MediaCatalyst

1282 Posts
07 Sep

Climate change turns Pakistan’s summer oases into deadly flood zones

MediaCatalystTech
Climate change turns Pakistan’s summer oases into deadly flood zones NARAN, Pakistan — Fasih Qazi escapes the scorching summers of southern Pakistan each year to work as a tour guide in the country’s alpine north. Some of the world’s highest mountain ranges — the Karakoram, the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush — converge here, towering over glacier-fed rivers and lush valleys. The rugged beauty, along with mercifully cool weather, has drawn a growing number of tourists from Pakistani megacities, including Qazi’s hometown of Karachi, where the heat is increasingly unbearable. But there is no refuge from the effects of climate…
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07 Sep

LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome could test Pope Leo on gay Catholics

MediaCatalystTech
LGBTQ+ pilgrimage to Rome could test Pope Leo on gay Catholics SONNINO, Italy — They’d paused by a brook three hours into their 80-mile trek to Rome, but now it was time to move. “Andiamo,” shouted a 30-year-old historian from Bologna donning a gold crucifix. When not on Catholic pilgrimages, he does nightclub drag and faithfully attends Mass. Nearby, a transitioning trans woman from Belgium searching for the courage to come out at her parish lumbered to her feet. A few steps away, a Neapolitan math teacher who seeks God daily and hates the “hookup” pressure on gay dating sites…
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07 Sep

Britain confronts rash of robberies of Jellycats, a posh plush toy

MediaCatalystTech
Britain confronts rash of robberies of Jellycats, a posh plush toy LONDON — When they came for the soft toys, Fiona Wallis was ready to play hardball. Wallis, the owner of Snapdragon, a toy shop in southwest London, wasn’t completely surprised on a recent Thursday when two thieves entered and immediately grabbed armloads of Jellycat figures, posh little British plush toys that have exploded in value as viral collectibles online. Jellycat heists have plagued shopkeepers around the United Kingdom for months. Security cameras have caught shoplifters stuffing bunnies down trousers, bears under blouses and hedgehogs into baby strollers. Advertisement Advertisement…
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07 Sep

Defense Dept. warns Venezuela after its jets buzz U.S. Navy destroyer

MediaCatalystWorld
Defense Dept. warns Venezuela after its jets buzz U.S. Navy destroyer Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew close to a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters in a "highly provocative move," the Defense Department says . The move came two days after a deadly strike on a boat that the Trump administration said was carrying drugs from Venezuela . The strike marked an intensification of Washington’s feud with Venezuela . Read full story: Source
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07 Sep

Putin threatens any troops sent to Ukraine as Europe readies postwar force

MediaCatalystPolitics, ,
Putin threatens any troops sent to Ukraine as Europe readies postwar force Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that any foreign military troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered targets, in a sharp rebuke to ongoing U.S. and European discussions over providing forces to guarantee a future peace agreement. Ukraine and its European supporters have insisted that any peace deal with Russia must be backed by security guarantees to prevent future Russian attacks. On Thursday, after a meeting in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a call with President Donald Trump, European leaders said they had reached broad agreement…
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07 Sep

15 dead after new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo

MediaCatalystHealth
15 dead after new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo At least 15 people have died following a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo . The outbreak is the 16th major brush with the deadly disease, health officials say . The first known case involved a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was admitted to a local hospital last month with high fever and vomiting . Read full story: Source
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07 Sep

Trump executive order targets nations that detain U.S. citizens

MediaCatalystPolitics,
Trump executive order targets nations that detain U.S. citizens President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday targeting nations that wrongfully detain Americans as a ploy for gaining leverage over the U.S. government. Under the new measures, modeled on designations for state sponsors of terrorism, Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be given authority to impose penalties, export controls and travel restrictions on governments and individuals in countries that hold U.S. citizens without justification, officials said. In an unusual turn for an issue long seen as standing above politics, Trump and other administration officials sharply criticized the Biden administration Read…
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07 Sep

Judge halts Trump officials from ending special status for Venezuelans, Haitians

MediaCatalystWorld,
Judge halts Trump officials from ending special status for Venezuelans, Haitians A federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration improperly stripped temporary protections for about 1.1 million Venezuelan and Haitian immigrants, a decision that could shield most of them from possible deportation. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem illegally terminated temporary protected status for more than 500,000 Haitians and 600,000 Venezuelans this year in a “truncated and condensed” timeline that did not follow federal statutes. In canceling the protections, Noem also tried to vacate an extension of those benefits granted by…
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07 Sep

Rift over Palestinian statehood deepens tension between U.S., France

MediaCatalystPolitics,
Rift over Palestinian statehood deepens tension between U.S., France An escalating spat between the United States and France over the situation of Gaza continued Friday, as Paris issued a sharp response to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s repeated charge that a French plan to recognize Palestinian statehood was responsible for the failure of ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. “No, @SecRubio, the recognition of the State of Palestine did not cause the breakdown of hostage negotiations,” the French government said on social media. It then listed a lengthy series of previous posts it said demonstrated that French President Emmanuel Read…
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07 Sep

The world wants Ukraine’s cutting-edge drones, but they aren’t yet for sale

MediaCatalystWorld,
The world wants Ukraine’s cutting-edge drones, but they aren’t yet for sale KYIV — Foreign drone companies are swarming Ukraine, hoping to be a part of one of the most exciting unmanned vehicle production hubs in the world. There’s one problem: Ukraine’s drone makers are severely limited in exporting their production and know-how. Drone use and production have skyrocketed in the war between Ukraine and Russia, now in its fourth year, because of these machines’ low cost and deadly effectiveness. The constant battle-testing has accelerated the pace of evolution for the drones, with changes taking place within weeks instead of…
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