Updated daily for 18:00 CET (12:00 in New York) but the week's earlier stories are at the links
below.
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27 May 2023
Avalanche in northern Pakistan kills 11 members of nomadic tribe — ground.news: 60 media reports — 27 May 2023 (LINK)
Major Hong Kong democratic party disbands amid China security clampdown — ground.news: 36 media reports — 27 May 2023 (LINK)
Google withdraws Slavery Simulator game after racism outcry in Brazil — ground.news: 26 media reports — 27 May 2023 (LINK)
Bill Gates' alleged former Russian lover linked to Kremlin spy Anna Chapman — ground.news: 7 media reports — 27 May 2023 (LINK)
26 May 2023
Yellen says US will run out of money by June 5 if debt ceiling not raised — thehill.com — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Insurers Leave U.N. Climate Alliance Over ESG Pushback And Antitrust Claims — forbes.com ● — 28 May 2023 (LINK)
U.S., Mexico ask WHO for emergency declaration over deadly fungal outbreak — cbsnews.com — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
67,000 accounts shut, 1.4 million social media posts deleted in China's latest crackdown on free speech — ground.news: 17 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Guatemala's top court ends candidacy of leading presidential hopeful 1 month before vote for alleged violations of electoral law — ground.news: 13 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Trump Rolled Back Decades Of Clean Water Protections. The Supreme Court Just Went Even Further — huffpost.com — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Swiss researchers use a wireless BCI to help a spinal injury patient walk more naturally — engadget.com — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
World Bank approves $300 million financing to help the poor in Lebanon — ground.news: 8 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
U.S., Mexico ask WHO for emergency declaration over deadly fungal outbreak — cbsnews.com — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Amnesty International and the International Commission for Jurists have released a report which states that the Taliban's severe restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan constitutes gender-based persecution, which is a crime against humanity — ground.news: 24 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Keeper killed by 40 crocodiles after falling into enclosure — ground.news: 15 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
Iran frees jailed Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele in prisoner exchange — ground.news: 62 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
British Cycling bars transgender women from competing in female category — ground.news: 45 media reports — 26 May 2023 (LINK)
25 May 2023
Most wanted Rwandan genocide suspect arrested in South Africa after decades on the run — ground.news: 82 media reports — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
US sanctions head of Russia's Wagner Group in Mali, accused of arms trafficking for Ukraine fight — ground.news: 37 media reports — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
Government-funded study creates first symptom-based long Covid definition, a step toward finding treatments — ground.news: 12 media reports — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
— Long COVID, or Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), includes 12 symptoms that present or persist more than 30 days after COVID-19 infection. Over 650 million people globally have been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Thousands of unidentified deep-sea species found in part of Pacific Ocean earmarked for mining — abc.net.au — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
New superbug-killing antibiotic discovered using AI — ground.news: 20 media reports — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
What causes sudden infant death syndrome? New study looks at brain 'abnormality' link — ground.news: 14 media reports — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
Cambodia's opposition disqualified from election, appeal fails — ground.news: 42 media reports — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
John Durham's Report Used Sketchy Intelligence That Might Be Russian Disinformation — — 25 May 2023 (LINK)
— The special counsel's 306-page report refers 65 times to the "Clinton Plan intelligence." That is a claim that Hillary Clinton, on July 26, 2016, approved a plan to "vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security services." Where does this supposed intelligence come from? Those very same Russian security services. The report notes that the "Clinton Plan intelligence" came from a "Russian intelligence analysis" that US intelligence agencies got their hands on.
24 May 2023
Updated Pandemic Accord Draft Sees Watered Down Text on Publicly-Funded R&D; Pathogen Access and 'Benefit Sharing' Linkage Remain — healthpolicy-watch.news — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Cash-strapped UN human rights chief pleas for funds as crises clash and spiral — genevasolutions — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
ICRC to cut 1,800 jobs worldwide, 300 more than previously announced — swissinfo.ch — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Recycled plastic can be more toxic and is no fix for pollution, Greenpeace warns — tthe guardian.com — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
UN: Sudan conflict displaces over 1.3 million, including some 320K to neighboring countries — ground.news: 24 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
More than 1 million people displaced in four months in Somalia: UN — ground.news: 17 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Cholera kills 17 in South Africa and a further 9 in neighboring Zimbabwe — ground.news: 33 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Belarusian peace prize winner transferred to brutal prison — the guardian.oom.oom — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Top Female Alpinist Line van den Berg Dies in Switzerland — gripped.com — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Jan. 6 rioter who was seen in Pelosi's office is chided by judge at sentencing to 4.5 years in prison — abcnews.go.com — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
— U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper noted Barnett's lack of remorse, saying he didn't believe that Barnett was simply swept up in the rioting mob, as Barnett had testified. "You were an active participant," Cooper said.
Opposition parties to boycott new parliament inauguration by India's Modi — ground.news: 35 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Swiss court acquits Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan on charges of rape, sexual coercion in 2008 — ground.news: 24 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
— The court also decided to compensate the former Oxford University professor for his legal costs, awarding him up to 151,000 Swiss francs ($167,000), but rejecting his claim for moral damages. Woman's lawyers said they would appeal against the ruling. Brigitte was in her forties at the time of the alleged assault. She filed a complaint 10 years later, telling the court she felt emboldened to come forward following similar complaints filed against Ramadan in France. In France, he is suspected of committing rape against four women, between 2009 and 2016. He was a professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford and held visiting roles at universities in Qatar and Morocco. He was forced to take a leave of absence in 2017 when rape allegations surfaced in France at the height of the "Me Too" movement.
95-year-old woman tasered by police in Australia dies, and charges against officer could be upgraded — ground.news: 81 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Red Sea epidemic of unknown pathagen kills off sea urchins, imperilling coral — ground.news: 36 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Texas man who tried to enter the Speaker's Lobby at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison — thehill.com — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
— More than 1,000 people have been arrested for crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach since the 2021 incident, according to the DOJ.
Boris Johnson severs ties with lawyers after police referral — reuters — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
US Issues Fresh North Korea Sanctions on 'Illicit' IT Workforce — ground.news: 18 media reports — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
Pakistan aims to produce 1 million AI-trained IT graduates by 2027 — cointelegraph.com — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
— Some of the intended use cases for AI in Pakistan include predicting the weather, agriculture supply chain optimization and health services transformation.
Tina Turner Dies at home near Zurich: Legendary Rock & Soul Singer Was 83 — deadline.com — 24 May 2023 (LINK)
23 May 2023
WHO chief: World must prepare for deadlier outbreak than COVID-19 — ground.news: 17 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Aid agency chief: Taliban say guidelines on female NGO staff resuming work close to finalization — ground.news: 16 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Separatists kidnap 30 women in norhwest Cameroon for protesting taxes that were imposed on them by the English-speaking fighters: officials — ground.news: 27 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
World's Richest Man Loses $11 Billion After LVMH Stock Rout — bloomberg.com ● — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Germany issues arrest warrant for Lebanon's central bank chief — ground.news: 13 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Russia's sanctioned interior minister visits Saudi Arabia just after trip by Ukraine's Zelenskyy — ground.news: 34 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
India makes cough syrup testing mandatory for exports — ground.news: 24 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
'A drastic alert': Almost half the world's species are seeing rapid population declines, new study finds — ground.news: 13 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
— The paper by researchers from Queen's University Belfast examines changes in population densities of more than 70,000 species of animals from across the world's surface over time, making it the most comprehensive research of its kind to date.
Regulators should focus on the benefits of crypto: European Web3 Summit 2023 — cointelegraph.com — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
— Irakli Beridze, the head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at the United Nations (UN) said there is a need to shift the narrative of crypto being used by terrorists and criminals and highlight to policymakers that there are benefits to Web3 and crypto as a solution and not just "used by criminals to hide money."
Turkish drone strike kills several Yazidi fighters in Iraq — ground.news: 9 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Police officer who tasered 95-year-old in care home suspended:
Great-grandmother Clare Nowland is on end of life care in hospital after sustaining critical injuries in the incident — ground.news: 15 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Sherpa guide Kami Rita scales Mount Everest for a record 28th time after less than a week — ground.news: 38 media reports — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
Breakthrough study challenges beliefs on how much water humans need: the average daily water intake of a man in his twenties should be 1.5 to 1.8 liters, while it should be 1.3 to 1.4 liters for a female in the same age group, not 3.7 liters (or 125 ounces) of water per day for adult men and approximately 2.7 liters (or 91 ounces) of water per day for adult women — thebrighterside.news — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
The cyber gulag: How Russia tracks, censors and controls its citizens — apnews.com — 23 May 2023 (LINK)
22 May 2023
Colombia suspends truce with major rebel group in flashpoint regions — ground.news:36 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Ireland to become first country in the world to put health warnings on alcohol — ground.news: 31 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Apple's tax on AI inventions has begun. It will cost OpenAI and others hundreds of millions of dollars a year. — businessinsider — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Iran's president appoints new official in powerful security post, replacing long time incumbent linked to an alleged British-Iranian spy who was recently executed — ground.news: 63 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Roof collapses at school in Thailand, killing 7 sheltering from rain — ground.news: 17 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Meta Fined Record $1.2 Billion in EU Over US Data Transfers — ground.news: 342 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Close to 20% of Swiss wildlife on the verge of local extinction — swissinfo.ch — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
— A further 16% are classified as vulnerable, according to two reports released by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) on Monday to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity. In total, populations have declined by 30% over the past 10 years.
Biden gets low ratings on economy (33%), guns, immigration in AP-NORC Poll — ap / ground.news: 51 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)
Clashes and air strikes reported as Sudan ceasefire officially begins> — ground.news: 31 media reports — 22 May 2023 (LINK)