shedding an aggressive, macho image” often associated with male athletes, to ensure “female fans wouldn’t feel ignored”, club president Takeshi Kubota told AFP.

This approach, combined with tie-ups with YouTubers and musicians, helped Tokyo Great Bears lure the biggest crowds in the men’s division for two straight years.

“We wanted to prove volleyball can draw crowds,” Kubota said.

And it’s a mindset that resonates with Takahashi, who willingly makes himself a volleyball poster boy by modelling and singing on YouTube.

“I want to make volleyball a sport children can dream of,” he said.

CANNES, France — Legendary Japanese animators Studio Ghibli on Monday became the first collective to receive an honourary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Oscar-winning studio, founded 40 years ago, is beloved worldwide for masterpieces like “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle”.

Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, 83, did not attend the French festival, but his son Goro Miyazaki received the award, which is typically bestowed on individuals.

“I would like to thank all the fans worldwide,” he said on stage after receiving the honour, before attendees were treated to four short films from the wildly imaginative collective.

Among them was 2002’s “Mei and the Baby Cat Bus”, billed as a “mini-sequel” to Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 classic “My Neighbour Totoro”.

In “Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess”, a giant gloop of dough helps a tiny egg in a pink dress escape a ravenous witch.

“House Hunting” and “Boro the Caterpillar” — the second starring a tiny grub munching on leaves — featured amusing human voiceovers for everything from a friendly river monster to squeaky bicycles.

All were welcomed with good-natured laughter.

“Today you have given the Studio Ghibli encouragement for the next 40 years,” Goro Miyazaki said after the screening.

Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement more than once, but he continues to work and was back in cinemas last year with “The Boy and the Heron”.

He appeared on the big screen in a video to say: “Thank you very much.”

“The Boy and the Heron” won an Oscar this year and Goro Miyazaki said the studio had to wrap the statuette in a hotel towel to fly it home safely from the United States.

He said he was really glad the honourary Palme had a box.

Meryl Streep received an honourary Palme at the festival’s opening and George Lucas, creator of “Star Wars”, is to receive the accolade at the closing ceremony on Saturday.

CANNES, France — Two Hollywood legends make their comeback at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, as Kevin Costner launches his sprawling self-funded Western and Demi Moore returns in a gore-filled body horror.

The star-studded premieres arrive midway through the world’s most famous movie festival, where “Emilia Perez” — a musical about a transgender drug lord, starring Selena Gomez — is currently the talk of the town.

Epic Western “Horizon, an American Saga” is a passion project for Costner, who told AFP he had started working on the screenplay in 1988.

Despite having enormous success with Westerns, including the Oscar-winning “Dances with Wolves”, “Open Range” and television’s “Yellowstone”, he could not find a studio willing to fund his script.

“But I loved it and so I decided I would write four, which is very American of me — insane,” said Costner, who bankrolled the project himself.

The first film will premiere at Cannes on Sunday in a special screening outside the main Palme d’Or competition. A second film has also been shot, and both will launch globally in theatres this summer.

“Horizon” follows multiple characters and storylines on the violent frontier, as Europeans establish settlements on Native American land.

Costner stars along with Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington.

Another veteran US star, Demi Moore, takes centre stage in “The Substance”, a horror film which tackles the immense pressures society places on women to achieve bodily perfection.

Moore starred in several hit movies in the 1990s, including “Ghost”, “A Few Good Men”, “Indecent Proposal” and “G.I. Jane”.

But this year’s Cannes is a remarkable return to the red carpet, after years in which Moore has made headlines more for her marriages to Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher than her acting.

‘Schizophrenic’

“The Substance” is among 22 films competing for the Cannes festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.

High-profile entries that have played so far include Francis Ford Coppola’s divisive epic “Megalopolis”, Andrea Arnold’s much-praised childhood saga “Bird” and Paul Schrader’s widely panned “Oh, Canada”.

The early frontrunner appears to be “Emilia Perez” from French auteur Jacques Audiard, who received a hero’s welcome from the world’s media as he hosted a press conference Sunday, a day after its world premiere.

Karla Sofia Gascon, a Spanish trans woman, stars as a Mexican drug baron who longs to change gender and escape the narco life.

“We’re normal people who can have the careers they want,” said Gascon.

Zoe Saldana plays a lawyer who must arrange the operation, which is kept secret from everyone including the narco boss’s wife, portrayed by pop star-turned-actor Gomez.

The characters regularly break out into song, with lyrics tackling everything from plastic surgery to Mexico’s struggles with corruption and warring drug gangs.

Audiard said he had originally envisioned the film as an opera.

The “crumbling of democracy” in Mexico, a country he finds to be “schizophrenic”, provided the perfect setting for “a tragedy”, said the director.

Outside of the Palme d’Or competition, Cate Blanchett launched “Rumours”, which follows a group of world leaders who meet for a G7 summit but end up getting lost in a forest, with debauchery ensuing.

“I think if you try to make sense of this movie, you’ll feel like you’re losing your mind,” joked Blanchett.

The Palme d’Or winner will be unveiled on Saturday, the festival’s closing day.

Dr Said Qabbaah,
Medical Writer & Public Health Expert

Spring is a time when nature comes to life with all its vibrant colours and beautiful aromas. It is when temperatures begin to climb gradually creating the perfect ambiance for spending time outdoors which adds to the whole positive experience of the season.

A NEW FRESH START

Typically, during spring, we witness the revival of plants and trees as they come back to life following the lengthy dormancy of the preceding season. This is marked by the blossoming of flowers and the new growth of fresh green foliage that symbolises a new fresh start.

However, for many people, the onset of spring can also trigger negative experiences, because it may signal the unwelcome arrival of spring’s unpopular companion — the seasonal allergy.

The warmer spring weather is associated with the release of pollen in the air, which are tiny grains that are naturally produced by a variety of trees, grasses and Dr Said Qabbaah,

Medical Writer & Public Health Expert Spring’s Unpopular Companion weeds, for the purpose of fertilisation that takes place among plants.

This pollen can easily enter our respiratory system and trigger an immune response in susceptible individuals.

This happens because, in certain people, the immune system wrongly identifies pollen as a threat which triggers an exaggerated response by releasing natural chemicals found in the body, such as histamine, in an attempt to fight it.

This results in the classic symptoms of an allergy such as sneezing, nasal congestion, watery eyes and itching. This allergic reaction may be more intense on windy days as the stronger winds tend to carry more pollen, leading to worse symptoms.

Spring allergies usually begin during the month of February and last until early summer. However, this can vary slightly depending on the climate in the region.

Additionally, the exact timing of the allergy depends on the presence of the specific pollen or ‘allergen’ that triggers the allergic reaction, which is released into the air at more or less specific times during the season.

Therefore, seasonal allergies, also known as “hay fever” normally cause symptoms to appear during certain times of the year.

While it may be impossible to completely avoid pollen and its unpleasant effects, there are certainly a number of ways that can help reduce exposure and achieve some symptomatic relief. Here are some:

Monitoring pollen counts and peak times

Observe local pollen forecasts and spend less time outdoors when pollen levels are high; also consider staying indoors — if possible, during specific times of the day, such as in the morning or on a windy day, when the pollen is typically at peak levels.

Using efficient air filters

Using special filters called “high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)” filters in the cooling and heating systems of homes help trap pollen and other allergens before they can reach the breathing system —an indoor air purifier may also help.

Keeping windows closed

During spring, it is best to keep the windows closed as much and whenever possible at home, in the car, or at work. This helps prevent pollen entering from the outside, therefore reducing the risk of an allergic reaction.

Additionally, it is highly advised to ensure that various surfaces are regularly cleaned in case there is any accumulated pollen over time, as well as regularly vacuuming which helps with getting rid of pollen trapped in carpets.

As obvious as it may sound, it is important to remember to shower and change into fresh clothes when returning from outdoors, in order to help remove pollen from the surface of the skin and prevent it from spreading indoors.

Taking allergy medications

Although no cure currently exists for allergies, proper management can significantly reduce symptoms and improve overall well-being and quality of life, especially during the spring season.

Many treatments that aim to alleviate allergy symptoms are over-the-counter medications that include antihistamines, nasal corticosteroids, decongestants and eye drops. However, it is important to consult a doctor for personalised treatment options, based on medical history, especially if the symptoms are severe or persisting.

Starting immunotherapy

This is a type of medical treatment that works by stimulating the body’s own immune system to fight certain diseases and allergies. It involves various approaches, including the use of antibodies, vaccines, or other biological substances, to target specific cells or molecules involved in the disease process.

Allergen immunotherapy or “allergy shots” involves the gradual desensitisation of the immune system to specific allergens with the aim of reducing allergic reactions over time. This form of treatment is often reserved for individuals with severe allergies that have not responded to other treatments, and provides relief for longer periods of time compared to other forms of allergy treatments.

Research on this particular topic is quite limited.

Some people may find some form of relief from spring allergies by taking natural homemade remedies, in addition to traditional treatments, such as honey, nasal irrigation with salt and warm water, or certain herbal supplements such as butterbur and stinging nettle.

However, it is important to consult a doctor before starting any herbal treatments as some may cause side effects or interact with certain medications.

Making lifestyle adjustments

Simple but effective changes to lifestyle including the daily consumption of a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids may help support immune function and reduce inflammation, potentially minimising allergy symptoms.

Other lifestyle aspects include reducing stress which can in fact make allergy symptoms worse, by practicing daily mindfulness, mediation and yoga.

Summary

Although spring allergies can undoubtedly dampen your season’s joy, armed with the right knowledge and strategies, symptoms can be effectively managed, allowing you to fully embrace the true beauty of the season.

By taking proactive steps to reduce exposure to pollen and exploring various treatment options, you can navigate allergy season with greater ease and reclaim your pleasure of the outdoors during spring.

So, as you witness nature renew itself and burst into vibrant colours, do not let your allergy become a hurdle and remember to enjoy the splendour of spring just like nature itself - with positivity and energy.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

LONDON — Music icon Paul McCartney has become the UK’s first billionaire musician, according to the Sunday Times Rich List published on Friday, despite the country recording its largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history.

The 81-year-old’s fortune was boosted by “strong touring, a valuable back catalogue and even a little help from Beyoncé”, who covered the Beatles song “Blackbird”, said the Rich List, considered the definitive guide of the UK’s wealthy.

McCartney, whose net worth was estimated at £1 billion ($1.26 billion), has bucked the trend, with the amount of billionaires in the UK falling from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

This is partly due to plans by the government to scrap the “non-dom tax status” from next year, the system whereby people do not pay UK tax on their overseas earnings.

“Non-dom” has been a political issue for many years, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Indian wife Akshata Murty claiming the status, meaning she was not required to pay tax on her shareholding in Infosys, the Bangalore-based IT company co-founded by her father.

However, she said she would pay UK tax on that income after coming under political pressure.

That move has not hit the family’s fortune, with the couple seeing their shares grow in value by £108.8 million to nearly £590 million over the past year, giving the couple a net worth of £615 million, according to the list of 350 individuals and families.

King Charles III’s personal wealth was also estimated to have risen by £10 million to £610 million, thanks to a boost in the net worth of his properties.

Those faring less well include chemicals tycoon Jim Ratcliffe, who bought a stake in Manchester United earlier this year, inventor James Dyson and Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson, who all saw their multi-billion pound fortunes decrease.

The list is topped by Indian-born investor Gopi Hinduja and his family for a third successive year.

The head of the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group has an estimated fortune of £37 billion.

URUBICHÁ, Bolivia — Nestled in the Bolivian Amazon, the small, majority-Indigenous town of Urubicha has become an unexpected hub of violin makers, also known as luthiers.

Out of a population of some 8,000 people, most of whom are native Guarayos, some 40-50 work directly in the trade, local resident Waldo Papu tells AFP.

“I have not seen a place where so many violins are made,” he said.

Papu heads up the Urubicha Institute of Artistic Training, Choir and Orchestra — one of the most well-known baroque music schools in Bolivia with about 600 students.

About 20 or so students are learning to make violins, carrying on the tradition practiced by elders such as Hildeberto Oreyai.

The master craftsman, 76, tells AFP he was led into the practice by his father.

He takes two weeks to make a classical four-stringed instrument.

“You have to work with the instrument. It is done with patience, so that it comes out well,” he said in a mixture of Spanish and Guarayo, one of Bolivia’s 37 official Indigenous languages.

Each violin is made from cedar or mara — a local hardwood — and sells for the equivalent of about $580.

A widower with five children and several grandchildren, Oreyai speaks little and has had hearing problems for a while.

With his luthier’s ear impaired, he tunes practically by heart.

“I really like to play,” he says, sitting outside his rustic workshop.

Unlike some others in the town, Oreyai has been unable to convince any descendants to take up the violin-making trade he first learned from his grandfather.

Urubicha lies over 300 kilometres north of the departmental capital Santa Cruz.

In the early 19th century, Franciscan missionaries arrived in the area of current-day Guarayo and noticed that the Indigenous peoples were skilled artisans and, above all, musically talented.

Anthropologists believe that may be rooted in the Guarayos’ beliefs around death.

For one’s soul to reach the Great Ancestor, as they identify their god, it must sing and play the “tacuara” or bamboo flute, historian Juan Uranavi says.

The soul rides on a caiman to the ancestor, but if it does not know how to play the tacuara well, “because of some carelessness in his life”, the caiman tips him over into the river to devour him, Uranavi told AFP.

Taking advantage of their musical proclivities, the Franciscans used the violin as a tool to evangelise the local population.

At first, the instruments could only be played in church, but later “the natives themselves learned from the missionaries” to make and play them, Papu said.

One student learning the violin-making trade is 38-year-old Hernan Yarita, who is soon to graduate as a luthier.

He tells AFP he wants his violins to reach his fellow villagers first.

“There are children who do not have a violin and we have this vision of making them for ourselves, for our relatives,” Yarita says.

SEOUL — With a shaved head and flowing monk robes, a South Korean DJ chants traditional Buddhist scripture mixed with Gen-Z life advice over a thumping EDM beat, as the crowd goes wild.

Meet Youn Sung-ho, a comedian-turned-musician whose viral Buddhism-infused sets are credited with reviving the religion’s popularity among young South Koreans, even as his performances have ruffled feathers regionally, including triggering police reports in Malaysia.

In South Korea’s Zen Buddhist tradition, which holds that the religion’s truth transcends the physical, Youn has been welcomed with open arms by senior clergy, who see him as a means to engage with young people.

A senior monk even bestowed upon Youn the monk name NewJeansNim, under which the 47-year-old, who is not ordained, now performs.

The moniker is a mash-up of “Seunim”, a respectful Korean title for Buddhist monks and other devotional words — with no connection to K-pop girl group NewJeans.

“Pain! Because I don’t get a raise. Pain! Because Monday comes too quickly,” NewJeansNim chants on stage as hundreds of mostly young Korean revellers dance, waving their hands in sync.

“This too shall pass! We will overcome!” he adds, citing classic Buddhist tenants, as the beat drops at an electronic dance music event marking a lantern festival for Buddha’s birthday, which falls on Wednesday.

Footage of his quirky, high-energy performances has gone viral, with striking visuals of a be-robed, shaven-headed Youn dancing, singing and spinning turntables.

“Never did I expect this reaction. It’s overwhelming,” Youn told AFP ahead of his performance in Seoul at the weekend.

He says he comes by his Buddhist DJ identity honestly.

“My mother was a Buddhist and I also went to temples from a young age so Buddhism comes naturally to me.”

And his motivational lyrics are “just what I said to myself last year when I had no work and was really struggling — good days do come”.

Malaysia ban?

For many South Koreans, his words have resonated.

“His messages provide comfort to those in their twenties and thirties who are burnt out and feel hopeless,” says Kang Min-ji, a 26-year-old, who said they did not have any interest in Buddhism before watching NewJeansNim.

“I always thought Buddhism was conservative until I saw his DJ performances,” she added.

But in neighbouring Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country with a significant Buddhist minority, where NewJeansNim performed in early May, a second gig planned for later this month was cancelled after his performance offended local Buddhists.

“There have been police reports lodged against DJ NewJeansNim’s performance in Malaysia by Buddhist societies and individuals,” EowShiang Yen, secretary-general of the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia, told AFP.

“The way he chooses to perform and his dress is not appropriate to Buddhist beliefs and practices,” he said, adding: “We do not want others to misinterpret Buddhist practices.”

One Malaysian lawmaker has said NewJeansNim should not be allowed to perform in Kuala Lumpur using the trappings of Buddhism.

Buddhism for all

But in South Korea, the president of the country’s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, has urged NewJeansNim to continue, seeing the DJ as a means of attracting new, younger followers.

“Young people think that Buddhism is difficult and old,” the Venerable Jinwoo Seunim has said.

“In order to break this, it is better not to be too bound by tradition,” he added.

As in many advanced economies, religious interest has dwindled along with South Korea’s population, official statistics show, and “Buddhism is the religion that is suffering the most,” said Ja-hongSeunim, a 33-year-old monk.

“We are not in a position to stop anyone from spreading Buddhism to young people,” he told AFP.

The non-traditional approach could also be seen at the International Buddhism Expo this year in Seoul, when attendees could pray with an AI Buddha, buy scripture clothing and eat Buddha-shaped chocolates. NewJeansNim played a set for the grand finale.

Attendance was up threefold from last year, with 80 per cent of attendees in their twenties or thirties, event organisers said.

“There are definitely more Buddhist events for young people to enjoy, and basically they are ‘hip’ now,” Choi Kyung-yoon, a 28-year-old who lives in Seoul, told AFP.

NewJeansNim himself downplays his contribution to making Buddhism cool again in South Korea.

“I didn’t do anything really,” he told AFP.

“The monks are very open-minded, and I am just flowing with them.”

WASHINGTON — The most powerful solar storm in more than two decades struck Earth on Friday, triggering spectacular celestial light shows in skies from Tasmania to Britain — and threatening possible disruptions to satellites and power grids as it persists into the weekend.

The first of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun — came just after 16:00 GMT, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Space Weather Prediction Centre.

It was later upgraded to an “extreme” geomagnetic storm — the first since the so-called “Halloween Storms” of October 2003 caused blackouts in Sweden and damaged power infrastructure in South Africa. More CMEs are expected to pummel the planet in the coming days.

Social media lit up with people posting pictures of auroras from northern Europe and Australasia.

“We’ve just woken the kids to go watch the Northern Lights in the back garden! Clearly visible with the naked eye,” Iain Mansfield, a think tanker in Hertford, Britain told AFP.

“Absolutely biblical skies in Tasmania at 4am this morning. I’m leaving today and knew I could not pass up this opportunity,” photographer Sean O’ Riordan posted on X alongside a photo.

Authorities notified satellite operators, airlines and the power grid to take precautionary steps for potential disruptions caused by changes to Earth’s magnetic field.

Unlike solar flares, which travel at the speed of light and reach Earth in around eight minutes, CMEs travel at a more sedate pace, with officials putting the current average at 800 kilometers per second.

They emanated from a massive sunspot cluster that is 17 times wider than our planet. The Sun is approaching the peak of an 11-year cycle that brings heightened activity.

‘Go outside tonight and look’

Mathew Owens, a professor of space physics at the University of Reading, told AFP that while the effects would be largely felt over the planet’s northern and southern latitudes, how far they would extend would depend on the storm’s final strength.

“Go outside tonight and look would be my advice because if you see the aurora, it’s quite a spectacular thing,” he added. If people have eclipse glasses, they can also look for the sunspot cluster during the day.

In the United States, this could include places such as Northern California and Alabama, officials said.

NOAA’s Brent Gordon encouraged the public to try to capture the night sky with phone cameras even if they can’t see auroras with their naked eyes.

“Just go out your back door and take a picture with the newer cell phones and you’d be amazed at what you see in that picture versus what you see with your eyes.”

Fluctuating magnetic fields associated with geomagnetic storms induce currents in long wires, including power lines, which can potentially lead to blackouts. Long pipelines can also become electrified, leading to engineering problems.

Spacecraft are also at risk from high doses of radiation, though the atmosphere prevents this from reaching Earth.

NASA has a dedicated team looking into astronaut safety, and can ask astronauts on the International Space Station to move to places within the outpost that are better shielded.

Pigeons and other species that have internal biological compasses could also be affected. Pigeon handlers have noted a reduction in birds coming home during geomagnetic storms, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Officials said people should have the normal backup plans in place for power outages, such as having flashlights, batteries and radios at hand.

The most powerful geomagnetic storm in recorded history, known as the Carrington Event, occurred in September 1859, named after British astronomer Richard Carrington.

Excess currents on telegraph lines at that time caused electrical shocks to technicians and even set some telegraph equipment ablaze.