At least here in the northern hemisphere.

I get that India, considering Trump’s tariffs against the country, is questioning the US. What Europe should do is to push harder for a substantial free-trade agreement with India. Read it at the New York Times.

Good! I’m so tired of the mumbo jumbo about anti-Zionism not being anti-Semitism. It is. Full stop. Read it at EU Observer.

A group of scientists criticise the US Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy, known for his beliefs that vaccination is more harmful than the devises they prevent. From the article in the New York Times:

Mr Kennedy has fired thousands of federal health workers and severely weakened programs designed to protect Americans from cancer, heart attacks, strokes, lead poisoning, injury, violence and more. Amid the largest measles outbreak in the United States in a generation, he’s focused on unproven treatments while downplaying vaccines. He canceled investments in promising medical research that will leave us ill prepared for future health emergencies. He replaced experts on federal health advisory committees with unqualified individuals who share his dangerous and unscientific views.

Aircraft with European Commission president onboard reportedly forced to circle Bulgarian airport for an hour. Read it at the Guardian.

I really don’t know what to make of this. Looks like something a teenager has built on SimCity. Read it at the Guardian.

Fans of Céline Dion hoped she would perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, but it’s now revealed that her absence was due to illness. Read it at Le Parisien.

Well, very. Read Tim Worstall at Substack.

The Gazan leadership couldn’t care less about Palestinians. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

Researchers mapped the structure of a viral protein embedded in human DNA, opening doors to cancer immunotherapy and autoimmune disease diagnostics. Read the study at Science Advances.

Meanwhile, Putin stood with other dictators and watched a military parade in Beijing. Read it at the Daily Express.

Narratives about Israel committing genocide, war crimes, and a deliberate mass starvation in the ongoing war in Gaza have been challenged, and in some cases, debunked, in a comprehensive study published yesterday by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Read the study here.

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I’m not sure this map is correct, but it’s not unlikely.

Recent extinctions of plant and animal genera are rare, localised, and decelerated. There’s hope. Read the study at PLOS Biology.

It’s sad that so many outside Israel forgot what sparked this war and only fell sympathy for the Palestinians. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

Fascinating. Read the study at Cambridge Core.

The nationwide American Labour Day protests, ostensibly a grassroots movement against the “billionaire takeover”, were secretly financed by the very wealthy donors they rallied against. I’m not surprised. The people protesting capitalism are rarely workers. They are often students and full-time activists. Read it at Tampa Free Press.

The American Justice Department is discussing proposals to potentially block transgender Americans from buying firearms. Nuts! Read it at the New York Post.

Giorgio Armani was the world’s richest openly gay man. Read it at Pink News.

“Informally known as ‘God’s influencer’ Carlo was just 15 when he died of acute promyelocytic leukaemia in Milan in 2006 and has two miracles attributed to him by the Catholic Church.” Read it at NBC News.

“Even when online content is allowed, it can disappear in a few months or years and become impossible to retrieve.” Read Liz Hodgkinson at the Conservative Woman.

Good! Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

“Two tonnes of flour and three tonnes of apples were used for the world’s longest line of strudels in the small village of Jaškovo.” Read it at the Guardian.

“80% of all participants shared an unfavourable view of the UN. 51% reported very unfavourable views, highlighting the strong feelings of many participants.” Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

The Dutch study found that the average sea level rise in 2020 was only around 1.5mm per year, which is significantly lower than the 3 to 4 millimetres per year often reported by climate scientists in scientific literature and the media. Read the study at the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.

Bad news! Read it at Gallup.

Humans aren’t the only animals with hot tempers. Read it at Science News.

This is so cool! Read it at Nature Medicine.

When Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Sweden’s Minister for Civil Defence, was walking home after finishing his workday, pro-Palestinian protesters followed him. They shouted baseless accusations and threatened him. Read it at Expressen.

Yesterday, the Israeli Defence Force and the Security Agency confirmed a stunning attempt to assassinate Hamas’s leadership in Doha, the Qatari capital city. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

Students at Cornell University have been receiving anti-Semitic and homophobic threats using a spoofed email address made to appear as if the messages came from the institution's president. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

I’m not sure prison is the right place for criminal 13-year-olds, but something must be done to curb the trend of children being hired by gangs to do violent crimes. Read it at Expressen.

From the abstract of the article published in Nature Photonics:

Micro- and nanoplastic particles are ubiquitous environmental pollutants, threatening human health, aquatic and soil ecosystems. These minute synthetic fragments, persisting for centuries, infiltrate the food chain, posing potential health risks through bioaccumulation in various tissues, toxicity and exposure to associated chemicals. Although macro- and microplastics are intensively examined in environmental and biological research, information on nanoplastics with diameters below 1 μm is limited. Such particles can cross biological borders, including the blood–brain barrier, posing a greater health risk than microplastics. Apart from the mere detection of such particles, gaining an understanding of size distribution, numbers and size limits will be crucial in assessing their impact on global ecosystems and human health. Here we establish an optical sieve that uses Mie void resonances for nanoplastic detection and sizing. The optical sieve consists of arrays of optically resonant voids with different diameters that simultaneously serve as filtering and sorting elements, as well as all-optical reporters, requiring only an optical microscope and a standard camera with an RGB sensor in combination with colorimetric analysis. The system is evaluated using a synthesised real-world sample with a plastic particle mass concentration of 150 μg ml−1. Our approach consequently delivers statistical information on numbers, size and size distribution via the observation of distinct colour changes, overcoming the need for advanced techniques such as scanning electron microscopy. The proposed method offers a straightforward, highly accessible and mobile solution, making it an efficient and easily implemented tool for environmental and biological research.

Good! Read it at the Guardian.

“Polands’s prime minister has warned that the prospect of military conflict in Europe is ‘closer than at any time since the Second World War’ after the country’s airspace was allegedly violated by Russia.” Read it at The National.

A British royal has died.

I’m not a fan of Trump, but I’m so fed up with the pro-Palestinian mob that attacks everyone. Read it at Legal Insurrection.

An anonymous sex worker writes at QX:

For 25 years, sex workers in Sweden have fought for human rights—but once again our voices are being silenced. The government is choosing to tighten the prostration ban despite harsh criticism from human-rights organisations, and in practice a censorship law is now being introduced that directly targets us who work with erotica and digital content.

Second only to issue of legalising drugs, there’s probably nothing more taboo in Sweden than sex worker’s rights. But whatever your opinion on prostitution, we should all agree that those affected ought to have a say.

Good! Read it at the Guardian.

“A continent already on edge over the Ukraine war sees a Russian challenge to NATO readiness and to an America that wants to disengage from Europe.” Read it at the New York Times.

Trump economics at work. Read it at CNBC.

Police were assaulted as far-right rally led by Tommy Robinson sparks clashes. Read it at the Guardian.

Abdallah Aljamal is just one of many. Remember this when you read the next article about “journalists killed by Israel”. Read it at the Washington Free Beacon.

Who doesn’t? Read the study at BioRxiv.

This is good news for everyone involved. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

A sleep-medicine expert explains how rest keeps your skin healthy and youthful. Read it at The Conversation.

There were some Jews cycling, so the “global intifada” people went nuts. Read it at CNN.

The objects that astronomers dubbed “universe breakers” could be an exotic black-hole atmosphere, representing a missing link in the rapid growth of supermassive black holes. Read the study at Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Israel’s army says it has killed more than twenty terrorists in past month. Now Hamas is fleeing, but forcing civilians to stay. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

According to a new study, chronic insomnia may do more than leave you groggy, it could speed up brain aging. Read it at the American Academy of Neurology.

So now Volvo is a target, too. I’m getting so tired of these people. Read it at Sydsvenskan.

A massive study of more than 4 million adults has revealed that cannabis use may nearly quadruple the risk of developing diabetes. Read it at Science Daily.

Dead terrorists is a good thing. Too bad so many civilians are caught in the fightings. Read it at Legal Insurrection.

No, it’s not. Read it at the Kyiv Independent.

“A team of researchers studied and restored dozens of organ pipes crafted some 1,000 years ago for Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.” Read it at the Times of Israel.

And what countries are on the board of OHCHR? Well, some of these human-rights champions include Algeria, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cuba, Congo, Kuwait, Qatar, and Sudan. Read it at OHCHR.

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Download the report here.

Socialism has never worked and cannot work, so this is bad news indeed! Read it at Politico.

Let me guess, it’s just anti-Zionism, not anti-Semitism? Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

In Spain, some are still stuck in 1492. Read it at the Guardian.

A star has died. Read it at the New York Times.

The problem is that Sparta was annihilated. Read it at the Guardian.

Might seem laughable, but what would we be without tasty pasta? Read the study at Physics of Fluids.

Hamas is winning the propaganda war. Read it at El País.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for Israel to be treated in the same way as Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Well, Israel was attacked by Gazans, Ukraine had done nothing against Russia. Read it at the BBC.

“To end the war in Gaza and bring the hostages home, Israelis need the support, solidarity, and partnership of Diaspora Jewry.” Read Yair Golan at the Jerusalem Post.

Say, what? Read it at the Telegraph.

Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert… Who is the next to be silenced? Read Moira Donegan at the Guardian.

The proposal envisions the establishment of the Gaza International Transitional Authority (GITA) along with a series of subordinate structures. Read it at the Times of Israel.

The terror organisation has sent a letter to Israel stating it will not release the hostage. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

A few hours to go before Shabbat begins, but I’m taking an early weekend.

Rosh Hashana begins tonight, and with that the year 5789 according to the Hebrew calendar.

I will take couple of days off blogging during the holiday.

שנה טובה

Source: Cleartax. This list is based on IMF World Economic Outlook data released in April 2025.

Rank	Country	GDP (USD)
1	United States	$30.50 trillion
2	China	$19.23 trillion
3	Germany	$4.74 trillion
4	India	$4.19 trillion
5	Japan	$4.19 trillion
6	Britain	$3.84 trillion
7	France	$3.21 trillion
8	Italy	$2.42 trillion
9	Canada	$2.23 trillion
10	Brazil	$2.13 trillion

Source: Novus

How Sweden would vote if elections were held today
Social Democrats	34.6%
Left Party	6.6%
Green Party	4.6%
Moderate Party	22.1%
Centre Party	5.2%
Liberal Party	3.0%
Christian Democrats	3.1%
Sweden Democrats	23.9%

I wish I could say that it wasn’t so. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

One thing that really annoys me with the current tide of Israel-bashing is that leftist people constantly talk about IDF being “child killers” while completely ignoring that Hamas started the war by doing exactly that.

This according to a new poll. It’s worrying. Read it at Mediaite.

Æthelstan, crowned in 925, was the first true king of England but remains overshadowed by Alfred the Great and later rulers. Read it at Science Daily.

This happened two days after incursions in Copenhagen and Oslo. Read it at the Guardian.

Greta and her activists claim that Israeli drones hacked their radios just off the coast of Crete, blasting Abba’s hit “Lay All Your Love on Me” through the speakers. Read it at the Telegraph.

Mangos, often dismissed as too sugary, may hold hidden benefits for those at risk of diabetes. Read the study at Foods.

This is truly frightening. Read it at Africanews.

Today, Michigan activists called for the death of the United States and Israel at a rally in Dearborn. Read it at the Jerusalem Post.

“Dua Lipa has dumped her Jewish agent after he campaigned to stop controversial rappers Kneecap performing at Glastonbury, claiming they were fuelling anti-Semitism.” Read it at the Daily Mail .

Here we go again. Read it at CNN.

Tree trunks in the Amazon are getting 3.3% thicker every decade as the plants absorb extra carbon dioxide. Read it at Live Science.

Boom! 🌍💥 Read the study at Science Advances.

“Moldova’s ruling pro-European party has retained its parliamentary majority after Sunday’s pivotal election, seen as a test of the president’s push to keep the country of 2.4 million on track for EU membership rather than drifting back towards Moscow.” Read it at the Guardian.

Shoot them down! Read it at The Local.

Scientists have found that foods high in fat disrupts memory circuits in the brain almost immediately. Read the study at Neuron.

It’s absurd, but there’s actually such a thing as an American Mass Shooting Tracker.

For the first time since the war began, there’s a real plan for peace. The whole world is now waiting for Hamas’s response. If they agree, the war could soon be over. Read White House reporter Shawn McCreesh’s analysis at the New York Times.

Historically, the Palestinians have said no to every peace proposal except the Oslo Accords, which they never implemented on the ground. Read it at the Guardian.

Well, no, I won’t turn any straight man gay, but experts say that steroids may bring repressed feelings to the surface. Read it at the Daily Mail.

Sometimes good intentions result in really mad things. But I’m not surprised. The lack of knowledge among young teachers seems to be a growing people globally. Read it at Joanne Jacobs.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt have expressed support for Trump’s peace plan. Read it at Arab News.

Woo-Hoo! Read it at the the Guardian.

A new boron-rich compound delivers much higher energy density than current solid-rocket materials while remaining stable until intentionally ignited. Read it at ASC Publications.