Sunday, 18 May 2025

Israel says it will allow 'basic amount of food into Gaza' to prevent hunger crisis, ending 10-week blockade (LINK) 18 May 2025

Israel open to 'ending fighting' as part of Gaza deal if hostages released and Hamas fighters exiled, PM indicates (LINK) 18 May 2025

Israeli strikes across Gaza overnight kill at least 103 people, hospitals and medics say (LINK) — ground.news: 222 media reports (LINK)18 May 2025

Pope Leo 14, the first American-born pope and a 69-year-old Augustinian missionary from Chicago, 267th pope, formally takes charge of Catholic Church with elaborate inaugural Mass attended by about 200,000: Leo called for a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine and said that the Palestinians in Gaza are being "reduced to starvation" (LINK) — ground.news: 302 media reports (LINK)18 May 2025

Pope Leo condemns exploitation of the poor and calls for unity in the church at inaugural Mass (LINK) 18 May 2025

RFK Jr's FDA limits use of Covid vaccine: The vaccine will now only be available to high-risk individuals and will not be administered to those who may need it to protect others (LINK) 18 May 2025

Trump's legislative agenda clears key committee vote after weekend of negotiations (LINK) 18 May 2025

— GOP hardliners had demanded stricter overhauls for Medicaid — specifically, putting work requirements into effect immediately, rather than waiting until 2029 — and deeper cuts to a clean energy tax programmes.

Romania's liberal mayor wins presidency, as Portugal and Poland's election results come in (LINK) 18 May 2025

Colombia seeks to join China-based New Development Bank as Latin America drifts away from Washington (LINK) — ground.news: 133 media reports (LINK)18 May 2025

Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive' form of prostate cancer (LINK) — ground.news: 738 media reports (LINK)18 May 2025

— On Friday Joe Biden, 82, received a diagnosis of prostate cancer following the discovery of a nodule during a medical examination in Washington, D.C. The diagnosis followed urinary symptoms and further evaluation revealed cancer cells had spread to the bone, indicating advanced disease. Biden's office reported the cancer has a Gleason score of 9, classifying it as a more aggressive but hormone-sensitive form that allows for treatment. His spokesperson noted that although the illness is a more severe type of cancer, it responds well to hormone-based treatments, enabling successful management.

The unsettling reasons why swimming with pigs in The Bahamas can be dangerous (LINK) 18 May 2025

Saturday, 17 May 2025

Hundreds of Rwandans who fled to Congo after the 1994 genocide return in UN repatriation (LINK) 17 May 2025

How a big freeze descended on the Arctic Council: analysis (LINK) 17 May 2025

Canada plans to keep 25% retaliatory tariffs on most US goods (LINK) 17 May 2025.

Ukraine updates: Trump to call Putin, Zelenskyy next week: just a day after the rare direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, nine people were killed in a Russian strike on a bus in northeastern Ukraine (LINK) 17 May 2025

Trump tells Walmart to 'eat the tariffs' and not raise prices (LINK) 17 May 2025

Fatal blast near Palm Spring fertility clinic 'act of terrorism': one person was killed and four injured in Saturday's explosion outside the American Reproductive Centers. (LINK) 17 May 2025

Around 20 injured and 2 killed after Mexican Navy training ship strikes Brooklyn Bridge, officials say (LINK) 17 May 2025

Austria wins Eurovision song contest, as protesters 'throw paint' during Israel's performance (LINK) 17 May 2025

— The song, which was not dissimilar to that of last year's winner Nemo, told the story of unrequited love, with a techno breakdown near the end.

— Israel's Yuval Raphael, who survived the 7 October 2023 attacks which were the catalyst for Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza, was the runner-up with piano ballad New Day Will Rise, performed in Hebrew, French and English. The singer was left "shaken and upset", after two pro-Palestinian protesters rushed towards her during her grand final performance in the St Jakobshalle arena in Basel, Switzerland. Organisers confirmed a backstage crew member was hit with paint but was not hurt.

Audio analysis: Eurovision broadcaster SVT of Sweden muted sounds of crowd booing and shouting "Free Palestine!" on 9 May 2024 despite Eurovision denials — (LINK)

— The song, originally titled "October Rain", was initially barred from Eurovision, prior to undergoing a title as "Hurricane" and lyric adjustment for violating the contest's rules on political neutrality with its reference to Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.More than 56,000 people signed a petition calling for Israel to be banned from the current season of Eurovision, while 72 former Eurovision contestants signed a letter urging the EBU to exclude Israel and its broadcaster, KAN, from the competition. The EBU again decided Israel may participate.

— In an interview shortly after last year's Eurovision competition, Eden Golan was played an online video of booing during her live-audience rehearsal. "Well, that happened in every single performance," Golan said in response. "There were some days that were more extreme." Golan said she was prepared for a negative reaction and had hoped her in-ear monitors for live performances would block out the crowd noises. "And I was very wrong," she said, "because after the first rehearsal with the audience I remember not hearing myself, only hearing the boos and the screaming and the yelling."

What the hell happened to UK Eurovision entry Remember Monday? Their entry ended in 19th place (LINK).

— A manic mish-mash of musical styles, it sped up in the verses, and slowed down for the choruses, with all the consistency of a jelly in a heatwave.

Biden's decline was 'much worse behind the scenes', per new book by Jake Tapper (LINK) 17 May 2025

— Tapper elaborated: "The point with Biden was such that I have never seen, until maybe the current administration — an administration where the president is so surrounded by people who will never tell him anything negative, ever, and in fact will block negative stuff from coming to him."

The Nation: The Biden scandal goes well beyond the aging cover-up: the former president's stubbornness and narcissism led to disastrous Trump victory. — (LINK)

Friday, 16 May 2025

Israel launches major offensive in Gaza after airstrikes that killed more than 100 (LINK) 16 May 2025

Earlier on Friday, Donald Trump acknowledged that people are starving in Gaza and claimed the US would have the situation in the territory "taken care of".

— The US president told reporters in Abu Dhabi: "We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving."

Russia and Ukraine agree to prisoner swap in first direct talks since 2022, with each side giving up 1000 prisoners of war (LINK) 16 May 2025

The United States ambassador to Ukraine, Bridgette Brink, resigned in protest last month after nearly 30 years in public service, according to an op-ed penned by the veteran diplomat and published on Friday (LINK) 16 May 2025

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to resume quick deportations of Venezuelans under 18th-century law (LINK) 16 May 2025

— In April, the justices said that people must be given "reasonable time" to file a challenge. On Friday, the court said 24 hours is not enough time but has not otherwise spelled out how long it meant. The administration has said 12 hours would be sufficient. The court indefinitely extended the prohibition on deportations from a north Texas detention facility under the alien enemies law. The case will now go back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to intervene in April.

— President Donald Trump quickly voiced his displeasure. "THE SUPREME COURT WON'T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!" he posted on his Truth Social platform.

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett once again found herself the subject of a full-on MAGA meltdown on Friday as diehard supporters of President Donald Trump targeted her for siding with the Supreme Court's liberal justices. — (LINK)

Pope Leo, in his first address to world diplomats, urges respect for migrants, challenging Trump views (video LINK) 16 May 2025

Trump: U.S. will set tariff rates in 2-3 weeks, can't negotiate with everyone (LINK) 16 May 2025

FDA approves Novavax COVID-19 protein-based shot but with unusual restrictions: for use only in adults 65 and older, or those 12 to 64 who have at least one health problem that puts them at increased risk from COVID-19 (LINK) 16 May 2025

Italy's Senate confirms clampdown on citizenship claims (LINK) 16 May 2025

— The new law means applicants must have at least one parent or grandparent born in Italy, and with "exclusively" Italian citizenship, abruptly changing past rules under which anyone with an Italian ancestor alive after March 17th, 1861 — the date the Kingdom of Italy was created — was eligible to apply.

Swiss National Bank chairman warns of 'great insecurity' caused by US tariffs but no recession, and currently opposes negative interest rates (LINK) 17 May 2025

SWISS cancels 1,400 summer flights due to pilot shortage (LINK) 16 May 2025

— The cancelations will affect long-haul flights — for example to Chicago, where services will be halved in September and October — and various short and medium-haul services. According to a report, the shortages in cockpit personnel are due to an unusually high number of long-term absences, including pregnancies and accidents. The ongoing retraining of crews for the new Airbus A350 is also tying up capacity.

Ozempic-maker CEO ousted over pharma company's rocky market downturn (LINK) 16 May 2025

At least 27 dead after tornadoes sweep through Kentucky and Missouri (LINK) 16 May 2025

Tesla limits investors' ability to sue the company. (LINK) 16 May 2025

Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, 89-year-old co-owner of Chelsea Football Club, accused of sexually harassing employee and her husband at boss's California winery (LINK) 16 May 2025

— He is known for his major donations to American progressive and environmental organizations.

Swiss Abroad elect representatives online for first time (LINK) 17 May 2025

— In Australia, 0.1% of Swiss citizens living abroad elected their delegates to the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) before the introduction of direct electronic voting. Thanks to direct online voting, voter turnout has now risen to 5.8%.

Most rigorous study to date directly challenges the common belief that 5G wireless signals cause harm (LINK) 16 May 2025

— A recent experiment at Constructor University in Germany exposed human cells to electromagnetic frequencies well beyond those of 5G towers. Scientists bombarded human skin cells with electromagnetic waves that were ten times stronger than the recommended exposure limit, way above those produced by 5G towers, for up to 48 hours. The results were damning: nothing happened.

Authorship of famous 'Napalm Girl' photo called into question: a documentary film casts 50 years of photojournalism history into doubt (LINK) 16 May 2025

BoingBoing: "Switzerland's attempt to take credit for the world's inventions [at the Eurovision song contest in Basel] just backfired spectacularly" (LINK) 16 May 2025

— On its surface, Hazel Brugger and Sandra Studer's interlude act "Made in Switzerland" sounds like nothing more than a celebration of the contest's hosts, but look deeper and you'll realize that just like Swiss cheese, quite a few of the mentioned items aren't actually Swiss. Instant coffee? British. Zippers? American. The garlic press? Egyptian! "Of the 18 items mentioned, only eight are verifiably products of Switzerland, meaning that roughly 56% of the song is lies."

OpenAI's planned data center in Abu Dhabi would be bigger than Monaco (LINK) 16 May 2025

Thursday, 15 May 2025

UN says it won't take part in US-backed Gaza aid plan as it isn't impartial or neutral (LINK)15 May 2025

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher defends using 'genocide' in Gaza remarks to the Security Council that Israel rejects (LINK) 15 May 2025

— Fletcher is the first U.N. official to use the term "genocide" concerning Israel's war in Gaza, a charge that Israel vehemently denies

Ukraine's Zelenskyy sends delegation for Russia talks after Putin no-show: said that the Russian delegation did not include "anyone who actually makes decisions" (LINK) 15 May 2025

Putin sacks chief of military's land forces (LINK)15 May 2025

Russia says Putin not due to attend peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey: sends "very junior" delegation (LINK) 15 May 2025

Judge dismisses trespassing charges against people crossing US-Mexico border: New Mexico judge rules immigrants did not know they were entering US military zone, marking setback for Trump (LINK)15 May 2025

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs forecasts slower global economic growth following Trump's tariffs and trade tensions (LINK) 15 May 2025

— The U.N. is now forecasting global economic growth of 2.4% this year and 2.5% next year, a drop of 0.4 percentage point each year from its projections in January. Last year, the global economy grew 2.9%. In the poorest and least developed countries, growth prospects have fallen from 4.6% to 4.1% just since January.

In Abu Dhabi, Trump makes first publicly known visit to a mosque as president (LINK)15 May 2025

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data and are demanding $20 million ransom (LINK) 15 May 2025

A 10.03 carat blue diamond has sold at auction in Geneva for $21.5 million to unnamed private American collector. (LINK) 16 May 2025

— But Tobias Kormind, director of 77 Diamonds, Europe's largest online jeweller, said the sale was "less impressive" than expected. "General uncertainty, including trade tensions between the US and China, may have dampened bidder confidence."

Miami real estate developer Concord Wilshire Capital has acquired the Grand Lucayan beachfront resort and golf course for $120 million and plans $827m redevelopment (LINK) 15 May 2025

— CWC plans to redevelop the property to include a walkable village home to a 36-acre cruise ship destination resort open to all cruise lines and able to accommodate 10,000 passengers a day. The plans also include a branded 350-key hotel and 120 residential and timeshare units, a 25,000-square-foot indoor and poolside casino, 18-slip mega yacht marina and a 160-acre new Greg Norman Championship Signature Golf Course.

— CWC is working in partnership with Bahamaland Investments, which is acquiring Port Lucaya Marina and Grand Bahama Yacht Club to bring in the facilities of the Port Lucaya Marketplace that's home to local shops.

Government signs historic HOA with Concord Wilshire — (LINK)

— Prime Minister Davis revealed that the "very ambitious" redevelopment of the resort includes a full-scale cruise resort, revitalized 25,000-square-foot casino, a Greg Norman-designed golf course, 16-slip mega-yacht marina, over-the-water cabanas, beach clubs, family attractions, water parks, retail spaces, restaurants and music venues. More than 1,300 jobs will be created and 1,750 permanent jobs will be available when the development is fully operational. "We've said clearly: Bahamians must be at the centre of this. At least 80% of these jobs must go to our people."

Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Israeli strikes in northern Gaza kill at least 48, including 22 children, hospital says (LINK) 14 May 2025

Israel agrees to resume Gaza aid before end of May after two month freeze, GHF foundation says (LINK) 14 May 2025

US has 1,001 measles cases and 11 states with active outbreaks (LINK) 14 May 2025

— Two unvaccinated elementary school-aged children died from measles-related illnesses in the epicenter in West Texas, and an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated.

'Rogue' communication devices found in Chinese solar inverters raises cybersecurity alarm (LINK) 14 May 2025

Trump and Saudi Arabia announce $600 billion investment deal, including $142 billion in defence (LINK) — ground.news: 338 media reports (LINK) — 14 May 2025

Trump meets Syrian president in Saudi Arabia before heading to Qatar: hails Islamist leader as 'attractive guy, tough guy' (LINK) — ground.news: 182 media reports (LINK) — 14 May 2025

Gabbard fires the 2 top National Intelligence Council officials (LINK) 14 May 2025

Harvard Crimson catchup: Harvard President Alan Garber to take 25% pay cut as university faces budget crunch (LINK) 14 May 2025

Russian civil society activist and prisoner of conscience Grigory Melkonyants sentenced to five years in prison: Amnesty International says "This is nothing more than a brazen and politically motivated clampdown on peaceful activism" (LINK) 14 May 2025

Over 200 tons of illegally imported electronic waste from U.S. found in Thailand, officials say (LINK) 14 May 2025

UnitedHealth under criminal probe for possible Medicare fraud, WSJ reports: stock fell 8% in after-hours trade following the report. (LINK) 14 May 2025

NPR: At least 3 Trump White House officials have ties to antisemitic extremists (LINK) 14 May 2025

— President Trump campaigned on a pledge to fight antisemitism. President Trump campaigned on a pledge to fight antisemitism."Antisemitic bigotry has no place in a civilized society," Trump said at an event in 2024. However, NPR has identified three Trump officials with close ties to antisemitic extremists, including Jan 6 demonstrator Tim Hale-Cusanelli, a man described by federal prosecutors as a "Nazi sympathizer" and prominent Holocaust denier. Among the 3, Paul Ingrassia, currently serving as the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, has ties to multiple figures widely known for promoting antisemitism. In 2023, Ingrassia repeatedly praised the controversial "manosphere" influencer Andrew Tate and worked on his legal team. Romanian authorities have accused Tate of human trafficking.

— Before joining the Trump administration as the communications director for the White House Office of Management and Budget, Rachel Cauley served on the board of the Patriot Freedom Project. The nonprofit group was founded in direct response to the arrest of Hale-Cusanelli on Jan. 6 charges.

— Before joining the Trump administration as the communications director for the White House Office of Management and Budget, Rachel Cauley served on the board of the Patriot Freedom Project. The nonprofit group was founded in direct response to the arrest of Hale-Cusanelli on Jan. 6 charges.

Founder of Xquisite Yachts in Grand Bahama, Tamas Hamor has announced the company's intention to develop a $40 million luxury condo residence on property adjacent to its marina: 70 condo units with docks around it and a passagelike walkway down to the beach directly (LINK)14 May 2025

Christie's Geneva achieves $72.3m in magnificent jewels sale despite star lot withdrawal, the 23.24-carat Golconda Blue diamond (LINK) 16 May 2025

— The rare fancy vivid blue gem was estimated at $35 million to $50 million. Christie's confirmed that the consignors chose instead to sell the diamond privately within the family.

Why people believe in conspiracy theories: wanting to make sense of the world, coping with uncertainty, and connecting with others (LINK) 14 May 2025

Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Amnesty report exposes abuse of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia (LINK) — ground.news: 13 media reports (LINK) — 13 May 2025

Elon Musk just hijacked Trump's Saudi visit to land a major deal: Saudi Arabia approved the use of Starlink for aviation and maritime use (LINK) 13 May 2025

Nvidia, AMD and Amazon to cash in on Saudi Arabia's AI hub ambitions: given the green light to ship thousands of powerful semiconductors for Humain, a new entity backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, to provide an artificial intelligence hub for the Middle East region (LINK) 13 May 2025

Trump says U.S. will remove all sanctions on Syria: had been designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. government since 1979 (LINK) 14 May 2025

US imposes sanctions on over 20 companies it says helped send Iranian oil to China and used the proceeds to fund terrorist activities: sanctions target a network controlled by Sepehr Energy, the commercial affiliate of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, which uses front companies to conceal oil shipments. (LINK) — ground.news: 38 media reports (LINK) — 13 May 2025

Harvard loses another $450 million in grants in escalating battle with Trump administration (LINK) 13 May 2025

— In a letter to Harvard, a federal antisemitism task force said the university will lose grants from eight federal agencies in addition to $2.2 billion that was previously frozen by the Trump administration.

Federal judge OKs Trump's use of Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans (LINK) 13 May 2025

GD Culture Group, Chinese firm with zero revenue, bought up to $300 million of $Trump meme coin (LINK) 13 May 2025

Trump fired copyright chief after she warned of AI companies violating the law (LINK) 13 May 2025

Mali junta dissolves all political parties in latest opposition crackdown (LINK) 13 May 2025

Voting technology firm Smartmatic accuses Fox News, Rupert Murdoch of destroying evidence in 2020 election defamation case (LINK) 13 May 2025

— Rupert Murdoch was chairman of Fox Corporation during the 2020 election, and his son was CEO. The elder Murdoch stepped down in 2023 and his son became Fox Corp. chairman. A Fox spokesperson said the latest allegations from Smartmatic were a "desperate attempt to distract" from a recent evidentiary ruling that was decided in the network's favour.

— Smartmatic claimed the deleted texts were from November and December 2020, when numerous Fox hosts promoted the debunked lie that Smartmatic machines rigged that year's presidential election against President Donald Trump.

Germany bans largest Reichsbürger faction known as Kingdom of Germany, arrests leaders in raid (LINK) — ground.news: 256 media reports (LINK) — 13 May 2025

— Members refuse to pay taxes and social contributions while using antisemitic conspiracy theories to justify their supposed claim to power under the leadership of Peter Fitzek, 59, who was arrested. Government said group undermines democratic order by creating a counter-state, rejecting Germany's legitimacy, and engaging in economic crimes.

UnitedHealth CEO steps down for 'personal reasons': UNH also suspended financial outlook for the year because costs of Medicare Advantage "remained higher than expected". The company expects to return to growth in 2026 (LINK) 13 May 2025

— Last month in a call with analysts following its most recent earnings report, Witty said its "overall performance that was frankly unusual and unacceptable". Shares that day fell more than 20%, its biggest single day drop in nearly three decades. The stock fell nearly 11% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Erik and Lyle Menendez, 54 and 57, are now eligible for parole after judge resentences them in the shotgun killings of their parents more than three decades ago (LINK) 13 May 2025

Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan indicted on accusations she helped a man evade immigration agents (LINK) 13 May 2025

French film star Gérard Depardieu found guilty in 2021 sexual assault trial, given a suspended jail term of 18 months (LINK) 13 May 2025

— The judge said there was no reason to doubt the word of the two women victims, who had told the court how Depardieu had touched them on intimate parts of the body, using lewd language. He placed Depardieu on a list of sex offenders and ordered him to pay compensation of €1,000 (£840) each for "secondary victimisation", a recent innovation covering the additional suffering for the women from the trial itself.

Proton threatens to quit Switzerland over new surveillance law: "We would be less confidential than Google" — If passed, new rules would require VPNs and messaging apps to identify and retain users' data: "The only country in Europe with a roughly equivalent law is Russia" (LINK) 13 May 2025

Daily Beast: Washington Post staff sound alarm at Bezos's CEO's drinking: CEO Will Lewis has seen a mass exodus among staff — but staffers can't even find him. (LINK) 13 May 2025

Rare 10 Ct. Blue Diamond fetches $21.5 million at Sotheby's Geneva auction: the diamond's presale estimate was $20 million — 13 May 2025 (LINK)

— Sotheby's said that fewer than 0.1% of diamonds show any evidence of blue color, and an even smaller percentage are graded fancy vivid blue. The 31.94 ct. rough diamond that yielded the Mediterranean Blue was found in 2023 at the Cullinan mine in South Africa. The cutter studied the rough for over a year.

Luxury skyscrapers, golf courses and cryptocurrency: the Trump family's business ties to the Middle East have more than tripled since the president's first term in office (LINK) 13 May 2025

Axios: Trump's executive order to lower drug prices may not do much of that: sets a deadline of 30 days and then will see what happens. (LINK) 13 May 2025

— The order calls for drugmakers to voluntarily cut prices or face the threat of a "most favored nation" pricing regime that would peg the cost of their medicines to what's paid in other wealthy nations, where they often sell for less. Trump posted on social media Sunday that American consumers would "almost immediately" see their drug prices fall by 30% to 80%. In reality, it would take much longer than that. Trump's 2020 attempt to tie Medicare Part B drugs to the lowest price paid by other OECD countries was blocked by a federal judge after the drug industry sued.

$20 million "Mediterranean Blue Diamond" ready to wow at Sotheby's Geneva auction on May 13 (LINK) 13 May 2025

10 acts win a place in the Eurovision final but 5 are sent home as the music contest in Basle, Switzerland, sheats up (LINK) 13 May 2025

Monday, 12 May 2025

One in five people in Gaza face starvation, report warns, as Israel's months-long blockade continues, warns UN partnership IPC (LINK) — ground.news: 35 media reports (LINK) — 12 May 2025

US-China trade deal details revealed: Bitcoin (BTC) reacts: the Chinese government will reduce customs duties on US-origin products from 125 percent to 10 percent for 90 days. In response, the US reduced the 145% tariff on China to 30% for 90 days. Following the news, Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $105,000 (LINK) 12 May 2025

Dow soars 1,000 points after Trump team and China dramatically lower tariffs (LINK) 12 May 2025

U.S. Episcopal Church says it won't follow federal directive to help resettle white South Africans granted refugee status in US: cites the church's "commitment to racial justice and reconciliation" (LINK) 12 May 2025

Radical reforms presaged in UK to reduce migration (LINK) 12 May 2025

India has only 'paused' military action against Pakistan, Modi says: Indian PM says he is 'monitoring every step of Pakistan' as ceasefire holds (LINK) 12 May 2025

Gaza: In Edan Alexander's New Jersey hometown, crowd cheers, sings, dances as he's freed after 584 days in Hamas captivity (LINK) 12 May 2025

UN aviation body ICAO finds Russia responsible for downed MH17 flight when almost 300 died in 2002 over Ukraine: rules that Russian-backed separatists were to blame (LINK) 12 May 2025

— Dead included 96 Dutch and 28 Australian citizens.

Trump administration poised to accept 'palace in the sky' as a gift for Trump from Qatar: luxury jumbo jet is to be used as Air Force One (LINK) 12 May 2025

Library of Congress staff mount standoff against new MAGA bosses: Two Justice Department officials who apparently had been appointed into two new top roles at the library were turned away trying to enter the U.S. Copyright Office, including Trump's counsel named acting Librarian of Congress (LINK) 12 May 2025

Climate crisis threatens the banana, the world's most popular fruit, research shows: Fourth most important food crop in peril as Latin America and Caribbean suffer from slow-onset climate disaster (LINK) 12 May 2025

People spent an estimated $148 million on Donald Trump's meme coin in a contest to dine with the president at his private golf club in Sterling, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., later this month. (LINK) 12 May 2025

Marie-Laure Salles, Director, Graduate Institute, Geneva: A call for political imagination: the role of Geneva (LINK) 12 May 2025

— "A Global Coalition for Sustainable Peace! This is where Geneva has a unique and important role to play. [...] Mobilization of Geneva needs to happen fast."