Bare

• NASA is utilizing the SPHEREx mission to conduct an all-sky spectral survey of the galaxy to better understand the origins of the universe. • The mission aims to collect extensive data on over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars located within the Milky Way. • Astronaut Sunita Williams highlights that space exploration drives innovation and problem-solving by pushing humans to think beyond Earth's known physics.

• The article examines how the network of energy pipelines has reshaped modern geopolitics in the Caucasus, specifically impacting Armenia. • It argues that for smaller nations like Armenia, geopolitical interests of more powerful states often outweigh moral principles and human rights. • The piece highlights the tension between the security of the Armenian people and the strategic energy interests of larger global powers.

City of Yarra councillors end trial, claiming the company has not done enough to stop dumping and misuse of share bikesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastShared ebikes will disappear from some inner-city Melbourne streets after a council scrapped its agreement with Australia’s largest electric bike operator.The City of Yarra on Tuesday voted to end its memorandum of understanding with Lime, terminating its almost six-year-long trial. Continue reading...

Varenna’s authorities say wandering around the village shirtless or in swimwear is now bannedA fishing village by Lake Como has imposed fines of up to €200 (£171) for those who wander around with bare chests or in swimwear, in the latest attempt by an Italian holiday destination to crack down on uncouth tourists.Varenna has been feeling the strain from an increasing number of visitors and so authorities were moved to introduce a raft of new rules aimed at preserving the village’s appearance and guaranteeing a smidgen of peace and quiet for its year-round population of roughly 650. Continue reading...

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a presidential executive order attempting to revoke birthright citizenship was unconstitutional. • The decision was reached by a narrow 5-4 majority, highlighting a significant ideological divide among the nine justices. • Chief Justice Roberts emphasized that birthright citizenship has been understood for 128 years as a guarantee for all children born in the U.S. to ensure their right to participate in the political community.

A blooming new wave of musical theatre is exploring the plight of the planet with a playful and hopeful approachEarth is a single woman with a lot to give; Humanity is a charismatic bad boy who turns out to be an inveterate taker. Their toxic relationship is told in Hot Mess, a musical created by Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, which works both as an eccentric romcom with broad commercial appeal and a serious analogy for our abuse of the once fecund, now depleted planet. A hot ticket at the Edinburgh fringe last summer and now on in London, it is at the vanguard of a newly blooming genre of musicals about the environmental crisis.The RSC’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind uses exuberant song and dance for the true story of a teenager who builds a wind turbine from an old bicycle in drought-ridden Malawi. Bryony Kimmings’ Bog Witch is a one-woman show with music and standup about the plight of the planet, while in New York the folk-pop musical Dear Everything was a response to climate emergency co-written by V (formerly Eve Ensler) and narrated by Jane Fonda. Meanwhile, in the West End hit Hadestown, hell is strewn with empty oil drums. Continue reading...

Helen Cammock says her comments blaming wartime leader for Bengal famine were intended to create ‘dialogue’ A Turner prize-winning artist accused of telling a “barefaced lie” about Winston Churchill in a video piece installed at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has defended her work, saying it was intended to create a “dialogue” about figures in the gallery’s collection.Helen Cammock’s 40-minute moving image piece called Persistence has been at the centre of a row about the role Churchill played in the Bengal famine of 1943. Continue reading...

Inmates in England and Wales live among vermin while gangs control entire wings, monitors warn, with failures ‘at risk of becoming normalised’The independent monitoring board’s annual report of conditions across the prison estate of England and Wales is stark and unflinching.Men and women are held for long periods in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, often living alongside vermin. Continue reading...