Sunday, 17 August 2025

European leaders to join Ukraine's Zelenskyy for White House meeting with Trump (LINK) 17 August 2025

Canadian Government orders striking Air Canada flight attendants to return to work: more than 100,000 travellers stranded (LINK) 17 August 2025

— Power to halt the strike stems from a section of the Canada Labour Code, which gives the federal jobs minister unilateral authority to end work stoppages in order to "maintain or secure industrial peace". While the section was rarely used by previous governments, the Liberal government has invoked it several times in the past year, quelling strikes by workers at Canadian ports, the post office and railway companies.

UNCTAD Policy Brief 119: Global collaboration for inclusive and equitable artificial intelligence (LINK) 17 August 2025

— "Establishing an artificial intelligence public disclosure mechanism could help enhance accountability and ensure that global commitments lead to tangible outcomes. [...] Combined with international collaboration in developing shared digital public infrastructures, open innovation and capacity-building initiatives, [this] can help foster inclusive and equitable artificial intelligence development."

Saturday, 16 August 2025

In major shift, Trump agrees with Putin that Ukraine war should aim for peace deal rather than interim ceasefire (LINK) — ground.news: 21 media reports (LINK) 16 August 2025

Heather Cox Richardson: the Putin-Trump meeting (LINK) 16 August 2025

GOP-led states sending National Guard troops to D.C. (LINK) 16 August 2025

Friday, 15 August 2025

Plastic pollution treaty talks in Geneva end without an agreement (LINK) 15 August 2025

— They remain deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics. The Youth Plastic Action Network was the only organization to speak at the closing meeting Friday. Comments from observers were cut off at the request of the U.S. and Kuwait after 24 hours of meetings and negotiating. Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said it's too soon to say how long it will take to get a treaty now.

UNEP: Talks on global plastic pollution treaty adjourn without consensus — (LINK)

Putin echoes Trump's claim that if he'd beaten Biden in 2020 there would be no war in Ukraine (LINK) — ground.news: 69 media reports (LINK) 15 August 2025

Trump's ICE spent half a million on tricked-out trucks for a hype video (LINK) 15 August 2025

Snopes: Did Tom Cruise refuse Kennedy Center award from Trump? We found no confirmation and Cruise's team has so far declined to comment to the media (LINK) 15 August 2025

World first: scientists film the exact moment a human embryo implants (LINK) 15 August 2025

Swiss government backs abolishing imputed rental value of accommodation in taxes (LINK) 15 August 2025

— The proposal being put to the vote in September also restricts the deductions for direct federal tax.

Swiss government urges voters to back a local tax on second homes to axe imputed rent (LINK) 15 August 2025

Texas state legislature moves to end special session without passing new electoral maps (LINK) 15 August 2025

— Governor Greg Abbott said he will immediately call another session as Democratic lawmakers signaled return to state.

Climatological assessments by researchers such as Markus Stoffel (University of Geneva) have renewed debate around the global systemic risks posed by a potential super-eruption at several other active volcanic complexes worldwide (LINK) 15 August 2025

— Climatologist Markus Stoffel and affiliated risk researchers estimate a ~16% probability of a super-eruption occurring globally before the year 2100.

Trump distorts stats in takeover of D.C. police (LINK) 15 August 2025

Thursday, 14 August 2025

Flash floods kill almost 200 in Pakistan and and Pakistan-administered Kashmir (LINK) 14 August 2025

— Most of the deaths, 180, were in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan.

Sudden, heavy rain in Indian Kashmir leaves 46 dead, more than 200 missing (LINK) — ground.news: 292 media reports (LINK) 14 August 2025

Nike co-founder Phil Knight is donating $2 billion to the Oregon Health and Science University's Knight Cancer Institute, the single largest donation ever to a U.S. university, college or health institution (LINK) 14 August 2025

Palestine Action prosecutions should be suspended, say UK rights groups including Greenpeace and Human Rights Watch, Friends of the Earth, Global Witness and the Quakers: argue that proceeding with trials before judicial review raises legal and moral questions (LINK) 14 August 2025

— Last weekend 522 people — half of whom were over 60 — were arrested under section 13 of the Terrorism Act at a demonstration in Parliament Square for carrying placards that stated: "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." The detentions took the total number of people arrested under the act in relation to the banned group since it was proscribed last month to more than 700.

Ukraine blows up Russian port Olya ship loaded with Iranian drone parts, hits oil refinery (LINK) 14 August 2025

US-based companies announce record number of impending layoffs: more than 800,000 jobs, the highest number since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (LINK) 14 August 2025

— "'DOGE Impact' remains the leading reason for job cut announcements in 2025," report says. "An additional 13,056 cuts have been attributed to DOGE Downstream Impact, such as the loss of funding to private non-profits and affiliated organizations."

Judge strikes down Trump administration guidance against diversity programs at schools and colleges (LINK) 14 August 2025

Judge strikes down key parts of Florida law that led to removal of books from school libraries (LINK) 14 August 2025

World's top hedge fund Bridgewater dumps all China stocks: US$1.41 billion of shares in firms including Alibaba, JD.com, Baidu, Nio and Yum China in second quarter (LINK) 14 August 2025

US Treasury's Bessent backpedals: Bitcoin buying still possible (LINK) 14 August 2025

US will not be purchasing any Bitcoin to supplement existing reserves, Treasury Secretary Bessent says (LINK) 14 August 2025

Trump Jr.-linked firm raising $50M to expand into crypto: Thumbzup Media to invest in crypto mining (LINK) 14 August 2025

Trump administration names head of DEA Terry Cole to be Washington D.C.'s "emergency police commissioner" — district’s mayor and attorney general suggested they would not comply (LINK) 14 August 2025

CarbonBrief: Trump's climate report includes more than 100 false or misleading claims (LINK) 14 August 2025

— The 140-page report — "A critical review of impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the US climate" — was published by the US Department of Energy (DoE) on 23 July, just days before the government laid out plans to revoke a scientific finding used as the legal basis for emissions regulation. The executive summary of the controversial report inaccurately claims that "CO2-induced warming might be less damaging economically than commonly believed". It also states misleadingly that "excessively aggressive [emissions] mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial".

Big law firms that cut deals with Trump now ignoring him (LINK) 14 August 2025

At 45, wild card Venus Williams, currently ranked 654th in WTA singles, will be the oldest player in the U.S. Open in 4 decades (LINK) 14 August 2025

World's first humanoid robot games begin in China (LINK) 14 August 2025

Wednesday, 13 August 2025

As deadline looms, advocates call plastics treaty draft 'nothing short of a betrayal': "The process has been completely captured by swarms of fossil fuel lobbyists and shamefully weaponized by low-ambition countries," said the CEO of the Environmental Justice Foundation (LINK) 13 August 2025

Trump threatens 'severe consequences' if Putin refuses to end Ukraine war (LINK) 13 August 2025

Zelensky says Trump 'expressed support' for ceasefire during call with EU leaders (LINK) 13 August 2025

German chancellor Merz says Trump 'largely shares' European positions on Ukraine after virtual meeting between European leaders and the U.S. president (LINK) 13 August 2025

Israeli gunfire kills at least 25 seeking aid in Gaza as Netanyahu says he will allow Palestinians to leave during an upcoming military offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas (LINK) 13 August 2025

Appeals court ruling will let Trump administration cut billions in foreign aid: the decision overrules a lower court's decision that had blocked USAID cuts (LINK) 13 August 2025

Geneva makes public transport free in emergency bid to tackle ozone pollution (LINK) 13 August 2025

— This week temperatures in Geneva soared to 37°C (98.6°F). From Wednesday, buses, trams, trains and even the city's lake boats are free to use, with ticket inspections suspended until the air quality improves. Authorities have also imposed restrictions on vehicle use, barring the most polluting cars from the city centre between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Swiss government leaves door open to construction of new nuclear power plants but Green Party is threatening to launch a referendum (LINK) 13 August 2025

U.S.: Kennedy's case against mRNA vaccines collapses under his own evidence (LINK) 13 August 2025

As National Guard deploys in DC, Trump to seek 'long-term' federal control of DC police (LINK) 13 August 2025

Entirely new species of human ancestor discovered: ancient teeth, dated to between 2.8 million and 2.6 million years ago, found in Ethiopia belong to a never-before-seen species in the Australopithecus genus of human ancestors: this newly identified member of the human family lived alongside early representatives of our own genus, Homo (LINK) 13 August 2025

UK government urges Brits to delete emails and photos to save water: "data centers require vast amounts of water to cool their systems." (LINK) 13 August 2025

Switzerland must pay more than originally planned for US F-35 fighter jets (LINK) 13 August 2025

— Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister said on Wednesday that Switzerland may cut its order of 36 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 stealth fighters after failing to push through a fixed-price deal with the US government, driving up the cost by as much as CHF1.3 billion ($1.6 billion. Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister said on Wednesday that Switzerland may cut its order of 36 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 stealth fighters after failing to push through a fixed-price deal with the US government, driving up the cost by as much as CHF1.3 billion ($1.6 billion). Keystone. The fixed price of CHF6 billion for the jets, which has repeatedly been communicated by the Federal Council, is therefore no longer valid.

Tuesday, 12 August 2025

Stock market rallies toward record highs after better-than-expected inflation data (LINK) 12 August 2025

World Central Kitchen confirms armed operatives were posing as its members in central Gaza (LINK) 12 August 2025

Switzerland follows the EU with new sanctions against Russian oil (LINK) 12 August 2025

— A total of 14 new individuals and 41 new companies and entities are now subject to the sanctions, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs said. In addition, 105 new vessels are subject to extensive bans on buying and selling, as well as on using maritime services. In addition, the ceiling price for Russian crude oil has been lowered to $47.60.

Catchup: July's global wetlands conference: resolutions for protection & restoration (LINK) 12 August 2025

— Conserving and restoring 550 million hectares of wetlands is essential to meeting global biodiversity and climate targets, according to the latest Global Wetlands Report, but funding for wetland conservation remains low, accounting for only 0.25% of global GDP. "COP15 delivered what we needed," Musonda Mumba, secretary-general of the Convention on Wetlands, said an email to Mongabay. "Parties adopted resolutions to strengthen restoration, support wetland-dependent species, improve governance, and scale up nature-based solutions."

— The meeting adopted the Victoria Falls Declaration, 25 resolutions and three consolidated resolutions. These documents urged participating countries to commit to protecting wetlands, which are threatened by urbanization, infrastructure development, invasive species, pollution from agrochemicals and mining. Additionally, countries pledged to create national legislation and policies for the restoration and management of degraded wetlands, aligning with the goals and targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Among the key resolutions was one focused on the protection of migratory birds and wetland-dependent species, such as river dolphins and waterbirds. The parties also drafted a resolution to establish the Global Waterbird Estimates Partnership, a collaborative initiative aimed at monitoring waterbird populations and providing updated status reports by 2027.

Temperature records smashed as extreme heat, wildfires grip parts of Europe: (LINK) 12 August 2025

— In France, temperature records were obliterated in Angoulême, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion and Saint-Girons on Monday afternoon, according to an update from weather forecaster Meteo France. "Often remarkable, even unprecedented maximum temperatures, often 12 degrees above normal levels, were reached this Monday." In Croatia, temperatures climbed to 39.5 degrees Celsius in the Adriatic coastal city of Sibenik and 38.9 degrees Celsius in the popular tourist destination of Dubrovnik earlier in the week.

— Nearly 6,000 people were evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain this week as wildfires raged amid a heatwave predicted to push temperatures up to around 44 degrees Celsius in some parts of the southern European country. Wildfires have also been reported in Portugal, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Montenegro and the U.K. in recent days.

Swiss pilot surpasses solar-powered plane altitude record in electric plane: 9521m (LINK) 12 August 2025

— The SolarStratos plane made the landmark flight from Sion airport in southwest Switzerland on Tuesday, taking advantage of warm air thermals to go beyond the record that has stood for 15 years.

Ski jumping's suit trouble is back ahead of Olympics as numerous athletes disqualified in first ski jumping event of the season (LINK) — ground.news: 88 media reports (LINK) 11 August 2025

— Officials stated the new disqualifications of two Norwegian gold medallists and three others were due to tightening of rules after Norwegian scandal earlier this year about illegally altered suits, and expect fewer issues as teams adjust. Illegally modified suits can help athletes fly further with more aerodynamic resistance. FIS said the investigation conducted 38 witness interviews and examined 88 pieces of evidence, and that no one else will be charged in the case. FIS general manager Jan-Erik Aalbu said on the earlier occasion the team had "tried to cheat the system" by putting reinforced thread in the jumpsuits of the gold medallists, the BBC reported. The manipulation was to increase the size of suits pre-approved and microchipped by FIS, and was captured on secretly filmed footage. It led to formal protests from the Austria, Slovenia and Poland teams. The alterations could be confirmed only by tearing apart the seams of the crotch area on the Norwegian ski suits.

Axios: U.S. industries most reliant on noncitizen workers: all 8.3%, construction 17.5%, agriculture and mining 17.1%, accommodation, food services and recreation 11%, professional services 10.4% (LINK) 12 August 2025

— Foreign-born noncitizens — including those who are legal residents or have work visas — make up 8.3% of the country's civilian workforce age 16 and older, based on a 2019-2023 average of U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Around 40% of crop farmworkers lack work authorization, per USDA estimates.

University College London (UCL) scientists invent record-breaking indoor solar panels that could make batteries obsolete (LINK) 12 August 2025

— Solar panel for indoor use, reportedly six times more efficient than currently available options, could soon render batteries for remote controls, keyboards, sensors, alarms, and other home electronics obsolete. Engineers have turned to perovskite-based solar panels, which are more efficient than silicon-based panels and can be adapted to specific light wavelengths to also convert indoor light. They are also simpler and less expensive to produce.

Perplexity offers to buy Google's Chrome for billions more than it's raised: $34.5 billion cash (LINK) 12 August 2025

— The Department of Justice proposed in March that Google be forced to sell Chrome after a judge ruled the tech giant acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. Google has not agreed to sell Chrome and has vowed to fight the ruling. The CEO of rival search engine DuckDuckGo testified in April that Chrome could be worth "upwards of $50 billion", Bloomberg reported at the time. Should Perplexity’s offer succeed, it could be considered a bargain. This offer for Chrome is far more than Perplexity has raised from investors and more than the startup's current valuation. Perplexity has raised about $1.5 billion to date, PitchBook estimates, including an extension round of $100 million raised last month that valued it at $18 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Heather Cox Richardson: Trump and the Epstein issues + inflation (LINK) 12 August 2025

New analysis finds Trump family has raked in $3.4 billion off the Presidency (LINK) 12 August 2025

— The New Yorker estimated that the presiden's various tocurrency had generated at least $2.37 billion in value, financial investments coordinated by Donald Jr. and Eric Trump have generated $339.6 million, and Trump's flagship Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, has raked in $125 million in extra profits. Tack onto that $127.7 million in legal fee collection and merchandise sales and a media empire estimated to be worth $116 million.

Crypto mogul Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraud for $40bn market collapse: Terraform Labs co-founder, pleading guilty to two charges, was accused of misleading investors in 2021 about TerraUSD (LINK) 12 August 2025

70 years of data show extreme heat is already wiping out tropical bird populations (LINK) 12 August 2025

Jellyfish swarm triggers complete shutdown of four reactors at France's Gravelines six-reactor nuclear plant between Dunkirk and Calais (LINK) — ground.news: 224 media reports (LINK) 11 August 2025

— EDF said the shutdowns did not affect safety or the environment. The incident removed roughly 10% of France's nuclear capacity temporarily. It's also happened in Scotland, Sweden, Japan, and Israel. Three of those occurred in 2011 alone.

Geneva and Neuchâtel to roll out cash-rebate schemes to lure filmmakers (LINK) 12 August 2025

— Geneva has launched a film commission and will instigate a 30% rebate in 2026, whilst Neuchâtel is testing a pilot scheme offering up to 15% back on local spend

Monday, 11 August 2025

Gold will not be subject to tariffs, says Trump (LINK) 11 August 2025

— On Monday, the gold price — at an overall high level — came under pressure when it became clear that the US had not imposed tariffs on gold imports after all. The price of the precious metal temporarily fell by about $50 per ounce. The White House plans to issue an executive order in the near future to clarify misinformation about the taxation of gold bullion, in particular. A customs document dated July 31 that was made public on Friday (8 August) indicated that one-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars would be subject to customs duties. This was in fact "false information", Bloomberg later reported, based on a statement by an official who requested anonymity. For Switzerland, a major gold refining centre, a tax on gold would represent a further blow after Switzerland was hit on Thursday with heavy tariffs of 39% on its products entering the United States. The Swiss Association of Manufacturers and Traders in Precious Metals (ASFCMP) said on 8 August that a tax on gold "would make its export to the United States economically unviable".

Heather Cox Richardson: While Trump is mobilizing the National Guard under a pretext now, he memorably refused to mobilize it on January 6, 2021, to protect the lawmakers under siege in the U.S. Capitol as his supporters tried to stop the counting of the electoral votes that would make Democrat Joe Biden president. (LINK) 11 August 2025

Swiss hospitals faced CHF750 million loss in 2024 (LINK) 11 August 2025

— Despite an increase in turnover and fee increases, more than half of the service providers posted negative operating results after deducting depreciation.

Greenpeace air sampling in Geneva finds microplastics in urban air(LINK PDF)11 August 2025

— Key findings include: 12 confirmed microplastic particles. Microplastics in the form of both fibres and fragments are present in urban air in Geneva, at quantities that are consistent with other studies, with six fragments (plus two tentative) and six fibres (plus one tentative) found in the f iltered air (1.7m3). The microplastics made up a small proportion of more than 150 particles in total, which were mainly of unidentified origin for the fragments, or cellulose based for the fibres (either of natural origin or modified through an industrial process). The types of polymers found in the microplastics were mainly polyester for the fibres, as well as nylon and another polyamide, all of which could have come from clothing or furnishings, while the fragments were made from a variety of polymers. Microplastic contamination is widespread in urban environments. This suggests that people are breathing in plastics every day, as a result of the huge scale of plastic being made and thrown away, which is creating an ecological and health crisis. It shows that once released into the environment microplastics can't be controlled and we can all be exposed to these invisible contaminants.