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Glacier collapse risk forces Italy Alps evacuation

Image caption The heatwave is accelerating the melting of Planpincieux glacier. Italian authorities have evacuated about 75 people, mostly tourists, from an Alpine valley as huge blocks of ice threaten to crash down from a glacier. Planpincieux glacier, in the Mont Blanc massif, has weakened because of intense summer heat alternating with night-time cold. It lies above Val Ferret valley, near Courmayeur ski resort. A local environmental risk ... Full story

Trump campaign ad manipulates three images to put Biden in a ‘basement’

“Deep in the heart of Delaware, Joe Biden sits in the heart of his basement. Alone. Hiding. Diminished. … Biden has no answers. And after five decades of failure, he never will.”. —Voice-over of Trump campaign ad “ Delaware, ” released Aug. 5. Support our journalism. Subscribe today. You can understand the frustration of the Trump campaign in the age of the coronavirus pandemic. The president can’t hold the big rallies he loves. And his ... Full story

Facebook removes QAnon conspiracy group with 200,000 members

Image caption This symbol and slogan has become an emblem of QAnon. Facebook has deleted a large group dedicated to sharing and discussing QAnon conspiracy theories. QAnon is a wide-ranging, unfounded conspiracy theory that a "deep state" network of powerful government, business and media figures are waging a secret war against Donald Trump. A Facebook spokeswoman said the group was removed for "repeatedly posting content that violated our ... Full story

You swine! German nudist chases wild boar that stole laptop

A nudist bather who chased a wild boar near a Berlin lake after it stole his laptop was applauded by onlookers after a successful pursuit. The photographer who captured the drama said the unidentified nudist was happy for him to share the images, which show him in bare-bottomed pursuit of the boar and her two piglets while fellow bathers look on in amusement. “Nature strikes back,” wrote Adele Landauer , a personal coach, on Facebook. “I showed ... Full story

Brace yourself: America is about to act really awkward about Biden’s female VP pick

Whatever you thought of Walter Mondale, his 1984 running-mate selection of Geraldine Ferraro was a big deal. “By choosing an American woman to run for our nation’s second-highest office, you send a powerful signal to all Americans,” Ferraro said in her speech at the Democrats’ nominating convention that July. “There are no doors we cannot unlock . . . If we can do this, we can do anything.”. Support our journalism. Subscribe today. Mondale lost ... Full story

Pfizer to make Gilead's COVID-19 treatment remdesivir

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a sign outside Pfizer Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri. (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) said on Friday it signed a multi-year agreement to make Gilead Sciences Inc’s ( GILD.O ) antiviral drug remdesivir in a bid to ramp up supply of the COVID-19 treatment. Gilead is aiming to supply enough of the drug by the end of the year to treat more ... Full story

Swiss government signs agreement with Moderna for COVID-19 vaccine

FILE PHOTO: A sign marks the headquarters of Moderna Therapeutics, which is developing a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder. ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland has signed an agreement with Moderna to secure early access to the COVID-19 vaccine the U.S. biotech company is developing, the government said on Friday. Switzerland will get 4.5 million doses of the ... Full story

Covid-19 is one of Wikipedia’s biggest challenges ever. Here’s how it’s handling that.

Moore generally seeks out topics he’s interested in, such as historic buildings or public art, and either expands an existing page or creates one from scratch. Although medicine isn’t his forte, when the mainstream media began reporting on the coronavirus in China, he thought, “This was going to be much, much bigger than an isolated medical outbreak.”. He, of course, was right. As the pandemic overtook the globe, it sparked one of Wikipedia’s ... Full story

Thai police arrest two leaders of student protests

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities arrested a student leader and legal adviser on Friday over anti-government protests, a legal group said, as young protesters said they wanted to expand their movement and escalate their anti-government activities. Anon Nampa, a pro-democracy student, one of the leaders of Thailand's recent anti-government protests, is pictured after being arrested, at the police station in Bangkok, Thailand August 7, 2020. ... Full story

Italian valley evacuated as cathedral-sized glacier slips

A segment of the Planpincieux glacier is seen on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif after renewed warnings that a big portion of the glacier is at risk of collapse, in Aosta, Italy, August 5, 2020. Fondazione Montagna Sicura/Handout via REUTERS. COURMAYEUR, Italy (Reuters) - A melting glacier as large as a cathedral is at risk of breaking apart due to a heatwave, forcing the evacuation of part of an Italian alpine valley. The alarm was ... Full story