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Associated Press
A study finds Indonesia's deforested land is often left idle. But some see potential in that
Years after being felled, vast swathes of Indonesia's old-growth forests are left sitting idle. “There’s maybe some hope that if the country can focus on these idle, non-forest lands ... it could potentially drop deforestation to zero, and still have a lot of opportunities for economic development,” said Diana Parker, a postdoctoral associate in the University of Maryland’s Department of Geographical Sciences and the lead author of the study. A vast tropical archipelago stretching across the equator, Indonesia is home to the world’s third-largest rainforest, with a variety of endangered wildlife and plants, including orangutans, elephants and giant forest flowers.
Reuters
Coral bleachings devastate Bali reefs as sea temperatures rise
Indonesian conservationist Nyoman Sugiarto has been working for 16 years to preserve coral on the reefs of Bali, but the frequency of mass coral bleachings he says is now devastating. Ninety percent of the corals Sugiarto had nurtured on the reefs near his village in Bondalem, in northern shore of Bali, lost their colour last December. When Sugiarto began coral conservation projects in 2008 he was told that coral could retain the living algae which gives it colour for 10 to 20 years.
NBC News
Disney heiress, wealthy Democratic donors say they won’t finance the party until Biden drops out
President Joe Biden is facing an uprising from some his own party’s wealthy donors, including an heiress to the Disney family fortune, who say they will no longer fund the Democratic Party until Biden drops out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance.
NBC News
'Extremely dangerous,' record-breaking heat wave takes hold across much of U.S.
A heat wave that's set to break daily temperature records across western and southern states through the weekend has been called "extremely dangerous."
CBS News
How a unique Topeka program is welcoming immigrants and helping them thrive
A nonprofit has partnered with the Topeka community to ensure immigrants have more than just a roof over their heads.
CNN
Patrick Bertoletti wins Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest; Miki Sudo sets new women’s record
There might have been a ghost at the feast, but that didn’t stop the winner of Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest – Patrick Bertoletti – from celebrating Thursday.
AFP
Why are Chinese electric cars in EU crosshairs?
The European Union will impose additional provisional duties of up to 38 percent on Chinese electric cars from Friday after concluding manufacturers in China benefited from unfair state support.The EU will now impose provisional duties between 20 and 38 percent on top of the current 10 percent tariff on Chinese electric cars.
CNN
Biden tells Democratic governors he needs more sleep and plans to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m.
President Joe Biden told Democratic governors during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday that part of his plan going forward is to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he could get more sleep, according to three sources briefed on his comments.
AFP
No holiday for Biden as debate crisis cleanup continues
While Americans were celebrating the July 4 holiday with fireworks and feasts, President Joe Biden on Thursday continued to face explosive fallout from his debate against Donald Trump that has left many Democrats hungry for a replacement.Meanwhile, Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts became the third sitting Democratic lawmaker to call for the president to be replaced on the ticket.
Reuters
Samsung flags better-than-expected profit rise as AI boom lifts chip prices
SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics estimated on Friday a more than 15-fold rise in its second-quarter operating profit, as rebounding semiconductor prices driven by the artificial intelligence boom lifted earnings from a low base a year ago. The world's largest memory chip, smartphone and TV maker estimated its operating profit rose to 10.4 trillion won ($7.54 billion) in the quarter ended June 30, from 670 billion won a year earlier. The profit beat a 8.8 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate, and the quarter was its most profitable since the third quarter of 2022.
NBC News
Some Democrats say Biden's debate performance wasn't an anomaly
Some Democrats say his debate perfomance was not an anomaly and have doubts about his capacity to hold office and run for re-election.
CNN
Russia sentences US citizen to 12 years in penal colony for drug trafficking
A US citizen who was detained in Moscow on drug-related charges in January has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in a maximum-security penal colony, according to a court statement released Thursday.
TODAY
Patrick Bertoletti, Miki Sudo win Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
There's officially a new Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest winner in town!
CNN
Can Keir Starmer give Britain the change it desperately wants?
In little over four years, Starmer has pulled off a once-impossible coup and dragged his Labour Party from the margins of British politics to what is set to be a thumping victory in Thursday’s general election.
CNN
Labour Party set to end 14 years of Conservative rule in UK general election landslide, exit poll projects
The center-left Labour Party will win Britain’s general election by a landslide, according to a major exit poll, ending a 14-year era of Conservative rule in decisive fashion and putting its leader Keir Starmer on course to become prime minister in the coming hours.
CNN
2024 UK general election results in graphics
The tectonic plates of British politics appear to have seismically shifted as an exit poll suggested Britons have resoundingly voted to end 14 years of Conservative rule.
AFP
UK's Labour on course for landslide election win: exit polls
Britain's main opposition Labour party looks set for a landslide election win, exit polls indicated on Thursday, with Keir Starmer replacing Rishi Sunak as prime minister, ending 14 years of Conservative rule."To everyone who has campaigned for Labour in this election, to everyone who voted for us and put their trust in our changed Labour Party -- thank you," Starmer wrote on social media.
Reuters
Peru and Ecuador to join efforts on security and oil integration
The presidents of Peru and Ecuador pledged to join efforts to fight transnational organized crime and also discussed new possibilities for oil processing, Peruvian Dina Boluarte said on Thursday. Boluarte made the remarks in Lima after meeting with her Ecuadorian counterpart, Daniel Noboa, in which the two signed a joint declaration between the Latin American countries. "We have managed to define commitments with collaborative approaches to confront transnational organized crime," Boluarte said, specifying that her and Noboa had talked about cooperation on migration and illegal mining.
AFP
Mexico girds for hit from Hurricane Beryl
Tourist resorts in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula girded Thursday for a hit from Hurricane Beryl, which is still packing ferocious winds after slamming Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.Beryl is expected to hit the Yucatan Peninsula, emerge over the Gulf of Mexico, then arrive in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the United States.
CNN
A framework is in place on hostage, ceasefire deal after Biden-Netanyahu call, senior administration official says
President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later Thursday morning to discuss developments relating to a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, officials from the White House and Israeli government tell CNN.

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