China expands scrutiny of religious beliefs in Chengdu

China expands religious scrutiny to Chengdu hospitals, schools; employees, students asked to disclose beliefs China has expanded scrutiny of religious affiliation into public workplaces and schools in Chengdu. Employees at a public hospital were ordered to disclose their religious beliefs and education authorities collected information on the religious backgrounds of students and their families, according…

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In 1993, Chile adopted an Indigenous Law that enabled land restitution; by 2023 more than 510,000 acres had been returned to Mapuche communities, but native forest cover had barely changed

In 1993, Chile adopted an Indigenous Law that enabled land restitution In 1993, Chile passed a major Indigenous Law that created a formal process for returning ancestral land to Indigenous communities. Over the following 30 years, more than 510,000 acres were returned to the Mapuche, Chile’s largest Indigenous group. However, a long-term study found that…

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In 1988, an English farmer stopped cultivating his entire 377-acre wheat farm; 35 years later, it became one of central England’s biggest refuges for scrub, woodland and rare wildlife

Bedfordshire farm was saved through public donations after a successful £1.5m crowdfunding campaign An English farmer who stopped intensive wheat farming in 1988 has unintentionally helped create one of central England’s largest young woodland nature reserves, reports the Guardian. Strawberry Hill, a 377-acre site near Knotting in Bedfordshire, has now been permanently protected after the…

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Petition for public inquiry into Jason Arday’s media harassment gathers 31,000 signatures

Cambridge professor Jason Arday’s death sparks 31,000-signature petition over press harassment More than 31,000 people, including several MPs, have signed a petition calling for a public inquiry into alleged media harassment of the late Cambridge academic Jason Arday, campaign organisers said Sunday.The petition was launched by activist group Good Law Project, which had supported Arday…

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At 15, Lynne Cox broke the English Channel record for men and women; at 30, after an 11-year wait for permission, she swam through 38°F water from Alaska to the Soviet Union

Lynne Cox: The Swim That Lifted the Iron Curtain Fifteen years after setting a world record in the English Channel, 30-year-old American endurance swimmer Lynne Cox entered the 38°F (3.3°C) waters of the Bering Strait and completed a historic 2.7-mile swim from the United States to the Soviet Union. On 7 August 1987, Cox swam…

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In 1953, Emma Gatewood tried hiking the Appalachian Trail, got lost and was rescued; two years later, at 67, she walked all 2,190 miles alone and made history

In 1953, Emma Gatewood tried hiking the Appalachian Trail, got lost and was rescued When park rangers found 65-year-old Emma Gatewood lost and confused in Maine in 1953 after she broke her glasses on the Appalachian Trail, they advised her to give up and return home. Two years later, at age 67, Gatewood returned to…

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San Diego’s Leanne Fan, 18, built a device to simulate microgravity and tested red light on injured flatworms; tissue regeneration sped up by 95.2%, helping her win $80,000

Fan built her own $200 device instead of using NASA’s $50,000 clinostat. (Society for science photo) Leanne Fan, an 18-year-old student from San Diego, has been named a finalist in the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search for her research into wound healing in space. Her project looks at whether red light therapy can help wounds…

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