Is the golden oyster mushroom the salvation for pharmaceuticals?

By Dr. Tim Sandle

SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL

April 24, 2026


Traditionally, Paris button mushrooms are grown in former quarries, with ground limestone added to the compost - Copyright AFP/File ISAAC LAWRENCE

The golden oyster mushroom (Pleurotus citrinopileatus) may be a culinary hit in certain parts of the U.S. (notably Florida). However, it is becoming an ecological problem.

With its bright yellow, cushion-like caps, the golden oyster mushroom has become a favourite among home growers and food lovers. It is widely available in grow-your-own kits and sold in grocery stores, farmers markets, and specialty shops.

Scientists warn that the fungus is spreading quickly through U.S. forests, where it outcompetes native fungi and reduces biodiversity. For instance, in just a decade, the organism has appeared in more than 25 states, largely due to human cultivation and transport. The fungus’s silent expansion is now raising concerns about long-term impacts on forest ecosystems.

Like other oyster mushrooms, the species is a wood-decay fungus. In the wild, it most commonly decays hardwoods such as elm.

Michelle Jusino, assistant professor of forest pathology at the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatic Sciences at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), suggests that growing this species comes with important factors. While it is prized in the kitchen, it may not remain contained once introduced outdoors.

She says: “The golden oyster mushroom may look harmless on a log, but it appears to be a strong competitor in the forest. It is associated with changes in the fungal community, reducing biodiversity and potentially affecting processes like wood decomposition and carbon cycling.”

Impact of human activity

The research highlights how everyday human activities, including purchasing, cultivating, and transporting mushrooms, can unintentionally introduce invasive species into new environments. To track the spread, Jusino utilized community science platforms such as iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer. These records allowed them to map sightings of the golden oyster mushroom across North America.

The findings revealed that across ten years, the species has expanded into more than 25 U.S. states, including Texas, District of Colombia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana. Earlier research by Andrea Bruce suggests the mushroom first entered the wild in the United States in the early 2010s.

In context

“It is slowly marching south, which is really terrifying,” interprets Jusino. “In 2016, the mushroom was found growing in the wild in just five states, all in the Midwest and Northeast, but today I think fewer than 10 states east of the Mississippi river remain without records of golden oyster in the wild.”

Jusino and her colleagues studied dead elm trees both with and without golden oyster mushrooms. They collected wood samples from different heights on each tree and used DNA-based methods to identify the fungi present.

These findings revealed clear differences. Trees colonized by golden oyster mushrooms contained far fewer fungal species, and the overall mix of fungi was altered compared to unaffected trees. Some native fungi, including those with ecological or medicinal importance, were reduced, while only a small number of species seemed able to coexist with the invasive mushroom.

Preventive action

Jusino emphasises that preventing further spread requires increased awareness, careful monitoring, and a preference for using native mushroom species. Jusino is also continuing to test new methods to better understand and manage the issue.

Given that reports of golden oyster mushrooms continue to grow, scientists stress that even edible fungi can have wide-ranging ecological effects. Protecting native fungal biodiversity is critical for maintaining healthy forests and preserving the genetic diversity needed to adapt to climate change.

Although it is an attractive and edible species, the golden oyster mushroom has demonstrated its ability to escape cultivation and establish itself in the wild, where it can outcompete native fungi.

Ecological impact

Microbial invasions often receive far less attention than invasive plants, insects, or animals, yet they can significantly alter ecosystems. Fungi and bacteria may spread unnoticed while reshaping the balance of life in forests.

“Invasive fungi are part of the biodiversity crisis,” Jusino adds, putting the findings in context. “They’re small, but their impact can be enormous. Paying attention now gives us a chance to protect native ecosystems before the balance tips too far.”

Research paperr

The findings, to support these extra-terrestrial findings, appear in the journal Current Biology, titled: “Invasive golden oyster mushrooms are disrupting native fungal communities as they spread throughout North America”.

Investigating the first recorded case of plague: Digging into the past


By Dr. Tim Sandle

SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL

April 24, 2026


Plague victims. Image by Tim Sandle (taken at the Museum of London).

A newly discovered mass grave in ancient Jordan offers an insight into one of history’s first pandemics. Hundreds of plague victims were buried within days, revealing how the Plague of Justinian devastated entire communities.

The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (AD 541–549) was an epidemic of plague that afflicted the entire Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, especially the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire. The plague is named for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.

The plague of Justinian is generally regarded as the first historically recorded epidemic of the bacterium Yersinia pestis.

The findings show that people who usually lived spread out across regions were suddenly concentrated in death. It’s a powerful reminder that pandemics don’t just spread disease—they reshape how societies live and collapse.

Modern scholars believe that the plague killed up to 5,000 people per day in Constantinople at the peak of the pandemic.

Contemporary assessment

An interdisciplinary team from the University of South Florida is studying the Plague of Justinian and its far-reaching effects. The group, led by Rays H. Y. Jiang has published a paper examining what is believed to be the first recorded outbreak of bubonic plague in the Mediterranean.

The scientists wanted to move beyond identifying the pathogen and focus on the people it affected, who they were, how they lived and what pandemic death looked like inside a real city.

A Mass Grave Reveals the Scale of Death

At the height of the Plague of Justinian, affected individuals came from a wide range of communities that were often disconnected from one another. In death, however, they were brought together. Large numbers of bodies were placed quickly on top of pottery debris in an abandoned public area, which became the central focus of this study.

Earlier research has focused mainly on Y. pestis, the bacterium responsible for plague. This new work explores how the disease affected society in both the short and long term, and what lessons it may hold today.

“The earlier stories identified the plague organism,” Jiang explains. “The Jerash site turns that genetic signal into a human story about who died and how a city experienced crisis.”

First Confirmed Plague Mass Grave

Historical accounts describe widespread disease during the Byzantine era, but many suspected plague burial sites have lacked firm proof. Jerash now stands as the first location where a plague-related mass grave has been confirmed through both archaeological evidence and genetic testing.

Jiang has confirmed that the burial represents a single event, unlike traditional cemeteries that develop gradually. In Jerash, hundreds of individuals were buried within a matter of days. Hence, his discovery reshapes understanding of the First Pandemic by providing clear evidence of large-scale mortality and offering insight into how people lived, moved and became vulnerable within ancient urban environments.

Mobility and Hidden Connections

The research findings also help resolve a long-standing question. Historical and genetic data indicate that people travelled and interacted across regions. However, burial evidence often suggests communities remained local.

The Jerash site shows that both patterns can coexist. Migration typically unfolded slowly over generations and blended into everyday life, making it difficult to detect in standard burial grounds. During a crisis, however, individuals from more mobile backgrounds were brought together in one place, making those hidden connections visible.

Evidence suggests the individuals buried in Jerash belonged to a mobile population that was part of the wider urban community. Normally spread across the region, they were united in a single burial during a moment of crisis.
Understanding the Human Impact of Pandemics

“By linking biological evidence from the bodies to the archaeological setting, we can see how disease affected real people within their social and environmental context,” Jiang observes. “This helps us understand pandemics in history as lived human health events, not just outbreaks recorded in text.”

Pandemics aren’t just biological events; they are a social event.

His research is helping shift how scientists view pandemics, emphasising not only how they begin and spread but also how they affect daily life and social structures. Dense cities, travel and environmental changes played a role then, much as they do today.

The research features in the Journal of Archaeological Science, titled “Bioarchaeological signatures during the Plague of Justinian (541–750 CE) in Jerash (ancient Gerasa), Jordan.”

BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE

Soviet architecture vanishes as Central Asia drifts from Moscow

By AFP
April 24, 2026


Central Asia has shown little interest in preserving its Soviet heritage

 - Copyright NAVCENT PUBLIC AFFAIRS/AFP -

On the facade of an apartment block in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe, a giant mosaic depicting cosmonauts and engineers celebrates the scientific triumphs of the Soviet Union.

Like so many other relics of the Soviet past in Central Asia, it is doomed to vanish amid a distancing from Russia and a top-down drive to boost national culture.

“If we could only carefully remove it and put it on the building that will be built here. That would be good,” said Rakhmon Satiev, who lives in the apartment.

His wish will not come true. The block is about to be demolished to make way for a gleaming new residential complex, and the mosaic is to be torn down.

Over the past decade, Central Asia has shown little interest in preserving its Soviet heritage. Architectural landmarks and art, including mosaics, frescoes and sculptures, have been rapidly demolished.

“If a building is old and does not fit into the new city plan, it is torn down. The city is being rebuilt and renovated, and the past is vanishing,” Dzhamshed Dzhuraev, a mosaic artist in Tajikistan, told AFP.

Hidden from view in the courtyard behind his studio stands a monument to Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the USSR — an awkward reminder of an era that no longer fits with the times.



– ‘No longer necessary’ –



The five Central Asian former Soviet republics — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan — became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union 35 years ago.

Their urban landscapes have since turned into a chaotic mix of new high-rises, Stalin-era neoclassicism, dilapidated shacks and stalled construction sites.

Altynai Kudaibergenova, a co-founder of Artkana, a rare initiative group working to preserve Kyrgyzstan’s architectural heritage, said the number of lost monuments was “striking”.

She fears for the visual future of the capital Bishkek, which still has “magnificent examples of socialist-modernist architecture”.

The style is popular on social media, particularly among tourists.

This architectural overhaul is being driven by ideology, which leaves no space for Soviet remnants.

The region’s largely unchallenged leaders brand themselves as the founders of a new era and are cementing their own legacies with fresh symbols of power.

Few say outright that is what’s going on.

Still economically dependent on Russia — even as China muscles into the region — officials frame the demolition drive as cost-efficient.

They say renovating crumbling Soviet-era buildings is more expensive than starting from scratch, and that the region urgently needs more housing for its rapidly growing population of some 80 million.

In the Tajik capital Dushanbe, the mayor — the son of the president — “is doing everything possible to make the buildings as beautiful and comfortable as he can,” prominent Tajik sculptor Safarbek Kosimov told AFP.

Soviet-era mosaics were “no longer necessary,” he added.

There are no such qualms about portraits of 73-year-old strongman leader Emomali Rakhmon — which have replaced many of the torn-down facades.



– Ideological art –



Critics lament the campaign.

“Most Soviet mosaics were designed to convey an ideological message, but their artistic value is also important,” activist Kudaibergenova said.

“Unfortunately, businesses are rarely receptive to such considerations. Their main priority is selling square metres at a high price.”

Real-estate deals in the region are often marked by corruption and collusion between officials and business interests, according to several nonprofits and international organisations.

In Bishkek, painter Erkinbek Bolzhurov is worried about the fate of the House of Artists, which stands next to the former national printing house — of which now only the walls remain.

“We want the city to develop, of course, but not at the expense of our memory,” he told AFP.

“Great artists worked inside these walls. That is what makes the building unique — it has a history.”

Freedom of expression is tightly controlled in Central Asia, and authorities rarely consult with the public.

Despite the current trend, Tajik mosaic artist Dzhuraev wants to believe that “the time will come” when mosaics will once again adorn buildings.

“Architects and urban planners should pay them more attention,” he said — a “revival” of mosaics is still possible.

Possible Trump rescue of Spirit Airlines spurs debate

ALL CAPITALI$M IS STATE CAPITALI$M

By AFP

April 24, 2026


US President Donald Trump mused about buying embattled Spirit Airlines as it struggles to come out of bankruptcy unscathed - Copyright AFP/File Patrick T. Fallon

Elodie MAZEIN

Bargain US carrier Spirit Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in 2025 for the second time in a year, could be spared by a controversial potential White House rescue package.

Trump confirmed on Thursday that he was hoping Spirit could be saved, sparing thousands of jobs.

“I think we’d just buy it,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They have some good aircraft, have good assets, and when the price of oil goes down, we’ll sell it for a profit.”

Trump’s administration has been working on a potential $500 million package for the embattled airline, US media have reported in recent days.

Under a potential plan being discussed, the US government would make a loan to Spirit and receive warrants to take a large stake in the carrier, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Spirit had announced on February 24 an “agreement in principle” to restructure its debt with creditors, saying it expected to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.

But only days later, the US-Israel alliance launched attacks on Iran, leading to a spike in oil prices.

That translated into a surge in jet fuel prices that proved to be “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Jan Brueckner, emeritus economics professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Jet fuel prices have more than doubled since the February 28 start of the war, prompting major US airlines to lower their profit forecasts, trim back on capacity growth plans or both.

As a no-frills carrier, Spirit adds pressure on larger airlines, which have responded with bare-bones “basic economy” offerings, according to Brueckner.

“It’s beneficial to preserve this type of competitive airline that helps keep fares low,” Brueckner said.



– ‘Socialist Donald Trump’ –



While a package sparing Spirit may benefit consumers, the potential solution has sparked blowback.

Critics include Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who called the plan “not the best use of taxpayer dollars” in a post on X.

“If Spirit’s creditors or other potential investors don’t think they can run it profitably coming out of its second bankruptcy in under two years, I doubt the US government can either,” Cotton said.

Tad DeHaven, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a free-market think tank, called the White House proposal a “mistake,” ruing a solution based around “politically engineered financing.”

The US bankruptcy process should move forward “whether that means reorganization, liquidation, or asset sales to other companies,” DeHaven said in a blog post.

“That outcome may be less tidy, but it’s still preferable to quasi-nationalization.”

Other critics include Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat.

“Now socialist Donald Trump is nationalizing the airlines,” Polis said on X. “What industry will the government take over next under his socialist regime?”

While the US government has provided direct relief to companies before, such cases have tended to be sector-wide and crisis-related, such as support packages for automakers and banks during the 2008 financial crisis.

Even in these circumstances, such moves have been political controversial.

But Trump has tested US norms resisting government stakes in businesses, announcing ventures that give Washington shares in semiconductor company Intel and rare earth company MP Materials, among others.

The White House has argued that these are strategic sectors for the country.

Trump administration officials have also criticized predecessor Joe Biden’s administration, which successfully blocked a proposed $3.8 billion takeover of the carrier by JetBlue, arguing it would harm consumers.

“I understand the airline is bankrupt because the previous administration blocked the merger, which was probably not a wise move,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week.

Economist Brueckner said airlines face sharper pressures due to the Iran war “and the administration chose to initiate the War, and therefore they may feel some need to shelter companies from the consequences of the war.”

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Mideast war drives up condom, rubber glove prices: manufacturers


By AFP
April 24, 2026


Malaysia's rubber industry relies on oil and other raw materials affected by the disruption to global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz

 - Copyright AFP/File MANAN VATSYAYANA

Prices of rubber products have shot up due to supply chain disruptions stemming from the Middle East war, the world’s largest condom maker and a leading glove manufacturer, both based in Malaysia, said on Friday.

Karex, which supplies condoms for brands like Trojan and Durex, said it had to increase prices by up to 30 percent, while global supplier Top Glove said the main material for synthetic rubber gloves had doubled in cost.

Much of Malaysia’s rubber industry relies on oil to produce goods, but supply has been scarce since Iran imposed a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global crude and liquefied natural gas passes in peacetime.

The closure, which began after the United States and Israel launched strikes on February 28, has also affected raw material costs and disrupted global shipping.

“We continue to experience longer lead times from suppliers, increased price volatility and higher freight costs,” Karex chief executive Goh Miah Kiat said.

“In the meantime, we are also holding more key raw materials critical for business operations, and hence requiring the need to increase costs by up to 30 percent,” Goh told AFP in an email.

A crucial raw material affected, silicone oil, is “used in every condom”, Karex said.

Karex makes more than five billion condoms yearly, helping to prevent unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases across the globe. It provides condoms to organisations such as Britain’s National Health Service and the World Health Organisation.

The prices of other Karex products, from personal lubricants and probe covers to catheters and aluminium foil packaging, have also increased, Goh said.

Costs have been affected “across the board”, including the price of condom material nitrile latex and natural rubber.

Top Glove, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of rubber gloves, said it was particularly hard hit by a sharp hike in the price of nitrile butadiene rubber “which has increased by more than 100 percent, reflecting tight supply”.

“For natural rubber gloves, input costs have risen by approximately 30 percent, as natural rubber is a traded commodity which is impacted by the uptrend in crude oil prices,” the company added.

Top Glove supplies 95 billion gloves per year to more than 2,000 customers worldwide.

Both manufacturers said the supply of their main products remained stable.

“However, longer ship lead times are causing lower inventory levels at our customers’ end, and certain condom manufacturers are facing challenges in production,” Karex’s Goh said.

Havana property market stirs as investors bet on political change


By AFP
April 24, 2026


Property prices are rising in Havana's most desirable neighborhoods - Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE

Lisandra COTS

Havana’s real estate market is showing glimmers of revival as investors bet that a political and economic revolution is coming to the Communist-governed island.

Prices are ticking up, and brokers are getting busier as something stirs Cuba’s real estate market, long battered by sanctions, recession and mass emigration.

That something is acute US political pressure coupled with an oil blockade, and a belief among some Cuban-Americans that the Communist Party could reform or be toppled after six decades in power.

“The market is moving on expectations” not supply and demand, said Luis Mijail Lopez, owner of a private construction firm in Havana.

He said there is suddenly “a great deal of interest” from clients, including emigres and foreign residents, willing to invest.

In the words of one 48‑year‑old Cuban living in Miami who asked a family member to look for an apartment, “changes are coming.”



– Recovery in flow –



Cuba’s housing market emerged only in 2011, when the government legalized home sales.

For decades before that residents were limited to swapping properties.

In theory, foreigners are still barred from buying homes unless they hold permanent residency or use proxies.

No private real‑estate agencies operate, although self‑employed brokers exist.

Broker Yovanni Cantillo said the market has regained momentum in recent months, particularly Havana’s most desirable neighborhoods.

Prices have increased in places like Miramar, Nuevo Vedado and Vedado — neighborhoods with neoclassical mansions, embassies and art deco jewels.

It is “a recovery in its flow, in its dynamics” said Cantillo, while acknowledging that values remain 40 to 50 percent below levels seen during the diplomatic thaw between Havana and Washington under former US president Barack Obama.

Obama’s rapprochement triggered a tourism‑linked property boom after Airbnb began operating in Cuba.

Tougher US sanctions followed under his successor Donald Trump, and the Covid-19 pandemic halted the surge.

A mass exodus of more than 1.5 million Cubans since 2020 then flooded the market with homes, driving prices sharply lower.

Cantillo said now buyers are multiplying and sellers have pulled listings or raised prices in anticipation of a broader rebound.

Expectations have been fueled by talks between Washington and Havana, and by a draft law that would allow Cubans to own two urban homes and take out mortgages.

The legislation, which could be approved in July, would make it possible to “do business with those properties,” according to an architect who asked not to be identified.

Small and medium‑sized private companies were authorized in 2021 and are expanding, often operating from homes in a capital with virtually no office market.

Private construction firms that manage their own imports have also improved access to building materials, making renovations easier.

In this context, interest from Cuban-Americans is “essential,” Cantillo said.

The prospect of change is also reviving hopes among some exiles of recovering properties nationalized after the 1959 revolution.

Porsche exits sports car maker Bugatti Rimac


By AFP

April 24, 2026

Porsche is parting ways with Croatian 'supercar' manufacturer Bugatti Rimac

 - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File Adam Gray

German carmaker Porsche announced on Friday the sale of its stakes in sports car manufacturer Bugatti Rimac to a consortium led by a US fund founded by the Egyptian billionaire Sawiris family.

The amount of the transaction, which still has to be approved by regulators, has not been disclosed.

The announcement comes after the German luxury car brand warned it would face a difficult year under pressure from competitors and US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Under the terms of the agreement, Porsche will sell all of its 45 percent stake in Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture founded in 2021 with Croatian “supercar” manufacturer Rimac, which holds the remaining 55 percent.

“Following completion, Rimac Group is set to take control of Bugatti Rimac and form a strategic partnership with HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital to support its continued growth,” according to a statement from the German carmaker.

Porsche, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, will also sell its 20.6 percent stake in Rimac Group.

Last month, Porsche chief Michael Leiters said the company was facing “tricky times” after sales fell below expectations.

Porsche has struggled with years of falling sales in China amid fierce competition from local rivals as well as US tariffs.

Trump’s tariffs have hit the firm particularly badly since it has no plants in the United States.

“In setting up the joint venture Bugatti Rimac together with Rimac Group, we successfully laid the foundation for Bugatti’s future,” Leiters said in Friday’s statement.

“Now, with the sale of our stake, we demonstrate that we will focus Porsche on the core business.”

HOF Capital will additionally join Rimac Group as the major shareholder alongside Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac and CEO of Bugatti Rimac.

The consortium led by HOF Capital — founded by the Egyptian billionaire Sawiris family — has BlueFive Capital as its main investor, along with a group of institutional investors from the United States and the European Union.

After regulatory clearances, the deal is expected to be finalised before the end of the year.

Macron says still sees France, Germany developing European fighter jet


By AFP
April 24, 2026


Greek Air Force Rafales fly over the Parthenon on Greek Independence Day

 - Copyright AFP JADE GAO

French President Emmanuel Macron denied Friday that a troubled fighter jet programme with Germany was dead, telling reporters Paris and Berlin were still working on that and other defence projects.

The multi-billion-euro project has faltered as disagreements persist between the firms involved — France’s Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain.

Speaking ahead of a EU summit in Cyprus, Macron said that after morning talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the pair had instructed their respective defence ministries to carry on work on a range of issues, including the fighter jet.

“No, not at all,” Macron replied, asked by a journalist whether the European FCAS warplane programme was dead in the water.

“We had a good discussion this morning with the Chancellor and we have instructed our defence ministries to work on a number of areas, covering various topics –- not just the fighter jet,” Macron said.

“We are continuing to move forward. Europe has never needed unity, greater independence and greater sovereignty more than it does now,” he added.

The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme was launched in 2017 to replace France’s Rafale jets and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain.

It is often seen as a bellwether of defence and security cooperation between France and Germany as the two EU powerhouses seek to put up a united front in the face of a hostile Russia and wavering US security commitment.

Mediators tasked with salvaging the struggling initiative requested ten more days to deliver their conclusions, the French government said this week after reports suggesting the effort had failed to bear fruit.

A German government spokeswoman confirmed Macron and Merz discussed the fighter jet programme Friday morning and instructed defence ministers to continue work “on various aspects of cooperation and to agree on the next steps.”

“This work will be completed in the coming weeks,” she said.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY

Germany launches spying probe into Signal attacks targeting MPs


By AFP
April 24, 2026


German parliament speaker Julia Kloeckner was targeted in a Signal phishing attack, according to reports - Copyright AFP John MACDOUGALL

Antoine Lambroschini with Sam Reeves in Frankfurt

German prosecutors Friday launched a spying investigation into phishing attacks targeting lawmakers on the Signal messaging app, with an MP saying the latest Russia-directed plot against Germany was a “wake-up call”.

The wave of attacks has allegedly been directed at MPs from several parties including the speaker of parliament, a senior member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU party, as well as civil servants, diplomats and journalists.

Germany, Kyiv’s biggest provider of miliary aid, has been battling a surge of cyberattacks, as well as espionage and sabotage plots since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Moscow denies being behind any such actions.

The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office told AFP it had launched an investigation into the phishing attacks “based on an initial suspicion of espionage”.

It did not name Russia or give more details, but suspicion quickly fell on Moscow.

“The latest phishing attempt from Russia targeting German politicians and journalists is a wake-up call for all of us,” said Marc Heinrichmann, a CDU lawmaker who heads a committee overseeing the country’s intelligence services.

The attack makes “painfully clear” that everyone “must remain vigilant,” he said.

“What may seem like a harmless message at first glance could, in today’s world, be a targeted espionage attempt by foreign powers.”



– ‘Extremely worrying’ –



The attacks work by sending messages purporting to come from Signal support.

Victims are urged to hand over sensitive account information, which the attackers can then use to gain access to the victim’s chat groups and messages.

When the scam is successful, the hackers gain access to photos and files shared on Signal and can also impersonate the person whose account was compromised.

Many have moved from WhatsApp to the non-profit Signal in recent years because of privacy concerns after WhatsApp said it would share some metadata with parent company Meta, which also owns Facebook and Instagram.

German and foreign security services have been warning for months about the attacks, but the potential fallout in Germany is only just becoming clear.

CDU lawmaker Konstantin von Notz told AFP that the scale of the suspected attacks was “extremely worrying”.

“At present, no one can say with any certainty whether the integrity of MPs’ communications is still guaranteed,” he said.

Merz’s centre-right CDU party has so far not commented on how many of its lawmakers have been affected.

But earlier this week Der Spiegel news outlet reported that parliament speaker Julia Kloeckner’s Signal account had been compromised.

Kloeckner is a member of the CDU’s executive committee, whose members — including Merz — reportedly communicate via a Signal chat group, although no irregularities were detected on the chancellor’s phone.

His centre-left coalition partner, the SPD, and the far-left Die Linke have also said “a few” of their lawmakers have fallen victim.

Asked about the issue at a regular press briefing on Friday, a spokeswoman for the interior ministry said the attack is “probably led by a state actor”, adding that official warnings had been issued at the beginning of February and again last week.

Russia-linked hackers have been accused of being behind a string of cyberattacks in Germany.

Earlier this month, Germany intelligence services accused hackers associated with Russian military intelligence of infiltrating internet routers to obtain sensitive information.

The same group has also been accused of targeting air traffic control and of spreading disinformation ahead of last year’s general elections.

Battle lines drawn over EU’s next big budget


By AFP

April 24, 2026


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU needed to develop new tax-based revenue sources - Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE

Raziye Akkoc

EU leaders had their swords already drawn when they plunged into intense discussions Friday over the 27-country bloc’s next seven-year budget, with the usual frugal nations pushing to contain spending.

The European Commission last year proposed a budget of two trillion euros ($2.3 trillion) to pay for the bloc’s operations, from farm subsidies to research funding, for the 2028-2034 period.

European Union leaders took stock of their own position on Friday during talks in Cyprus, as they scramble to approve the final budget by the end of 2026.

Many EU countries which have to chip in most of the money have made it clear they oppose what would represent a sizable increase on the current budget, paving the way for difficult talks.

The leaders of Germany and the Netherlands, countries belonging to the so-called “frugals”, offered a stark message before heading into discussions with their EU counterparts in Nicosia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out higher debt — pushed by France — and said it was time for the EU to choose its battles.

“We will be setting new priorities. This means that we will also have to reduce spending in the European budget in other areas,” he told reporters.

He was echoed by Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who said the budget amount proposed by the commission “needs to be significantly reduced”.

It was “unacceptable” for the Netherlands, one of the largest contributors to the EU budget, to see its contribution “really explode”, Jetten added.



– ‘Compromise’ needed –



Any final agreement on the long-term budget will come after what are expected to be tense talks between the EU parliament and member states.

With critical elections next year including in France, the EU wants to get a deal before 2027 to avoid among others, the possible risk of a far-right French government causing a bigger headache in getting a deal over the line.

The next EU budget proposed that the bloc start paying off tens of billions of euros a year of its coronavirus-era debts, but some EU lawmakers oppose this and would like a rollover.

They also want an EU-wide tax on the world’s biggest tech companies.

“We cannot solve all the crises and the difficulties we are facing. We need new money to service old debt, and that is something that we will ask the member states to look at,” parliament chief Roberta Metsola said in Nicosia.

Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was “indispensable” for the EU to develop new tax-based revenue sources.

“Without them, the choice is stark. It’s either higher national contributions or it’s lower spending capacity,” she told a press conference after talks.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, whose country will hold the rotating EU presidency from July after Cyprus, said he expected challenging negotiations.

“There will have to be compromise,” he said. “Some think the budget is too high as it is. Others think it’s not high enough.”

But the clock is ticking, European Council President Antonio Costa warned.

“We have a collective responsibility to reach an agreement by the end of the year,” Costa said after talks in Nicosia ended.

ILO names US official as number two amid grumbling over unpaid dues


By AFP
April 24, 2026


The ILO celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019

 - Copyright AFP Menahem KAHANA

Agnès PEDRERO

After months of delay, the UN labour agency has appointed Trump administration official Sheng Li as its deputy director general, despite Washington’s failure to pay its dues for two years.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) officially announced this week that Li, a high-level official at the US Department of Labor, would fill the post left vacant eight months ago.

The Geneva-based agency said Li would head the “policy cluster”, guiding and overseeing the work of five policy departrments.

The ILO had been without a deputy chief since last September, when Celeste Drake — also a US national — left.

In recent months, the rumoured looming appointment to the post of Nels Nordquist, a former top economic advisor to President Donald Trump, sparked outrage at the ILO, which had faced a barrage of criticism from the US administration.

In a memo published last August, the administration described the ILO as an organisation that “works to unionise foreign workers and punish US corporate interests abroad” — although those words and a decision to cancel $107 million in funding to the agency later mysteriously vanished from the text.

– US arrears –

The ILO’s deputy director post is usually held by a US national, but the agency’s staff union has raised questions about following that tradition at a time when Washington — traditionally the agency’s biggest donor — has failed to pay its 2024 and 2025 dues.

“We are still awaiting clarification regarding the reasons for this decision, particularly in light of certain unanswered questions concerning US contributions,” union chief Severine Deboos told AFP.

The United States, which in recent years has covered 22 percent of ILO’s funding, had as of April 24 accumulated arrears amounting to more than 173 million Swiss francs ($220 million) for the past two years, according to data on the agency website.

And it will also this year need to pay its 2026 contribution, amounting to 84 million francs.

“The US remains in arrears, as are many other member states who have yet to fulfil their financial commitments for the current biennium’s regular budget,” the ILO told AFP in an email Friday.

“These arrears have impacted the ILO’s cash flow, and we are actively engaging with the concerned countries to encourage the earliest possible settlement,” it added.

Like other UN organisations, the ILO is currently facing significant financial pressure and is undergoing major reforms as it strives to tighten its budget.

Reform plans that still need to be validated call for the slashing of around 120 positions by 2029 — a number that could be expanded by several hundreds more if further savings are required, ILO documents show.

Already last May, ILO chief Gilbert Houngbo said the closure of some 50 US-funded projects had forced the agency to lay off around 200 staff members out of a total of around 3,500 globally.

Maine governor nixes data center moratorium in state

Legislators in Maine earlier this month endorsed what would have been the first data center ban in the United States

By AFP
April 24, 2026


Public sentiment in the United States is turning against massive data centers ravenous for power and water - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

 MARIO TAMA

The governor of Maine on Friday vetoed a temporary ban on building large data centers that aimed to rein in rampant construction driven by the AI race.

The buildout comes at a cost, as the power-hungry facilities strain local grids and drive up electricity bills.

Data centers also typically have massive footprints, taking up land that could be used for housing, businesses, recreation or green space.

Legislators in Maine earlier this month endorsed what would have been the first data center ban in the United States if it had been signed into law by Governor Janet Mills.

“A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates,” Mills said in a statement announcing the veto.

Mills explained that her veto was based on the bill’s failure to make an exception for a data center project in a part of the northeastern state where the closure of a mill three years ago had been a “devastating” economic blow.

“This decision is simply wrong,” said state reresentative Melanie Sachs, a sponsor of the bill.

“By vetoing this bill, Governor Mills isn’t just rejecting the advice of her own task force — she is resisting the will of a majority of Maine people.”

Public sentiment is hardening, with a recent Quinnipiac University poll finding 65 percent of Americans oppose having a data center built in their community.

A boom in generative artificial intelligence has sent data center demand skyrocketing, with dozens of projects springing up across the United States.

If it had become a law, the Maine bill would have paused new data center construction until November of next year.

It also called for the creation of a council to assess the risks and benefits of proposed data centers and provide input for planners.

Data center construction spending in the United States has surged in recent years, with tech firms pouring tens of billions of dollars into building out infrastructure amid the race to lead in AI.

Maine is among the US states that have seen home electricity bills soar in recent years, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Crunch nuclear proliferation meeting at UN amid raging global wars


By AFP
April 24, 2026


North Korea's developing nuclear arsenal could be a deal-breaker - Copyright KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/File STR

Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS

Signatories of the landmark nuclear non-proliferation treaty will meet at the UN from Monday as hopes fade they can reach agreement and tensions soar between the atomic powers.

In 2022, during the last review of the treaty that is considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned humanity was “one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.”

The situation has only worsened since then.

“I think there is a shared, if you will, sense of crisis by all states parties,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

“We don’t have any bilateral arms control agreements between the two largest nuclear weapon states,” she said referring to the February expiration of the New Start treaty between Moscow and Washington.

“We are also beginning to see quantitative increase of nuclear capabilities in all nuclear weapon states.”

Nakamitsu said that mounting geopolitical tensions had halted the post-Cold War trend of disarmament.

The nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), signed by almost all the countries on the planet — with notable exceptions like Israel, India, and Pakistan — aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote complete disarmament, and to encourage cooperation on civilian nuclear projects.

The nine nuclear-armed states — Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea — possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads in January 2025, according to the latest report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The United States and Russia hold nearly 90 percent of nuclear weapons globally and have carried out major programs to modernize them in recent years, according to SIPRI.

China has also rapidly increased its nuclear stockpile, SIPRI said, with the G7 raising the alarm Friday over Moscow and Beijing boosting their nuclear capabilities.

US President Donald Trump has indicated his intention to conduct new nuclear tests because “other countries are doing it too.”

In March, France’s President Emmanuel Macron announced a dramatic shift in nuclear deterrence, notably an increase in the atomic arsenal, currently numbering 290 warheads.



– NPT could ‘unravel’ –



“It is obvious that trust is eroding, both inside and outside the NPT,” Seth Sheldon of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, told AFP.

He questioned the likely outcome of the four-week summit.

Decisions on the NPT have to be agreed by consensus, with the previous two conferences failing to adopt final political declarations.

In 2015, the deadlock was largely due to opposition by Israel’s arch-ally Washington to the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

In 2022, the impasse was due mainly to Russian opposition to references to Ukraine’s nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, occupied by Moscow.

This year’s summit could fall on any number of stumbling blocks.

The ongoing war in Ukraine, Iran’s nuclear program and the war there, non-nuclear states’ fears over proliferation and North Korea’s developing arsenal could all be deal-breakers.

If there is a third consecutive failure, the treaty “might not implode overnight” said Christopher King, the conference’s secretary-general.

But there is a risk “it will, over time, unravel.”

Artificial intelligence could be a prominent issue as some countries call for all sides to keep human control over nuclear weapons.

From radiation to invasion: a Chernobyl worker’s two wars

By AFP
April 25, 2026


Nikolay Solovyov points to photograph depicting him in the control room in the nineties - Copyright Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP -

Romain COLAS

Nikolay Solovyov was on shift the night of April 26, 1986 when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Instead of fleeing, he chose to fight his “first war” against radiation.

Four decades later, a second war — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — has taken his son.

Solovyov, 67, a hard rock fan, still wears his hair long, though it has turned grey.

On the night of the world’s worst nuclear accident, he was working as a turbine mechanic in unit number two, a few hundred metres from reactor number four, which exploded during a safety test.

“It felt like an earthquake. I didn’t hear the explosion — the turbines were still running, with a very loud noise,” he recalled, his voice quiet and gentle.

The alarms went off. As he rushed towards the exploded reactor, he saw one colleague badly irradiated and vomiting, another being carried out on a stretcher. The third one was slumped in his chair, head in his arms. All of them died soon after.

Only then did the full extent of the disaster become clear. Through the massive hole ripped open by the explosion, he could see “the sky.” In the corridors, torrents of water poured from broken pipes.

Firefighters quickly began hosing down the smoking reactor — “they didn’t let the fire spread,” Solovyov said. Almost all those firefighters later died from radiation exposure.

At dawn, he and his colleagues discussed how long they had left to live. “We’ll last two weeks,” said one of them.

After hearing this, Solovyov, who quit smoking five months earlier, lit up a cigarette. “Well, if I’m going to die, at least I’ll die young and handsome,” he recounted his thought in the moment.



– Seeking praise –



His night shift ended in the morning. The day team took over and the bus drove him back to Pripyat, the workers’ town three kilometres (two miles) from the plant.

It was all quiet and business as usual, except for the roaring trucks that were spraying foamy “detergent” on the pavement. Once home, he told his wife to seal the windows.

For days, Soviet authorities hid the catastrophe from the world — a disaster that further weakened the already crumbling USSR, which collapsed in 1991.

Solovyov stayed at the plant throughout the “liquidation” — a massive clean-up operation in the aftermath. He later helped build the first sarcophagus covering the reactor, as well as the second one, which was damaged by a Russian drone strike in 2025.

The plant continued producing electricity until 2000 and teams still work there to ensure its safety.

Among the reasons for his decision to stay, Solovyov lists good pay, “generous holidays” and an “interesting” nature of work.

The man, who later became an engineer, believes that the “dangerous” 1986 test was pushed ahead by the plant managers for the sake of winning praise from Soviet leadership.

Hundreds of thousands of people were involved in the massive liquidation operation, which saw hundreds of thousands more evacuated from neighbouring settlements. “Only the USSR” had the resources to carry out such an effort, Solovyov believes.

Dozens of his acquaintances later died of cancer. Of the 22 men on his night shift, only four are still alive.

A 2005 UN report put the number of confirmed and projected deaths at 4,000 in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Greenpeace in 2006 estimated that the disaster had caused close to 100,000 deaths.



– ‘The other war’ –



Solovyov, who received high doses of radiation and has undergone countless medical checks, attributes his longevity to good health, regular sport, a calm temperament and genetics.

“I have to thank God and my parents for giving me good genes,” he said.

He now lives in a country house near Slavutych, a town 120 kilometres (70 miles) north of Kyiv, built in 1986 to house people displaced by the disaster.

In the local Chernobyl museum, wreckage from downed Russian drones is displayed in the main hall. “That’s the other war,” Solovyov said quietly.

Standing on the windswept central square of Slavutych, he said that his first, “nuclear” war was against an invisible, odourless poison.

“When people here say ‘before the war’ or ‘after the war,’ they mean April 26, 1986,” he said. “And now, as people put it, this is already the second war of our generation.”

On the night of February 23-24, 2022, Solovyov set out for the plant as usual. But he never reached it: the two bridges leading there had been destroyed. Russian forces seized Chernobyl and occupied the site for a month.

His youngest son joined the Ukrainian army. In September 2023 he was reported missing in action.

Devastated, Solovyov could no longer find the strength to work and took early retirement.

From sun to subsoil, how countries are moving away from fossil fuels


ByAFP
April 24, 2026


Plant waste is turned into briquettes of biochar, or "green coal", in Chad

 - Copyright AFP/File Joris Bolomey

Heating with geothermal energy, lighting with solar panels, cooking with biodegradable waste: how can we live with less oil and gas?

It’s a long-burning question — but one that is catching fire as energy costs soar due to the conflict in the Middle East, which has strangled exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

With the global energy shock caused by the conflict expected to linger, AFP’s video journalists around the world have explored how countries are experimenting with the climate transition.

– Geothermal in France –

For a long time, the owners of the building where Anne Chatelain lives near Paris resisted switching from gas heating to geothermal energy.

But on January 1 they finally began heating their homes using the natural heat from the subsoil — the soil immediately beneath the surface.

As energy bills soar elsewhere in the world, “Our property manager has announced a 20 percent reduction in heating and hot water bills for 2026 and 2027,” rejoices the 69-year-old retiree.

The tech is both climate-friendly and, as a local resource, “not subject to taxation and geopolitical upheavals” such as the war with Iran, says Gregory Mascarau, a Paris director for the French multinational electric utility company ENGIE.

Shallow geothermal energy allows for heating and cooling by using the temperature of the subsoil at depths of less than 200 meters (650 feet).

Deep geothermal energy involves extracting hot water from depths of 1,000 to 2,000 metres, where its temperature ranges from 80C to 150C.

Since 2023 it has resulted in roughly 25-30 percent savings compared to the cost of heat provided by fossils fuels, says Ludovic Feron, head of the real estate infrastructure department at Gustave Eiffel University.

The catch is that a suitable subsoil is required, and that deep geothermal energy in particular can be hampered by high costs and uncertainties.

In France, this type of heating represents only about one percent of final heat consumption — for now.

– ‘Green coal’ in Chad –

It looks like charcoal, but the black briquettes are actually made from plant waste: millet and sesame stalks, palm fronds and cobs.

The residues are sorted, ground and mixed with a maceration of gum arabic to facilitate ignition, and with clay to slow combustion.

“It doesn’t smoke, it lasts, and it’s economical. And I can see that it doesn’t blacken the pot, and there aren’t even any side effects,” says Sophie Saboura, 24, a resident of the Chadian capital N’Djamena.

The briquettes last up to three times longer than traditional charcoal, according to Ousmane Alhadj Oumarou, technical director of the Raikina Association for Socio-Economic Development (Adser) factory.

“From an environmental standpoint, eco-friendly charcoal contributes to sanitation. And it also reduces the effects of climate change. It also helps combat deforestation,” says Oumarou.

Adser produces about 10 tonnes of briquettes, used for cooking, every day — but they aren’t available everywhere.

“There are limits to its use. Because even the manufacturing process takes time … it can take a week,” says Pierre Garba, a renewable energy specialist.

“Sometimes, when there’s demand, you try calling, you wait, and wait, and wait,” confirms Saboura.

– Solar in Pakistan –

The aerial view of Islamabad is striking: solar panels stretch as far as the eye can see from the rooftops of the lush, green Pakistani capital.

Pakistan’s shift to solar power is “one of the fastest consumer-led energy transitions on record”, according to a recent study by a Pakistani think tank.

Unlike Western economies, Pakistan — whose citizens have long struggled with energy shortages, blackouts and regular loadshedding — did not impose tariffs on solar technology from neighbouring China from 2013 to 2025.

The rise in oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has also spurred consumers to embrace solar power.

Imports have surged from one gigawatt in 2018 to 51 gigawatts this year.

In the bustling streets of the ancient Mughal city of Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital, 49-year-old shopkeeper Aftab Ahmed is looking for solar panels to install at his home.

“It has become so expensive that an average person can no longer afford fuel for a motorcycle or a car. Fuel prices are also affecting electricity bills, leading to further increases,” he says.

Solar power offers the possibility of “at least some savings”.

SPACE/COSMOS

Is a mysterious ‘fifth force’ hiding out in the depths our solar system?


By Dr. Tim Sandle

SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL

April 24, 2026


This long exposure picture taken on December 23, 2017 shows the Andromeda galaxy -- where researchers believe they have witnessed the collapse of a dying star into a black hole. — © AFP John MACDOUGALL

Astronomers are grappling with a cosmic mystery: Why does the Universe behave differently on massive scales compared to our own solar system?

While distant galaxies reveal clear signs of something bending the rules of gravity—often attributed to dark energy or a hidden “fifth force”—everything nearby seems to follow Einstein’s playbook perfectly.

A force refers to an action that can cause an object to change its velocity or its shape, or to resist other forces, or to cause changes of pressure.

Dark energy and dark matter are among the most difficult concepts to test. Observations across vast regions of space clearly suggest that something is influencing gravity in ways Einstein’s theory does not fully explain. Yet within our own solar system, everything appears to behave exactly as expected.

Dark matter and dark energy are invisible components of the universe: dark matter pulls matter together through gravity, while dark energy drives the universe’s accelerated expansion.

A new study by Slava Turyshev, a physicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explores how researchers might address this mismatch. His work suggests that the key may lie in being extremely precise and selective in how experiments are designed to search for signs of dark energy and dark matter closer to home.

The Great Disconnect

At the centre of the problem is what scientists call the “Great Disconnect.” The laws of physics seem to operate differently depending on the scale being observed. In regions with very little matter (i.e. no gravitational force), the effects linked to dark energy or modified gravity become much more noticeable. In contrast, in dense environments filled with matter and strong gravity, those same effects seem to vanish, at least based on current instruments.

Within the solar system, everything aligns with traditional physics. Planets follow their expected orbits. Measurements of spacetime around the Sun, including data from spacecraft signals, match predictions precisely. Every probe sent through the solar system behaves as if only standard gravity is at work. There are no clear signs of anything unusual.

New perspectives

The situation changes when looking far beyond our ‘local neighbourhood’. On the scale of galaxies and beyond, the Universe appears to be expanding. While scientists continue to debate the exact rate of this expansion, there is strong evidence that something is influencing gravity or spacetime in ways not fully captured by current theories.

At present, dark energy is the best explanation for this behavior, even though its true nature remains unknown.

The universe is expanding due to dark energy, a mysterious force that drives this acceleration, making up about 68% of the universe.

One possible explanation involves a phenomenon known as “screening.” In this idea, whatever is causing the discrepancy changes how it behaves depending on the surrounding environment. As density increases, its effects become weaker or harder to detect.

Screening models

There are two main types of screening models. The first is called the “chameleon” model. In this scenario, a hypothetical fifth force of nature (other than gravity, electromagnetism, and the two nuclear forces) adjusts its strength based on the amount of nearby matter.

In low density regions, it becomes strong and produces effects associated with dark energy. In dense areas, it weakens so much that current instruments cannot detect it, even though it still exists. Around objects like the Sun, it might only appear in a thin outer layer, but in principle it could still be measured there.

Vainshtein Screening

Another explanation is the Vainshtein screening model. Arkady Vainshtein (born 24 February 1942) is a Russian-American theoretical physicist recognized for his contributions to particle physics.

Here, the force itself does not change. Instead, the surrounding gravity effectively suppresses its influence, making it appear weak. The model introduces the concept of a Vainshtein Radius, which marks the distance where the force regains its normal strength.

The Vainshtein screening model is a mechanism that suppresses extra gravitational forces near massive objects through derivative self-interactions in modified gravity theories. It operates in scalar-tensor systems where the action includes higher-derivative nonlinearities of the scalar field.

For the Sun, this radius is estimated to extend about 400 light years. That region includes many stars, meaning the force would remain suppressed well beyond the solar system and even across large parts of the galaxy.

Why New Solar System Missions May Be Needed

Both screening models could leave subtle traces in large-scale observations collected by missions such as Euclid and The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). However, these surveys focus on distant galaxies and cannot directly reveal how such forces behave within the solar system.

To test these ideas locally, scientists would need a dedicated mission designed specifically for that purpose. Even more important, researchers would need a falsifiable theory that predicts what such a mission should detect.

Next steps

It may take time to develop instruments sensitive enough to detect these subtle effects. In the meantime, incremental progress will be important, with missions focused on improving measurement capabilities step by step.

If a well-defined and testable prediction emerges from current data, and if an experiment can realistically be built to test it, pursuing that opportunity could lead to a major breakthrough. Such a discovery has the potential to reshape our understanding of gravity, dark energy, and the fundamental workings of the Universe.
Research paper

The findings appear in the journal Physical Review D. The research paper is titled “Solar-System experiments in the search for dark energy and dark matter.”

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for DARK MATTER

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for DARK ENERGY

The ‘housewives’ did well — Ukraine takes drone know-how abroad

By AFP
April 24, 2026


An operator from Ukraine's Skyfall tests a P1-Sun model

 - Copyright AFP/File Genya SAVILOV

Olga NEDBAEVA

Like something straight out of a spy movie, lots of cloak and dagger was required before AFP could meet three Ukrainian drone manufacturers on the fringes of a hush-hush defence forum in Paris earlier this month.

A rendezvous was set up on a bench near the Champs-Elysees, and a hint of Russian being spoken nearby prompted a quick change of hotel lounge at another interview.

The expertise Ukraine has honed with machines that have transformed the battlefield and left European armies trailing in their technological wake, is highly sought after, with their impact proved again in the Middle East war.

“When I talk to Europeans or Americans, they know very little” about these drones, said Olexandr, an engineer producing Ukraine’s “largest strike drone”, the Perun Max.

“We want to see how countries that have supported us, such as France, can benefit from our experience,” he added.

Made at secret locations across Ukraine by Bavovna, the Perun Max can carry “three projectiles, drop them on targets, return, reload and take off again,” making up to 30 sorties a night, he said.

The drone can transport loads of 32 kilos over 25 kilometres (15 miles) — food, water and medicine for soldiers in the trenches — or leaflets telling people “how to surrender properly and stay alive” in areas where the Russians are advancing.

Bavovna makes 1,000 drones per month, costing between 7,000 and 20,000 euros.

And the system can switch from GPS to optical navigation, flying with the antenna cut off for up to 20 kilometres.

– Two battalions ‘neutralised’ –

Skyfall — whose name is a nod to the Bond film — also began life when Russia invaded in 2022 and four engineers met up in a garage to build a drone capable of monitoring activity over Kyiv.

They soon decided to add a “dropping” capability, creating Vampire, which bombs, lays mines remotely and transports blood or generators.

Vampire reportedly took part in NATO exercises in May 2025 in Estonia, during which 10 Ukrainian drone operators “neutralised” 17 armoured vehicles and two enemy battalions, the Wall Street Journal said.

The “drone sky” renders the battlefield transparent, where men and armoured vehicles become targets as soon as they venture into no man’s land, French military officials and experts said.

“A French unit deployed today on the Ukrainian front against the Russian army would get thoroughly hammered. We must follow the Ukrainian army’s example if we want to stay in the game,” said Colonel Michel Goya, a former French marine officer and modern conflict analyst.

France is set to reassign 5,000 of 77,000 ground force troops to drone-related activities.

Faced with mass-produced products which are “designed to wear down our capabilities… we need systems which are just as massive, inexpensive, and easy to produce,” said General Bruno Baratz, hinting some in the French military hierarchy are reluctant to make the leap.

Bastien Mancini, CEO of French drone manufacturer Delair set up a firm in Ukraine and now supplies drones to the French military.

“Three years ago our drones were being shot down by Russian missiles that cost much more; today they are being shot down by much cheaper systems,” he told AFP.

– ‘Intelligent machine gun’ –

Shrike, another small FPV drone from Skyfall piloted via an onboard camera, costs just $500. Its makers boast it was the first to “shoot down a $10 million (Russian) Mi-8 helicopter in mid-flight.”

“These drones have destroyed enemy equipment worth several billion. We can produce over a million of them a year,” a Skyfall spokesman claimed.

A third model, the P1-Sun interceptor nicknamed Pisiun (penis), “has already destroyed some 2,500 (Iranian-designed) Shaheds and 1,500 other aerial targets,” he added.

“The priority remains the defence of Ukraine,” he insisted, which is why Kyiv must approve any international link-ups.

But “it would be good if the whole world saw that Ukrainian solutions don’t just work in Ukraine.”

The Khyzhak (Predator) system, equipped with a 7.62 mm machine gun, was first developed by Ukraine’s UGV Robotics for the Magura naval surface drones which have sunk or damaged several Russian warships in the Black Sea.

The idea of “turning a simple machine gun into a smart weapon” has now been extended to shooting down drones in flight,” said Dmytro Burakov of UGV.

“We’ve installed the system on Mi-8 and Airbus helicopters and that’s how we’re now shooting down Shaheds,” he said.

After talking to AFP, he rushed off to a meeting with Airbus Helicopters, who are developing their own more sophisticated drones, with some 30 planned for this year and twice that number by 2027.

The CEO of German tank giant Rheinmetall sparked a row last month by taking a pop at Kyiv’s drones, saying they were being made by “Ukrainian housewives” — though Armin Papperger later walked back the remarks.

“If Ukrainian drones made by housewives are destroying tanks, then the era of housewives is here,” quipped the Skyfall spokesman, further proof of how the old defence industry is rattled.

Q&A: How the drone market is shaping up with new technology


By Dr. Tim Sandle

SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL
April 23, 2026


ZenaTech drone flying over an ocean. 

Image (C) ZenaTech, reproduced with permission.

What is the current state of the drone market, both commercial and military? To help answer this and related questions, Digital Journal spoke with Linda Montgomery, Vice President of Corporate Development at ZenaTech.

ZenaTech (Nasdaq: ZENA) is a technology company developing AI-powered drones, Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS), and enterprise software solutions for commercial, government, and defence customers. Its platforms combine autonomous drones, cloud software, and data analytics to deliver mission-critical aerial intelligence across sectors including agriculture, logistics, surveying, infrastructure, and public safety.

Digital Journal: Can you provide a brief overview of ZenaTech and the company’s mission in advancing AI-powered drones and enterprise solutions?

Linda Montgomery: ZenaTech operates across three core business areas.

First, through ZenaDrone, we design and manufacture AI-enabled autonomous drones. Second, our Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) business provides drone-based solutions for inspections, surveying, power washing, and other enterprise applications—eliminating the complexity and cost of ownership. Third, we operate an established enterprise SaaS software business with 11 brands, providing a strong foundation of data, analytics, and software engineering expertise that directly supports our drone platforms.

Our solutions serve commercial, government, and defense customers, helping them improve speed, precision, data-driven decision-making, and operational safety. Increasingly, we are also building advanced AI drone systems for defense applications, including ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), specialized cargo delivery, interceptor drones, and integrated maritime defense systems for counter-UAS missions.

DJ: How is ZenaTech’s Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) model helping businesses and government organizations deploy drone technology without the complexity of owning and managing fleets?

Montgomery: Our DaaS platform allows clients to access advanced turnkey drone capabilities through subscription and usage bases, eliminating the upfront capital costs and operational burdens of owning a fleet. ZenaTech manages everything from aircraft, pilots, compliance, and maintenance to data capture and analytics, delivering faster, safer, and more accurate outcomes. This model is particularly valuable for enterprises requiring standardized operations across multiple locations, allowing them to focus on insights and results rather than the logistics of drone management. Our DaaS network is scaling globally, supported by strategic acquisitions that integrate established service providers in low-tech or legacy businesses and AI-powered drone systems into existing operations.

Our customers include municipal, county and federal government agencies. They use drones for land survey’s for building projects like sub-divisions, roads, buildings, bridges etc.

DJ: ZenaTech develops several platforms, including the ZenaDrone 1000, IQ Nano, and the ZenaDrone 2000 Maritime Interceptor. What sets these systems apart in the industry?

Montgomery: ZenaTech’s drone portfolio is designed as an integrated ecosystem of AI-powered, mission-specific platforms that combine autonomous flight, advanced sensors, and enterprise software to address both commercial and defense applications.ZenaDrone 1000: Our flagship medium-sized, heavy-lift drone is built for outdoor and field operations, supporting applications such as crop management, surveying, and critical cargo delivery for defense. It is designed for durability and autonomy in complex environments, making it well-suited for ISR (inspection, surveillance, and reconnaissance) and logistics missions.
IQ Series (Nano, Square, Quad): Our IQ line of drones is tailored for commercial and enterprise use cases across industries.The IQ Nano is an indoor drone used for inventory management, security, and warehouse automation.The IQ Square is an outdoor drone designed for power washing and inspection applications in commercial and government settings.The IQ Quad is optimized for land surveys and mapping.
Together, these drones enable frequent, precise, and safer data collection, helping modernize traditionally manual, labor-intensive workflows.
Counter-UAS & Maritime Interceptor Systems: We are advancing a suite of next-generation defense solutions, including our Interceptor P-1 and additional maritime interceptor drones currently in prototype development. These systems are designed to detect and neutralize hostile drones at a fraction of the cost of traditional defense methods. Complementing this is the IQ Glider, an autonomous marine landing station that enables persistent maritime operations as part of a broader integrated defense system.

What sets ZenaTech apart is our ability to unify drone hardware, AI-driven autonomy, and data analytics into scalable solutions—whether deployed directly or through our Drone-as-a-Service model—allowing customers to improve speed, precision, safety, and decision-making across mission-critical operations.

DJ: How does ZenaTech approach innovation in the drone industry, and what types of challenges or opportunities drive your development of new products and solutions?

Montgomery: Innovation at ZenaTech is driven by real-world operational challenges in autonomy, mobility, cost, and safety across targeted commercial and defense sectors.

We focus on AI-enabled autonomous systems, mission-specific drone design, and enterprise software that transforms operational data into actionable insights. Emerging threats such as drone swarms, combined with the complexity of scaling UAV adoption across industries, continue to drive our R&D priorities.

Our innovation model is supported by in-house development, strategic acquisitions, and continuous iteration to ensure our technology evolves alongside market and regulatory needs.

DJ: Looking ahead, what emerging trends and opportunities do you see in the AI-powered drone and autonomous systems industry over the next five years, and how is ZenaTech positioned to lead in this space?

Montgomery: The AI-powered drone market is expanding rapidly, some market analysts say that the Drone as a Service segment may reach $355B by 2032- that’s over 25% growth rates annually, with growing demand for autonomous solutions across defense, industrial, and commercial sectors. Key trends include subscription-based UAV deployment, advanced counter-UAS systems, and increasing use of AI-driven operational analytics. ZenaTech is positioned to lead through our global DaaS network, integrated enterprise software, and a diversified drone portfolio that addresses both civilian and defense needs. By combining scalable operational models with next-generation drone technology, ZenaTech enables organizations to deploy drones efficiently- in the model they want from purchase to “as a service” model for, and improve safely, cost-effectively and smart data insights while staying ahead of evolving industry demands.

Regulatory changes- FAA opening up more of the airspace for drones. Military procurement cycles being made faster so Made in America drones can replace Chinese ones, the market leader, not banned in the US. Historic changes just in the last 2 years for the industry.

Musk says Tesla has started ‘robotaxi’ production


ByAFP
April 24, 2026


A prototype of Tesla's Cybercab seen at the 8th International Import Expo in Shanghai in November 2025 - Copyright AFP/File Hector RETAMAL

Tesla’s much-touted autonomous “robotaxi”, called the Cybercab, has started production, CEO Elon Musk said on Friday, a day after the carmaker reported first-quarter profits that beat expectations.

Musk posted a promotional video on X accompanied with the brief caption, “Cybercab has started production.”

The 38-second clip, mostly shot from within a driverless Cybercab, showed the vehicle rolling off the factory floor and driving onto streets.

Musk also shared a short video clip showing what appeared to be multiple gold-colored Cybercabs driving in formation on a road.

Tesla said on Wednesday it was on track to commence “volume production” of both its Cybercab and Tesla Semi this year, after reporting first-quarter profits of $477 million.

Cybercab — billed as a self-driving robotaxi without a steering wheel or pedals — was first unveiled in the fall of 2024, with Musk predicting at the time that it would become available in 2027.

Tesla began offering robotaxi services to “early access” users on an invitation-only basis in the US city of Austin, Texas, last June.

The auto manufacturer posted a photo in February showing employees gathered around a Cybercab on a factory floor, with the caption “First Cybercab off the production line at Giga Texas.”

Self-driving cars will ‘not fix’ urban parking problem

By Dr. Tim Sandle

SCIENCE EDITOR

DIGITAL JOURNAL

April 23, 2026


With an ageing population in need of transport, Japan is betting on autonomous cars. — © AFP

The global AI transportation market is expected to grow from USD $2.12 billion in 2023 to USD $10.25 billion by 2033, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.07%.

Self-driving cars, among various accolades, are supposed to fix urban parking. Shared autonomous fleets could drop passengers and relocate, freeing high-value city land for housing, parks, and commercial use. Although this is not something that can be achieved now, the long-run case has a degree of coherence about it. Nonetheless, the short-run story is the opposite, and it is not being adequately covered.

In the transition period, before shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) reach critical mass, autonomous vehicles cruising between drop-offs without parking add traffic volume without reducing the number of cars seeking spaces. A 2024 peer-reviewed study found that parking demand structures shift in ways that create new friction before they ease it. The fix arrives late. The disruption arrives first.

For example, in Manhattan alone, a single parking space costs up to $6,000 to build, with the U.S. parking industry generating $21 billion in 2022.

By 2030 it is estimated there will be 39 million AVs on the road. With this prediction, study data suggests:

Automation could also save up to 90% on vehicle insurance premiums.

Autonomous vehicle testing has already decreased the number of accidents across the United States from 9.1 per million miles to 4.6 per million miles.

About 25% of fatal car accidents result from the speed at which cars travel, and this should be better regulated with self-driving cars.

By 2050, self-driving cars could save around 21,700 lives and prevent about 4.22 million accidents every year.

Automation could lead to an 80% reduction in traffic-related problems.

Automation could reduce car emissions by up to 90%.

Also, nothing is likely in the short-term, full US fleet automation is not projected before 2045, meaning large-scale parking relief is at minimum two decades away

A new strategy is needed, and this leads to a new study proposal. To achieve real parking reductions, AVs must be shared, pooled, metro-wide, and paired with high-capacity public transit. Remove any one condition and the reduction shrinks to near zero

Why the Conditions Are Hard to Meet

Research from the University of Oregon identified four requirements for AVs to meaningfully cut urban parking demand. Vehicles must be shared, not privately owned. Riders must pool trips. Deployment must cover entire metro areas. And AVs must work alongside, not instead of, public transit. Current deployments meet none of those conditions at scale. Most autonomous vehicles sold today are privately owned and park exactly where their human-driven predecessors did.

The global smart parking market is projected to grow from $5.5 billion in 2023 to $8.3 billion by 2033, in part driven by AV integration. The cities best placed to benefit are those building shared mobility infrastructure now. Most are not.