Sugar prices rise worldwide to highest levels since 2011 after weather damages crops in Asia — ground.news:60 media reports — 20 November 2023 (LINK)

— The United Nations predicts a 2% decline in global sugar production in the 2023-24 season, resulting in a shortage of about 3.5 million metric tonnes. Sugar reserves are at their lowest level since 2009, with only 68 days of supply available worldwide.

15 dead in central and southern Gaza attacks, say Palestinians. US officials say no ceasefire deal yet; WHO says crippled Al-Shifa hospital has become a 'death zone' — The Guardian UK ● — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

3 more journalists killed in Gaza in Israeli offensive, relatives say: Committee to Protect Journalists says total 48 journalists and media workers killed so far — ground.news: 28 media reports — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

32 people killed, including UN peacekeeper, during reported attacks in disputed Abyei region of Sudan — ground.news: 17 media reports — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

U.N. plastic treaty talks grapple with re-use, recycle, reduce debate: ore than 500 proposals for next year's 5th and 6th rounds — ground.news: 16 media reports — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

Rosalynn Carter, former US first lady who championed mental health and humanitarian causes, dies at 96 — USA Today — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

— After her husband was elected president in 1976, Carter transformed the role of first lady into a full-time job. She was the first presidential spouse to set up an office in the East Wing and hire a full staff.

World's richest 1% emit as much carbon as bottom two-thirds: Oxfam: The figures are particularly stark in France, where the richest 1% emit as much carbon in one year as the poorest 50% in 10 years — ground.news: 26 media reports — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

Reinstate Sam Altman, top investors pressurize OpenAI board — reports — coingape — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

OpenAI's reshuffle: senior researchers leave the company — cointurk — 19 November 2023 (LINK)

Apec summit ends with unity on WTO reform but not Gaza or Ukraine — The Guardian UK ● — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

Right-wing libertarian Javier Milei wins Argentina's presidential election — ground.news: 264 media reports — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

Liberia's sitting President George Weah concedes to Joseph Boakai in presidential polls — Al Jazeera — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

Biggest protest in Spain against Catalan amnesty law draws 170,000 — Reuters ● — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

Taylor Swift postpones Rio show after fan dies during concert — ground.news: 148 media reports — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

SpaceX's Starship rocket explodes in second test flight after reaching new milestones — ground.news: 6 media reports — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

Australia chides 'unsafe' conduct after navy divers injured by Chinese sonar near Japan last week — scmp — 18 November 2023 (LINK)

WFP warns of 'immediate possibility of starvation' in Gaza; IDF raid Jenin refugee camp in West Bank — (LINK)

Tropical disturbance hits western Caribbean, causing flooding in Jamaica and Haiti — ground.news: 12 media reports — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

Zimbabwe's capital declares state of emergency over cholera: the country's health ministry has recorded 136 suspected deaths and 6,685 suspected cases — ground.news: media reports — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

Finland blocks border crossings to stop migrants it says were sent by Russia — Reuters ● — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

The online Moscow Times, noted for its English coverage of Russia, is declared a 'foreign agent' — AP — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

OpenAI announced the firing of its CEO, Sam Altman, due to his lack of candid communication with the board. — ground.news: 185 media reports — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

OpenAI President Brockman says he's quitting after Altman ouster — (LINK)

New Maldives president, seen as more pro-China than his predecessor, promises to expel foreign military personnel — Al Jazeera — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

Ruling by Senegal's highest court blocks jailed opposition leader Sonko from running for president — ground.news: 37 media reports — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

Russian authorities ask Supreme Court to declare the LGBTQ 'movement' extremist — ground.news: 120 media reports — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

World's first CRISPR therapy approved in UK to treat two debilitating blood disorders — freethink — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

The US is normalizing the cruelest mass killing method to stop bird flu — vox — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

Lifesaving technology uses AI to make traffic intersections safer, more efficient — thebrighterside.news — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

— Crucially, PANORAMA goes beyond mere vehicle detection, as it also takes into account the presence of pedestrians, cyclists, and individuals with disabilities. Subsequently, the program determines whether the traffic light should display a green or red signal, effectively creating an adaptive real-time control system.

George Santos announces he won't seek reelection following damning Ethics Committee report — CNN — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

Our food and agriculture is responsible for trillions of dollars of hidden costs, says FAO. Here's why — and what can be done — weforum — 17 November 2023 (LINK)

United Nations 'paralyzed' in face of challenges: UN General Assembly president — www.aa.com.tr — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

Sudan asks UN to end political mission immediately, saying that the mission's performance "was disappointing" — deutschewelle — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

The Palestinian refugee 'crisis' is a United Nations-perpetuated myth: UNRWA "has a history of hiring staff with connections to terrorist organizations while its schools erase Israel from maps, teach antisemitism and provide cover for Hamas" — → nypost → — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

Russian artist gets 7 years in prison for replacing grocery price tags with antiwar messages — democracynow.org — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

African and Caribbean nations agree move to seek reparations for slavery — ground.news: 16 media reports — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

CO2 removal (CDR) vs emission reductions and the legal limits: the world's wealthiest nations anticipate CDR of 18% of their present emissions per year to reach net-zero — www.science.org — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

InfluenceMap: 58% of world's richest companies quietly lobby against climate policies — ground.news: 12 media reports — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

At APEC, Biden touts workers' rights, stable Chinese relations — Reuters ● — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

Biden again calls Xi a 'dictator' after critical summit — ground.news: 46 media reports — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

— "Well, look, he's a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that's based on a form of government totally different than ours," Biden told CNN. "Anyway, we made progress."

Scientists reveal the cause of Alzheimer's disease: swelling caused by a byproduct of amyloid plaques may be the true cause: gene therapy to remove PLD3 from neurons in mice with a condition resembling Alzheimer's disease led to a dramatic reduction of axonal swelling — thebrighterside.news — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

One-third of U.S. newspapers as of 2005 will be gone by 2024: There are roughly 6,000 newspapers left in America, down from 8,891 in 2005. Of the papers that still survive, a majority (4,790) publish weekly, not daily — Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications — 16 November 2023 (LINK)

Russia not elected to UNESCO Executive Board for the first time — kyivindependent — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Ukraine charges officials tied to Hunter Biden probe and Russia — BBC ● — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Malawi President suspends foreign trips by officials over currency devaluation — ground.news: 15 media reports — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Revolution Plastics: West Africa's plastic waste could be fueling the economy instead of polluting the ocean: through our inDIGO-EU and Microseap projects we reduced plastic waste by promoting recycling and reuse — /phys.org — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

— Most of the 17 west African countries have a problem managing plastic waste. Eight of them are among the top 20 with the least effective plastic waste management practices—up from five in 2015. Coastal provinces account for about 56% of west Africa's GDP and one-third of the population lives there.

Bonds go bonkers as the US government now pays more than Vietnam or Morocco to borrow — finance.yahoo.com — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Police in Haiti rescue hundreds of women and children held hostage in hospital by armed gang — ground.news: 62 media reports — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Iran has uranium stockpile 22 times of limit set in 2015 deal: IAEA — ground.news: 29 media reports — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Biden, Xi emerge from hours of talks, agree to curb illicit fentanyl, restart military dialogue — ground.news: 152 media reports — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Labour abuse on fishing vessels widespread, with China topping list of offenders, report says — ground.news main source: AP, 12 media reports — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Chelsea FC face new questions over how Roman Abramovich funded success: Leaked files reveal secret payments that may have breached football's strict 'financial fair play' rules — The Guardian UK ● — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Moscow money in the Mediterranean: Leaked documents show Cyprus firms linked to Russian billionaires played key role in the Kremlin's backdoor dealings — Vida Press — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Harvard scientists claim to have developed a "Fountain of Youth" pill but announcement challenged by others — thebrighterside.news — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

ChatGPT predicts Nvidia stock price for start of 2024: between $550 and $600 — finbold. — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Microsoft's Chief People Officer: here's how workers can get the most out of AI — fastcompany — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

• "To make the most out of the promise of AI, teams must be agile. Even for companies who have been using AI internally for years for data analysis, predictive modeling, and task automation, generative AI represents a significant shift. By being able to understand human language, navigate a vast amount of documented knowledge, and create content, employees across more functions can now use these AI tools."
• "Getting the full value out of AI adoption requires leaders to reimagine how work gets done. This begins with deconstructing jobs into smaller tasks to determine what AI can do as well as or better than humans. In addition to automating some of the repetitive or tedious work tasks, we need to determine where AI can assist employees with more complex and nuanced tasks, such as researching, writing, and analyzing."
• "human skills are as important as technical skills to use AI effectively. This includes analytical judgment, flexibility, emotional intelligence, creative evaluation, intellectual curiosity, bias detection and handling, and the ability to delegate tasks. In fact, we are now finding that fundamental management skills are key to tap into the full potential of an AI copilot."

UK's Rwanda migrant scheme declared unlawful by British Supreme Court — Reuters ● — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

India tunnel collapse: fears rise for 40 trapped construction workers in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, as some fall ill — The Guardian UK ● — 15 November 2023 (LINK)

Xenophobia grows in Turkey: ten of thousands of deportations and human rights violations — elpais — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

The Lancet Countdown: Heat-related deaths could more than quadruple by mid-century —port — ground.news main source AFP: 23 media reports — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

— The number of people over 65 who died from heat rose by 85% from 1991-2000 to 2013-2022. Around 520 million more people will experience moderate or severe food insecurity by mid-century, according to the projections.

Hungary keeps block on disbursing military aid tranche to Ukraine, says minister, until Kyiv provides "guarantees" that OTP bank or other Hungarian firms will not be blacklisted as "international sponsors of war" — The Guardian UK ● — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

Some ultra-processed foods are good for your health, WHO-backed study finds: bread and cereals — which are heavily processed — reduce risk of multimorbidity due to fibre content — The Guardian UK ● — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

Fifth US National Climate Assessment: 5 facts everyone should care about from the new report — mashable — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

— It includes expert thoughts on racial and environmental justice, Indigenous climate solutions, and climate change's mental health effects.

heathercoxrichardson: Press give Trump easy ride on Leftist "vermin" speeches echoing Nazis — substack — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

Trump's Truth Social has lost $73 million since its launch nearly 2 years ago, new filing shows: DWAC filing includes 'substantial doubt' that Trump's media company can continue as a going concern — see_link — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

11 ex-police officers get 50 years in prison for migrant massacre near U.S. border in Mexico — cbsnews — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

'Back to the future': how the UK papers covered the return of David Cameron: Rishi Sunak's decision to bring a more moderate figure to his cabinet and oust Suella Braverman is viewed as likely to set up a clash with the Tory right — The Guardian UK ● — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

For the 13th consecutive year, Switzerland was named the world's most innovative country: map — WIPO / visualcapitalist — 14 November 2023 (LINK)

US Supreme Court adopts voluntary code of conduct amid ethics scrutiny — nbcnews — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

For 5th time in 6 years, Verbier was elected best Swiss ski destination by World Ski Awards (in French) — lenouvelliste.ch — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

— W Hotel Verbier voted World's Best Ski Hotel and Switzerland's Best Ski Hotel. Chalet d'Adrien in Verbier wins title of Switzerland's Best Ski Boutique Hotel and Verbier's agence Leo Trippi again wins title of the World's Best Ski Travel Agency.

Investors pull record sums from Saudi in Middle East fund flight — Reuters ● — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

Anti-mining protesters in Panama: 12-hour suspension of road blockades to permit citizens access to fuel and food — ground.news: 9 media reports — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

Dominica creates world's first marine protected area for sperm whales: Nearly 800km2 of water on west of Caribbean island to be designated as a reserve for endangered animals — The Guardian UK ● — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

— Fewer than 500 sperm whales are estimated to live in the waters surrounding Dominica, part of a population that moves along the Lesser Antilles chain, swimming as far south as St Vincent and north into Guadeloupe

AI companies are running out of training data — futurism.com — 13 November 2023 (LINK)

An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths' interactions with electronic screens: "We recommend that caregivers and policymakers carefully weigh the evidence for potential harms and benefits of specific types of screen use: In education, results were mixed; for example, screen use was negatively associated with literacy, but this effect was positive when parents watched with their children. In health, we found evidence for several small negative associations; for example, social media was associated with depression" — nature — 13 November 2023 (LINK)