3,000th Palestinian child has heart operation in Israel through Save a Child’s Heart

A 5-year-old boy from Gaza was brought on Sunday to the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, where Israeli doctores performed open-heart surgery to save his life, making him the 3,000th child from the Palestinian territories to undergo such surgery in Israel as part of an Israeli NGO’s program.

Amir Yichya Mabchuch from Jabaliya, just north of Gaza City, was brought by Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli NGO that, since its foundation in 1995, has helped more than 6,000 children travel from abroad with their families for the critical operations.

Подробнее

Rat removed from Lamb Island owned by ‘psychic’ Uri Geller

A single rat has been removed from a Scottish island owned by “psychic” Uri Geller which has now been declared free from invasive predators.

Volunteers spent two years finding the “elusive rat” on Lamb Island off the East Lothian coast near North Berwick.

The rodents can be a threat to breeding seabird populations by targeting their eggs and young.

“I was astounded when I saw the infrared image of the rat,” Geller told BBC Scotland.

“My island is not that tiny so to locate one rat is a big achievement. I’m very pleased.”

Lamb Island is home to seabirds such as puffins, kittiwakes, cormorants and guillemots.

Volunteers from the Lothian Sea Kayak Club and the Lothian Seabird Centre made 35 trips out to the island, which is difficult to access using larger boats.

The team used motion-triggered cameras and concluded there was likely only one rat present.

Sarah Lawrence, of the Biosecurity for LIFE project, praised the work of the volunteers.

She said: “The volunteers have spent two winters navigating harsh weather, Covid restrictions, and the frustrations of seeking a very elusive rat – and thanks to their hard work we are confident that the Lamb’s puffins and other seabirds will return to nest on a rat-free island this year.”

Emily Burton, conservation officer at the Scottish Seabird Centre, said: “It is a huge relief to know that the Lamb is free of invasive predators.”

Подробнее

Swimmers brave dangerous tides to collect rock from Uri Geller island

A group of adventurers have swum to an uninhabited Scottish island to collect a rock for celebrity magician Uri Geller.

The Salty Selkies swam 2km to Lamb Island, in the Firth of Forth, which is owned by the self-proclaimed psychic.

Geller had asked the swimmers to bring back a small piece of the island to put in his museum in Jaffa, Israel.

The group of six women and one man, aged between 35 and 72, spent months training and planning the challenge.

Geller bought the island in 2009, describing it as “a very special place – possibly the most mystical island in the world”.

Boats cannot moor there, and the tides and currents in the area made it a dangerous expedition for the swimmers.

Meg Maitland – who found the rock – said: “We had to be very careful because the way the tides run we could get swept along the coast.

“The Firth of Forth is like a funnel, it drains very fast. We had to make sure there were near perfect conditions and that it was low tide.

“The island is in two parts and there is only a very tiny bit of beach.”

Подробнее

How To Rule Your Own Country: Inside The Outrageous World Of Micronations

With political turmoil worldwide, divided beliefs, and mandates facing ordinary citizens, the idea of creating your own country might seem like a dream. But with micronations launching around the world, this dream has become a reality despite not being recognized by governments.

According to legal experts, a micronation is a political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from states and rebel movements and are not considered autonomous or self-governing as they lack the legal basis in international law for their existence.

Read more