Sunday, 16 March 2025

At least 59 people killed in nightclub fire in North Macedonia. — 16 March 2025 (LINK)

— The blaze erupted at the Pulse club at about 3am on Sunday during a concert by the band DNA when pyrotechnics were set off inside the venue in Kocani, located about 100km east of the capital, Skopje.

SpaceX capsule arrives at ISS with 4 astronauts to relieve Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams after 9 months. — 16 March 2025 (LINK)

Western Europe's oldest human face discovered in Burgos, Spain: "Homo affinis erectus", over 900,000 years old, challenging the notion that the earliest human presence in Western Europe was no older than half a million years. — 16 March 2025 (LINK)

LIBRA controversy: was the token's $1.16 billion surge rigged? DWF report says yes. — 16 March 2025 (LINK)

— Approximately 75,000 traders lost their first deposits when the token fell more than 90% in value. The damage, analysts said, were more than $280 million.

— Recent reports indicate that specific individuals had access to LIBRA tokens prior to the public launch. Allegedly, these insiders acquired substantial quantities at reduced prices and subsequently disposed of them at the market's peak. Prior to the collapse, some enjoyed profits of up to $110 million.

Saturday, 15 March 2025

Mexicans protest for victims of latest mass grave discovery at a suspected drug cartel training ground. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

— Families searching for some of the more than 100,000 people missing in Mexico discovered the bodies on March 5 at a ranch where forced recruits are thought to have been held. The Guerreros Buscadores collective — a group dedicated to locating missing people — described the site as an "extermination center" with "clandestine crematoriums".

Dozens reported killed after Trump orders 'decisive' strikes against Yemen's Houthis. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

Elon Musk's Tesla halts cybertruck deliveries after metal panels reportedly fall off — owners living in cold weather say glue is failing. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

French university of Aix-Marseille opens doors to US scientists fleeing Trump's research cuts. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump puts journalists at US-funded media outlets on leave: Hundreds of staff at Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets received a weekend email saying they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes and office-issued equipment. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump signs order to gut Voice of America, also targets agencies providing funding for museums, libraries and tackling homelessness. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

US expels South Africa's ambassador, calling him 'race-baiting' Trump hater. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

Russian economy in freefall as mortgage costs triple and mass layoffs cripple major firms. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

Moldova, Ukraine, Switzerland: The top 10 fastest-warming countries are all in Europe. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

Friday, 14 March 2025

Russia 'committed crimes against humanity' in Ukraine — UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine: to be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council next Tuesday. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Russia is using Bitcoin and crypto for its oil trades with China and India. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Ukraine denies Trump claims that 'thousands' of its troops are surrounded. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

— Ukraine now retains barely 200km2 in the border region, down from 1300km2 at the peak of the incursion last summer, according to the Russian military.

Hamas says it is prepared to release American-Israeli hostage and bodies of four dual nationals. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Germany: Parties agree on historic debt deal. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Leader of ISIS in Iraq and Syria killed in military operation, Pentagon says. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

US and Israel look to Africa for moving Palestinians uprooted from Gaza: to Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

— Officials from Sudan said they have rejected overtures from the U.S., while officials from Somalia and Somaliland told The Associated Press that they were not aware of any contacts.

Fox News: Trump undoes stack of 'harmful' Biden executive orders, shrinks multiple agencies: Some of the Biden executive orders included policies that prioritized labour unions and others that were harmful for economic development, the White House said. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Voice of America ending contracts with Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Presse. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Stock Market: S&P 500 ends Friday with biggest daily gain since November (2.1%) as Big Tech stocks rally. But it was a rough week for U.S. equities amid tariffs worries. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

— All three major benchmarks booked weekly losses, with the Dow seeing its worst week since March 2023.

Gold surges above $3,000 for the first time as investors seek a haven from Trump tariffs. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

'World's most powerful company', Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), to invest $100bn in U.S., including three more chip manufacturing plants and two packaging facilities in Arizona. — 15 March 2025 (LINK)

— President Lai Ching-te stressed the decision came from customer demand and not from mounting pressure from the Trump administration. Former President Ma Ying-jeou accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of 'selling TSMC' as a 'protection fee'.

Starbucks ordered to pay $50 million to delivery driver burned by hot coffee. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

Arlington National Cemetery website wipes histories highlighting Black, Hispanic and women veterans. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

— The change is in line with President Trump's directive to remove references to and support for diversity, equity and inclusion from the federal government.

Scientists unlock a holy grail material that could make solar panels last 10x longer. — 14 March 2025 (LINK)

— Scientists at the University of Surrey embedded alumina nanoparticles into perovskites to trap unwanted iodine compounds that tend to supercharge perovskites' oxidation process. The team successfully increased the lifespan of perovskite tenfold, but still have a long way to go to match the average 25-year lifespan of silicon solar cells.

Thursday, 13 March 2025

Online database Just Security tracks the 100+ legal challenges against Trump. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

— In the first 24 hours of Donald Trump's new administration, the president signed 26 executive orders, setting an anti-progressive agenda in motion. Dozens more orders followed in the weeks after, with the Trump administration enacting 89 executive actions as of March, according to the nonpartisan American Presidency Project.

Trump's war on women comes to the UN. And he's also gunning for the SDGs! — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

Top Democrat Schumer backs Republican spending bill to avert shutdown. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

Second federal judge orders temporary reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees fired by the Trump administration. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory accuses Israel of destroying 'reproductive capacity of Palestinians' in the Gaza Strip by systematically destroying women's healthcare facilities during the conflict in Gaza, and using sexual violence as a war strategy. Israel has rejected the accusations, calling them unfounded, biased, and lacking credibility. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

— The report accused Israel's security forces of using forced public stripping and sexual assault as part of their standard operating procedures to punish Palestinians following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023.

— "The IDF has concrete directives ... and policies which unequivocally prohibit such misconduct," the permanent mission to the UN in Geneva responded in a statement, adding that its review processes are in line with international standards.

Kremlin casts doubt on US ceasefire plan as American envoy arrives in Moscow. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump threatens 200% tariff on European alcohol in response to the European Union's retaliation against his steel and aluminum tariffs with a 50% tariff on U.S. spirits. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

Senate Democrats say they'll oppose GOP funding bill as government shutdown deadline looms. Chuck Schumer calls for a 30-day CR so Democrats can better negotiate a deal. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

Flooding, debris flow possible as rain slams Los Angeles; evacuation orders issued. Over 20 million people are under a flood watch. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

White House pulls anti-vaccine CDC director nomination — sources. — 13 March 2025 (LINK)

Wednesday, 12 March 2025

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher warns "seismic shock" of cuts to humanitarian relief could mean many deaths among people in Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and more countries. — 12 March 2025 (LINK)

EU wields 'sledgehammer' against Trump tariffs. Brussels strikes back against the U.S. president's 25 percent levies on steel and aluminum, a two-stage retaliation covering €26 billion in U.S. exports that far exceeded a trade fight that blew up in his first term. — 12 March 2025 (LINK)

Army Colonel Joins Swiss govt after Defence Minister criticised by Right quits. — 12 March 2025 (LINK)

Raiffeisen Bank International's subsidiary remains invested in sanctioned Russian entities, report says. — 12 March 2025 (LINK)

Swiss man, 61, arrested over 2024 and 2015 Geneva parcel bomb attacks. — 12 March 2025 (LINK)

— The arrested man is also suspected of sending threatening letters and ransom demands. Several media reports indicate these letters were sent to the watchmaker Patek Philippe, based in Plan-les-Ouates.

— Suspect is Genevois war photographer and martial arts specialist. — (LINK in French)

Swiss abbot of Saint-Maurice Abbey resumes role 5 months after cleared in abuse investigation. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Swiss stock exchange operator SIX to cut 150 jobs in efficiency drive, including in Switzerland. — 12 March 2025 (LINK)

Tuesday, 11 March 2025

Ukraine agrees to 30-day ceasefire proposed by US. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Ukraine launches 'massive' drone attack on Moscow. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Stock market sell-off deepens after Trump doubles tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports to 50%. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

'Bloodbath': US stock market sheds $1.75tn after Trump's recession remarks. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plunges 3.81%, its steepest single-day loss since September 2022. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Billionaires who attended Trump's inauguration have since lost $209 billion. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Trump calls Tesla cars 'as good as it gets' in surreal promo for Musk — before admitting he's never driven one. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrested on ICC warrant for crimes against humanity. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

— Duterte has been investigated by the ICC over his brutal anti-drugs crackdown during his time in office that killed more than 6,000 people based on police data, though independent monitors believe the number of extrajudicial killings could be much higher. Duterte, 79, was taken into custody amid chaotic scenes at the main airport in the capital Manila after returning to the Philippines from Hong Kong.

Hostage envoy: US could strike deal with Hamas within weeks. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Kurdish-led SDF agrees to integrate with Syrian government forces. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

Southwest Airlines will charge to check bags for the first time, launch basic economy tickets. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

The 'transgender'/'transgenic' mice story that fakes out MAGAs. — 11 March 2025 (LINK)

— The National Institutes of Health allocated funding to study biological sex differences in the brain — research that helps us understand mental health conditions, neurological disorders, and yes, gender identity. Of the $8 million in research funding they are mocking, only $1.4 million went specifically toward transgender research. The rest? It was spent on studies of Alzheimer's, PTSD, and depression — research that could save lives. This funding wasn't about "making mice trans". It was about understanding how the brain processes gender. And that knowledge could help millions of people.

Monday, 10 March 2025

Dow falls by almost 900 points in market rout after Trump says he won't rule out a recession. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

Rubio says Trump administration canceling 83% of programmes at USAID and intends to move remaining ones to State Department. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

— "The 5200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States," he claimed without providing details on the canceled contracts.

Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq sink after S&P's worst week since September. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

Canada slaps electricity tariffs on New York, Minnesota, Michigan. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

Ontario premier threatens to 'shut off electricity completely' for US if trade war escalates. — (LINK)

Trump family project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) also suffered from the big decline: $110m — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

— According to the data, the current loss in the portfolio of the Trump family project has reached $ 110 million. The total value of the largest altcoins in the portfolio, purchased for $ 336 million, currently corresponds to $ 226 million.

Pope Francis no longer faces immediate danger, responding to treatment, Vatican says. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

Elon Musk's X hit by waves of outages in what he claims is 'a massive cyberattack' from Ukraine — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

— Musk has a history of attributing technical snafus to cyberattacks. When his conversation with Donald Trump on X started 42 minutes late in August 2024, he said there was a "probability" of an attack.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim cancelled $22 billion in Starlink orders on 23 January when Elon Musk insinuated in January that Slim was significantly involved with drug cartels in Mexico. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

RFK Jr. is hawking fake treatments for measles outbreaks: vitamin C, cod liver oil, and the inhaled steroid budesonide. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

Oops, scientists may have miscalculated our global warming timeline: we're already past 1.5C. — 9 March 2025 (LINK)

— A paper from the University Western Australia Oceans Institute says the world might've blown past the 1.5C threshold four years ago

— "The big picture is that the global warming clock for emissions reductions to minimize the risk of dangerous climate change has been brought forward by at least a decade," Malcolm McCulloch, lead author of the study, told the Associated Press. "Basically, time's running out." The study concludes that the world started warming roughly 80 years before the IPCC's estimates, and that we already surpassed 1.7 degrees Celsius in 2020.

Lloyd's of London expects $2.3bn losses from California wildfires. Insurance market says fine art losses were limited because rich residents took such possessions with them. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)

New North Carolina bill would ban under-14s from social media and require age-verification for people under 16. — 10 March 2025 (LINK)