Super El Niño Drives an August Weather Shift as Fall and Winter Signals Strengthen – Severe Weather Europe

  1. Super El Niño Drives an August Weather Shift as Fall and Winter Signals Strengthen  Severe Weather Europe
  2. Record-breaking El Niño could gut California’s crab and salmon fleets  latimes.com
  3. The 2026 El Niño Is on Track to Be the Strongest on Record  WIRED
  4. How will Super El Nino affect us?  Powell Tribune
  5. Record-smashing El Niño points to spring of drought and fires  abc.net.au
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Was Florentine friars’ fatigue-fighting elixir a precursor to Coca-Cola?

Document believed to be from 19th century details recipe using Bolivian coca leaves, kola nuts and wine

An Italian friar has unearthed a document from the pharmacy archives of an ancient convent in Florence describing a medicinal potion made from Bolivian coca leaves and kola nuts, prompting suggestions it could have been a precursor to the famous US soft drink, Coca-Cola.

Father Manuel Russo, rector of the San Marco convent, said he stumbled across the yellowed document, a sort-of promotional flyer, while sorting out the archives.

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Death toll in Japan earthquake rises to 30 as aftershock and heat hamper rescue efforts

Soldiers and emergency teams search damaged shopping centre, paper mill and homes for survivors

The death toll from the powerful earthquake that hit Japan on Tuesday has risen to 30, as the search for survivors trapped in a badly damaged shopping centre, paper mill and collapsed homes across the south-west of the country continues.

The 6.8-magnitude quake, which struck Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu, injured at least 62 people, according to the prefectural government.

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Archibald prize 2026: portrait of Jewish leader after Bondi terror attack wins people’s choice award

Artist Michael Zavros says he was inspired by a deep respect for Alex Ryvchin’s leadership, as well as an uncanny likeness between the two men

An artist’s portrayal of a Jewish leader produced just weeks after the Bondi massacre has won the Archibald people’s choice category.

Michael Zavros won the $5,000 prize for his portrait of Alex Ryvchin, the co-head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who Zavros called an “unmistakably and unashamedly Jewish” leader.

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Inside Bibi’s pivotal White House meeting with Trump – Axios

  1. Inside Bibi's pivotal White House meeting with Trump  Axios
  2. 'It's his decision': Netanyahu says choice on how to proceed with Iran is Trump's  abcnews.com
  3. Netanyahu plays it safe in a Washington that’s cooled on Israel  Politico
  4. Trump and Netanyahu explored all Iran options including attack, Israeli official says  Reuters
  5. Netanyahu Finds Diminished Welcome From Trump as Iran War Drags On  WSJ
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Polling stations open for Greater Manchester mayoral election – BBC

  1. Polling stations open for Greater Manchester mayoral election  BBC
  2. Manchester mayor by-election: Labour and Reform UK candidates face off in second round of vote  BBC
  3. Greater Manchester mayoral election results 2026 in full  Manchester Evening News
  4. Voters in Manchester choose a mayor to replace Andy Burnham, who left city hall for Downing Street  AP News
  5. Wait goes on for result in Greater Manchester mayoral by-election – as it happened  The Guardian
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China lodges protest after NZ foreign minister’s ‘go back’ slur in parliament – South China Morning Post

  1. China lodges protest after NZ foreign minister’s ‘go back’ slur in parliament  South China Morning Post
  2. China protests over New Zealand foreign minister's jibe at Chinese-born lawmaker  Reuters
  3. China Protests NZ Foreign Minister’s Comments on China-Born MP  Bloomberg
  4. China complains to New Zealand over ‘go back to your own country’ jibe  Euronews.com
  5. Luxon criticises Winston Peters for 'inappropriate attention-seeking comments' towards Green MP  RNZ
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French student fined over Singapore straw licking prank – DW.com

  1. French student fined over Singapore straw licking prank  DW.com
  2. French student pleads guilty and is fined for a straw-licking stunt in Singapore  AP News
  3. Singapore fines French teen for iJooz vending machine straw-licking stunt  BBC
  4. Teen Fined Over Gross Social Media Straw-Licking Stunt in Singapore  The Daily Beast
  5. Teen fined after pleading guilty in Singapore ‘straw licking’ case  CTV News
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NSW to send paramedics not police to some mental health emergencies after multiple deaths

Mental health experts to triage triple zero calls, but not all of the changes will be implemented 24/7 or statewide

New South Wales will send specialist nurses rather than police to some mental health emergencies after the state announced long-fought-for reform in the wake of multiple deaths at the hands of police.

Rose Jackson and Yasmin Catley, the mental health and police ministers, announced on Thursday a statewide change to how triple zero calls are triaged, with a new team of mental health experts assessing mental health calls 24/7 in a bid to provide better support.

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A quarter of young Africans believe USAID cuts could be positive, survey finds

Losing funds should force leaders to confront their own challenges, they said, while many voiced concerns over increasing foreign influence

A quarter of young Africans believe aid cuts by the US could have a positive impact, saying that losing foreign money will force leaders to confront and solve their own challenges, according to a new survey.

In Ghana and Nigeria, almost half (41% and 40% respectively) of young people aged 18 to 24 were optimistic, with Liberia not far behind (37%). A further one in 10 (11%) young people were uncertain about the impact, according to the African Youth Survey, which interviewed almost 5,000 people across 16 of the continent’s 54 recognised countries.

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Death of 15 elephants in Kenyan national park sparks outrage, investigation – The Washington Post

  1. Death of 15 elephants in Kenyan national park sparks outrage, investigation  The Washington Post
  2. Amboseli elephant deaths: Kenya Wildlife Service suspects cyanide in tomato pesticide to be the cause  BBC
  3. Fifteen elephant deaths at Kenya park may be due to cyanide poisoning  The Guardian
  4. What Lindsey Graham Taught Us About Political Weakness: Wolff  The Daily Beast
  5. 15 Elephants Die of Suspected Cyanide Poisoning After Eating Contaminated Tomatoes  people.com
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Anthony Fauci’s diaries take aim at News Corp journalist Sharri Markson’s ‘nonsense’ Covid-19 investigation

US former top health official, who was subpoenaed to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19, says Markson’s reporting about virus’s origin ‘does not make any sense’

Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s chief medical adviser at the start of the pandemic, has described a book by News Corp investigative journalist Sharri Markson backing the “lab leak” theory of Covid-19’s origins as a “bunch of nonsense” in his newly released diaries.

This week, Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed by the Republican senator Rand Paul to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19 and his handling of the pandemic.

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How Vladimir Putin’s refinery dream became Ukraine’s target – Financial Times

  1. How Vladimir Putin’s refinery dream became Ukraine’s target  Financial Times
  2. Russia's Ryazan refinery has halted oil processing after drone attack, sources say  Reuters
  3. True Scale of Putin’s Humiliating Crisis Is Exposed  The Daily Beast
  4. Ukraine says it hits 2 major Russian oil refineries hours after Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump  AP News
  5. Ukraine Says It Attacked Lukoil’s Volgograd Oil Refinery  Bloomberg.com
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