Op-Ed: USA Mega Drought — Food prices at serious risk, long-term water strategy questionable at best


By Paul Wallis
May 8, 2026


The scientists warned that 'long-lasting severe droughts like these are no longer rare events' — © AFP

Water resources worldwide are under severe pressure from demand, obsolescence, inefficiencies, and virtually comatose governance. In the US, it is, of course, worse. Politics inevitably gets in the way of actual management.

This drought is a historical monster. It’s been going on for many years. The drought map tells an unambiguous story of serious shortages. Now, just at the time grocery prices are developing a real sting, the drought will make it significantly worse.

Everyone’s on the same page to the extent that farmers can see the bullet coming. Early heat hasn’t helped.

For consumers, it’s likely to get pretty irritating as well as expensive. Water use rules are about to tighten up nationwide.

Even mainstream US media has condescended to mention the problems. Things must be pretty bad if they’re talking about something other than the Washington puppet show.

The story looks familiar. The Colorado River, which feeds the Hoover Dam, has been on life support for years with occasional mentions. The crisis is now just more bad news to go with the other bad news. The 26-year-long mega drought has effectively compromised the whole system, which is now simply trying to survive. Water overuse by seven US states and Mexico is cited as a major contributing factor. The national situation isn’t much better.

There’s much more to this horrendous, avoidable mess than just the current reality.

The future is already looking badly mismanaged before a word is said.

The Water Apocalypse is simultaneously dovetailing into the emerging plague of data centres and their huge water demands and related issues. It’s unclear how much water automation will drain from water supplies, but it’s not looking good.

What the world needs now is a rhetorical question.

Who’s going to win, the food deserts or Big Tech?

An already badly unbalanced and overloaded water supply is about to get robbed, it seems. Is anyone going to argue with the Technobratocracy? Unlikely.

The US has done itself no favors with its astonishingly blasé response to water issues over the last nearly three decades. US farmers and consumers have been on the wrong end of the gun for that long, and nothing has changed. The farmers are now in a very bad way, and consumers are likely to take the full force of inevitable price rises.

One overall general option for food suppliers is obvious but likely to be expensive. At least it’s something they can do to help themselves. Upgrading to “sky farms” and improved horticultural methods, with hands-on measures like water micro misters for watering commercial and domestic plants, and improved water systems efficiencies will help.

Recycling stormwater requires a lot of infrastructure, but will underpin macro water resources overall. Grey water recycling is also highly effective.

Getting rid of ancient leaky water mains wouldn’t hurt, either. A lot of water loss is typically in the water supply systems themselves.

Washington’s ability to manage a game of marbles isn’t even under serious discussion anymore.

This is a critical current and long-term big capital problem that could trash the wider economy progressively over the next few decades. Fixing the failing system and managing extreme demand on future water resources can’t wait till the next diaper change.

Droughts don’t take prisoners.

__________________________________________________

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.

Conflict inflames tensions at Venice Biennale of Art


ByAFP
May 9, 2026


World conflict looms large over the Venice Biennale this year. 

- Copyright AFP MARCO BERTORELLO

Juliette RABAT

World conflict is looming large over the Venice Biennale this year with the simultaneous presence of Russia, Ukraine, Israel and the Palestinians, with one participant described the mix as akin to “inviting a serial killer to a dinner” among friends.

In the gardens where the world’s largest contemporary art event opens to the public Saturday, the Russian pavilion stands just a few paces from a deer sculpture that was rescued from the Ukrainian front lines.

Russia’s return to the Biennale — from which it had been absent since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine — has sparked an international outcry since being announced in early March.

“Having them here in the Biennale is like inviting a serial killer to a dinner with your friends,” Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berejna said Thursday at Venice.

Those who argue that war should not make a difference when it comes to art and that all should be welcome at the prestigious festival are “absolutely wrong,” Berejna told AFP, adding that 346 Ukrainian artists have been killed by Russia since the war began.

“When Russia comes to our country, they destroy our libraries, they burn our books, they destroy our museums,” she said.

“Culture is targeted during this war.”

Besides Russia and Ukraine, other countries involved in conflicts are represented in Venice, including the United States and Israel, which attacked Iran in late February. Tehran, originally scheduled to participate, ultimately decided not to attend.

This year, Israel has a pavilion at the Arsenale, a former shipyard that serves as additional exhibition space at the Biennale, not far from Ukraine’s.

The Palestinians, whose state is not recognised by Italy, do not have their own pavilion but are represented by an exhibition dedicated to Gaza at the Palazzo Mora, titled “Gaza – No Words – See the Exhibit”.

“There’s really no way to describe the horror that was inflicted upon the Palestinians in Gaza, and I don’t think we would want to be in the same place as the people who did that,” said the exhibition’s curator, Faisal Saleh, founder of the Palestine Museum in the US state of Connecticut.

Police officers stationed near the Russian, Israeli and US pavilions serve as a reminder that the global geopolitical situation makes coexistence between countries at war — including within the realm of art — potentially explosive.

On Friday, a fresh pro-Palestinian demonstration brought together about 2,000 people in Venice, according to the Italian news agency Ansa, to protest against Israel’s presence at the Biennale.

– Artists as spokespeople? –

Russia’s pavilion became the epicentre of protests against Moscow’s presence on Wednesday, as members of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot and the Ukrainian feminist collective Femen staged their first joint action, appearing with hooded faces and breasts bared.

“If the Biennale were to start selecting not works but affiliations, not visions but passports, it would cease to be what it has always been: the place where the world comes together, and all the more so when the world is torn apart,” argued Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco Wednesday.

Israeli artist Belu-Simion Fainaru told AFP that the divisions at the Biennale were “destroying the meaning of art… to unite people”.

“I don’t think we should reduce the art world to a political arena,” added the sculptor, whose installation, “The Rose of Nothingness”, is a water basin fed by a drip irrigation system.

That position was also voiced by Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini who visited the Biennale Friday: “I don’t think American, Chinese, Israeli, or Russian artists are spokespeople for ongoing conflicts.”

At Palazzo Mora, about a hundred pieces of embroidery, hand-woven by Palestinian women in refugee camps, reproduce images “more vivid than photographs” of what has gone on in Gaza over the past two years, explained Saleh.

As if to calm the controversy, three evenings dedicated to reflection and “the theme of peace” were scheduled during the pre-opening week, featuring Russian director Alexander Sokurov and Palestinian writer and architect Suad Amiry.

European minnows bid to challenge social media giants


ByAFP
May 8, 2026


A new crop of European social media apps want to find room in a crowded market dominated by established American and Asian apps - Copyright AFP/File Saeed KHAN

A flurry of new schemes to launch Europe-based social networks faces a steep, rocky road to seduce users away from American and Asian giants in the sector.

Founders nevertheless see opportunity in the disillusionment and distrust of major platforms that have spiked alongside transatlantic tensions under Donald Trump’s second presidency.

“We think the timing is perfect, in a context where relations between Europe and the US are still deteriorating,” said Gregoire Vigroux, co-founder of Croatia-based network eYou.

“It’s time for Europe to equip itself with its own social networks,” he added.

Opening to users on Tuesday, eYou is one of a number of efforts on the old continent, including W — a would-be competitor to X announced in January — or Eurosky, a platform for accessing independent social networks launched last month.

Bulle (French for “bubble”) also launched in January promising a “healthy social network” while Monnett — a hybrid of TikTok and Instagram — is set for full release in July.

“The rejection targeting the (American) platforms is still stronger today” than in the past, said Romain Badouard, a researcher at France’s Inria computing institute specialising in social networks.

He suggested that a “conservative turn in Silicon Valley” had proved unpopular with European users seeing the likes of X owner Elon Musk or Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) chief Mark Zuckerberg cosying up to Trump.

– ‘Enormous graveyard’ –

At W, “the idea is to bring back what was once Twitter in the good old days,” said founder Anna Zeiter ahead of the Saturday launch.

Some interest is apparent among investors and users in the new crop of networks.

In a second fundraising round, eYou garnered 300,000 euros ($353,000) in late 2025, while Monnett claims more than 65,000 users on the beta version of its app.

But such figures would be rounding errors to the giants of the sector, who count in hundreds of millions of users and billions in revenue.

The dominance of incumbent players has left little space for challenge beyond niche offerings like Mastodon or BeReal.

“The world of social networks is an enormous graveyard,” eYou’s Vigroux acknowledged, adding that “99 percent of European social networks launched in the last 10 years have fallen flat.”

Badouard pointed to the so-called “network effect” that powered the snowballing of major platforms’ user numbers as a factor now shielding them from competition.

For users on Instagram and TikTok, “all the people they know and the accounts they follow” are on the existing networks.

But the “technological maturity” of the latest wave of challengers could still count in their favour, he said.

“They’re answering to a lot of the expectations users have,” Badouard said.

– Out of the algorithm? –

There is a familiar litany of criticisms levelled at the big players, including sorting users into “filter bubbles”, unevenly-enforced moderation and addictive design.

European would-be competitors see those as openings to vaunt their own virtues.

W promises to keep all but verified human users from posting, while eYou says it will “promote users sharing content considered trustworthy”.

“It’s really important for us that it’s not an algorithm that determine what’s on your screen, but yourself,” said Christos Floros of Monnett, which is aiming to hit a million users this year.

Such commitments could steepen the path to profitability for the new arrivals, in a market where financial success is still largely determined by raking in advertising sales.

Zeiter said W would have “no crazy hyper-targeted advertising”.

“Right now we are all trying out different business models and different approaches,” she said.

“Maybe in one or two years we see what’s most successful and then we can team up.”

Two new cyberthreats demonstrate how hackers are evolving


By Dr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
May 9, 2026


Image: — © THOMAS SAMSON/AFP // Getty Images

Today, major cybersecurity threats are dominated by AI-driven attacks, ransomware, and supply chain vulnerabilities, with malicious actors focusing on stealing data, disrupting operations, and exploiting trust.

Key risks include phishing, industrial ransomware, and AI-powered data manipulation.
Top Cybersecurity Threats in 2026

AI-Powered Attacks & Deepfakes: Attackers are increasingly using AI to create convincing phishing campaigns and manipulate content.

Ransomware & Multi-layered Extortion: Ransomware remains highly disruptive, with extortionists not just locking data but threatening to publish it.

Targeting Critical Infrastructure & OT: Attacks aimed at Operational Technology (OT) and critical infrastructure, such as energy grids, can cause massive shutdowns.

Supply Chain & Third-Party Attacks: Attacks on vendors or software supply chains allow hackers to compromise many companies at once.

Insider Threats: Employees or contractors, knowingly or unknowingly, bypass security protocols.

Cloud Infrastructure Attacks: Targeting virtual machines and cloud storage, such as hypervisors.

Two key examples of these threats, reported during May 2026, are presented below.
Instructure Hit Again as ShinyHunters Defaces Campus Canvas Portals

ShinyHunters are back, this time defacing Canvas login portals across hundreds of colleges and universities after finding a new vulnerability in Instructure’s platform. ShinyHunters is a notorious cybercriminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches, extortion, and selling stolen data for financial gain.

With the attack, the ShinyHunters extortion group breached Instructure’s Canvas learning platform, potentially exposing names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and private messages of millions of students and teachers nationwide. The incident marks Instructure’s second breach in eight months and comes during finals week, heightening disruption and concern across schools.

Addressing the threat, John Bruggman, CISO at CBTS, explains to Digital Journal just why this hacker group are so troublesome.

Bruggman begins by balancing ‘convenience’ with ‘lowered defences’ for the education sector, noting how: “Everybody loves SaaS convenience, updates and maintenance are handled by the vendor, but when there is an incident, like an account compromise, also known as the identity layer, things can go sideways, quick.”

From this problems develop: “Then one platform issue turns into hundreds of schools trying to figure out what data left the environment, what accounts were exposed, and whether attackers still have access. The defacement gets attention, but the exfiltration is the bigger concern. If attackers access student records, messages, enrolment data, or authentication-related information, schools now have to think beyond the initial breach and focus on the downstream risk that follows. Part of that risk is FERPA compliance, notifying the Department of Education, and notifying students. That part takes time and resources.”

Expanding on these points, Bruggman observes: “There’s a bigger industry problem at play here. Threat groups like ShinyHunters continue to succeed because organizations still struggle with third party risk, managing password resets, identity governance, authentication token security, and, in some cases, understanding how connected cloud platforms actually work together.”

Returning to the recent event, Bruggman recommends: “The IR team working this incident will likely focus on how access was obtained, how long it existed, and whether monitoring and controls kept pace with the complexity of the environment. Patching your stuff still matters more than ever, but governance and operational visibility matter just as much.”

The Play ransomware group have exploited a Windows Common Log File System flaw in zero-day attacks to gain SYSTEM privileges and deploy malware on compromised systems. The targets include organizations across various sectors, including IT, real estate, finance, software, and retail.
Windows system under cyberattack

Considering this matter for Digital Journal is Aditya Sood, VP of Security Engineering and AI Strategy at the firm Aryaka.

Looking into the event, Sood describes: “The Play ransomware gang has exploited a Windows system flaw in zero-day attacks that allowed them to gain SYSTEM privileges and deploy malware on compromised systems. The targets include U.S. information technology and real estate organizations, the Venezuelan financial sector, a Spanish software organization, and the Saudi Arabian retail sector.”

Looking at the hackers in greater detail, Sood distills: “Given that this group is known for double extortion attacks, where its members pressure victims into paying ransoms to avoid having their stolen data leaked online, impacted organizations must be especially watchful. This incident underscores how operational downtime from ransomware can have far-reaching consequences, not just for the affected organization but also for the communities that rely on its services.”

Focusing on the innate weaknesses, Sood pulls out: “Zero-day vulnerabilities are a significant concern because they exploit unknown flaws in software.”

Recommending what businesses need to consider, leads Sood to highlight: “Organizations need to develop proactive and reactive security strategies to combat attacks. To minimize the impact of ransomware, it is important that organizations implement swift containment strategies including network segmentation, virtual local area network (VLAN) quarantining, and zero-trust network access (ZTNA). These measures are critical in restricting the lateral movement of ransomware, limiting its spread, and minimizing downtime. The persistent nature of these attacks further reinforces the need for robust network defences, proactive security protocols, and well-maintained isolated backups to protect against increasingly sophisticated ransomware campaigns.”

Iran Nobel winner released on bail for medical treatment: supporters


By AFP
May 10, 2026


Mohammadi has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison for her activism - Copyright NARGES MOHAMMADI FOUNDATION/AFP/File -

Stuart Williams

Iranian authorities on Sunday released Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi on bail following growing alarm over her health and she has already been transferred to Tehran for medical treatment, her supporters said.

After 10 days of hospitalisation in Zanjan in northern Iran where she had been serving her sentence, Mohammadi “has been granted a sentence suspension on heavy bail”, her foundation said in a statement, without detailing the amount.

It added she had been transferred by ambulance to a hospital in Tehran “to be treated by her own medical team”.

Her supporters had last week warned that Mohammadi, who won the 2023 prize in recognition of her decades of campaigning for human rights in Iran, was at risk of dying on prison after suffer two suspected heart attacks behind bars in Zanjan.

“Narges Mohammadi’s life hangs in the balance,” her Paris-based husband Taghi Rahmani said in a statement.

“While she is currently hospitalised following a catastrophic health failure, a temporary transfer is not enough. Narges must never be returned to the conditions that broke her health,” he added.

Her foundation said Mohammadi needed specialised care and added that “we must ensure she never returns to prison to face the 18 years remaining on her sentence”.

Her Iranian lawyer Mostafa Nili, writing on X, confirmed she has been transferred to Tehran earlier Sunday “following an order halting her sentence for medical treatment”.



– ‘Unrecognisable’ –



Mohammadi, 54, who has spent much of the past two decades in and out of prison for her activism, was arrested most recently in December after denouncing the Islamic republic at a funeral for a lawyer.

Already suffering from a heart condition, she had two suspected heart attacks, one on March 24 and another on May 1, in prison in Zanjan, according to her supporters.

After the most recent incident, she was rushed to hospital in Zanjan for treatment but remained under constant guard.

Her Paris based-lawyer Chirinne Ardakani said last week Mohammadi has lost 20 kilogrammes (44 pounds) in prison, has difficulty speaking and is currently “unrecognisable” from her state before her latest arrest.

Her condition has been affected by the war between Iran and the United States and Israel, with at least three air strikes close to her prison.

Mohammadi strongly backed the 2022-2023 protests sparked by the death in custody of Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini but was arrested before the major demonstrations that erupted in January this year.

As well as campaigning against capital punishment and the obligatory headscarf for women, she has also regularly predicted the downfall of the clerical system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Mohammadi’s twin teenage children Ali and Kiana Rahmani, who live and study in Paris, have now not seen their mother for over a decade. They received the Nobel prize on her behalf while she was in jail.

Climate risks fuel insurance costs, squeezing US households even inland


ByAFP
May 10, 2026


Tony Dunn says his homeowners' insurance has surged almost 30 percent in cost since Hurricane Helene - Copyright AFP Peter Zay

Beiyi SEOW

After Tony Dunn lost his home in a California wildfire, he moved to mountainous North Carolina to avoid more climate disasters. But his neighborhood was devastated in a hurricane six years later — and insurance costs are climbing.

He is among a growing number of US homeowners feeling the pinch from insurance as disasters linked to climate change reach them more frequently, even away from the coast.

Dunn, 69, counts himself as lucky that his new home was not damaged in Hurricane Helene as his neighborhood was wrecked.

But that has not stopped his homeowners’ insurance premiums from surging almost 30 percent to nearly $4,400 a year since Helene in 2024.

“It was a bit of a shock when we got the insurance bill last year,” Dunn told AFP.

He worries about further increases but said: “As much as it costs, you don’t want to be without insurance.”

After he and his wife lost their home in the 2018 California Camp Fire, which claimed 85 lives, insurance payouts helped them rebuild their lives.

While coastal states like Florida have tended to face the worst of price hikes, inland areas have also seen costs rise in recent years following hail storms, wind damage and other disasters.

Climate change is enhancing conditions conducive to the most powerful hurricanes and it intensified Helene, a study by the World Weather Attribution scientists network found in 2024.

In Henderson County, where Dunn lives, homeowners paid an average of $1,979 for insurance in 2024, an 86-percent surge from 2018.

Nationally, rates skyrocketed 58 percent over the same period, according to researchers Benjamin Keys and Philip Mulder, who led a study released last year.

The hit to premiums tend to be larger in areas facing growing climate risk.

Dunn worries about people who forgo insurance coverage as costs rise.

“They’re going to have nothing,” he said. “Something needs to be done.”



– ‘A shock’ –



Inland states like Iowa and Nebraska have also seen sharp cost hikes as climate risks mount.

Rates in Nebraska jumped 20 percent between 2023 and 2025, while those of hail-prone Iowa were up 54 percent, according to Insurify.

A 2025 working paper involving researchers from Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School and others found the average US household “under-insured at mortgage origination, with only 70 percent of the rebuilding costs covered by the insurance contract.”

“We are increasingly inching towards a situation where insurers would need to charge much higher prices because climate risk is going up,” said Ishita Sen, one of the researchers behind the paper.

But households’ willingness are “not catching up,” partly due to financial constraints.

Dee Dee Buckner in Marshall, North Carolina, told AFP she has considered doing away with homeowners’ insurance.

“If they go up any higher, I can’t,” said the 60-year-old.

Buckner lost her home during Helene when the French Broad River swelled and flooded downtown Marshall with over 12 feet (3.7 meters) of water.

“There’s been rain from hurricanes that’s come in here before, but nothing of this magnitude ever. It was just a shock to everyone,” she said.



– ‘Climate epiphany’ –



Since Helene, Buckner said she could only afford a “cheap little policy” for homeowners’ insurance.

But she worries it will not cover much loss if disaster struck again.

Her flood insurance — which is separate — now costs $600 more annually and is up to more than $1,700.

Most US homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage, meaning households end up buying a separate policy if they face flood risks.

Keys and Mulder said in their earlier study that reinsurance — insurers themselves buying protection against risk — has bumped up premiums as firms experienced a “climate epiphany.”

Construction cost inflation and other issues are also pushing up premiums.

But climate “is the most important structural factor,” said research economist Sarah Dickerson of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, a think tank.

The North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents firms that write insurance policies, said it was the single biggest factor driving rate increases.

There are also indirect effects as insurers drop customers in hurricane-prone areas or withdraw from states. That could lower competition and lead to price changes too.

Dickerson calls it a “misnomer” to dub areas low-risk: “Climate-related losses are impacting all parts of the state.”

AI is quietly denying more insurance claims


By Dr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
May 11, 2026


Image: — © AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare administration, but not always in ways that benefit providers. AI is re-focusing many aspects of healthcare administration, in its different forms, as follows:

Scheduling and Capacity Management: AI-powered scheduling tools help balance provider availability, patient demand, and equipment capacity, leading to shorter wait times and better resource utilization.

Revenue Cycle Management: AI improves the accuracy and efficiency of revenue cycle management, which is critical for maintaining organizational stability and financial health.

Documentation and Coding: AI automates documentation and coding processes, reducing the burden on healthcare staff and allowing them to focus more on patient care.
Patient Communication: AI enhances patient communication through automated responses and real-time messaging, improving the overall patient experience.

These advancements are part of a broader trend where AI is being integrated into healthcare administration to address the challenges of rising costs, staffing shortages, and increasing regulatory demands. By leveraging AI, healthcare organizations can create more responsive systems that improve patient care and operational efficiency.

Insurance carriers are increasingly using AI systems to process and deny claims. While these systems promise efficiency and fraud detection, they are also facing legal scrutiny over allegations that algorithm-driven decisions lack nuance and fairness.

Such bias can manifest in various ways, such as underestimating the risk of certain patients or disproportionately denying coverage to protected classes. To address these issues, healthcare insurers are beginning to implement improved governance practices, including transparency, explainability, and fairness requirements. These measures aim to ensure that AI systems do not perpetuate existing biases and promote equitable access to healthcare services.

For dental and healthcare practices, the result is delayed payments, higher administrative costs, and mounting financial pressure.

Jordon Comstock, Founder and CEO of BoomCloud, tells Digital Journal that many practice owners are only just realizing how much leverage they have lost.

“Most dentists don’t see the denial pattern at first,” Comstock explains. “They just feel the cash flow tightening. What’s happening behind the scenes is that algorithms are flagging claims at scale. When that happens, practices become reactive instead of strategic.”

The Legal and Ethical Questions

Recent lawsuits against insurers argue that AI systems can produce wrongful denials by failing to account for individual patient circumstances. Plaintiffs claim that these tools may be biased or overly rigid, prioritizing cost control over patient care.

Comstock believes the bigger issue is transparency: “If an AI system denies a claim, who is accountable? Is it the adjuster? The software vendor? The carrier? Practices are left fighting a black box,” he says. “And small practices don’t have entire legal departments to challenge those decisions.”

The Financial Impact on Practices

AI-driven denials create a ripple effect, as Comstock finds:Increased time spent on appeals
Slower reimbursements
Higher overhead due to billing staff workload
Patient frustration when treatments are delayed

For many practices operating on tight margins, this can be destabilizing.

“Dentistry is already navigating staffing shortages and rising supply costs,” Comstock says. “When insurance payments become unpredictable, it exposes how fragile the traditional PPO model really is.”
A Shift Away From Insurance Dependence

Some practices are responding by reducing reliance on insurance altogether. Comstock points to internal case data from practices using membership plan models. In one example, a dental practice launched a $45 per month membership plan and enrolled more than 1,400 patients.

The results:

Monthly recurring revenue of $63,000
Annual recurring revenue of $756,000

Predictable revenue allowed the practice to drop most PPO contracts and significantly reduce administrative burden: “The turning point for many dentists is realizing they can build their own recurring revenue system,” Comstock says. “Insurance should not be the only way patients access care.”

How Practices Can Protect Themselves Now

Comstock advises practices to take immediate steps. This runs:Strengthen documentation and compliance protocols
Understand each insurer’s denial criteria
Train staff on structured appeal processes
Evaluate direct-to-patient membership models

“Appealing claims is defensive,” he concludes. “Building recurring revenue is offensive. The practices that survive long term are the ones that stop relying entirely on third-party reimbursement.”

Middle East conflicts a danger for whales off S.Africa: study


ByAFP
May 10, 2026


A Southern right whale shown off Muizenberg Beach in False Bay, Cape Town on October 11, 2013 - Copyright AFP ANTHONY WALLACE

Clément VARANGES

Conflicts in the Middle East are increasing dangers for whales off South Africa by shifting sea traffic into their habitats and heightening the risks of collision, researchers told AFP.

The rerouting of shipping around South Africa and away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal since late 2023 has “substantially increased” the chances of ship strikes, they said in new research.

South Africa’s southwestern coast supports globally significant populations of whales as well as increasingly busy shipping corridors, according to a paper presented to an International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting this month.

This “extensive spatial overlap” amplifies the chances of collisions, said the paper, presented by University of Pretoria whale unit lead researcher Els Vermeulen.

Some global sea traffic was diverted from the Red Sea route following the November 2023 hijacking by Houthi rebels of a British-owned vehicle carrier, the Galaxy Leader, near Yemen.

Subsequent attacks and the US-Israel conflict with Iran, which has blocked transit through the Strait of Hormuz, have led shipping companies to reroute more of their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope.

Between March 1 and April 24 this year, an average of 89 commercial vessels sailed around southern Africa, compared with 44 over the same period in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund’s PortWatch monitor.



– No time to adapt –



Environmental scientists, activists and even social media posts have highlighted the dangers of maritime traffic for sea mammals, Vermeulen said.

“There have been videos of people on cargo vessels that were going through high densities of humpback whales,” she told AFP.

“Obviously, their social media post was all about, ‘Wow, look how many nice whales we see’,” she said.

“My heart stopped — you know that they’re striking a couple of whales.”

In such cases, the creatures may be unaware of the dangers because they are preoccupied, for example, by feeding, she said.

“The fastest traffic, which poses the greatest strike risk, has increased by a factor of four,” said Vermeulen.

“The animals haven’t had time to adapt to shipping,” said Chris Johnson, global lead of WWF’s Whale and Dolphin Conservation initiative.

Blue whales off Los Angeles, for example, merely sink below the surface when they hear a ship, he told AFP.

“You assume that, if you hear a loud noise, you leave. But that’s not the case with some species,” he said.

In some cases, changes in whale behaviour — possibly attributable to climate change — were putting them in harm’s way.

Superpods of humpback whales started feeding seasonally off South Africa’s increasingly busy west coast since 2011, said blue economy consultant Ken Findlay, who contributed to the report.

“That is a change that I think plays into an increased risk of ship strikes,” he told AFP.

Collisions, which are largely underreported, are a “major cause of mortality for whales,” according to a 2024 paper in the journal Science.

However, there are few protection measures in place for the species trying to recover since the 1986 International Whaling ban.



– Alternative route –



The report presented to the International Whaling Commission says that modest shifts to push traffic lanes further offshore could reduce strike exposure by 20-50 percent for certain whale species.

Such alternatives would only add about a negligible 20 nautical miles to journeys that sometimes exceed 10,000 nautical miles.

The world’s largest shipping company, Swiss-based MSC, has already rerouted ships off Greece and Sri Lanka to protect whales.

While more research is necessary, one solution could be to alert ships to the presence of whale superpods via an app or radio message, said Estelle van der Merwe, head of the Ocean Action Network NGO.

There is also research into the use of AI-enabled cameras on vessels.

“All available solutions and mitigation measures will be examined,” South Africa’s environment ministry (DFFE) said in a statement to AFP.

“Once the scientific studies and assessments have been completed, the maritime authorities will be on the front line, alongside the DFFE, to chart the way forward,” it said.

Microsoft boss to testify on his role in OpenAI’s founding


ByAFP
May 11, 2026


Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to testify at a landmark trial that has laid bare the internal strife in Silicon Valley over OpenAI and the future of artificial intelligence - Copyright AFP Peter Zay

Benjamin LEGENDRE

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to take the stand Monday in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, to explain emails that revealed how his company funded the ChatGPT creator’s shift from philanthropic organization to for-profit AI giant.

Nadella’s testimony will precede that of OpenAI boss Sam Altman, whose questioning — likely on Tuesday or Wednesday — will be one of the final stages in a closely watched trial before a federal jury in Oakland, California.

The trial has laid bare the internal strife within a circle of elite Silicon Valley engineers, investors and executives in the years leading up to the high-profile launch of the ChatGPT chatbot in 2022.

In his lawsuit, Musk accuses OpenAI of betraying its original nonprofit mission and misappropriating his founding donations totalling $38 million to build an empire valued at over $850 billion.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder is calling for OpenAI to revert to its original status as a nonprofit — a move that would impact its position in the global artificial intelligence race against Anthropic, Google and China’s Deepseek.

OpenAI counters that Musk left voluntarily after failing to seize majority control and has since become the company’s direct competitor through his own AI venture, xAI.

An “advisory” jury is expected to reach a verdict on any actual wrongdoing by the week of May 18.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will then make the final ruling on both liability and remedies after hearing the jury’s opinion. She has indicated she will likely follow their advice.

If Gonzalez Rogers ultimately sides with Musk, OpenAI’s initial public offering could be jeopardized.

– Attracting investment –

On Monday, Musk’s lawyers are expected to try to convince the jury that Microsoft, by investing in OpenAI in 2019, knew it was helping divert a nonprofit foundation from its original purpose.

He will rely on recently disclosed Microsoft emails from January 2018 to demonstrate that the tech giant only opened its checkbook once a profit appeared possible.

In the emails, Nadella consulted his executives about a discount granted to OpenAI to use the computing power of Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-computing platform.

“Overall I can’t tell what research they are doing and how if shared with us it could help us get ahead,” Nadella wrote. “From what Elon is telling everyone… he feels Open AI is at verge of some big AGI (artificial general intelligence) breakthroughs.”

Skepticism predominated at the time, with Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott fearing OpenAI might “storm off to Amazon in a huff.”

In the months that followed, cash-strapped OpenAI established a for-profit subsidiary to attract investments, rather than relying solely on donations.

In 2019, a year and a half after turning its back on the startup, Microsoft finally invested $1 billion. It would ultimately inject $13 billion in total, a stake now valued at $228 billion — 17 times the initial investment.

The trial has already heard gripping testimony.

Last week, co-founder Greg Brockman — whose stake in OpenAI is valued at $30 billion — came under fire about his 2017 diary entries including one in which he appeared keen on “making money for us.”

Musk’s lawyers seized on the entries to portray Brockman as a calculating opportunist.

Brockman also told lawyers that Musk physically threatened him in 2017 after Musk was refused absolute control of OpenAI.

Musk on Wednesday announced a major partnership with Anthropic, OpenAI’s top rival, to allow it to use the compute capacity at SpaceX’s largest data center.

Nazi-looted portrait found in home of Dutch SS leader’s family: art sleuth

By AFP
May 11, 2026


The painting is part of the world-famous Goudstikker collection - Copyright AFP Handout, Arthur BRAND

Richard CARTER

An artwork plundered by the Nazis from the world-famous Goudstikker collection has surfaced in the family of a notorious SS collaborator in the Netherlands, Dutch art detective Arthur Brand told AFP Monday.

“Portrait of a Young Girl”, by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, had likely been hanging for decades in the home of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, Brand said, describing it as “the most bizarre case of my entire career”.

The case has drawn parallels to a find that made global headlines in 2025, when an 18th-century Nazi-looted painting — also from the collection of late Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker — featured in a property ad in Argentina.

In the Dutch case, Brand said he was approached by a man who had recently uncovered two horrifying secrets: he was a descendant of Seyffardt, and his family had displayed the looted art for years.

This family member, who wished to remain anonymous, told Brand he saw the painting hanging in the hallway of the granddaughter of Seyffardt, who was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943.

Seyffardt, one of the highest-ranking Dutch collaborators with the Nazis, commanded a Waffen-SS unit of Dutch volunteers on the Eastern Front.

The New York Times splashed news of his death on its front page in 1943, and a lavish Nazi state funeral was held for him in The Hague, complete with a wreath sent by Adolf Hitler.

According to Brand, Seyffardt’s granddaughter told the family member the painting was “Jewish looted art, stolen from Goudstikker. It is unsellable. Don’t tell anyone.”

But the family member wanted the story to go public, so contacted Brand, who has made a name for himself cracking numerous high-profile cases of stolen art.

This family member told De Telegraaf daily: “I feel ashamed. The painting should be returned to the heirs of Goudstikker.”

The grandmother, quoted by the Dutch daily, said the family was discussing whether the painting should be returned to the Goudstikker heirs, and denied knowing it was looted.

“I received it from my mother. Now that you confront me like this, I understand that Goudstikker’s heirs want the painting back. I didn’t know that,” she was quoted as saying.



– ‘Truly tops everything’ –



Brand launched his own investigation. The painting has a Goudstikker label on the back and the number 92 carved into the frame.

He searched the archives of an auction in 1940 where part of the looted Goudstikker collection went under the hammer and found item number 92: “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Toon Kelder.

Hermann Goering, a top Nazi official, plundered Goudstikker’s entire collection when the art dealer fled to England in 1940.

Brand surmises that the Dutch collaborator Seyffardt acquired the painting at the 1940 auction and it was then passed down throughout the generations.

Lawyers for the Goudstikker heirs confirmed to Brand that this painting was looted and have called for its return.

The family member who contacted Brand also wants the painting returned to the Goudstikker heirs, but the police are powerless as the theft has passed the statute of limitations.

The Dutch Restitution Committee, which advises on looted Nazi art, is also hamstrung as it cannot compel private individuals to return artworks.

“The family member sees public exposure as the only way to hopefully return the painting to the Goudstikker heirs, where it rightfully belongs,” Brand told AFP.

Brand, who has been nicknamed the “Indiana Jones of the Art World” for his extraordinary finds, said this surpassed anything he had uncovered before.

“I have recovered Nazi-looted art from World War II before, including pieces in the Louvre, the Dutch Royal Collection, and numerous museums,” he said.

“But discovering a painting from the famous Goudstikker collection, in the possession of the heirs of a notorious Dutch Waffen-SS general, truly tops everything.”

Groundbreaking: ‘Controlled’ quakes triggered under Swiss Alps


ByAFP
May 11, 2026


ETH Zurich professor of geology Domenico Giardini inside the BedrettoLab - Copyright AFP Ennio LEANZA

Nina LARSON

Researchers have made the ground shake in southern Switzerland, triggering thousands of tiny earthquakes in a monitored setting, as they seek to discover seismicity insights that could reduce risks.

“It was a success!” said Domenico Giardini, one of the lead researchers on the project, as he inspected a crack in the rock wall lining a narrow tunnel far below the Swiss Alps.

Wearing a fluorescent orange jumpsuit and helmet, the geology professor at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) switched on his headlight to get a better look.

“We had seismicity,” he said excitedly, explaining that the goal was “to understand what happens at depth when the Earth moves”.

Giardini was standing in the BedrettoLab carved out in the middle of a narrow 5.2-kilometre (3.2-mile) ventilation tunnel leading to the Furka railway tunnel.

Reached by specially adapted electric vehicles that slide through the dank darkness along concrete slabs laid over a muddy dirt floor, the deep underground laboratory is the ideal location to create and study earthquakes, Giardini said.

“It is perfect, because we have a kilometre and a half of mountain on top of us… and we can look very close at the faults, how they move, when they move, and we can make them move ourselves,” he told AFP.

– ‘Earthquake machine’ –

Typically, researchers seeking to study earthquakes place sensors near known faults and wait.

In the BedrettoLab, by contrast, researchers filled a pre-selected fault with sensors and other instruments, and then sought to trigger movement.

For the experiment, dubbed Fault Activation and Earthquake Rupture (FEAR-2), dozens of scientists from across Europe spent four days in late April injecting 750 cubic metres of water into boreholes drilled into the tunnel’s rock walls, aiming to provoke a magnitude-1 earthquake.

“We don’t create a new fault… We only facilitate that it moves,” Giardini said.

During the experiment, no people were in the tunnel for safety reasons, with everything managed remotely from the ETH Zurich lab in northern Switzerland.

When AFP visited the Zurich lab a day into the experiment, scientists were excitedly discussing the first signs of seismicity on the monitors.

“This is kind of pushing the frontier of science,” said Ryan Schultz, a seismologist specialised in man-made earthquakes.

The excitement was interrupted by a sudden power cut in the tunnel that sent the scientists in Zurich scrambling for answers.

“We have our earthquake machine… Now we have to play with the parameters,” said Frederic Massin, a French seismologist and technical expert, as he studied his screen for clues to what had caused the outage.

The glitch was short-lived and pumping soon resumed.

– 8,000 earthquakes –

In the end, some 8,000 small seismic events were induced along the targeted fault, but also, surprisingly, along other faults running perpendicular to the main one, sparking local magnitudes ranging from -5 to -0.14.

“We did not reach the target magnitude that we had set, but we reached just below,” Giardini said.

That alone was a huge success, he insisted, pointing out that although there had been previous efforts to create tiny earthquakes in lab settings, it was “never at this scale and never this deep”.

“It’s simply never been tried.”

The findings, he said, would help determine the best injection angles for reaching magnitude 1 at the BedrettoLab when researchers next give it a try in June.

Magnitudes on the Richter scale are measured logarithmically, with each whole number increase representing ten times more in measured amplitude.

Magnitudes below zero are still palpable. Anyone standing near the fault during the largest triggered quakes, at -0.14, would have felt an acceleration of “1.5 G”, or 1.5 times the standard acceleration due to gravity, Giardini said.

They would have flown “in the air with a big jump”, he explained.

– ‘Safe’ –

Nothing was felt at the surface, and Giardini stressed that by lubricating an existing fault, the team was adding only “about one percent of what is the natural risk”.

The experiment, he insisted, was completely “safe”.

Giardini explained the importance of the research, stressing: “If we master how to produce quakes of a certain size, then we know how not to produce them.”

This was particularly important in connection with underground activities like excavation and extraction, he said, pointing for instance to quakes triggered by disposal of wastewater from the fracking industry in Texas.

He also highlighted South Korea’s 5.4-magnitude Pohang quake in November 2017, triggered by water injections at the country’s first experimental geothermal power plant.

“Without realising it, they started injecting and initiating induced seismicity on a large fault, (creating) a very serious quake,” Giardini pointed out.

“We’re not saying we should not go underground,” he insisted.

“We need to learn how to do it more safely.”

Canada spins off its only compound semiconductor lab


By Digital Journal Staff
May 11, 2026


Photo courtesy of the National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada

The federal government announced last week that it will spin off the National Research Council’s Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC) into a commercial entity, bringing private capital into the only end-to-end pure play compound semiconductor facility in North America.

The CPFC, based in Ottawa, has spent 20 years working with companies on the design, fabrication, and testing of compound semiconductor wafers. Its components turn up in AI data centres, defence systems, quantum technologies, and telecommunications equipment.

The spin-off is meant to scale that work faster than government structures typically allow, with the goal of creating high-quality jobs, and expanding the supply chain of Canada’s photonic manufacturing capabilities.

Photonics technology is at the heart of Canada’s plan to build up advanced manufacturing sectors and sovereign capabilities, preserve economic resilience, and bring leadership to the global compound semiconductor industry.

As AI compute demand grows, photonic devices are becoming a practical answer to the heat and power problems stacking up inside large data centres. The global AI market, valued at more than $338 billion CAD in 2025, is projected to grow up to 35% annually through 2033.

“Spinning off the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre will strengthen Canada’s leadership in photonics innovation,” says Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly.

“This will attract private-sector investment and create new opportunities for Canadian companies to expand the development of critical technologies that protect our sovereignty and drive productivity and economic growth.”

The government hasn’t disclosed a timeline or named prospective investors. Budget 2025 had already flagged that Ottawa would explore private capital options for the CPFC, so the announcement formalizes a direction that’s been in the works. The facility will stay Canadian-anchored, an explicit condition in the announcement.

Final Shots

Photonic components are already inside AI data centres, defence systems, quantum tech, and telecom infrastructure. The CPFC makes the wafers that make those possible.

Private capital is meant to get Canadian SMEs faster access to fabrication services, something the NRC model hasn’t been able to deliver at speed.

Photonics technology is a key part of Canada’s plan to build up advanced manufacturing sectors and sovereign capabilities.

NATO ‘could never be more important than today’: Canada FM


ByAFP
May 11, 2026


Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand said the NATO alliance could not be 'more important' than it is today - Copyright AFP Nicolas TUCAT

Max DELANY

The “resilient” NATO alliance can weather criticism from US President Donald Trump and remains crucial to underpinning Western security in the face of Russia, Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Monday.

“NATO as a defensive alliance committed to collective security could never be more important than it is today,” Anand told AFP in an interview in Brussels.

Canada’s top diplomat was meeting counterparts from the EU’s 27 nations in the latest demonstration of deepening ties as Trump has rocked the global order.

Ottawa has been stepping up ties with the EU and other key partners as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to increase cooperation between “middle powers”.

“The EU is an extremely important facet of Canada’s work to diversify trade, and we will continue to build supply chains, to build trading relationships so that we double non-US trade over the next 10 years,” she said.

“That ultimately has to be our goal, as we see a complete rewiring of the global trading order.”

Anand — who was also holding talks with NATO chief Mark Rutte — pushed back against the notion that Trump had fatally undermined the defence alliance.

“Not at all — NATO is a resilient alliance,” she said.

“It is reasonable for member states to have differing opinions, but the resilience of the organisation means that we come together, have difficult conversations, and emerge from those conversations committed to collective defence and security.”

Trump has shaken the 77-year-old alliance as he has castigated European allies for their response to his war with Iran.

Washington frayed nerves in Europe by saying it would pull 5,000 troops from Germany amid a dispute between Trump and Chancellor Friederich Merz.

Anand pointed at areas such as tackling Russian activities in the Arctic as important for NATO’s focus — and a region where her country has a major role to play.

NATO has stepped up on the Arctic region as part of a deal with Trump to get him to drop his designs on Denmark’s territory of Greenland.

– Collective security –

“We need to take a step back and say, what are in the best interests of 32 member states from a collective security standpoint in this moment when the global threat environment is changing so rapidly,” she said.

Anand — who was co-hosting a conference with the EU on returning Ukrainian children deported by Russia — also hailed Kyiv’s “resilience” for turning around the dire situation on the battlefield.

“Ukraine is still successful in defending its territorial integrity,” she said.

US-led efforts to broker an end to Moscow’s war have largely gone quiet as Washington has become focused on Iran.

Anand said that given Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky statements the United States still had a key role to play.

“President Zelensky himself has said that it is important for the United States to stay at the table, and that the United States is necessary in this process of negotiation,” she said.

“Canada’s position has always been, we support President Zelensky. His views about what is best for Ukraine are also our views about what is best for Ukraine.”

Beatles to open first London museum on site of last gig


By AFP
May 11, 2026


Singer Paul McCartney and Apple Corps have announced the opening next year of the first official London museum dedicated to The Beatles - Copyright AFP ALAIN JOCARD

The Beatles’ first official London museum is set to open next year in the Mayfair building where the band recorded its final album and played its last gig, Paul McCartney announced Monday.

The attraction — “The Beatles at 3 Savile Row” — will feature seven floors of never-seen-before archive material and a recreated basement studio where the Fab Four recorded their 1970 “Let It Be” album.

Visitors to the venue on the upmarket central London block — better known globally for its traditional bespoke tailors — will also get access to its rooftop where the band staged an iconic performance in 1969.

“Tourists come to England and they can go to Abbey Road, but they can’t go inside… so I thought this was a terrific idea,” McCartney told the BBC.

The 83-year-old pop legend said it stemmed from efforts by Apple Corps — the company which has overseen the band’s business interests since 1968 — to reexamine “what the Beatles mean, and what people want these days from us”.

The company previously owned the Savile Row building for eight years from 1968 and it served as the band’s headquarters for two years prior to their 1970 break-up and for business purposes afterwards.

“We’re thrilled to bring Apple Corps back to its spiritual home and give The Beatles fans something truly special,” its CEO Tom Greene said in a statement.

“Every single day, fans are taking pictures of the outside of 3 Savile Row, he added.

“But next year they can go in and explore all seven floors of the iconic building, including the rooftop where even the railings remain the same from that famous day in 1969.”

Footage of the famous January 30, 1969, concert — the last time anyone saw the Fab Four perform publicly — was recently restored and included in Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” documentary about the band.

Speaking to the BBC, McCartney said visitors will ascend the Savile Row building and see “various things” including memorabilia before they can “pretend to be a Beatle” on the roof.

It will also feature rotating exhibitions and a fan store, according to Apple Corps.

“There are so many special memories within the walls, not to mention the rooftop,” McCartney added in the official statement.

Ringo Starr, 85, the only other living Beatle, called the exhibition “like coming home”.

Apple Corps promised further details about it, and a second experience currently in development, in “due course”.

In the meantime fans can register for tickets on the band’s website.

The band’s hometown of Liverpool, in northwest England, already boasts two attractions — Liverpool Beatles Museum and The Beatles Story — but neither are officially licensed by Apple Corps.

Frustrated Trump learns he doesn’t have the cards on Iran

ByAFP
May 11, 2026


Commuters in Tehran drive past a billboard mocking US President Donald Trump over the Strait of Hormuz - Copyright AFP ATTA KENARE

Shaun TANDON

One of President Donald Trump’s favorite metaphors is that he’s got the cards — that through the might of the United States and his own acumen he can overpower any adversary.

On Iran, the former casino owner is learning that he, in fact, doesn’t have such a strong hand after all.

As he travels this week to China on a trip already delayed by his war, Trump will not project strength as a victor but instead will remain beleaguered both by Iran’s stubborn refusal to accept an agreement on his terms and dwindling approval from Americans who did not support the conflict and are now paying higher prices at the pump.

“I don’t see how the president has many, if any, good cards to play at this moment in time,” said Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trump joined Israel in attacking Iran on February 28, with strikes quickly killing the longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and much of the other top brass.

But Iran quickly hit back by exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway through which one-fifth of global oil once sailed, and it has rained missiles and drones on US-allied Gulf Arab monarchies, shattering the oil-rich countries’ hard-earned reputation for stability.

The United States would need massive force to dislodge Iran from the strait, which would cause major new havoc on global markets and new threats to Gulf Arabs, Yacoubian said.

Iran’s cleric-run state ruthlessly crushed protests in January and is now dominated by the elite Revolutionary Guards, who are even less interested in compromise with the United States.

“I think that the administration has fundamentally misjudged the character and the approach of the regime in Tehran,” Yacoubian said.

– ‘Very desperate’ –

Trump declared a ceasefire on April 8 and has indefinitely extended it, even as he was twice forced to abort trips by top US officials to negotiate in Pakistan after Iran balked at attending.

Trump last week announced “Project Freedom” in which US forces would help ships through the Strait of Hormuz, before suspending the operation two days later as Gulf Arabs worried about coming under fresh attack.

Trump then spent the weekend building anticipation for any Iranian response, only to declare Monday that Tehran’s counter-proposal was “garbage.”

“Trump’s actions over the last month show a leader who’s very desperate to end this conflict, but he continues to threaten more conflict if he doesn’t get what he wants,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

“That shows that he simply does not know how to get a better deal. He could have gotten a better deal before the war began,” he said.

Trump just last year had berated past US leaders for Middle East interventionism and has described China as the main challenger to the United States.

But he now arrives in China “with a much weaker hand,” Katulis said.

“The US military has expended a lot of its armament and weaponry in just a month and a half, and China knows it.”

– Wanting to turn the page –

Trump and his top aides last week said that the offensive part of the war, at least, was over, as the administration would otherwise need authorization from Congress.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview that aired Sunday with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” said the war was not over as there was a need to seize uranium from Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

Garret Martin, a foreign policy expert at American University, said that the only way out for Trump could be a negotiated agreement — which may wind up being less rigorous than one reached without war in 2015 by former president Barack Obama, which Trump railed against as the “worst deal ever.”

The end effect on the US image would be the opposite of January, when Trump voiced triumph after ordering a raid into Venezuela that quickly deposed and snatched Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro and installed a compliant successor.

“Nobody is questioning that the American military is mightier and stronger than the Iranians’,” Martin said.

“But that’s not enough when the adversary is fighting what they see as an existential conflict.”

THE EPSTEIN CLASS

Epstein files on display at New York pop-up exhibit, all 3.5 million pages


ByAFP
May 11, 2026


Roughly 3.5 million pages of the 'Epstein files' were bound in 3,437 volumes for the exhibition - Copyright AFP Oli SCARFF

A US transparency advocacy group has opened a temporary exhibition in New York with only one text on display: a print-out of all the files released by the US Department of Justice — roughly 3.5 million pages — relating to financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

The library, dubbed “The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” has bound all the documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in 3,437 volumes, all numbered and organized on shelves.

“The truth is hard to deny when it’s printed and bound for you to see,” reads the website for the Institute of Primary Facts, the Washington-based nonprofit behind the display.

Those interested in seeing the files at the library in Tribeca can do so by registering online.

However, due to errors by the Department of Justice in failing to redact the names of some of the victims included in the documents, the general public is not allowed to consult the files. The exhibit offers exceptions for some professionals like journalists and lawyers.

The pop-up also has a display on the longstanding relationship between President Donald Trump and Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors.

The pair were friends for decades before they reportedly fell out in 2004 over a property deal, after which Trump reportedly denounced his former ally. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing after showing up repeatedly in the so-called “Epstein Files.”

“We’re a pro-democracy organization, with the goal of educating the public using these kinds of sort of pop-up museums and other in-real-life experiences to help people understand the corruption in the United States, the dangers to democracy,” David Garrett, one of the creators behind the project, told AFP.

Garrett said he believes “there needs to be real public outcry” about how the Trump administration has handled the document release, with many accusing justice officials of covering up Trump’s ties to Epstein.

“And what we attempted to do here was to create, or help to create public outcry to have real accountability,” he added.

The exhibit is open to the public until May 21.

What if we killed all mosquitoes?


ByAFP
May 12, 2026


Our greatest nemesis? By transmitting diseases, mosquitoes kill three quarters of a million people a year

 - Copyright BRITISH ANTARCTIC SURVEY/AFP/File PETER BUCKTROUT

Daniel Lawler

The deadliest animals are not lions, spiders or snakes, but the tiny mosquitoes that suck our blood, make us itchy and infect us with disease.

Mosquitoes kill around 760,000 people every year, according to research site Our World in Data, with humans ourselves coming a distant second.

This is because mosquitoes account for 17 percent of all infectious diseases, including malaria, dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika.

And as the world warms due to human-driven climate change, mosquitoes are roaming to new areas during longer summers, raising fears they could propel future health crises.

So how can humanity fight back against our greatest foe? Is there a safe way we could eradicate these killer mosquitoes — and how bad would that be for the environment?

– #Notallmosquitoes –

First, we would not need to vanquish all mosquitoes. Out of roughly 3,500 mosquito species, only around 100 bite humans.

And just five species are responsible for roughly 95 percent of human infections, Hilary Ranson, a vector biologist at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, told AFP.

On balance, Ranson felt that losing five mosquito species “could be tolerated given the huge devastation” they inflict on the world, from mass death to crippling economic fallout.

Dan Peach, a mosquito entomologist at the University of Georgia, broadly agreed, but emphasised that more information was needed to compare eradication with the alternatives.

– What about the environment? –

The five disease-spreading mosquitoes “have evolved to be very closely associated to humans,” including feeding on and breeding near us, Ranson explained.

This means eradicating them would not have a major impact on the broader ecosystem — and other, genetically similar but less deadly mosquitoes would likely quickly “fill that ecological niche”, she added.

Peach was not convinced we know enough “about the ecology of most mosquito species to be confident one way or the other, but I also think that it is OK to acknowledge this and still proceed.”

Mosquitoes do “transfer nutrients from their aquatic larval habitats” to other areas, and serve as food for insects, fish and other animals, he said.

They also pollinate plants, but this “isn’t well understood and may vary by species”, Peach added.

Ranson acknowledged there is a valid debate over the ethics of humans committing “specicide”, while pointing out that we are currently unintentionally wiping out a huge number of species.

– How can it be done? –

One of the most prominent new technological options is called gene-drive, which involves genetically modifying animals so that they pass down a particular trait to their offspring.

When scientists tweaked females of malaria-carrying Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes to make them infertile, it wiped out a population in the lab over just a few generations.

Target Malaria, funded by the Gates Foundation, has tested this technology in several African countries.

However the effort was dealt a major blow last year when Burkina Faso’s military-led government ended testing in the country, where it had been criticised by civil society groups and targeted by disinformation campaigns.

Another strategy involves infecting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with the bacteria Wolbachia. This can crash their population — or simply reduce their ability to transmit dengue.

This raises another question: do we actually need to kill them?

– What if we made them harmless instead? –

When Wolbachia-infected sterile mosquitoes were released in the Brazilian city of Niteroi, there was an 89 percent drop in dengue cases, research showed last year.

More than 16 million people across 15 countries have now been protected by these mosquitoes, with “no negative consequences”, Scott O’Neill, founder of the World Mosquito Program, told AFP.

Meanwhile, a project called Transmission Zero is trying to use gene-drive technology to make it so that Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes no longer spread malaria.

Lab research published in Nature late last year suggested the scientists are getting closer to this goal, with the team planning to launch an in-country trial in 2030.

The Burkina Faso setback showed that these projects must have some “political support or buy-in” from the countries where they are tested, study author Dickson Wilson Lwetoijera of Tanzania’s Ifakara Health Institute told AFP.

– No ‘magic bullet’ –

Rather than just relying on a technological “magic bullet”, usually funded by the Gates Foundation, Ranson called for a more “holistic solution” for these diseases.

This would require giving people in disease-hit countries more access to treatment, diagnosis, better housing and better vaccines, she said.

However sweeping foreign aid cuts by Western countries have threatened progress against most mosquito-borne diseases over the last year, humanitarian organisations have warned.

Antarctic talks in Japan: key things to know


ByAFP
May 12, 2026


Antarctic treaty members meeting in the Japanese city of Hiroshima are set to focus discussions on climate change and tourism - Copyright AFP PAUL MILLER

Talks between Antarctic Treaty members began Tuesday in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, with a focus on the growing threats posed to the fragile region by climate change and tourism.

Here are the key things to know about the ice-covered continent and the challenges it faces:



– The Antarctic Treaty –



The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 and designates the continent as a land of science and peace while freezing territorial claims.

The 14-million-square-kilometre region — roughly twice the size of Australia — holds around 90 percent of the world’s fresh water.

There are nearly 60 signatories to the treaty and 29 of them operate scientific research from around 100 bases and facilities.

Signatories meet for discussions annually.

Some countries have a significant presence, such as the United States with seven facilities, Russia with 11, Argentina with 13 and Chile with 14, according to the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs.

But smaller countries including Belarus, Bulgaria and Ukraine also have a presence.

The balance of power in the South Pole is in increasing question at a time of geopolitical turmoil, including US President Donald Trump’s Greenland ambitions, and as melting Arctic ice opens maritime trade routes on the planet’s far north.



– Discussions and divisions –



Around 400 government officials and researchers from some 50 countries, including the US, China, Russia and Ukraine, will take part in the Hiroshima meeting, according to Jiji Press.

Key issues will be climate change and measures to deal with the growing environmental impact of rising tourism, according to Hideki Uyama of the foreign affairs ministry, who will chair the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

Almost 120,000 visitors came to Antarctica in 2024-2025, and delegates will mull potential restrictions on areas or activities, as well as possible quotas.

Uyama told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper however that reaching consensus “is a difficult process”.

“It appears divisions within the international community are being carried over into the Antarctic sphere,” he added.



– Emperor penguins –



Conservation group WWF is urging the designation of emperor penguins as a specially protected species at the Hiroshima meeting.

The animal was declared an endangered species last month by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Emperor penguins rely on stable sea ice — essentially platforms of frozen ocean water — to live, hunt and breed.

Their numbers have plummeted as warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions has caused sea ice to break up earlier in the year.

“With the shocking decline in Antarctic sea ice that we are currently witnessing, these icons on ice may well be heading down the slippery slope towards extinction by the end of this century unless we act now,” WWF’s chief advisor on polar and oceans Rod Downie said in a statement.



– Chinese ambitions –



China has been expanding its polar science capacity and is planning a sixth station in the continent following the 2024 opening of its fifth.

“China is not hiding its interest in Antarctica’s natural resources” despite their inaccessibility, said Anna Wahlin, Swedish co-chair of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

“It’s no secret: there are large maps showing natural resources, oil and gold when you visit their polar research secretariat,” she said.

The timing of China’s increased interest in Antarctica has coincided with the US’s decision to withdraw from scientific research.

For the first time in six decades, the US does not have an icebreaker in the Southern Ocean after pulling out its final research ship due to budget cuts in 2025.

The pullback extends to global gatherings, said Yan Ropert-Coudert, researcher and former director of the French Polar Institute.

“Delegations to international meetings on the subject have been whittled down to a shadow of their former selves,” he said.

New Zealand moves to halt lawsuits over climate damage

REVANCHIST CLIMATE DENIERS

ByAFP
May 12, 2026


UN chief Antonio Guterres said every key climate indicator was flashing red

 - Copyright AFP JACK GUEZ

New Zealand will change the law to prevent lawsuits that seek to hold companies liable for “climate change damage” linked to greenhouse gas emissions, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said on Tuesday.

Goldsmith cited a lawsuit launched by Indigenous Maori climate activist Michael Smith, who is seeking to hold six prominent New Zealand companies responsible for environmental harms linked to climate change.

He said such cases were “creating uncertainty in business confidence”.

New Zealand would change the law to “prevent findings of liability” for “climate change damage or harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions”, Goldsmith said.

“The courts are not the right place to resolve claims of harm from climate change, and tort law is not well-suited to respond to a problem like climate change which involves a range of complex environmental, economic and social factors,” Goldsmith said.

Tort law deals with civil cases in which people seek compensation for harmful or negligent actions.

Climate activist Smith said the government’s announcement was “an affront to democracy”.

“If parliament can cancel a live court case, then no legal claim is secure at all, once it becomes politically inconvenient,” he told national broadcaster Radio New Zealand.

Smith’s case named some of New Zealand’s biggest and best-known companies, including dairy farming giant Fonterra.

The laws are all but certain to pass parliament, given New Zealand’s ruling coalition holds a majority of seats.

– Climate targets –

New Zealand’s right-leaning government has unravelled a string of environmentally friendly policies since coming to power in 2023.

It has cancelled a clean car discount incentivising electric vehicle uptake, reversed a ban on oil and gas exploration, and begun a fast-track scheme for mining permits.

From South Korea to Germany, a growing body of litigation around the world is pushing courts to take climate change more seriously.

New Zealand is currently facing a separate legal challenge over its emissions targets.

In January 2025, the government said it aimed to reduce carbon emissions by 51 percent from 2005 levels by 2035.

The target was barely changed from a 50-percent cut targeted for 2030.

Lawyers for Climate Action and the Environmental Law Initiative took Climate Change Minister Simon Watts to court in March, arguing the government was not doing enough.

New Zealand’s goal, enshrined in law, is to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, excluding methane produced by waste and agriculture.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

French court convicts VW for ‘consumer harm’ in ‘Dieselgate’ scandal


ByAFP
May 12, 2026


Volkswagen admitted in 2015 it had sold 11 million vehicles equipped with devices designed to cheat environmental regulations by lowering cars' emissions during testing - Copyright AFP/File John MACDOUGALL

A French court has ordered Volkswagen to pay 100,000 euros ($117,000) on charges of “consumer harm” over the Dieselgate emissions fraud, an advocacy group said Tuesday, as around 950,000 clients in France await a class-action ruling on compensation.

The German automaker admitted in 2015 it had sold 11 million vehicles equipped with devices designed to cheat environmental regulations by lowering cars’ emissions during testing.

Among the dozens of lawsuits spurred by the scandal, France’s CLCV consumer protection association joined a claim filed by a car owner in Pau, southwest France, alleging “harm to the general interests of consumers”.

In a May 5 ruling seen by AFP, the court said VW “failed in its obligation of conformity” by selling nearly 950,000 vehicles equipped with the devices in France between 2007 and 2015.

“It’s an encouraging step for the class action” lawsuit to be heard next year by a court in Soissons, eastern France, said Francois Carlier, director of the CLCV.

VW also faces a separate aggravated fraud case over the scandal in Paris, with a date for the trial to be set in December.

Germany wants to put TikTok ‘in European hands’


By AFP
May 12, 2026


Germany's culture minister wants Europe to follow the US on TikTok - Copyright AFP/File Patrick T. Fallon

TikTok’s European business should be “in European hands,” following the example of the United States, Germany’s Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said Tuesday.

ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, ceded control of the platform’s US operations to a majority American-owned joint venture, in response to a threatened ban in the United States.

“I am firmly convinced that Europe should follow the American example and that the company’s ownership structure must be put up for discussion,” Weimer told reporters before meeting his EU counterparts in Brussels.

“That means we should place TikTok’s European business in European hands,” he said.

“TikTok collects data on Europe’s young people on an unimaginably large scale. This data flows to servers whose origin we do not know precisely,” he added.

Weimer said Europe did not know what happened to the data, adding that “we are talking here about the most intimate data of Europe’s youth”.

Contacted by AFP, TikTok declined to comment.

TikTok has previously sought to allay EU concerns by storing European users’ information in Europe, with limitations on who can access the data.

The EU executive did not support Weimer’s comments.

Brussels did not look “at the colour of a company, at its ownership, at its country of origin. What we’re looking at is compliance” with rules, European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters in Brussels.

The platform is the subject of EU inquiries under the bloc’s digital content rules.

The EU told TikTok in February that it needed to change its “addictive design” or risk heavy fines.

The platform is also under investigation in a separate probe opened in late 2024 on alleged foreign interference during the Romanian presidential elections.