Officials in Berlin have said the German navy will stick to common trade routes. The frigate is not expected to sail through the Taiwan Strait either, another regular U.S. activity condemned by Beijing. Nevertheless, Berlin has made it clear the mission serves to stress the fact Germany does not accept China's territorial claims.

The Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command in London confirmed the arrest of the suspect on August 10 in conjunction with the German Federal Criminal Police Office.

"The man was arrested in the Berlin area on suspicion of committing offences relating to being engaged in 'Intelligence Agent activity' (under German law)," said London Scotland Yard in a statement. "Primacy for the investigation remains with German authorities. Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command continue to liaise with German counterparts as the investigation continues."

According to Reuters "Billionaire-backed mining firm to seek electric vehicle metals in Greenland", KoBold, which "uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to hunt for raw materials," is going to fork out some $15 million on exploring the Disko-Nuussuaq project located on Greenland's west coast in exchange for a 51 percent stake in said project.

The bill states that administrative decisions can no longer be challenged in court after the expiration of a 30-year period [2051?] -- essentially preventing [only?] Jews from recovering property seized by Poland's communist-era authorities.
[...]
"I will continue to oppose any attempt to rewrite history.... Poland knows what the right thing to do is -- repeal the law," [Israeli Foreign Minister Yair] Lapid said in a statement.

US State Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was "troubled" by the Polish legislation "severely restricting restitution for Holocaust survivors and owners of property confiscated during the communist era."

Around 15 percent of Italy's Olympic team were born abroad or have parents born abroad. On the athletics team, which includes categories like track and field, that figure rises to almost 40 percent.

The diversity of the team has rekindled ongoing discussions in Italy over who is granted citizenship, with Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malagò crediting the "multi-ethnic team" for Italy's success and calling for an acceleration to the citizenship applications of professional athletes.
[...]
As with most European countries, Italy awards citizenship based on jus sanguinis -- the principle that citizenship is determined by the nationality of a person's parents. Jus soli, the principle that the country of citizenship is determined by a person's country of birth, regardless of the citizenship of their parents, is applied in Canada and the United States.

Malagò has called for a "sports jus soli" to remove what he calls a "Dante's Inferno" of bureaucratic red tape and give athletes Italian citizenship "one minute after their 18th birthday."

Selon un reportage publié jeudi sur le site d'information Ynet, la nomination de German est critiquée par certaines personnes impliquées dans les relations entre Israël et la France, y compris des membres de la communauté juive française, car la nouvelle ambassadrice ne parle pas couramment le français - une compétence considérée comme importante dans un pays connu pour son dédain de l'anglais.

[...]

En réponse à ce reportage, le bureau de Lapid a déclaré dans un communiqué que la connaissance du français n'était pas un critère pour le poste.

If confirmed, it would be the first time Havana Syndrome symptoms have been reported in a NATO member state hosting US troops and NUCLEAR weapons. [...] US officials have reported similar incidents in China, Russia, and inside the US. In July 2021, dozens of US diplomats in Vienna reported having been being affected by Havana Syndrome symptoms ["persistent fatigue, migraines, nausea, and nosebleeds"] since US President Joe Biden took office.

Josephine Baker, the famed French-American singer and dancer who also fought in the French resistance during WWII, will enter the Pantheon mausoleum on 30 November.

Josephine Baker, who was born in Missouri in 1906 and buried in Monaco in 1975, will be the first Black woman to be laid to rest in the hallowed Parisian monument.

"She was an artist, the first Black international star, a muse of the cubists, a resistance fighter during WWII in the French army, active alongside Martin Luther King in the civil rights fight," the petition says.

In her home country, the US, she opposed the Ku Klux Klan and worked for the civil rights of African-Americans. In Europe, in the face of Nazism, she became a French counter-intelligence agent and was awarded the Resistance medal after the Second World War.

The unit said that of the 207 criminal social media posts identified, 123 accounts belong to individuals outside the U.K. and their details are being shared with the relevant countries. It added that it is waiting for information on the remaining 50 account holders.

Trudeau's Liberals hold a nationwide lead as large as 12 percent, according to some of the latest polling numbers. Projections suggest Trudeau's current position in the polls would be enough for him to regain the majority mandate he lost in the last election, which critics and analysts say is the Prime Minister's real objective for triggering an election.

• There are currently no official figures for those who identify their gender as different from the sex registered at birth.
  
• ONS research and consultation showed a clear need for information on gender identity, to support work on policy development and service provision and to further equality, including under the relevant equality law [Equality Act 2010].
  
• Recommended sex/gender questions for Census 2021
  
•  The questions and response options for Census 2021 have now been finalised through the Census (England and Wales Order 2020 as well as Census Regulations for England and for Wales.
  
• Publication of initial findings, March 2022, final release, March 2023
  

COVAX vaccine "loans"?
nope.

Herd immunity?
nope.

COVID-related deaths?
nope.

But I note with interest, The Guardian heaped more celebrity bling than Sputnik on The Lone Media holocaust survivor behind the Media Man.

Female presenter interviews Taliban spokesman on Afghanistan television

TOLO News briefly sent its female reporters home on Sunday owing to fears for their safety of RAPE, HONOR KILLING. But two days later many have returned to work and are out reporting on the streets. At the moment it is "business as a usual" for the outlet, which operates a slick 24-hour television channel and an online presence that has consistently beaten western outlets to obtain footage showing the collapse of the previous ray-geem.

Mohseni, a Dubai-based [!]Afghan-Australian [!] citizen, has spent two decades building up a media empire that includes everything from TOLO News to popular entertainment channels and an Afghan equivalent of Netflix PRAYER POSTS. Although his company has taken the precaution of removing SELF-CENSORED entertainment shows featuring "female singers showing lots of flesh", it is still broadcasting soap operas and Turkish [!] period dramas to millions of people.
[...]
This has FORCED the Taliban into a new approach to the media TELECOMMUNICATION. When fighters gained access to STORMED Kabul's presidential PALACE on Sunday night, they were accompanied by a film crew from the Qatari-backed television news channel Al Jazeera, who live-streamed their exploration of the deserted building. In recent days Taliban spokespeopleMEN have also been interviewed live by female presenters on BBC News and Sky News.

Biden Admitted US War in Afghanistan Isn't Really Ending - It's Becoming a Somalia-Like Drone War, funerals to weddings estimates in a range

[Gen. Donald] Bolduc noted that the standing policy was not to investigate civilian casualties until concerns were raised by journalists, other governments, or nongovernmental organizations.

The Sussexes also expressed concern for the "humanitarian disaster in Haiti" following the recent earthquake that hit the country and the COVID health crisis "exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation."
[...]
The couple shared a list of organisations doing critical work in the most affected countries including World Central Kitchen and Women for Afghan Women, and urged their readers to donate - it's not clear how much - or if - they have donated themselves, though.

Confirming that the Taliban was "helping" British forces at Kabul's airport amid their ongoing evacuation operations, Carter also praised the group for "keeping the streets of Kabul very safe and indeed very calm," and said that that what the military was "not getting are reports of them behaving in a medieval way like you might have seen in the past."

ANYHOOOO, Al Jazeera published its transcript of Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid's remarks which the peanut gallery o'er NATO BETRAYAL instantly panned.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/17/transcript-of-talibans-first-press-conference-in-kabul
MEMORABLE QUOTE: "I've worked for the Americans, also, for the contractors."

More great Brexit news - for Ireland as 🇮🇪 gov figures show exports from 🇮🇪 to 🇬🇧 soared in 6 months after Brexit by 20% to €6.7 billion in the first six months of 2021, while imports from Great Britain fell by more than €2.5 billion, or 32% - GDN

— Denis MacShane (@DenisMacShane) August 18, 2021

A Taliban patrol reportedly vowed to protect portraits of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK's embassy in Kabul from looters after diplomatic officials left the country in a haste last week before the group captured the city.

8 Aug 2020: In Executive Actions, Trump Extends Some Unemployment Benefits, Defers Payroll Taxes to 31 Aug 2020, middle-earth questions his author-i-tay, DHS/FEMA funding

In an executive order calling to minimize evictions, Trump directed various federal agencies to make funds available for temporary financial assistance to renters and homeowners facing financial hardship caused by COVID-19.

"It's not their fault that this virus came into our country," he said of renters and homeowners. "It's China's fault."

27 Dec 2020: cheeto signs Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, entitling CDC order, DCCC adjourns from 'peachment II until Jan6 "Insurrection" 117th game opener

7 May 2021: 117th Congress passes American Rescue Plan "reconciliation bill" adding $21.5 billion for Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) to agencies' relief funds, while Biden CDC twice extends vigorously litigated CDC temporary moratorium to 30 June 2021, then 31 July. SCOTUS calls BS.

29 Jul 2021: Biden to allow eviction moratorium to expire Saturday
30 July 2021: Congress fails to extend eviction moratorium, despite last-minute effort

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Whip James Clyburn released a joint statement on the failed bill and blamed Republicans [?!].

"It is extremely disappointing that House and Senate Republicans have refused to work with us on this issue," they wrote in the statement. [...] Earlier in the day,Pelosi pleaded with House Democrats in an email Friday to support the bill that would have directed the Centers for Disease Control to extend the eviction moratorium.

"Congress has the power to direct the CDC to extend the eviction moratorium to provide relief, as we encourage state and local governments to distribute the money that we allocated," she said in the email.  

The eviction moratorium expired at midnight on Saturday after the House left for recess two days earlier, unable to strike a deal on an extension.

The Supreme Court last month ruled that while the CDC's moratorium could stay intact until its expiration date, the agency exceeded its authority when it put the ban in place. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the ban could not be extended past its expiration date unless by an act of Congress.

The leading Democrats in their statement on Sunday contended that it "will not be sufficient" to extend the moratorium in the House because the Senate would not have the means to approve a bill.

Democrats say they have the votes to advance $3.5T budget measure, "American Jobs" bill

Senate Democrats say they have the votes needed to pass a $3.5 trillion [infrastructure] budget resolution ... In addition to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan deal currently being debated by the Senate, Democrats are expected to try to pass a $3.5 trillion [reconciliation] bill along party lines through a budget process that lets them bypass a GOP [Jim Crow Fusion] filibuster.

A provision in the $1.2 trillion legislative package would largely end the employee retention credit on Sept. 30, instead of the current Dec. 31 deadline.
[...]
The employee retention credit is a payroll tax credit meant to prevent businesses from laying off workers during the pandemic, when employers slashed millions of jobs last spring. The credit was initially established by the $2.2 trillion CARES Act in March 2020, and was later expanded through subsequent coronavirus relief laws. The $1.9 trillion [American Rescue Plan] President Biden signed in March extended the tax credit from June 30 to Dec. 31.

29 Jul 2021: NEW! script. Places, everyone!
Census won't release key annual survey because of pandemic's impact on data

As a result of the pandemic, ACS responses skewed toward wealthier, more educated individuals -- too many to account for with statistical adjustments, Donna Daily, chief of the bureau's ACS office, told reporters. The Census Bureau could not move ACS data gathering from the height of the pandemic lockdowns last spring, unlike the delay the agency [?!] used for the decennial census.

Texas Republican leader dies of COVID-19 five days after anti-vaccination post https://t.co/d8iRBOEpLE pic.twitter.com/Fs2ovQMxpP

— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2021

Apple promised to help quell the Bay Area's homelessness crisis with a series of big-ticket investments, but the tech giant soon may have to get more directly involved -- addressing a problem that has spread to the company's front door.

A large homeless encampment is growing on the site Apple earmarked for its North San Jose campus, two years after Apple made waves with a $2.5 billion pledge to combat the Bay Area's affordable housing and homelessness crisis.

What started as a few RVs parked on the side of Component Drive has grown over the past year into a sprawling camp of dozens of people, a maze of broken-down vehicles and a massive amount of trash scattered across the vacant, Apple-owned property. People with nowhere else to go live there in tents, RVs and wooden structures they built themselves. At least two children call the camp home.

PALO ALTO -- Several RV dwellers in Palo Alto parked on El Camino Real have received notices from the police department warning they could be towed as early as Wednesday if they do not move their vehicles.

The notices incensed local activists, who expressed their discontent to the City Council on Monday night.

Angie Evans, a member of the Palo Alto Renters Association, asked the council to order a stop to the tow warnings and show support for the dozens of people currently living in RVs and vehicles in the city.

A line of RVs and other vehicles parked along El Camino Real is hard to miss against the backdrop of Stanford University. For the past several months, people living along the busy avenue have had to play "musical parking spaces," as they call it, moving from one spot on El Camino Real to another a few blocks away when they get a tow notice

Yesterday at active shooter training, we were told that if there was a shooting at our school, we could use our masks from the pandemic to stuff the bullet wounds of the children.

— Emily * she/her (@booksfightback) August 14, 2021

According to a tweet, the company will pay for the refugees' accommodation, but the initiative was made possible by the generosity of [vacant holiday] homeowners. [...] Chesky urged those who are ready to provide their homes, or space in their homes, to contact Airbnb, and expressed his hope that this would inspire other business leaders to contribute in some form to the refugee and immigrant crisis.

In addition to her commitment to defend the South China Sea against Beijing advances, Harris unveiled an array of new [cash money] and support for Vietnam in areas including climate change, trade and the coronavirus pandemic.
[...]
After her bilateral meetings, Harris took a moment of silence in the pouring rain and laid flowers at the monument where John McCain's plane was shot down by the North Vietnamese in 1967. She noted it was the three-year anniversary of Sen. McCain's death.

More people have died of COVID in Florida in the past two weeks than U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan in 20 years.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 30, 2021

OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Burkina Faso triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango's disappointing first two jumps in the final in Tokyo left his family watching live at home in Ouagadougou stressed and fearful that he could miss out on a medal - his country's first ever at the Olympics.

Urging him on from their sofa, Zango's father, brother and sisters erupted in joy when he leapt 17.47m on his third run, propelling him briefly into second place behind Portugal's Pedro Pichardo.

Zango eventually finished third behind Pichardo and China's Zhu Yaming, who jumped a personal best of 17.57m to claim the silver medal.

"We were really very scared. After the first two tries we were really intensely stressed, we really didn't know how things were going to go," said Zango's brother Alex Cedric.

Zango won his bronze medal, the first for the West African nation since it began participating in the Olympics in 1972, on Burkina Faso's Independence Day.

"Facebook and other social media platforms continue to be tremendous tools to spread the Gospel of Christ and connect believers with one another -- especially during this pandemic," he said.
[...]
"As long as these companies initiate proper precautions and protocols to ensure the safety of religiously marginalized communities, people of faith should jump on board supporting this vital initiative," he said.
[...]
But the company says advertisers are not able to use a person's prayer posts to target ads.

Afghanistan `spinning out of control' amid Taliban offensive: UN
"'They literally sold us out, there was no government resistance,' one female resident of Kandahar told Al Jazeera, fighting back tears late on Thursday evening."

US Prepares Agreement to Move Thousands of Afghans in Qatar, Report Says
"In addition, Canada announced that it is preparing to launch a "special immigration program to welcome over 20,000 vulnerable Afghan refugees, in total."

Zebulon Simantov, Afghanistan's last Jew, has not left Kabul, despite the best efforts of some Jewish figures and organizations.

One of them was Moshe Margaraten, a haredi Orthodox fixer whose passion is bringing Jews out of danger.

Margareten paid Moti Kahana, an Israeli-American businessman who helped extract people from war-torn Syria, to be a middleman and get Simantov out -- but Kahana told Margareten what many others had heard: Simantov was not leaving because of his longstanding refusal to grant his Israeli wife a "get," or decree of divorce. Simantov feared facing Israel's legal system, which penalizes such a refusal.

The unit that coordinates government activities in the occupied territories, in its response to Haaretz, chose to ignore the question of what the connection is between confiscating the solar panels and the destruction of antiquities. There is none. The result: the family of the farmer Salim Abu Tayeb - mother, father, grandmother and two small children, were condemned to live without electricity.

Poison hemlock, which resembles Queen Anne's Lace, can be spotted in highway right-of-ways, along fences and on the edges of farm fields. In just the last year, however, the plant that was originally brought to the U.S. FROM EUROPE ["a garden plant, desired for its delicate white flowers"] has MIGRATED near more populated areas, which has experts concerned.

Hemlock poisoning can be fatal with no antidote. All plant parts contain toxic alkaloids that can interfere with nerve [CNS!] transmissions to your muscles, ultimately causing respiratory failure [ARDS!].

Poison hemlock is part of the parsley and carrot family. Its leaves are easy to confuse with parsley. Its seeds look similar to those of anise and its roots resemble parsnip roots.

This mistaken identity is the main way people are exposed or accidentally poisoned. But there are ways to distinguish poison hemlock that are unique only to it. Like most invasive species, poison hemlock has been around for a long time, but in small enough populations that no one really noticed. ... With the right wet and cool conditions and a built-up seed bank, the population can proliferate and explode -- past the point where it can be eliminated.

If you spot poison hemlock in a public park or along a road side, Shaver recommends reaching out to the agency in charge of that property to let them know about the plant.

The agency said in a Tuesday report that for the past five years, the average hypoxic zone, or area with little to no oxygen where marine life easily dies, has been 5,380 square miles.

In 2021, this area is about 6,334 square miles, about 2.8 times larger than the 2035 target set by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, better known as the Hypoxia Task Force.

The area is also larger than the 4,880 square miles NOAA had predicted in June based on Mississippi River discharge and nutrient runoff data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
[...]
"By understanding the scale and effects of these hypoxia events, we can better inform the best strategies to reduce its size and minimize impacts to our coastal resources and economy!" she added.

Wildfires burning across southern Europe in the last month -- whether sparked naturally by lightning, or by arsonists -- have been fanned by drought and extreme heat.

This is why at least 55% more area has burned across Europe by August 5 than the average over the previous 12 years. This fact is compounded by outdated forest management, and sometimes even the over-protection of natural forests.

"An expansion of fire-prone areas and longer fire seasons are projected in most European regions," stated the EEA.

Carbon emissions are not decreasing fast enough to limit this heating, despite climate agreements such as the European Green Deal and Paris Climate Accord.

"They put out plans, they define goals, but they don't really act," said Mojib Latif, a climate scientist at the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research. "Since 1990, global carbon emissions increased 60%," he told DW, adding that emissions will rise again in 2021 following the pandemic-related slowdown the previous year.

Anti-vaccine protesters tried to storm the BBC's offices. But they had the wrong address. https://t.co/oL62qnSSsa

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 10, 2021

Obviously, they didn't get the 5G chip with Bill Gates map automatically uploaded via Windows Update.

Van Ranst pousse une gueulante contre 4 clubs de D1A: "Cela me semble étrange" #VanRanst #ProLeague #Covid [link]"cela_me_semble_étrange"__ pic.twitter.com/Wo5AxqR0I6

— FootNews.be (@footnewsbe) August 11, 2021

Covid skeptic's Twitter account suspended for claim vaccine caused footballers' heart attack

Earlier stage of pandemic ...

Belgium's superstar virologist battles the extreme right

'Sapere aude'

This guy is so droll. That's why History 210, The Early Middle Ages, 284-1000 with Paul Freedman is in my playlist: PERSIANS! I'm out like a light < 20 min. I idly wonder if he survived The Pandemic or was preserved in the Peabody Museum at the close of the Obama ERA.

Who first conceived of art, or symbolic expression -- Neanderthals or humans -- remains a matter of debate because "art was supposed to be a hallmark of so-called modern humans, and Neandertals were assumed to have been incapable of doing any," said João Zilhão, research professor at the University of Barcelona.
[...]
The red pigments researchers studied, located in a stalagmitic dome in the cave's lower ["]gallery["], were analyzed and found to have been intentionally applied through splattering and blowing rather than by natural processes.

It also supports the idea that cave structures like stalagmites played a fundamental role in the symbolic systems of some Neanderthal communities, something that can be interpreted as part of a longstanding tradition.

The Novavax two-dose shot is made with lab-grown copies of the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. That's ["]very different["] than other widely used [mRNA] vaccines that deliver genetic instructions for the body to make its own spike protein.
[...]
In June [2021], Novavax announced the vaccine had proved about 90% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 in a study Phase III clinical trial of nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and Mexico [and UK]. It also worked against variants circulating in those countries at the time. Side effects were mostly mild.
[...]
The Gaithersburg [Montgomery County], Maryland, company said it was on track to produce up to 100 million doses a month by the end of the third quarter and 150 million doses a month by year's end.

In a peer-reviewed study in the European Journal of Archaeology, researchers analyzed DNA of the remains found in an iron grave at Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in Hattula, Finland.

There is an enduring fascination with women buried with weapons, but the topic continues to be debated (e.g. Androshchuk, 2018; Price et al., 2019). A specific Finnish find, an early medieval inhumation grave dated to (ad 1050-1300)1 found at Suontaka Vesitorninmäki in the municipality of Hattula (formerly Tyrväntö) (Figure 1), has often been interpreted as a woman buried with two swords. The interpretation is based on dress accessories and jewellery, which suggest that the individual was dressed in feminine clothes. For decades, the grave has been a popular example of powerful women in Late Iron Age and early medieval societies (Lehtosalo-Hilander, 1983: 304, 402-03; Ojanen, 2002: 47; Huurre, 2009: 213).

More recent DNA testing confirmed the grave only held one person who had Klinefelter syndrome. Genetically, females have two X chromosomes while males have one X and one Y. Klinefelter syndrome results when a male is born with an extra copy of the X chromosome. The syndrome sometimes results in males developing ENLARGED BREASTS, infertility and other symptoms.

"Habituality" has entered the room.

In a perspective piece published Thursday in the journal Science, experts Ryuki Hyodo and Tomohiro Usui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency say space missions happening this decade may give researchers their clearest picture yet on the status of past or present life on the Red Planet.

Researchers are particularly interested in the planned Mars Sample Return mission put together by NASA and the European Space Agency that is primed to explore the planet's Jezero Crater, a site believed to be the relic of a great ancient lake. Experts say rovers will collect samples from the crater that, once studied, could help scientists better understand how habituality on the Red Planet has changed so drastically over [billions of] years.
[...]
Researchers believe that the moons may house what they have dubbed SHIGAI (Sterilized and Harshly Irradiated Genes, and Ancient Imprints) which roughly translates to "dead remains" in Japanese.

Sadiki became overcome with emotion when he grabbed hold of part of the wreckage of the Sao Jose-Paquete de Africa wreck, which sank off Cape Town while transporting over 500 enslaved Africans from Mozambique to Brazil in 1794.

It's thought that 212 of the captives, along with the crew, drowned in the incident.

"It was like I could hear the voices," says Sadiki, who was part of the dive team who located the wreck in 2015. "The screaming, the suffering, the terror, the pain and agony of all those individuals being shackled arm and leg, and then perishing in a wrecking event.

APsplainin

An inscription of the tomb suggested that its owner, a freed slave named Marcus Venerius Secundio, helped organize performances in Greek in Pompeii. Experts said it was The First confirmation that Greek, the language of culture in the Mediterranean, was used alongside Latin.
[...]
In an interview with The Associated Press, Zuchtriegel said Marcus Venerius clearly had been able to make a living for himself after he was freed as a slave emancipated in Italy, given the "monumental" size of his burial tomb. "He didn't become super rich, but certainly he reached a considerable level of wealth," Zuchtriegel said.

Anne Frank's diary last entry was written 77 years ago today, on Tuesday, August 1, 1944. pic.twitter.com/zvq5p0Z883

— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) August 1, 2021

On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,500 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years, after having been confiscated by the Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus.[1] The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse, but as of April 2021, the exact cause of the detonation is still under investigation.

The blast was also felt across Turkey, Syria, Israel, Palestine, parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 mi) away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3, and is considered one of the most powerful artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.

#OtD 14 Aug 1944 29-year-old Italian resistance partisan Irma Bandiera was murdered by the Nazis. She refused to give the names of her comrades, despite being blinded and tortured for seven days. Today a street commemorates her in her native Bologna. pic.twitter.com/4WOLpubDbH

— Working Class History (@wrkclasshistory) August 14, 2021

Irma Bandiera

"First among the Bolognese women to hold arms for the fight in the name of freedom, she always fought with a lion's courage. Captured in combat by the German SS, subjected to fierce torture, she did not say a word that could compromise her comrades. After being blinded she was barbarously slaughtered and her body left on the public street. Pure heroine, worthy of the virtues of Italian women, she was the beacon of all the patriots of Bologna in the war of Liberation".

Remember the naked man in Berlin chasing a boar last year? He was after his notebook. This year you can buy this arcadian scene. Tiny models have been made for miniature railways. We are passionate manufacturers. And please don't say we Germans have no sense of humour. pic.twitter.com/ixjPp1k7zu

— Andreas Michaelis (@GermanAmbUK) August 1, 2021

This is absolutely true. pic.twitter.com/uQFKjgGnMB

— God (@TheTweetOfGod) August 2, 2021

Walker has also been open about his diagnosis with dissociative identity disorder -- once known as multiple personality disorder -- addressing the topic in his 2008 book Breaking Free. from reparations for descendants of US slaves

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) fired back at conservative podcaster and writer Matt Walsh on Wednesday over comments he made about her appearance that she described as "horrible MISOGYNY" compared to delicious misogyny.