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The Week
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Thwaites Glacier, on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, covers a vast area roughly the size of Great Britain and has earned its “Doomsday” nickname because it is so big and melting so fast.
The plan to wall off the ‘Doomsday’ glacier
Massive barrier could ‘slow the rate of ice loss’ from Thwaites Glacier, whose total collapse would have devastating consequences
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February 12, 2026 at 2:45 PM
“What starts as self‑care becomes obsessive self‑surveillance,” Jan Gerber, CEO of Zurich-based mental-health clinic Paracelsus Recovery, told The Mirror. We’re starting to see “a growing number” of very stressed and anxious people “whose lives are dominated by the fear of ageing and decline”.
‘Longevity fixation syndrome’: the allure of eternal youth
Obsession with beating biological clock identified as damaging new addiction
theweek.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Fennell’s film is “far from faithful to the original book”, said Caryn James on the BBC. But if you think of it as a “reinvention not an adaptation”, it’s an “utterly absorbing” film.
Wuthering Heights: ‘wildly fun’ reinvention lacks depth
Emerald Fennell splits the critics with her sizzling spin on Emily Brontë’s gothic tale
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February 11, 2026 at 12:42 PM
“Described by many as the first free and fair election in more than a decade,” said CNN, “on the streets of Dhaka, the prevailing mood is one of anticipation”.
Why the Bangladesh election is one to watch
Opposition party has claimed the void left by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League but Islamist party could yet have a say
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February 11, 2026 at 12:27 PM
SpaceX is now focused on “building a self-growing city on the moon,” Musk said on X. That goal could be achieved in “less than 10 years,” whereas colonizing Mars would “take 20-plus years.”
Elon Musk’s pivot from Mars to the moon
SpaceX shifts focus with IPO approaching
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February 11, 2026 at 12:25 PM
The current funding bill for ICE expires Feb. 13, which means Democrats and Republicans will need to come to some sort of an agreement by Friday. But the Democrats in both chambers of Congress have put forth a series of changes they want to see within the agency. Here's what they are demanding.
How are Democrats trying to reform ICE?
Democratic leadership has put forth several demands for the agency
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February 10, 2026 at 9:44 PM
After months of federal occupation by thousands of DHS forces across the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, disruptions to daily life have become commonplace across much of Minnesota.
February 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM
After three decades of checking the global proliferation of nuclear weapons for both the US and Russia, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) has come to its inevitable end. Its demise is sparking questions about what might be next to fill the void.
What happens now that the US-Russia nuclear treaty is expiring?
Weapons experts worry that the end of the New START treaty marks the beginning of a 21st-century atomic arms race
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February 6, 2026 at 8:39 PM
U.S. elections are run by state governments, but President Donald Trump, still brooding over his loss in 2020, says he wants to “nationalize” American elections. Doing so would be a “radical power grab,” said Steve Benen at MS NOW, and Democrats are already countering his efforts.
Trump’s plan to ‘nationalize’ US elections
States oversee voting. Will Republicans take over?
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February 5, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Need to come up with the cash for a down payment on a house? If you have found yourself tempted to dip into your 401(k) savings account, that's not a bad idea. But here's what you need to know before making that decision.
The pros and cons of tapping your 401(k) for a down payment
Does it make good financial sense to raid your retirement for a home purchase?
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February 4, 2026 at 9:18 PM
California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) filed a civil rights complaint against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over the latter’s allegations of health care fraud in the Golden State.
February 3, 2026 at 7:25 PM
American presidents going back to Dwight Eisenhower have tried to dislodge the Communist regime in Cuba. None succeeded. But President Trump thinks he may have found the pathway by cutting off Havana’s access to oil. Analysts say the country has “less than three weeks of fuel left,” said Bloomberg.
Will Trump’s oil push end Cuba’s Communist regime?
Havana’s economy is teetering
theweek.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Have you heard the term Manchesterism floating around? It's not anything new, but Manchesterism has been championed by Greater Manchester's mayor in recent months to describe a growing movement in the city that could help turbocharge the country’s political and economic landscape.
How Manchesterism could change the UK
The idea involves shifting a centralized government to more local powers
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January 29, 2026 at 8:48 PM
One of the big victories of American science in the last few decades was conquering measles. But that achievement is being reversed. Here's why the U.S. is standing on the brink of losing its measles elimination status and how health experts are responding.
Is the US about to lose its measles elimination status?
Cases are skyrocketing
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January 29, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney made waves at Davos this month with a speech attacking “coercion from global superpowers, including the use of tariffs”, without mentioning Trump by name, said Bloomberg.
Does standing up to Trump help world leaders at home?
Mark Carney’s approval ratings have ‘soared to new highs’ following his Davos speech but other world leaders may not benefit in the same way
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January 29, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Many of the world’s biggest tech companies think that a “radical shift is underway”, and that it could eventually make the smartphone, as we know it, “passé”, said The New York Times.
Will AI kill the smartphone?
OpenAI and Meta want to unseat the ‘Lennon and McCartney’ of the gadget era
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January 29, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Britain’s current strategy “rests almost entirely on global markets and private intentions”, said The Guardian. This approach, “shaped by decades of liberalised trade”, means that even if there’s a war, official advice “focuses on households stockpiling essentials”.
How prepared is the UK for food shortages?
Concern about food security has led to warnings of sparsity and anarchy
theweek.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:19 PM
Ever since a surge of ICE agents descended on Minneapolis, businesses across the city are feeling the effects. These businesses have been forced to reckon with this new normal from both sides of the issue — some have criticized ICE, while others have worked directly with the agency.
Businesses are caught in the middle of ICE activities
Many companies are being forced to choose a side in the ICE debate
theweek.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Referencing France’s plummeting birth rate – now at its lowest level since 1918 – the National Assembly MEP Marion Maréchal said that, for a country “in need of children”, the SNCF’s “anti-family message” was “deplorable”.
Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far?
Under-12s ban on premium commuter train carriages in France sparks backlash across the political divide
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January 28, 2026 at 3:42 PM
The art from Sulawesi dates from at least 67,800 years ago; this finding predates the “archaeologists' previous discovery in the same region by 15,000 years or more,” said Phys.
The world’s oldest rock art paints a picture of human migration
The art is believed to be over 67,000 years old
theweek.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:13 PM
ChatGPT may be the best-known artificial intelligence chatbot on the market, but recently, AI startup Anthropic’s coding bot, Claude Code, has gained popularity. For engineers, feelings are mixed about this progress in the AI industry. Here's why.
Claude Code: the viral AI coding app making a splash in tech
Engineers and non-coders alike are helping the app go viral
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January 26, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Panama and Canada have been negotiating on a copper mine that could have profound implications for the global resources market. A final decision on the mine will be made by June, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said. Here's what we know about the plan thus far.
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mine
Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
theweek.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Thought to have originated in Japan in the late 2000s, rage rooms are gaining great popularity in the UK – although experts are divided about how effective they can be at venting pent-up anger.
Breaking news: the rise of ‘smash hit’ rage rooms
Paying to vent your anger on furniture is all the rage but experts are sceptical
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January 23, 2026 at 4:34 PM
“Once scorned by purists as the fake Rolexes of the reading world”, audiobooks are booming, said Nilanjana Roy in the Financial Times.
Do audiobooks count as reading?
Queen Camilla insists listening is legitimate but a snobbery remains that’s hard to shift
theweek.com
January 23, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Routine searches carried out by Kurdish and US forces have found weapons. And yet the SDF guards have often been “pulled away” from their duties “to deal with instability elsewhere” in the region.
Syria’s Islamic State problem
Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
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January 23, 2026 at 1:33 PM