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@pscentral event 26: minimalism @lgbtqcreators bingo: colour

SEVERANCE + OPENING SHOTS

#severance

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Severance (2022-present) Defiant Jazz (S01E07)

#missed this squad #severance

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#interview with the vampire

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happy lesbian visibility week <3

#hannibal

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Head gardener Jason Haslip and woodsman Mike Hanslip, maintain the maze and medieval gardens at Bolton Castle Photo: Lee McLean/SWNS

#photography

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DonnaJean Wilde (Canada) was a teacher for many years at Magrath Elementary and Magrath High School. She also served as Vice Principal at the High School before recently retiring. 12 years ago she fell and broke her wrist and was not able to run or weight train with a cast. She found that she could plank and started to practice, and, after a few weeks, her plank time rapidly increased. Therefore, planking has been part of her regular fitness plan. She planks for 2-3 hours everyday as regular daily exercise.

On the day of her attempt, her family members, including daughters and sons and their spouses, and 12 grandchildren aged from 1 to 12, came together to encourage her. DonnaJean’s husband, Randy, was the main organizer and supporter of this attempt, keeping the supporters engaged and spirits high.

#👀👀 #DonnaJean Wilde #Youtube

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Get ready to witness an incredibly rare and spectacular sight. A plant so extraordinary it’s been nicknamed the Sapphire Tower is blooming for the first time in a decade at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

This “otherworldly” beauty from the Chilean Andes is a must-see, but you’ll have to hurry – these breathtaking blooms won’t last long.

What is the Sapphire Tower?

The Sapphire Tower, or Puya alpestris, is a fascinating and visually striking plant native to the Andean regions of Chile.

Part of the bromeliad family, which includes more familiar plants like pineapples and Spanish moss, Puya alpestris is particularly notable for its unique and vibrant characteristics.

Appearance and growth

The Sapphire Tower is characterized by its rosettes of silver-green leaves that are long, narrow, and edged with sharp spines.

The plant can grow quite large, typically reaching heights of up to a meter or more. It’s known for its dramatic flowering stalks, which can extend several meters high, far above the foliage.

The flowers themselves are what give the Sapphire Tower its name. They bloom in a striking metallic blue to turquoise color, and they are densely packed on the towering spikes.

These blooms are not only rare but also ephemeral, typically appearing only after many years of growth. The plant’s blooming cycle is particularly slow, often taking up to a decade to produce flowers.

Pollination and ecological role

In its native habitat in Chile, the Puya alpestris is adapted to being pollinated by birds, particularly hummingbirds.

The shape of the flowers and their arrangement on the tall spike are perfectly suited to facilitate bird pollination.

The coloration of the flowers is also believed to be an adaptation to attract these specific pollinators.

Sapphire Tower cultivation and care

Outside of its native range, cultivating Puya alpestris can be challenging. It requires well-draining soil, as it is adapted to the rocky soils of mountainous regions.

The plant prefers full sun and tolerates drought well. This is due to its ability to store water in its thick leaves, similar to other bromeliads.

In regions outside of Chile, the Puya alpestris is often grown in botanical gardens. It is also grown as an ornamental plant by enthusiasts who appreciate its dramatic appearance and rare blooming.

Pollinating the Sapphire Tower

In their natural habitat, Sapphire Towers rely on hummingbirds for pollination. But in a botanical garden, dedicated horticulturists like Alberto Trinco step in to give nature a helping hand.

“Each flower only lasts a few days, giving us a limited window of time to give nature a helping hand,” explains Trinco. “It is very slow-growing, so to witness its spectacular blooms is both exciting and rare.”

Their job is to carefully transfer pollen from one flower to another – a delicate process with a brief window for success.

Why pollination is important to Sapphire Tower plants

Pollination plays a vital role in the life cycle of plants such as the Sapphire Tower. This process is essential because it leads to the production of seeds, which are crucial for the propagation and survival of the species.

By transferring pollen from the male structures of one flower to the female structures of another, pollination initiates the development of seeds that will eventually grow into new plants.

For the Sapphire Tower, which blooms infrequently and only under specific conditions, successful pollination is particularly significant.

The seeds produced through this process ensure the continuation of the species, allowing it to thrive in its natural habitats.

These seeds carry the genetic blueprint of the plants, enhancing genetic diversity. This diversity is crucial for adapting to changing environmental conditions and resisting diseases and pests.

By preserving the species through natural reproductive processes like pollination, we ensure its survival. This allows future generations to enjoy and appreciate the extraordinary beauty of the Sapphire Tower.

The plant’s unique characteristics and striking appearance make it a valuable specimen for botanical gardens and plant enthusiasts.

Thus, effective pollination not only supports the ecological balance in the plant’s native environment but also enhances human appreciation and understanding of biodiversity.

Don’t miss this “exquisite” Sapphire Tower bloom

If you’re lucky enough to be near the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, you have a chance to witness this breathtaking sight for yourself. But don’t wait too long! You might only have between 10 days to two weeks to experience it.

The Sapphire Tower serves as an incredible reminder of our planet’s amazing biodiversity. Slow-growing marvels and fleeting, vibrant blooms fill the natural world with delicate and awe-inspiring wonders.

Interesting facts on Sapphire Towers

Here are some other fascinating facts about the Sapphire Tower to amaze your friends and family:

Distant relatives

Bromeliads are the same plant family as pineapples. It’s hard to imagine the spiky, alien-like Sapphire Tower is related to our favorite tropical fruit, but it is.

This family, known for their rosette shape and central “tank” formed by their tightly overlapping leaf bases, showcases a wide variety of forms and adaptations, highlighting the diversity of the bromeliad family.

High altitude home

Sapphire Towers thrive in the harsh, mountainous regions of Chile. These plants perfectly adapt to the rocky, nutrient-poor soils and the drastic temperature shifts between day and night in high altitudes. Their resilience in these tough environments showcases their hardy nature and survival strategies.

Living fossils

Some Puya species, including the Sapphire Tower, are incredibly old and have changed little for millions of years. These plants are living relics of ancient times, providing a glimpse into past ecosystems and the evolutionary history of flora.

Adaptation mastery

The Sapphire Tower’s ability to store water in its thick, waxy leaves enables it to survive the dry periods common in its native habitat. This water storage capability, along with their ability to absorb water directly from fog and mist, demonstrates their incredible adaptability to their environment.

Conservation significance

The unique characteristics and the rarity of the Sapphire Tower make it an important species for conservation efforts. Preserving such species helps maintain biodiversity and the health of ecosystems, which in turn supports overall environmental resilience and stability.

#nature #plants #sapphire tower

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Ever misplaced your keys or forgotten where you parked? Imagine if you had the remarkable memory of a mountain chickadee. Despite their small size, with brains just larger than a pea, these nimble birds masterfully remember the locations of tens of thousands of food caches. 

Mountain chickadees hide seeds in tree bark, under dead leaves, and within pine cones throughout mountainous terrains. Their ability to recall these locations during the harsh winter months is crucial for their survival amid the cold and snow.

Remarkable memory of mountain chickadees 

A research study led by the University of Colorado, Boulder and the University of Nevada, Reno has identified nearly a hundred genes that are linked to the birds’ spatial memory, which is their ability to pinpoint and recall the locations of these hidden caches. 

Furthermore, the experts suggest that there might be a trade-off between having robust long-term memory and the ability to quickly forget old memories to make room for new ones. This discovery has the potential to deepen our understanding of how spatial memory evolves not just in animals, but also in humans.

“Chickadees are impressive birds,” said senior author Scott Taylor, the director of CU Boulder’s Mountain Research Station and an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. 

“They can remember tens of thousands of locations where they cached food across an entire winter and a new set of those the next winter. Their spatial memory is much more developed than many other birds that don’t have to have this strategy to survive cold winters.”

Focus of the research 

To assess how these birds manage such a feat, Taylor’s colleagues at the University of Nevada, Reno, led by biologist professor Vladimir Pravosudov, put together a creative test. They set up multiple feeder arrays in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, each consisting of eight bird feeders filled with seeds. 

Each feeder was equipped with a gate that had a radio frequency reader capable of detecting a tag placed on the chickadees. The setup required the mountain chickadees to remember which feeders they could access as each gate was programmed to open only for certain birds.

Spatial learning among mountain chickadees 

Pravosudov’s team observed and recorded the number of times each bird visited the incorrect feeders before finding the right one. The underlying theory was that mountain chickadees with superior spatial memory capabilities would show a lower rate of errors.

Additionally, using blood samples, the scientists sequenced the genomes of 162 tagged chickadees, creating the largest dataset ever for exploring the genetic basis of cognitive abilities in chickadees.��

Genetics of spatial memory in birds

By correlating the birds’ genetic information with their performance in the feeder test, the team identified 97 genes associated with the chickadees’ spatial learning and memory. Birds with specific genetic variants at these genes demonstrated fewer incorrect attempts before successfully locating their designated feeders.

According to co-author Sara Padula, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a large proportion of these variants are linked to neuron formation in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays a fundamental role in learning and memory. “Understanding the genetic basis of this trait will allow us to understand how the trait evolves,” said Taylor.

Moreover, he pointed out that the common ancestor of all North American chickadees cached food. However, among the seven species of chickadees found today, two do not. 

“They live in a milder environment where food is generally available year-round. Now that we know the gene regions that underlie spatial memory, we can look at what variation looks like in these species that have lost caching,” said Taylor.

“This study substantially advanced our understanding of the genetics of spatial memory in birds and behavioral genetics more broadly,” added co-author Georgy Semenov, a research associate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Good long-term memory may have a disadvantage

The research also highlighted a potential downside to having an excellent memory. After a few days of the initial task, Pravosudov’s team reassigned new feeders to the birds. Surprisingly, mountain chickadees that excelled in the initial tests struggled with adapting to the new feeders. They found it challenging to discard old memories and form new ones.

“In a more variable environment, what our collaborators found suggests that chickadees with good long-term memory may have a disadvantage. For example, if there is an unexpected snowstorm, these birds may keep trying to visit caches that have been buried in the snow, rather than forgetting them and looking for other caches,” Padula said.

As climate conditions continue to change, birds that can adapt quickly by forming new memories might have a better chance of survival. “Because of climate change, we might expect these selective pressures that have been shaping chickadee’s special memory for thousands of years to shift significantly,” Taylor concluded.

The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

#<3 #mountain chicadee #birds #nature

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A teenage runner with Down's syndrome has made history as the youngest person in his learning disability category to complete a marathon.

Lloyd Martin, 19, whose family is from Cardiff, completed the London Marathon with his mum as his guide.

Guinness World Records created the challenge for Lloyd and awarded him a certificate at the finish.

"In Lloyd's words, it's achieving his dream," said his mum Ceri Hooper, 54.

"Really anything is possible if you put your mind to it," she said. "With a bit of work, you can achieve it."

Lloyd is the youngest person to complete a marathon in the intellectual impairment category (II2).

"It was absolutely amazing," Ceri said. "He ran continuously for 14 miles [22.5km] which is the longest he's ever run before.

"There was a bit of walking after that, but he was great."

"He got the crowd going, cheering for him," she added. "It was tough, but we had a ball."

She said Lloyd's achievement was important for people with Down's syndrome.

"We did not say a lot when we crossed the finish line," she said. "We just both burst into tears."

Ceri is the perfect coach for Lloyd, having represented Wales since she was a teenager in cross country and track races.

She has run the London Marathon four times and also completed the Boston and Chicago races.

Getting Lloyd marathon ready in just five months was a challenge.

He had more than 30 Parkruns under his belt, but until Christmas the weekly 5km (3 mile) timed run was the furthest distance he had ever completed.

Ceri had to create a bespoke training plan including a weekly long run to get Lloyd used to the rigours of being on his feet for several hours.

The Special Olympics GB helped Lloyd secure a place in the marathon, and he is also a gymnast and footballer with the organisation.

He is the third Welsh Special Olympics athlete to run the London Marathon.

#Lloyd Martin

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When NASA released images of Pluto in 2015 taken by the New Horizons spacecraft, many were captivated by the dwarf planet’s heart-shaped feature, now called Tombaugh Regio. And now the mystery of how this “heart,” which is nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across, came to be may be solved. A recent study in Nature Astronomy reveals how the western half of the heart, known as Sputnik Planitia, is the result of a massive impact. Based on simulations, the team suggests a planetary body roughly the size of Arizona from north to south collided with Pluto at a slow speed, creating the tear-shaped area.

“The formation of Sputnik Planitia provides a critical window into the earliest periods of Pluto’s history,” said study co-author Adeene Denton, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, in a press release. “By expanding our investigation to include more unusual formation scenarios, we’ve learned some totally new possibilities for Pluto’s evolution, which could apply to other Kuiper Belt objects as well.”

Deciphering the past 

Sputnik Planitia consists of glacial plains of nitrogen ice. It is lower in elevation than the rest of the dwarf planet by 2.5 miles (4 km).

The team used computer simulations to model the impact on Pluto. The simulations confirmed that instead of a head-on collision, the impact hit at an oblique angle to create the shape we see today. And, rather than sinking into the world as might be expected, the impactor’s remains stayed littered on the surface. “Pluto’s core is so cold that the rocks remained very hard and did not melt despite the heat of the impact, and thanks to the angle of impact and the low velocity, the core of the impactor did not sink into Pluto’s core but remained intact as a splat on it,” said Harry Ballantyne, an astrophysicist at the University of Bern and the study’s lead author.

Furthermore, the simulations suggested that Pluto may not have the substantial subsurface ocean that has been proposed for the tiny world. This ocean has been suggested in part to explain why Tombaugh Regio is near the equator, rather than the pole, as would be expected after time. That’s because a depression with less mass than the surrounding area, such as the heart, should have moved toward the body’s pole. An ocean just beneath the surface, however, would bulge up under the thinner ice of Tombaugh Regio, lending it heft and keeping it near the equator.

Instead, the team found that much of the impactor’s mass could have sunk into Pluto’s core, giving the area enough mass to stay put without the need for a subsurface ocean, or at least a substantial one. “This novel and inventive origin for Pluto’s heart-shaped feature may lead to a better understanding of Pluto’s origin,” said Denton.

#space #pluto #astronomy

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The production of cocoa can be beneficial for everyone in Sierra Leone. The cocoa plants provide shade and enrich the soil. They can also provide a regular income for locals and be exported sustainably and profitably to the rest of the world. For a related story, go to: https://www.dw.com/en/good-chocolate-equals-homes-for-monkeys/a-38283918

#sierra leone #cacao #cocoa #Youtube

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Avocado is the in-vogue food in the United States, where its presence in large supermarkets has tripled in the last 20 years. Avocado exports from Mexico bring in more than $3 billion to the sector, but the cost is being paid by the ecosystems of the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, with widespread logging and fires to clear the way for plantations, the theft of water from rivers and streams and violence against environmental leaders. A report presented Tuesday by the NGO Climate Rights International (CRI) quantifies the damage caused to these two regions by the export of green gold, which is often sold under the label of “sustainable.”

Jalisco and Michoacán, where most of the avocado fields in the country are concentrated, are responsible for the entirety of Mexico’s avocado exports to the United States. The CRI report states that the area deforested for these plantations stands at between 16,000 and 28,000 hectares. This figure was obtained from environmental geographers, satellite images and Mexican government estimates.

The deforestation of these areas was carried out contrary to Mexican law, which prohibits “land use change,” according to the report. “Where there is a fire, it is for avocado. They are all arson,” stated one of the 200 residents interviewed for the study. Despite carrying penalties of between six months and nine years in prison, in practice the setting of forest fires has no criminal consequences. Michoacán’s Secretary of the Environment, Alejandro Méndez, stated for the report that these activities put the state’s “biodiversity at risk.” The director of Michoacán’s Forestry Commission, Alejandro Ochoa, was more blunt about the offenders: “They mock us for our uselessness.”

Inaction in Mexico is replicated in the United States, according to CRI. The incorporation of Jalisco as an avocado exporter in 2022 by Joe Biden’s administration “aggravated the problem.” There were even internal government reports warning that the approval of the Mexican state as a producer “would likely increase deforestation” in the area.

The other major environmental impact is the uncontrolled use of water. The avocado trees — one of the most liquid-consuming fruit trees — are being irrigated with water diverted from rivers and streams in the area. The recipients are illegal wells, which a former Michoacán water official estimates to represent over 50% of those in Michoacán. A community leader in Mexico’s avocado-growing region defines the theft of the resource succinctly: “They export our water in the form of fruit.”

Violence surrounding the avocado sector is the other major issue denounced by CRI. Michoacán and Jalisco are two areas where criminal groups have great influence and are linked to plantation businesses. The cartels engage in extortion to obtain land and deforest areas with fires or logging to establish plantations, the report states.

Most worryingly, the NGO has registered 30 threats, kidnappings, and armed attacks against climate activists and native communities in the area. In February of this year, the Indigenous leader and defender of the Purépecha forests of Michoacán, Alfredo Cisneros, was shot and killed after reporting illegal logging.

The “sustainable” brand

Mexico is the world’s largest avocado producer and exporter, and most of it is imported by the United States. For the Super Bowl, the quintessential American football event, Mexican growers provide up to 100,000 tons of the fruit. The marketing agency Avocados From Mexico bills their avocados as “the most sustainable on the market.”

The study singles out several large U.S. companies for being a “key part” of the supply chain for these avocados, which contribute to environmental problems: primarily, large exporters such as Aztecavo or Calavo, which supply large supermarket chains such as Walmart or Costco. The investigation reveals that these companies are receiving avocados from up to 75 orchards planted on deforested soil.

CRI’s study is based on more than 200 personal interviews in 18 municipalities in the states of Michoacán and Jalisco, analysis of satellite maps of more than 50,000 orchards, and analysis of U.S. and Mexican government records. One of the most ambitious of its kind to date, the report reflects the magnitude of the environmental damage caused by agriculture in Mexico to meet the demands of the U.S. market.

#mexico #avocado

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Aside from water, concrete is the most-used material in the world, with about 14 billion cubic metres being used every year. Of that, 40% of that is used to build places for people to live.

If you were to pour that amount of concrete to make a paving slab ten centimetres thick, it would cover all of England and about half of Wales. In the US, the same amount would cover the state of New York.

But concrete production releases carbon dioxide (CO₂), one of the greenhouse gases that drives climate change. About 90% of emissions associated with concrete come from the production of Portland cement – this fine grey powder, the part that binds concrete ingredients together, was named after its resemblence to stone from the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Portland cement accounts for 7%-8% of the world’s direct CO₂ emissions.

Production of a more sustainable and cost-effective low-carbon cement, often nicknamed “green” cement, is scaling up. A new plant next to an existing cement plant in Redding, California, will produce about 15,000 tonnes of low-carbon cement every year. This could be used to make about 50,000 cubic metres of concrete, which is less than 0.0004% of the world’s concrete production.

At Redding, materials technology company Fortera turns CO₂ captured during conventional cement production into ready-to-use green cement, a form of calcium carbonate. This could reduce carbon emissions of cement by 70% on a tonne-for-tonne basis, according to Fortera.

A concrete issue

People have been using concrete for more than 2,000 years, by blending gravel, sand, cement, water and, sometimes, synthetic chemicals. It’s used to create everything from paths and bridges to buildings and pipes.

Currently, the EU uses more than two tonnes of concrete per person per year – 325kg of that is cement. That’s equivalent to the amount of food the average European person eats in five months.

Cement production is an energy-intensive process and the greenhouse gas emissions are hard to cut. When limestone is heated in a kiln, often fuelled by coal, nearly half that limestone is lost as CO₂ emissions.

This happens because limestone (calcium carbonate) breaks down in heat to form clinker, a mix of calcium oxide and CO₂. For every tonne of ordinary Portland cement made, 0.6-0.9 tonnes of CO₂ are released into the atmosphere.

So many industries rely on this material. The main challenge facing the cement industry is reducing CO₂ emissions at the same time as meeting global demand.

So as well as developing new technologies, low-carbon cement production must be established on a global scale to meet infrastructural needs required of economically developing nations.

Low-carbon alternatives

Other ways to reduce the carbon footprint of concrete include using fly ash (a by-product from burning coal in power plants) or slag (a by-product from steel production) to partially replace Portland cement.

However, sources of these materials will reduce as other industries decarbonise. Over time, less iron ore will be used to produce steel as more steel is produced from recycling existing steel, so there’ll be less available slag.

Current strategies for decarbonising cement and concrete rely heavily on using carbon capture and storage technology to capture unavoidable process emissions from cement plants.

So low-carbon cement production doesn’t have to involve replacing every cement production plant in operation. Low-carbon cement facilities can be retrofitted to capture CO₂ emissions released from manufacturing conventional cement. Plants can also use that captured CO₂ within the cement that they are producing or as a product for the food and chemical industries.

In Norway, Heidelberg Materials are building an industrial-scale carbon capture and storage plant at a cement facility that could capture and store an estimated 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year – that’s half the existing plant’s emissions.

However, this technology has a high investment cost for cement producers. Captured CO₂ can be stored underground, but this requires specific geological characteristics that aren’t guaranteed at cement production sites.

Greenhouse gas emissions in the cement sector are regulated by the EU’s emissions trading system. This was established to make polluters pay for their greenhouse gas emissions, reduce emissions and generate revenues to finance the green transition.

This legislation has not significantly reduced carbon emissions in the cement sector over the past decade, according to the International Energy Agency, mainly due to free emissions allowances being granted to cement manufacturers.

Despite sustained healthy profits in the cement industry, there hasn’t been enough investment in the widespread uptake of cleaner technologies and the sustainable use of materials. Greater financial incentives could help whereby companies have to pay for emissions associated with the production of cement.

As a design engineer, I appreciate that material choice and good design play a major role in the sustainability credentials of construction. Before low-carbon cement technology becomes more widespread, engineers, designers and builders can use construction materials more efficiently and choose products with lower embodied carbon – that’s carbon emissions released during the life cycle of building materials, from extraction through to disposal.

This approach could easily save 20% in embodied emissions associated with new building design.

Some governments could move towards only permitting the use of low-carbon cement. In Ireland, the Climate Action Plan 2024 requires that low-carbon construction methods and low-carbon cement are specified where possible for government-procured or government-supported construction projects.

Could all cement in the future be low-carbon or “green”? How “low-carbon” is defined will play a very important part in how this is translated into practice in the industry.

Retrofitting technology to large-scale existing cement production plants will prove that it’s technically possible to produce low-carbon cement efficiently at scale. With the right incentives in place by governments and the construction sector, almost all cement produced around the world could be low-carbon.

#cement #carbon emissions #environment #construction

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https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/two-expatriate-workers-killed-by-drone-attack-iraqs-khor-mor-an-advisor-iraqi-2024-04-26/

BAGHDAD, April 26 (Reuters) - Four expatriate workers were killed in a drone attack targeting the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Friday, an advisor to the Iraqi Kurdish prime minister told Reuters.

Production has also been suspended, the advisor to the Iraqi Kurdish prime minister and a senior Kurdish politician said.

The four expatriate workers killed in the attack were from Yemen, a statement from the Kurdish regional government said.

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, in a Saturday post on X, condemned the attack that resulted in "multiple deaths and injuries, and has impacted the local electricity supply network."

The drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field halted gas supplies to power plants, resulting in a reduction of approximately 2,500 MW of power generation.

The Pearl Consortium - which includes United Arab Emirates energy firm Dana Gas (DANA.AD), opens new tab, and its affiliate, Crescent Petroleum - has the rights to exploit Khor Mor and Chemchemal, two of Iraq's biggest gas fields.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

#Yemen #iraq #news tag

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine forces killed an Abu Sayyaf militant, who had been implicated in past beheadings, including of 10 Filipino marines and two kidnapped Vietnamese, in a clash in the south, police officials said Friday.

Philippine police, backed by military intelligence agents, killed Nawapi Abdulsaid in a brief gunbattle Wednesday night in the remote coastal town of Hadji Mohammad Ajul on Basilan island after weeks of surveillance, security officials said.

Abu Sayyaf is a small but violent armed Muslim group, which has been blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization for ransom kidnappings, beheadings, bombings and other bloody attacks.

It has been considerably weakened by battle setbacks, surrenders and infighting, but remains a security threat particularly in the southern Philippines, home to minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

Abdulsaid, who used the nom de guerre Khatan, was one of several Abu Sayyaf militants who aligned themselves with the Islamic State group.

A confidential police report said that Abdulsaid had been implicated in at least 15 beheadings in Basilan, including of 10 Philippine marines in Al-Barka town in 2007 and two of six kidnapped Vietnamese sailors near Sumisip town in 2016. The Vietnamese were seized from a passing cargo ship.

He was also involved in attacks against government forces in 2022 and a bombing in November that killed two pro-government militiamen and wounded two others in Basilan, the report said.

Abdulsaid was placed under surveillance in February, but police forces couldn’t immediately move to make a arrest because of the “hostile nature” of the area where he was eventually gunned down, according to the report.

On Monday, Philippine troops killed the leader of another Muslim rebel group and 11 of his men blamed for past bombings and extortion in a separate clash in a marshy hinterland in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in southern Maguindanao del Sur province, the military said.

Seven soldiers were wounded in the clash with the members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are among a few small armed groups still struggling to wage a separatist uprising in the southern Philippines.

The largest armed separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, signed a 2014 peace pact with the government that eased decades of sporadic fighting.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel commanders became parliamentarians and administrators of a five-province Muslim autonomous region in a transition arrangement after signing the peace deal. They are preparing for a regular election scheduled for next year.

#Nawapi Abdulsaid #Philippine Army #Hadji Mohammad Ajul #Basilan #Philippines #news tag

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https://www.reuters.com/world/china-host-hamas-fatah-palestinian-unity-talks-2024-04-26/

BEIJING/CAIRO, April 26 (Reuters) - China will host Palestinian unity talks between Islamist militant group Hamas and its rivals Fatah, the two groups and a Beijing-based diplomat said on Friday, a notable Chinese foray into Palestinian diplomacy amid the war in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, is the group whose fighters stormed into Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages. Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas in an onslaught that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.

Fatah is the movement of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli occupied West Bank.

The two rival Palestinian factions have failed to heal their political disputes since Hamas fighters expelled Fatah from Gaza in a short war in 2007. Washington is wary of moves to reconcile the two groups, as it supports the PA but has banned Hamas as terrorists.

A Fatah official told Reuters a delegation, led by the group's senior official Azzam Al-Ahmed, had left for China. A Hamas official said the faction's team for the talks, led by senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk, would be flying there later on Friday.

"We support strengthening the authority of the Palestinian National Authority, and support all Palestinian factions in achieving reconciliation and increasing solidarity through dialogue and consultation," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a regular briefing on Friday, without confirming the meeting.

The visit will be the first time a Hamas delegation is publicly known to have gone to China since the start of the war in Gaza. A Chinese diplomat, Wang Kejian, met Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar last month, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

The Beijing-based diplomat, who had been briefed on the matter, said the talks aimed to support efforts to reconcile the two Palestinian rival groups.

China has lately demonstrated growing diplomatic influence in the Middle East, where it enjoys strong ties with Arab nations and Iran. Last year, Beijing brokered a breakthrough peace deal between longstanding regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials in Beijing on Friday how China can play a constructive role in global crises, including the Middle East.

Chinese officials have ramped up advocacy for the Palestinians in international forums in recent months, calling for a larger-scale Israeli-Palestinian peace conference and a specific timetable to implement a two-state solution.

In February, Beijing urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give its opinion on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories, which it said was illegal.

More recently, China has been pushing for Palestine to join the United Nations, which Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi said last week would "rectify a prolonged historical injustice".

#china #hamas #fatah #Wang Wenbin #news tag

[warningsine]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-budapest-protest-demand-child-protection-reform-2024-04-26/

BUDAPEST, April 26 (Reuters) - Thousands took to the streets in downtown Budapest on Friday to demand child-protection reform, led by Peter Magyar, a former government insider who recently launched a political movement challenging the prime minister.

The couple-thousand-strong crowd waved flags and chanted, "We've had enough".

Magyar swooped into Hungary's political scene in February as the government of Prime Minister Victor Orban was already reeling from a sex abuse scandal at a children's home that led to the resignation of President Katalin Novak.

"Orban's government does not guarantee the basic chance for children's proper development. ... They stand no chance," Magyar said.

As a follow-up of the scandal, ruling party Fidesz submitted a draft bill to the legislature on Tuesday that would mandate stricter penalties for sexual abuse of children, including the inability to obtain parole.

In February Magyar accused the government of widespread corruption and running a centralized propaganda machine. Since then, Magyar has been able to mobilize dissatisfied voters in mass protests.

Orban aides have rejected his accusations, and the newly established Sovereignty Protection Office launched an investigation on suspicions over foreign funding for his campaign.

Rights activists, and U.S. and European officials have criticised the Sovereignty Protection Office and the law that established it.

This year's European and local elections may be the toughest in Orban's 14-year rule with Hungary's economy in recession, the abuse scandal striking his family-values platform at its core, and a political newcomer threatening to upend the status quo.

Even so, Orban's Fidesz remains the most popular party in Hungary.

#Budapest #Hungary #news tag