The Broken U.S. Press Sits Down For Cocktails And Giggles With Fascists

This Saturday is the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (WHCA). And there's been ample criticism of journalists that plan to have giggles and cocktails with overt fascists, given this helps normalize of one of the…

Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territory Israeli forces have been moving an agreed truce line in Gaza westwards over the six months since the ceasefire, expanding their zone of control and making the state of limbo ever more dangerous for Palestinians. The “yellow line” agreed in the US-brokered ceasefire in October was supposed to be temporary pending further Israeli withdrawals, but the partially observed truce has stalled after its first phase amid disagreements over the disarming of Hamas, and continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Continue reading...

Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control

Gibraltar’s monkeys eat mud ‘to avoid upset stomachs from tourist junk food’ Macaques have learned to eat soil to avert gut irritation caused by salty and sugary snacks, researchers believe Troops of monkeys living on the Rock of Gibraltar have learned to eat soil in what scientists believe is an effort to settle their stomachs after all the junk food they receive – and sometimes steal – from crowds of tourists. Researchers spotted the intentional mud eating, known as geophagy, while observing groups of Barbary macaques in the territory. Monkeys that had the most contact with tourists ate the most soil and consumption peaked in the holiday season, they found. Continue reading...

Gibraltar’s monkeys eat mud ‘to avoid upset stomachs from tourist junk food’

EU provisionally approves €90bn Ukraine loan as Hungary drops opposition after Druzhba pipeline reopens – Europe live European Union presidency confirms approval of loan with formal procedures expected to conclude on Thursday During his press conference, Fico also doubles down on his criticism of the incoming Hungarian government led by Péter Magyar, in a further sign that the relations between Bratislava and Budapest could change dramatically in the next few months. Fico has been close friends with Orbán, often teaming up with him on energy issues, but it doesn’t look like this Slovak-Hungarian partnership will continue under the new management in Budapest. Continue reading...

EU provisionally approves €90bn Ukraine loan as Hungary drops opposition after Druzhba pipeline reopens – Europe live

Stern warning: one man’s mission to clear the rotting boats poisoning Cornwall’s creeks Unwanted vessels left to decay release fibreglass shards into the water, harming marine life. Steve Green – with his trusty van Cecil – is determined to clean things up

Stern warning: one man’s mission to clear the rotting boats poisoning Cornwall’s creeks

Fury in Cornwall over herbicide plan to tackle weeds Council proposal to use glyphosate to tidy up pavements criticised over potential harm to humans and wildlife

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Denmark is turning off the white light from its streetlamps and painting a road red to solve a nighttime crisis that almost no one sees: urban light was blocking the path of bats Denmark turned part of a road red to protect bats and cut the hidden damage caused by white streetlights.

This is a good way to take care of your local bat population.
share.google/Zo7jdVXBOOHE...

❗️BIG: EU ambassadors have preliminary approved a €90 billion loan for Ukraine and the 20th sanctions package against Russia, with final adoption expected after written procedure. #EU

After issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, several judges at the International Criminal Court were sanctioned by Washington, leaving them unable to use their bank cards, even on European soil.

TT: france24_en

CATL debuts six stunning battery innovations, including 1,500km EV option and 6-minute charge Chinese battery giant CATL unveiled host of new technology developments, including a 1,500 km EV battery, 6-minute charging, a sodium-ion option and integrated charge-swap stations.

New battery technology innovations: (EV) battery with driving range up to 1,500 kilometres (km) and Superfast Charging Battery that charges from 10 to 90% in 6 minutes 27 seconds.
thedriven.io/2026/04/22/c...

not least murder rate of women, by their cats, low to non existent

my (dear departed) cat left dead baby rabbits next to my pillow which if I didn't eat would be replaced with stomach, entrails and scut

Algae-infused asphalt could slash toxic road fumes - AirQualityNews Asphalt is so ubiquitous that most people never give it a second thought, but a growing body of research suggests that this petroleum-based material – which lines millions of kilometres of roads worldwide – may be quietly damaging our health in ways that have been largely ignored. Note: As I write this in the UK – and with a domestic readership in mind – I was tempted to translate to ‘asphalt’ to ‘tarmac’ throughout article but a quick Google informs me that ‘Asphalt is made from a blend of aggregates and bitumen and typically takes up to two days to fully cure. In contrast, tarmac consists of crushed stone mixed with tar and cures much faster.’ [source] So asphalt it is. Two new studies, led by researchers at Arizona State University, reveal that asphalt is not just an inert surface. It is a persistent source of toxic emissions that worsen urban air pollution and may contribute to everything from respiratory disease to dementia. The first study found that humidity is a critical and previously underestimated driver of these emissions. When relative humidity rises from near-dry conditions to just 50% at 50°C, emissions of harmful polar volatile organic compounds (VOCs) increase...

Algae-infused asphalt could slash toxic road fumes - AirQualityNews
->Air Quality News | More on "Algae asphalt toxic road emissions" at BigEarthData.ai | #Toxic

Plugging data gaps in global plant diversity using citizen science What does a global map of plant life look like, and what happens when the data behind it is incomplete? A recent study published in Nature Communications in January 2026, describes such a map, built from field surveys, earth observation systems, and millions of observations recorded by citizen scientists around the world. This map now offers one of the most in-depth views of how plants function across ecosystems. However, the map also exposes something else. These are large, persistent gaps in the data that scientists rely on to understand the Earth’s vegetation, which means that quite a bit of the world’s plant life is still poorly documented. The study used 31 plant traits such as size, growth strategy, leaf characteristics, wood density, reproductive traits, and resource use to outline a global ‘plant economics’ spectrum. These characteristics, also known as functional traits, can help us understand how plant strategies change in response to climate and ecosystem stress. Currently, most global biodiversity data only tell us what species are found where; they don’t tell us what roles they play in carbon storage and ecosystem dynamics. Mapping these traits on a global scale gives us a spectrum of characteristics spanning fast-growing, nutrient-hungry plants...

Plugging data gaps in global plant diversity using citizen science
->Mongabay-India | More on "Citizen science global plant diversity" at BigEarthData.ai | #Data #PlantDiversity #CitizenScience

Extreme heat is rewriting food security. The best fixes are already within reach Kaveh Zahedi is the Assistant Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Director of FAO’s Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment. Ko Barrett is the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Every crop, every animal and every fish has a thermal limit, the point where additional heat stops being normal weather and starts doing damage. In food systems, that threshold arrives sooner than many people realise. For key agricultural species, the danger zone often sits between 25 and 35°C at the moments that matter most, such as flowering and reproduction. As climate change drives more days into the mid-40s°C in major breadbaskets, those limits are already being crossed. The result is lower yields, weaker livestock, stressed fisheries, higher fire risk and farmworkers – the backbone of the system – forced into unsafe conditions. A new joint FAO-WMO report, released on April 22, shows that extreme heat is already cutting production and exposing agricultural workers to dangerous conditions. One analysis found that beef cattle mortality reached as high as 24% in some documented heatwaves. Marine heatwaves were linked to an estimated $6.6 billion loss in fisheries production. And the outlook worsens as temperatures rise. For...

Extreme heat is rewriting food security. The best fixes are already within reach
->Climate Home News | More on "Extreme heat threatening global food security" at BigEarthData.ai | #ExtremeHeat #Hunger #ClimateChange #FoodSecurity

A family of Ravens is putting the goth back in gothic at NYC's largest cathedral--St John the Divine. There are five mouths to feed, so the parents are staying busy! ⛪️⛪️⛪️ #Ravens #Cathedral #birding

The world is embracing offshore wind — even as the US retreats Over 9 GW of new offshore wind projects came online last year. The sector is set to grow even more as nations in Europe and Asia seek out domestic clean…

American exceptionalism.

Robbins' 'bemused by the attention, faithful servant to the nation' (act) seems fatuous not least having a good go at an elected government/PM also already experience right at the epicentre of BREXIT

entitled

Antiquities from US collection returned to Greece | eKathimerini.com The children of two prominent American art collectors have voluntarily returned to Greece five Greek antiquities acquired by their parents in the 1970s and 80s, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday.

The children of two prominent American art collectors have voluntarily returned to Greece five Greek antiquities acquired by their parents in the 1970s and 80s, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday

www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1301...

Our planet is sending us a clear signal.

From climate change to deforestation and land-use change, the pressures on our planet are growing.

On #EarthDay and every day, the world must accelerate its shift to a sustainable economy, one that works for both people and the planet.

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’ In his new book, Omer Bartov tracks how a liberatory strand of Zionism transformed into an extremist ideology that he sees as responsible for genocide in Gaza

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’

Israel’s death penalty law could spell suspension from rights body role, says chief Not using capital punishment ‘really a requirement’ for Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly, says president Israel’s observer status at the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly could be suspended over the country’s new law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of some offences, the president of the body has said. Petra Bayr, an Austrian Social Democrat and president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace), said not using the death penalty was “really a requirement” of having observer status at the pan-European human rights body, which has no connection to the EU. Continue reading...

Israel’s death penalty law could spell suspension from rights body role, says chief

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’ In his new book, Omer Bartov tracks how a liberatory strand of Zionism transformed into an extremist ideology that he sees as responsible for genocide in Gaza

What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Israel’s death penalty law could spell suspension from rights body role, says chief Not using capital punishment ‘really a requirement’ for Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly, says president

Israel’s death penalty law could spell suspension from rights body role, says chief www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Thames Water infrastructure average age is 79 yrs. 40% of assets are 100+ yrs old.

Water industry average is 56 years.

At current rate, it will take 700+ yrs to renew assets.

Since 1989 industry neglected investment, £88bn+ dividends paid, customers fleeced.

Privatisation isn't the answer.

Video Shows Cyclist Rammed By Hit-And-Run SUV Driver | NBC Nightly News YouTube video by NBC News

all relative

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wam...

Ride the ridge!
Antoni Villoni riding the Dent de Valère in Switzerland.

youtu.be/srQRSQ0AzLQ?...

A 2,000-Year-Old Stone Block Found in Egypt Shows a Roman Emperor Dressed as a Pharaoh Among the Gods Archaeologists have unearthed a sandstone stela at the Karnak temple complex in Luxor, Egypt, depicting Roman emperor Tiberius in full pharaonic regalia.

indiandefencereview.com/stone-block-...
#Archaeology

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

States must stop predatory, anti-rights order taking hold Amnesty International calls for resistance in this pivotal moment for humanity.

www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...