Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, and climate risks are threatening its energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability, and people’s health. According to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) first ever assessment, many of these risks have already reached critical levels and could become catastrophic without urgent and decisive action. — see_link — 10 March 2024 (LINK)

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, dismisses Pope Francis's call for talks with Russia as "virtual mediation" from a distance — The Guardian UK ● — 11 March 2024 (LINK)

Stars wear red Gaza ceasefire pins at Oscars as protest delays arrivals — The Guardian UK ● — 10 March 2024 (LINK)

Oppenheimer wins best picture Oscar as Emma Stone pulls surprise win for Poor Things — The Guardian UK ● — 10 March 2024 (LINK)

Oscars 2024: the full list of winners and nominees — The Guardian UK ● — (LINK)

The Body Shop is closing down all US operations after filing for bankruptcy — ground.news: 10 media reports — 10 March 2024 (LINK)

Saudi oil giant Aramco announces $121 billion profit last year, down 25% from 2022 record — ground.news main source: AP, 44 media reports — 10 March 2024 (LINK)

Addiction's blueprint: The profound impact of alcohol and drugs on gene expression in the brain — psypost — 10 March 2024 (LINK)

Sweden and Canada resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows — ground.news main source: AP, 32 media reports — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

Russian forces occupying Ukraine use torture as 'policy', says UN expert — The Guardian UK ● — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

The Great Barrier Reef’s latest bout of bleaching is the fifth in eight summers —— the corals now have almost no reprieve — theconversation.com — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

9 people dead and 78 others hospitalized after eating sea turtle meat on Zanzibar's Pemba Island — ground.news: 38 media reports — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

France's appetite for frogs' legs is endangering species in Asia, campaigners tell Macron — ground.news: 12 media reports — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

UNRWA report says Israel coerced some agency employees to falsely admit Hamas links — ground.news main source: Reuters, 58 media reports — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Armenia is considering seeking EU membership amid strains with Russia, foreign minister says — ground news: 39 reports — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Former president of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez convicted in US of aiding drug traffickers — ground.news: 149 media reports — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI board of directors as investigation into his ouster comes to a close — ground.news: 117 media reports — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Top editors and media execs discuss how magazines could thrive in the digital age — see_link — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

• "We've had to be humble to figure out new ways to tell stories and to find readers and audiences."
• "Brand strength and building trust with consumers is a large part of what has kept publications and audiences strong."
• It's still important for magazines to use social platforms as a "modern day newsstand," but just as a "funnel" to engage people in magazine brands.

'Godfather Of AI' Explains Why ChatGPT, Copilot, And Other AI Chatbots 'Hallucinate' — benzinga.com — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

The story of coffee: legend says one goat herder started humanity's centuries-long coffee craze — upworthy.com — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

American companies that are no longer American (2023): now Chinese (including several non-American): Smithfield, Ironman, Forbes, Dirt Devil, General Electric, Motorola, IBM (PC Division), Legendary Entertainment Group, Hoover US, Strategic Hotels and Resorts (Intercontinental), General Motors, Spotify, The Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Tesla, Snapchat, Ingram Micro, Fidelity & Guaranty Life, Universal Music Group, WeWork, Segway Inc, Sotheby's, Brookstone Inc, Fab.com Inc, The Cleveland Cavaliers, Riot Games Inc, Uber Technologies Inc, OmniVision Technologies Inc, Baby Trend Inc, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Hilton Hotels, Starplex Cinemas, California Grapes International Inc, Fisher Price, Hush Puppies, Gillette, Barbie, Huffy, Oakley Sunglasses, Converse, Nike, Levi's, American Girl, Radio Flyer, Craftsman, Samsonite, Dell, Black & Decker, G.I. Joe, Monopoly, American Eagle Outfitters, American Tourister, Campbell's Soup, American Standard, Estee Lauder, J.M. Smucker Company, Schwinn, Rawlings, Fender Stratocaster, Trump Collection, QVC, MG Rover, Rio Tinto, Kent & Curwen, Volvo, Club Med, Cerruti, The Dreyfuss Group, Inter Milan, Tommee Tippee, Miss Sixty, London Taxis International, Gieves & Hawkes, SMPC, Sunseeker, Addax Petroleum, Triple H Coal, SeaWorld, NextVR Inc, Pocket Gems Inc, Fisker Automotive Inc, Eureka Brand, Zulily Inc, Mochi Media Inc, EIG Global Energy Partners, Baccarat Hotel, TikTok, Royal Appliances, Wilson Sporting Goods — streetinsider — 9 March 2024 (LINK)

Hong Kong proposes new security bill with life imprisonment for 'treason' and 'insurrection' — ground.news: 104 media reports — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

UNECE Regional Forum aims to generate push for 2030 Agenda: 12-14 March — UNECE — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

UNECE explores strategies for advancing science-business linkages in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus: Professor Nicholas Vonortas from George Washington University and Professor Michael C. Munger from Duke University — UNECE — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Lake Geneva's water temperatures on the rise at an unprecedented rate — euronews.com — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Google fires employee who protested Israel tech event, as internal dissent mounts — ground.news: 12 media reports — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to form joint force to fight jihadists, but effectiveness doubtful — ground.news main source: AP, 16 media reports — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

At least 287 Nigerian children abducted from school by gunmen in northwest, say authorities — ground.news: 134 media reports — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

Sweden officially joins NATO as 32nd member after completing its accession process, ending decades of neutrality — ground.news: 346 media reports — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

Mexico City could run out of water in months: Travelers advised to 'behave more ethically' — usatoday — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Haiti's prime minister is locked out of his country and faces pressure to resign — ground.news: 26 media reports — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

Takeaways from Joe Biden's State of the Union address: He laid out the clear contours of the campaign ahead, criticizing former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection and going after the Supreme Court, with justices present, over its ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — ground.news: 150 media reports — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

The hour-plus speech touched on a host of issues dominating the 2024 cycle — such as immigration and abortion — and featured some heckling from conservatives and progressives alike, including a spontaneous exchange between the president and one of his foremost GOP critics. — thehill — (LINK)

FactChecking Biden’s 7 March State of the Union: His speech included misleading claims on inflation, crime, clean energy investments, wages and other subjects — factcheck.org — 8 March 2024 (LINK)

House panel unanimously advances bipartisan bill that could ban TikTok unless it breaks China ties — ground.news: 83 media reports — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

Researchers make breakthrough in solar technology with world-record efficiency: 'A catalyst to revolutionize the field' — thecooldown.com — 7 March 2024 (LINK)

— Researchers at South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have shared they've experienced a breakthrough in developing quantum dot (QD) solar cells with a world-record efficiency of 18.1%, which is up from 16.6% in 2020.

Quantum dots, which fall into the photovoltaic category, are tiny, circular crystals that are great at absorbing and emitting light. Along with being efficient, UNIST's QD solar cells are exceptionally stable, maintaining performance even after long-term storage for two years.

IOM reports over 8,500 migrants died worldwide last year, a record since tallies began in 2014 — ground.news: 71 media reports — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Muslim Council documents What went wrong with the British media coverage of Israel's war on Gaza — Al Jazeera — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

UK government abolishes centuries-old tax breaks for the rich in preelection budget announcements: The current tax system for non-doms will be abolished, raising £2.7bn annually. — ground.news: 12 media reports — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Ex-Google engineer charged with stealing AI trade secrets while working with Chinese companies — AP — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Mexico City could run out of water in months: Travelers advised to 'behave more ethically' — usatoday — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Cuba seeks UN food aid as economic crisis deepens — dw — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Indian farmers' protest: March restarts and dozens detained amid tight security at Delhi's borders — ground.news: 13 media reports — 5 March 2024 (LINK)

OpenAI challenges Elon Musk's lawsuit, publishes private emails — www.ign.com — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

Nikki Haley exits race for Republican candidate in U.S. presidential election — ground.news: 320 media reports — 6 March 2024 (LINK)

ICC issues arrest warrants for Russian commanders accused of planning strikes on Ukraine energy grid — The Guardian UK ● — 5 March 2024 (LINK)

Ukraine claims it has sunk another Russian warship in the Black Sea using high-tech sea drones — ground.news: 125 media reports — 5 March 2024 (LINK)

Children starving to death in northern Gaza — WHO chief: at least 10 — ground.news: 84 media reports — 5 March 2024 (LINK)

Vietnamese property tycoon accused of embezzling $12.5 billion begins her trial that could lead to death penalty — ground.news: 12 media reports — 5 March 2024 (LINK)

Open Quantum Institute operations kick off at CERN with continued support from GESDA and UBS — gesda.global — 5 March 2024 (LINK)

FAO warns of climate change impact on farms and rural households run by women in poor countries — ground.news main source: AP, 21 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

UN sexual violence envoy says 'reasonable grounds' to believe Hamas committed sexual violence on Oct. 7 — ground.news main source: AP, 32 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

U.S. Supreme Court keeps Trump on Colorado ballot, rejecting 14th Amendment push — CNN/span> — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

World on brink of fourth mass coral reef bleaching event — at Barrier Reef, NOAA says — ground.news main source: Reuters, 12 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

France becomes first country in the world to make abortion a constitutional right: vote 780-72 — ground.news: 309 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

UK plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda suffers first parliamentary defeats in Upper House — ground.news: 53 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

Ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties make gains in Israeli local elections — ground.news: 7 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

Gangs attempt to seize control of Haiti's largest airport days after mass prison break — ground.news: 60 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

Apple fined nearly $2 billion by the European Union over music streaming competition: Apple prevented app makers from informing users of cheaper subscriptions outside the app — ground.news: 89 media reports — 4 March 2024 (LINK)

Houthi rebels say they will continue sinking British ships — The Guardian UK ● — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

Most Palestinians killed near aid trucks 'died in stampede' — IDF: Israel's military has completed a preliminary review of the killing of over 100 Palestinian people near aid trucks last week, which determined that Israeli forces did not strike the convoy and that most Palestinians died in a stampede — The Guardian UK ● — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

Haiti declares 72-hour state of emergency after double jailbreak allows thousands of inmates to escape — ground.news: 164 media reports — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

Six alleged Islamic State militants killed in shootout in Russia's North Caucasus — ground.news: 29 media reports — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

Germany accuses Russia of waging an 'information war' after alleged military leak — The Guardian UK ● — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

Swiss voters back boosting pensions — something they hadn't done in 176 years as high cost of living takes toll — fortune — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

— The proposal to introduce a 13th annual payout to pensioners was supported by 58.2% of the electorate and also met the additional requirement of being passed in the majority of Switzerland's cantons. A second initiative to raise the retirement age — and subsequently tie it to life expectancy — was rejected, garnering only 25.3% of votes.

I tested Google Gemini vs OpenAI ChatGPT in a 9-round face-off — here's the winner: Gemini by 1 — tomsguide.com — 3 March 2024 (LINK)

U.S. says Israel has agreed to the framework for a Gaza cease-fire. Hamas now must decide — ground.news: 165 media reports — 2 March 2024 (LINK)

— The proposal includes a six-week cease-fire as well as the release by Hamas of hostages considered vulnerable, which includes the sick, the wounded, the elderly and women.

Israeli strikes kill 7 Hezbollah members in south Lebanon — ground.news: 18 media reports — 2 March 2024 (LINK)

A ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels has sunk in the Red Sea after 12 days of taking on water, officials say — the first to be fully destroyed — ground.news: 65 media reports — 2 March 2024 (LINK)

Netherlands signs security pact with Kyiv; drone attack in occupied Kherson kills three; anti-war chants at Alexei Navalny funeral in Moscow — The Guardian UK ● — 2 March 2024 (LINK)

World Trade Organization ends meeting in UAE early after failing to reach major agreements — ground.news main source: AP, 30 media reports — 2 March 2024 (LINK)

— The only agreement of note came on extending a pause on taxes on digital media such as movies and video games. On that issue, the WTO decided to extend the pause until their next biennial meeting.

Lobster catch dips to lowest level since 2009 as fishers grapple with climate change, whale rules — necn.com — 2 March 2024 (LINK)

EU holds back 32m €82 million ($88.7m) of UNRWA payment but boosts Palestinian aid by €68m ($73.5m) via Red Cross and REd Crescent — ground.news: 26 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

— The UN will allocate €50 million to UNRWA for staff salaries and additional humanitarian aid for Palestinians in occupied territories.

Germany joins calls for Israel to 'fully explain ... mass panic and shooting' at Gaza aid site where 112 Palestinians killed — The Guardian UK ● — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

Biden Says US to airdrop Gaza aid as humanitarian crisis worsens, mistakenly says Ukraine — ground.news: 282 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

Lawyers who voided Elon Musk's $56bn pay as excessive want a $6 bln fee: 11% of $56bn — ground.news: 20 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman over 'betrayal' of non-profit AI mission — ground.news: 102 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

New Zealand tour operators told to pay $7.8 million in fines and reparations over volcanic eruption that killed 22 people in 2019 — ground.news: 55 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

Fire in Bangladesh capital leave 46 dead: officals — ground.news: 155 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

Number of obese people worldwide surpasses one billion: Lancet — ground.news: 101 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

US man extends record for most Big Macs eaten in a lifetime to over 34,000 at 70 in past 52 years — ground.news: 6 media reports — 1 March 2024 (LINK)

— He has cut down his intake of the burgers to two a day (rather than his previous high of nine), skips fries with his meals and walks six miles daily for exercise.

Livestock Guardian Dogs, particularly Maremma sheepdogs (bred in Valais for Switzerland) change predator behavior in ways that both protect livestock and support conservation efforts — phys.org — 1 March 2024 (LINK)