Os Supermercados Apolónia, marca premium de referência no setor da distribuição alimentar, anunciam a nomeação de Rute Rodrigues para o cargo de Diretora de Marketing e Comunicação. Com mais de 10 anos de experiência nas áreas de marketing, comunicação e branding nos setores do turismo, hotelaria e retail, Rute Rodrigues integra agora a equipa de liderança da insígnia algarvia, […]

NATO fighters from the Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle over Latvia's Latgale region this morning, after the drone entered Latvian airspace as a result of Russian electronic warfare action, the Latvian Ministry of Defense says. It is the most direct documented NATO engagement of a drone over Latvian territory tied to Russia's war against Ukraine to date.

The shoot-down comes against a backdrop of repeated drone incursions over NATO territory along the eastern flank in 2026. In May, a Russian drone crashed into a residential building in Galați, Romania.

What did Latvia say? 

"NATO Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) that had entered Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare," the Latvian Ministry of Defense statement said.

The ministry stressed that the Latvian Armed Forces and NATO allies continuously monitor Latvian airspace to enable an immediate response to potential threats, and that the Latvian Armed Forces have reinforced air defense capabilities along the eastern border by deploying additional units.

"As long as Russia's aggression in Ukraine continues, the recurrence of incidents where a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle enters or approaches Latvian airspace remains possible," the ministry added.

Baltic context: Estonia's months of frustration

Latvia's incident comes after months of similar incidents in Baltic airspace. In May 2026, Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur publicly told Ukraine to control its drones better after months of airspace breaches across the Baltic states and Finland.

In March 2026, Tsahkna said, several drones breached Estonian airspace. One hit a chimney at the Auvere Power Plant, two kilometers from the Russian border, and another crashed in Tartu County, with debris washed up along Estonia's northern coast.

A drone also struck a fuel storage depot near the Latvian border. Russia has claimed the Baltic states are allowing Ukraine to use their airspace for attacks.

Ukraine has accused Russia of deliberately directing drones into Baltic airspace through electronic warfare. Today's Latvian statement that "Russian electronic warfare action" caused the intrusion aligns with Ukraine's reading of the pattern rather than Russia's.

Britain, France, and Germany backed Ukraine's terms for ending the war after meeting its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London, according to their joint statement. They endorsed Kyiv's push for direct talks with Moscow and an immediate ceasefire, while spelling out what a lasting peace would require. The leaders also called for tightening the squeeze on Russia's war economy and scaling up Ukraine's air defenses.

Five conditions for peace

Meeting on 7 June, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz set out five conditions for a just and lasting peace. The E3, as the three are known, are Ukraine's leading European backers. Their terms:

• An immediate, complete ceasefire, which they urged Putin to accept.
• The current front line as the starting point for talks, with no borders changed by force and Ukraine free to choose its alliances.
• Robust, legally binding security guarantees once a ceasefire holds, building on the allies' December 2025 Berlin and January 2026 Paris commitments, including a multinational force in Ukraine. 
• Russian assets remain immobilized until Moscow ends its aggression and compensates Ukraine.
• European interests safeguarded, with any EU- or NATO-related terms requiring both blocs' consent.

Backing for direct talks with Moscow

The leaders commended Ukraine's president for his 4 June letter to Putin calling to end the war. They backed direct Ukraine-Russia dialogue, with the US and Europe actively taking part, to secure a ceasefire. Europe must play a role in any settlement, they said, working closely with Kyiv, the rest of Europe, and Washington.

Pressure on Russia and more air defense

They denounced Russia's barrage of missiles and drones, including repeated strikes with the Oreshnik, a Russian missile. They also condemned dangerous Russian drone incursions into NATO territory and offered condolences to the victims. The leaders welcomed Ukraine's recent battlefield gains, from liberated territory to advances in drone warfare. They agreed to coordinate more support at the coming G7 summit in Evian, the next Coalition of the Willing meeting, and the NATO summit in Ankara. That includes choking off more of Russia's wartime revenue and a bigger military pledge at the NATO talks. They also urged scaling up interceptor production and co-developing anti-ballistic and deep-strike weapons.

In his recent resignation speech, Wes Streeting attempted to merge Reform, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein into a mega-threat of "nationalism" to which he was the antidote. But it fell flat, says Dr Nicholas Tate.

The post Wes Streeting’s Attempt to Merge Reform With the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein into a Mega-Threat of “Nationalism” Falls Flat appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

North Yorkshire Police made a grovelling public apology to "our LGBTQ+ communities" – but has refused to apologise to a Christian officer it wrongly sacked for asking a question about Islam at a training day.

The post North Yorkshire Police Apologised to “Our LGBTQ+ Communities” – But Not to the Christian Officer It Wrongly Sacked appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

For decades, hemp-based construction materials remained on the fringes of the building industry due to regulatory restrictions and misconceptions surrounding the plant. Today, that picture has changed dramatically. Hempcrete, a composite made from hemp hurd and lime binder, has entered international building codes and is increasingly finding its place in modern sustainable architecture. Supporters say it offers significantly better thermal performance than conventional concrete while creating healthier indoor environments. Why Architects Are Turning to Hempcrete The core ingredient in hempcrete is hemp hurd, the woody inner part of the hemp stalk. Builders mix this plant-based material with a lime binder to create a lightweight composite commonly used as infill within timber or metal frame structures. The material's biggest advantage lies in its thermal insulation. Hempcrete walls retain heat far more effectively than traditional concrete, helping buildings stay warm during winter and cool throughout the summer. This improved energy efficiency can reduce heating and cooling demands while enhancing indoor comfort.

A pair of U.S. adversaries — China and North Korea — appear to be strengthening relations, with Chinese President Xi Jinping's arrival in Pyongyang on Monday for a rare state visit.

This is Xi's first trip to North Korea in seven years, and experts say the visit is likely aimed at reasserting China’s unique influence over North Korea in exchange for providing economic and political benefits.

Xi is scheduled to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in what will be their first summit since September, when they met in Beijing after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

No specific agenda has been mentioned, but foreign experts predict the meeting to have a significant impact on bilateral ties and more, as both sides seek to fully restore their traditional alliance amid separate disputes with the U.S. government.

NORTH KOREA UPDATES CONSTITUTION TO REQUIRE AUTOMATIC NUCLEAR STRIKE IF KIM JONG UN ASSASSINATED: REPORT

Xi’s trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Xi plans to meet Trump again for a U.S. visit in September.

China has, for years, been North Korea's economic lifeline and primary diplomatic backer. China has refrained from fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to support its impoverished neighbor.

This year marks 65 years since the two nations signed a mutual defense treaty.

Despite this, there have been questions about their ties in recent years, as North Korea has prioritized cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine and received economic and military assistance from Moscow in return.

Experts warn that restoring China's exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi leverage with Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his wish to restart diplomacy with Kim.

Analysts said Xi would likely offer Kim economic aid packages such as shipments of rice and fertilizers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea and joint economic projects.

Xi may also avoid the issue of denuclearization of North Korea, which wants to achieve international recognition as a nuclear weapons state, as a way to call for lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, according to experts.

After last month’s summit between Trump and Xi, the U.S. government said the two leaders affirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea.

But China only said the leaders spoke about the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Kim’s sister and senior official Kim Yo Jong dismissed the readout of the meeting as "false information."

NORTH KOREAN DICTATOR SAYS GOVERNMENT WILL KEEP CEMENTING NATION'S 'IRREVERSIBLE STATUS AS A NUCLEAR POWER'

Last week, Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and pledged to bolster the country’s nuclear forces "at an exponential rate." He also said he is seeking to speed up efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy.

On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong described a U.S. plan for the denuclearization of North Korea as an "escapist and anachronistic dream."

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Kim Jong Un has dismissed U.S. and South Korean offers for talks as he focuses on enlarging and modernizing his nuclear arsenal. The North Korean leader in September urged the U.S. to withdraw its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BANGKOK — More than 600 residents of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces embarked May 31 on a roughly 68-kilometer, six-day ‘peace walk’ to demand the Thai government take action on the river pollution crisis that has seen Thai rivers polluted with heavy metals. The ensemble of affected residents, civil society groups, monks and students marched from Tha Ton subdistrict in Chiang Mai to the city of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, reaching their destination on June 5, World Environment Day. For more than a year, Thailand’s Pollution Control Department has reported dangerous levels of arsenic, mercury, cadmium and other heavy metals in rivers across northern Thailand, with mining operations across eastern Myanmar suspected to be responsible for the pollution. “We are walking because our rivers are slowly dying,” Pianporn Deetes, executive director of the Rivers and Rights Foundation, which helped to organize the peace walk, told Mongabay by phone. “Toxic contamination from unregulated mining upstream is already affecting water, fish, food, livelihoods, and public health. We do not want to wait until more people become sick. This is an emergency.” Pianporn said the walk (42 miles) was about taking collective action to share information, document impacts and build public pressure in a bid to force the government to address the issue, which Pianporn said has, so far, been lacking. “Monitoring has improved, but action has not matched the scale of the crisis,” she said. “We need urgent diplomatic engagement with neighboring countries, stronger health monitoring, transparency, and action to…This article was originally published on Mongabay