User:The Transhumanist

User page undergoing expansion/revamp. Please excuse the blank section until it is completed. Thank you.

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Introduction

Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf

Hi. My name is The Transhumanist.

As a transhumanist...

I love emerging and evolving technologies, and so...

I'm currently immersed in studying AI (particularly generative AI and reasoning engines), and big data.

I dabble in JavaScript, including writing user scripts from time to time.

My best user script so far, is SearchSuite...

SearchSuite provides further control over Wikipedia search results, such as on/off features to sort them, to present results one-per-line, and more. While it seems to work fairly well, there is definitely room for improvement. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

By the way, most of the scripts I've been working on are for building and augmenting outlines...

Wikipedia ads	file info – #184

As an encyclopedist...

I'm interested in all knowledge, especially how to organize it so you can find whatever is most relevant at any given moment.

I've been around Wikipedia since the Fall of 2005, and have been working mostly on Wikipedia's structure, and its knowledge navigation systems, throughout that time.

Selected articles that I've worked on

• 
  Ontology learning (ontology extraction,ontology augmentation generation, ontology generation, or ontology acquisition) is the automatic or semi-automatic creation of ontologies, including extracting the corresponding domain's terms and the relationships between the concepts that these terms represent from a corpus of natural language text, and encoding them with an ontology language for easy retrieval. As building ontologies manually is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming, there is great motivation to automate the process.
  
  
  Typically, the process starts by extracting terms and concepts or noun phrases from plain text using linguistic processors such as part-of-speech tagging and phrase chunking. Then statistical
  or symbolic
  techniques are used to extract relation signatures, often based on pattern-based or definition-based hypernym extraction techniques. (Full article...)
• 
  In geography and particularly in geographic information science, a geographic feature or simply feature (also called an object or entity) is a representation of phenomenon that exists at a location in the space and scale of relevance to geography; that is, at or near the surface of Earth. It is an item of geographic information, and may be represented in maps, geographic information systems, remote sensing imagery, statistics, and other forms of geographic discourse. Such representations of phenomena consist of descriptions of their inherent nature, their spatial form and location, and their characteristics or properties. (Full article...)
• 
  This glossary of philosophy is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to philosophy and related disciplines, including logic, ethics, and theology. (Full article...)
• 
  A block is a defensive tactic in chess in response to an attack, consisting of interposing a piece between the opponent's attacking piece and the piece being attacked. This type of blocking will only work if the attacking piece is a type that can move linearly an indefinite number of squares such as a queen, rook, or bishop and there is at least one empty square in the line between the attacking and attacked piece. Blocking is not an option when the attacking piece is directly adjacent to the piece it is attacking, or when the attacking piece is a knight (because knights "jump over other pieces" and cannot be blocked). When an opponent's attack on a piece is blocked, the blocking piece is to some extent pinned, either relatively or absolutely, until a future move by either side allows it to be unpinned.
  
  A check on a king by an opponent's queen, rook, or bishop can sometimes be blocked by moving a piece to a square in line in between the opponent's checking piece and the checked king. The blocking piece is then absolutely pinned to the king by the attacking piece.
  
  Another type of interposing in chess can involve placing a piece between two opponent's pieces where one of those pieces is protecting the other, or they are both protecting each other. This chess tactic can be called interference. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Moore's law is an example of futurology; it is a statistical collection of past and present trends with the goal of accurately extrapolating future trends.

  
  Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and work in the future. Predictive techniques, such as forecasting, can be applied, but contemporary futures studies scholars emphasize the importance of systematically exploring alternatives. In general, it can be considered as a branch of the social sciences and an extension to the field of history. Futures studies (colloquially called "futures" by many of the field's practitioners) seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to explore the possibility of future events and trends.
  
  Unlike the physical sciences where a narrower, more specified system is studied, futurology concerns a much bigger and more complex world system. The methodology and knowledge are much less proven than in natural science and social sciences like sociology and economics. There is a debate as to whether this discipline is an art or science, and it is sometimes described as pseudoscience; nevertheless, the Association of Professional Futurists was formed in 2002, developing a Foresight Competency Model in 2017, and it is now possible to study it academically, for example at the FU Berlin in their master's course. To encourage inclusive and cross-disciplinary discussions about futures studies, UNESCO declared December 2 as World Futures Day. (Full article...)
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  Blood flow diagram of the human heart. Blue components indicate de-oxygenated blood pathways and red components indicate oxygenated blood pathways.

  
  Cardiology (from Ancient Greek καρδίᾱ (kardiā) 'heart' and -λογία (-logia) 'study') is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists, a sub-specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons, a specialty of general surgery. (Full article...)
• 
  A revenue model is a framework for generating financial income. There can be a variety of ways for revenue generation such as the production model, manufacturing model, as well as the construction model. A revenue model identifies which revenue source to pursue, what value to offer, how to price the value, and who pays for the value. It is a key component of a company's business model. A revenue model primarily identifies what product or service will be created and sold in order to generate revenues.
  
  Without a clear and well-defined revenue model new businesses will be more likely to struggle. By having a clear revenue model, a business can focus on a target audience, fund development plans for a product or service, establish marketing plans, open a line of credit and raise capital. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Roboticists with three Mars rover robots. Front and center is the flight spare for the first Mars rover, Sojourner, which landed on Mars in 1997 as part of the Mars Pathfinder Project. On the left is a Mars Exploration Rover (MER) test vehicle that is a working sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in 2004. On the right is a test rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, which landed Curiosity on Mars in 2012.

  
  
  Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots.
  
  Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer science, robotics focuses on robotic automation algorithms. Other disciplines contributing to robotics include electrical, control, software, information, electronic, telecommunication, computer, mechatronic, and materials engineering.
  
  The goal of most robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Many robots are built to do jobs that are hazardous to people, such as finding survivors in unstable ruins, and exploring space, mines and shipwrecks. Others replace people in jobs that are boring, repetitive, or unpleasant, such as cleaning, monitoring, transporting, and assembling. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as technological advances continue; researching, designing, and building new robots serve various practical purposes. (Full article...)
• 
  Artificial general intelligence (AGI)—sometimes called human‑level intelligence AI—is a type of artificial intelligence that would match or surpass human capabilities across virtually all cognitive tasks.
  
  Some researchers argue that state‑of‑the‑art large language models already exhibit early signs of AGI‑level capability, while others maintain that genuine AGI has not yet been achieved. AGI is conceptually distinct from artificial superintelligence (ASI), which would outperform the best human abilities across every domain by a wide margin. AGI is considered one of the definitions of strong AI.
  
  Unlike artificial narrow intelligence (ANI), whose competence is confined to well‑defined tasks, an AGI system can generalise knowledge, transfer skills between domains, and solve novel problems without task‑specific reprogramming. The concept does not, in principle, require the system to be an autonomous agent; a static model—such as a highly capable large language model—or an embodied robot could both satisfy the definition so long as human‑level breadth and proficiency are achieved.
  
  Creating AGI is a primary goal of AI research and of companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta. A 2020 survey identified 72 active AGI research and development projects across 37 countries. (Full article...)
• 
  This article explains terms used for the British Armed Forces' ordnance (weapons) and ammunition. The terms may have different meanings depending on their usage in another country's military. (Full article...)
• 
  In futures studies and the history of technology, accelerating change is the observed exponential nature of the rate of technological change in recent history, which may suggest faster and more profound change in the future and may or may not be accompanied by equally profound social and cultural change. (Full article...)
• 
  Existential risk from artificial intelligence refers to the idea that substantial progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) could lead to human extinction or an irreversible global catastrophe.
  
  One argument for the importance of this risk references how human beings dominate other species because the human brain possesses distinctive capabilities other animals lack. If AI were to surpass human intelligence and become superintelligent, it might become uncontrollable. Just as the fate of the mountain gorilla depends on human goodwill, the fate of humanity could depend on the actions of a future machine superintelligence.
  
  The plausibility of existential catastrophe due to AI is widely debated. It hinges in part on whether AGI or superintelligence are achievable, the speed at which dangerous capabilities and behaviors emerge, and whether practical scenarios for AI takeovers exist. Concerns about superintelligence have been voiced by computer scientists and tech CEOs such as Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Alan Turing, Elon Musk, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In 2022, a survey of AI researchers with a 17% response rate found that the majority believed there is a 10 percent or greater chance that human inability to control AI will cause an existential catastrophe. In 2023, hundreds of AI experts and other notable figures signed a statement declaring, "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war". Following increased concern over AI risks, government leaders such as United Kingdom prime minister Rishi Sunak and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an increased focus on global AI regulation.
  
  Two sources of concern stem from the problems of AI control and alignment. Controlling a superintelligent machine or instilling it with human-compatible values may be difficult. Many researchers believe that a superintelligent machine would likely resist attempts to disable it or change its goals as that would prevent it from accomplishing its present goals. It would be extremely challenging to align a superintelligence with the full breadth of significant human values and constraints. In contrast, skeptics such as computer scientist Yann LeCun argue that superintelligent machines will have no desire for self-preservation. (Full article...)
• 
  
  

  

  A severe case of athlete's foot.

  
  Athlete's foot, known medically as tinea pedis, is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus may infect any part of the foot, but most often grows between the toes. The next most common area is the bottom of the foot. The same fungus may also affect the nails or the hands. It is a member of the group of diseases known as tinea.
  
  Athlete's foot is caused by a number of different funguses, including species of Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, and Microsporum. The condition is typically acquired by coming into contact with infected skin, or fungus in the environment. Common places where the funguses can survive are around swimming pools and in locker rooms. They may also be spread from other animals. Usually diagnosis is made based on signs and symptoms; however, it can be confirmed either by culture or seeing hyphae using a microscope.
  
  Athlete's foot is not limited to just athletes: it can be caused by going barefoot in public showers, letting toenails grow too long, wearing shoes that are too tight, or not changing socks daily. It can be treated with topical antifungal medications such as clotrimazole or, for persistent infections, using oral antifungal medications such as terbinafine. Topical creams are typically recommended to be used for four weeks. Keeping infected feet dry and wearing sandals also assists with treatment.
  
  Athlete's foot was first medically described in 1908. Globally, athlete's foot affects about 15% of the population. Males are more often affected than females. It occurs most frequently in older children or younger adults. Historically it is believed to have been a rare condition that became more frequent in the 20th century due to the greater use of shoes, health clubs, war, and travel. (Full article...)
• 
  The history of California can be divided into the Native American period (about 10,000 years ago until 1542), the European exploration period (1542–1769), the Spanish colonial period (1769–1821), the Mexican period (1821–1848), and United States statehood (September 9, 1850–present). California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. After contact with, many of the Native Americans died from foreign diseases. Finally, in the 19th century there was a genocide by United States government and private citizens, which is known as the California genocide.
  
  After the Portolá expedition of 1769–1770, Spanish missionaries began setting up 21 California missions on or near the coast of Alta (Upper) California, beginning with the Mission San Diego de Alcala near the location of the modern day city of San Diego, California. During the same period, Spanish military forces built several forts (presidios) and three small towns (pueblos). Two of the pueblos would eventually grow into the cities of Los Angeles and San Jose. After Mexico's Independence was won in 1821, California fell under the jurisdiction of the First Mexican Empire. Fearing the influence of the Roman Catholic church over their newly independent nation, the Mexican government "secularized" all of the missions. The missions were closed down in 1834; their priests mostly returned to Mexico. The churches ended religious services and fell into disrepair. The mission farmlands were seized by the government and handed out as grants to favorites. They left behind a "Californio" population of several thousand families, with a few small military garrisons. After losing the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, the Mexican Republic was forced to relinquish any claim to California to the United States.
  
  The California Gold Rush of 1848–1855 attracted hundreds of thousands of ambitious young people from around the world to Northern California. Only a few struck it rich, and many returned home disappointed. Most appreciated the other economic opportunities in California, especially in agriculture, and brought their families to join them. California became the 31st U.S. state in the Compromise of 1850 and played a small role in the American Civil War. Chinese immigrants increasingly came under attack from nativists; they were forced out of industry and agriculture and into Chinatowns in the larger cities. As gold petered out, California increasingly became a highly productive agricultural society. The coming of the railroads in 1869 linked its rich economy with the rest of the nation, and attracted a steady stream of settlers. In the late 19th century, Southern California, especially Los Angeles, started to grow rapidly. (Full article...)
• 
  The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the most popular version of the singularity hypothesis, I. J. Good's intelligence explosion model of 1965, an upgradable intelligent agent could eventually enter a positive feedback loop of successive self-improvement cycles; more intelligent generations would appear more and more rapidly, causing a rapid increase ("explosion") in intelligence which would culminate in a powerful superintelligence, far surpassing all human intelligence.
  
  The Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann (1903-1957) became the first known person to use the concept of a "singularity" in the technological context.
  
  Alan Turing, often regarded as the father of modern computer science, laid a crucial foundation for contemporary discourse on the technological singularity. His pivotal 1950 paper, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence", introduced the idea of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human.
  
  Stanislaw Ulam reported in 1958 an earlier discussion with von Neumann "centered on the accelerating progress of technology and changes in human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue". Subsequent authors have echoed this viewpoint. (Full article...)
• 
  Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabilities of competitors. Genius is associated with intellectual ability and creative productivity. The term genius can also be used to refer to people characterised by genius, and/or to polymaths who excel across many subjects.
  
  There is no scientifically precise definition of genius. When used to refer to the characteristic, genius is associated with talent, but several authors such as Cesare Lombroso and Arthur Schopenhauer systematically distinguish these terms. Walter Isaacson, biographer of many well-known geniuses, explains that although high intelligence may be a prerequisite, the most common trait that actually defines a genius may be the extraordinary ability to apply creativity and imaginative thinking to almost any situation.
  
  In the early-19th century Carl von Clausewitz, who had a particular interest in what he called "military genius", defined "the essence of Genius" (German: der Genius) in terms of "a very high mental capacity for certain employments". (Full article...)
• 
  Friendly artificial intelligence (friendly AI or FAI) is hypothetical artificial general intelligence (AGI) that would have a positive (benign) effect on humanity or at least align with human interests such as fostering the improvement of the human species. It is a part of the ethics of artificial intelligence and is closely related to machine ethics. While machine ethics is concerned with how an artificially intelligent agent should behave, friendly artificial intelligence research is focused on how to practically bring about this behavior and ensuring it is adequately constrained. (Full article...)
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  James Burke in 2007

  
  James Burke (born 22 December 1936) is a broadcaster, science historian, author, and television producer. He was one of the main presenters of the BBC1 science series Tomorrow's World from 1965 to 1971 and created and presented the television series Connections (1978), and its more philosophical sequel The Day the Universe Changed (1985), about the history of science and technology. The Washington Post has called him "one of the most intriguing minds in the Western world". (Full article...)
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  Visualization of various methodological approaches to gaining insights from meta data areas

  
  
  Information science is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of information. Practitioners within and outside the field study the application and the usage of knowledge in organizations in addition to the interaction between people, organizations, and any existing information systems with the aim of creating, replacing, improving, or understanding the information systems. (Full article...)
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  Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and reproducibility of findings are used to try to ensure the validity of scientific advances.
  
  Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science and physical science. Life science is alternatively known as biology. Physical science is subdivided into branches: physics, astronomy, Earth science and chemistry. These branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches (also known as fields). As empirical sciences, natural sciences use tools from the formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, converting information about nature into measurements that can be explained as clear statements of the "laws of nature".
  
  Modern natural science succeeded more classical approaches to natural philosophy. Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Bacon, and Newton debated the benefits of using approaches which were more mathematical and more experimental in a methodical way. Still, philosophical perspectives, conjectures, and presuppositions, often overlooked, remain necessary in natural science. Systematic data collection, including discovery science, succeeded natural history, which emerged in the 16th century by describing and classifying plants, animals, minerals, and so on. Today, "natural history" suggests observational descriptions aimed at popular audiences. (Full article...)
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  Human overpopulation (or human population overshoot) is the idea that human populations may become too large to be sustained by their environment or resources in the long term. The topic is usually discussed in the context of world population, though it may concern individual nations, regions, and cities.
  
  Since 1804, the global living human population has increased from 1 billion to 8 billion due to medical advancements and improved agricultural productivity. Annual world population growth peaked at 2.1% in 1968 and has since dropped to 1.1%. According to the most recent United Nations' projections, the global human population is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and would peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s, before decreasing, noting that fertility rates are falling worldwide. Other models agree that the population will stabilize before or after 2100. Conversely, some researchers analyzing national birth registries data from 2022 and 2023—which cover half the world's population—argue that the 2022 UN projections overestimated fertility rates by 10 to 20% and were already outdated by 2024. They suggest that the global fertility rate may have already fallen below the sub-replacement fertility level for the first time in human history and that the global population will peak at approximately 9.5 billion by 2061. The 2024 UN projections report estimated that world population would peak at 10.29 billion in 2084 and decline to 10.18 billion by 2100, which was 6% lower than the UN had estimated in 2014.
  
  Early discussions of overpopulation in English were spurred by the work of Thomas Malthus. Discussions of overpopulation follow a similar line of inquiry as Malthusianism and its Malthusian catastrophe, a hypothetical event where population exceeds agricultural capacity, causing famine or war over resources, resulting in poverty and depopulation. More recent discussion of overpopulation was popularized by Paul Ehrlich in his 1968 book The Population Bomb and subsequent writings. Ehrlich described overpopulation as a function of overconsumption, arguing that overpopulation should be defined by a population being unable to sustain itself without depleting non-renewable resources.
  
  The belief that global population levels will become too large to sustain is a point of contentious debate. Those who believe global human overpopulation to be a valid concern, argue that increased levels of resource consumption and pollution exceed the environment's carrying capacity, leading to population overshoot. The population overshoot hypothesis is often discussed in relation to other population concerns such as population momentum, biodiversity loss, hunger and malnutrition, resource depletion, and the overall human impact on the environment. (Full article...)
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  Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies are often perceived as capable of changing the status quo.
  
  Emerging technologies are characterized by radical novelty (in application even if not in origins), relatively fast growth, coherence, prominent impact, and uncertainty and ambiguity. In other words, an emerging technology can be defined as "a radically novel and relatively fast growing technology characterised by a certain degree of coherence persisting over time and with the potential to exert a considerable impact on the socio-economic domain(s) which is observed in terms of the composition of actors, institutions and patterns of interactions among those, along with the associated knowledge production processes. Its most prominent impact, however, lies in the future and so in the emergence phase is still somewhat uncertain and ambiguous."
  
  Emerging technologies include a variety of technologies such as educational technology, information technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
  
  New technological fields may result from the technological convergence of different systems evolving towards similar goals. Convergence brings previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications) and video together so that they share resources and interact with each other, creating new efficiencies. (Full article...)
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  An abdominous obese male
  Weight: 182 kg/400 lbs
  Height: 185 cm/6 ft 1 in
  Body mass index: 53

  
  Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity and truncal obesity, is the human condition of an excessive concentration of visceral fat around the stomach and abdomen to such an extent that it is likely to harm its bearer's health. Abdominal obesity has been strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other metabolic and vascular diseases.
  
  Visceral fat, central abdominal fat, and waist circumference show a strong association with type 2 diabetes.
  
  Visceral fat, also known as organ fat or intra-abdominal fat, is located inside the peritoneal cavity, packed in between internal organs and torso, as opposed to subcutaneous fat, which is found underneath the skin, and intramuscular fat, which is found interspersed in skeletal muscle. Visceral fat is composed of several adipose depots including mesenteric, epididymal white adipose tissue (EWAT), and perirenal fat. An excess of adipose visceral fat is known as central obesity, the "pot belly" or "beer belly" effect, in which the abdomen protrudes excessively. This body type is also known as "apple shaped", as opposed to "pear shaped" in which fat is deposited on the hips and buttocks.
  
  Researchers first started to focus on abdominal obesity in the 1980s when they realized it had an important connection to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Abdominal obesity was more closely related with metabolic dysfunctions connected with cardiovascular disease than was general obesity. In the late 1980s and early 1990s insightful and powerful imaging techniques were discovered that would further help advance the understanding of the health risks associated with body fat accumulation. Techniques such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging made it possible to categorize mass of adipose tissue located at the abdominal level into intra-abdominal fat and subcutaneous fat. (Full article...)
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  A superintelligence is a hypothetical agent that possesses intelligence surpassing that of the brightest and most gifted human minds. "Superintelligence" may also refer to a property of problem-solving systems (e.g., superintelligent language translators or engineering assistants) whether or not these high-level intellectual competencies are embodied in agents that act in the world. A superintelligence may or may not be created by an intelligence explosion and associated with a technological singularity.
  
  University of Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom defines superintelligence as "any intellect that greatly exceeds the cognitive performance of humans in virtually all domains of interest". The program Fritz falls short of this conception of superintelligence—even though it is much better than humans at chess—because Fritz cannot outperform humans in other tasks.
  
  Technological researchers disagree about how likely present-day human intelligence is to be surpassed. Some argue that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) will probably result in general reasoning systems that lack human cognitive limitations. Others believe that humans will evolve or directly modify their biology to achieve radically greater intelligence. Several future study scenarios combine elements from both of these possibilities, suggesting that humans are likely to interface with computers, or upload their minds to computers, in a way that enables substantial intelligence amplification.
  
  Some researchers believe that superintelligence will likely follow shortly after the development of artificial general intelligence. The first generally intelligent machines are likely to immediately hold an enormous advantage in at least some forms of mental capability, including the capacity of perfect recall, a vastly superior knowledge base, and the ability to multitask in ways not possible to biological entities. This may allow them to — either as a single being or as a new species — become much more powerful than humans, and displace them. (Full article...)
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  A userscript manager, also known as a userscript engine, is a type of browser extension and augmented browsing technology that provides a user interface to run and organize userscripts. The main purpose of a userscript manager is to execute scripts on predetermined webpages as they are loaded, for example, running a userscript to modify only youtube.com pages. But, userscript managers do a lot more than execute scripts, and screen for the pages they are intended to run on. The most common operations performed by a userscript manager include installing, organizing, creating, copying, saving, deleting, and editing (including modifying webpage permissions of) userscripts.
  
  Userscript managers use metadata that is embedded in a script's source code primarily to determine the websites it should execute on and the dependencies necessary for the script to run properly. Metadata can also include information that is useful to the user such as the script's name, author, description and version number.
  
  Popular userscript managers include Tampermonkey, Greasemonkey, Violentmonkey, and Userscripts for Safari. The Gear browser for iOS has a userscript manager built in. (Full article...)

Selected emerging technologies and related articles

• 
  The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise Star Trek which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imaginary setting, in which participants can freely interact with the environment as well as objects and characters, and sometimes a predefined narrative.
  
  In several series, holodecks are an amenity available to the crew of starships. In the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a similar device is referred to as a holosuite, operated by the owner of the space station's bar, Quark, who rents them out to customers. (Full article...)
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  A nanowire battery uses nanowires to increase the surface area of one or both of its electrodes, which improves the capacity of the battery. Some designs (silicon, germanium and transition metal oxides), variations of the lithium-ion battery have been announced, although none are commercially available. All of the concepts replace the traditional graphite anode and could improve battery performance. Each type of nanowire battery has specific advantages and disadvantages, but a challenge common to all of them is their fragility. (Full article...)
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  Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.
  
  Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used to label and describe individuals. Biometric identifiers are often categorized as physiological characteristics which are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprint, palm veins, face recognition, DNA, palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina, odor/scent, voice, shape of ears and gait. Behavioral characteristics are related to the pattern of behavior of a person, including but not limited to mouse movement, typing rhythm, gait, signature, voice, and behavioral profiling. Some researchers have coined the term behaviometrics (behavioral biometrics) to describe the latter class of biometrics. (Full article...)
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  Reconfigurable antenna using a pixel architecture capable of reconfiguring dynamically its frequency of operation, radiation pattern and polarization.

  
  A reconfigurable antenna is an antenna capable of modifying its frequency and radiation pattern dynamically, in a controlled and reversible manner. In order to provide a dynamic response, reconfigurable antennas integrate an inner mechanism (such as RF switches, varactors, mechanical actuators or tunable materials) that enable the intentional redistribution of the RF currents over the antenna surface and produce reversible modifications of its properties. Reconfigurable antennas differ from smart antennas because the reconfiguration mechanism lies inside the antenna, rather than in an external beamforming network. The reconfiguration capability of reconfigurable antennas is used to maximize the antenna performance in a changing scenario or to satisfy changing operating requirements. (Full article...)
• 
  Control theory is a field of control engineering and applied mathematics that deals with the control of dynamical systems in engineered processes and machines. The objective is to develop a model or algorithm governing the application of system inputs to drive the system to a desired state, while minimizing any delay, overshoot, or steady-state error and ensuring a level of control stability; often with the aim to achieve a degree of optimality.
  
  To do this, a controller with the requisite corrective behavior is required. This controller monitors the controlled process variable (PV), and compares it with the reference or set point (SP). The difference between actual and desired value of the process variable, called the error signal, or SP-PV error, is applied as feedback to generate a control action to bring the controlled process variable to the same value as the set point. Other aspects which are also studied are controllability and observability. Control theory is used in control system engineering to design automation that have revolutionized manufacturing, aircraft, communications and other industries, and created new fields such as robotics. (Full article...)
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  The Malloy Hoverbike, an early hoverbike, undergoing tethered hover testing in 2010

  
  
  A hoverbike (or hovercycle) is a vehicle that can hover, resembling a flying motorbike, having at least two propulsive portions—one in front of and one behind the driver. It is often used as a staple vehicle in science fiction and near future settings, but since the early 2010s, some attempts have been made at developing a functional, practical hoverbike. (Full article...)
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  KiteGen is a concept for a wind harnessing machine for high altitude winds, developed in Italy. The vertical axis rotation is intended to eliminate the static and dynamic problems that limit the size of conventional wind turbines. The prototype STEM yo-yo is under construction at Berzano di San Pietro in Italy. (Full article...)
• 
  Industrial ecology (IE) is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modelled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into by-products, products and services which can be bought and sold to meet the needs of humanity. Industrial ecology seeks to quantify the material flows and document the industrial processes that make modern society function. Industrial ecologists are often concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural resources, and with problems of waste disposal. Industrial ecology is a young but growing multidisciplinary field of research which combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.
  
  Industrial ecology has been defined as a "systems-based, multidisciplinary discourse that seeks to understand emergent behavior of complex integrated human/natural systems". The field approaches issues of sustainability by examining problems from multiple perspectives, usually involving aspects of sociology, the environment, economy and technology. The name comes from the idea that the analogy of natural systems should be used as an aid in understanding how to design sustainable industrial systems. (Full article...)
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  Civic technology, or civic tech, is the idea of using technology to enhance the relationship between people and government with software for communications, decision-making, service delivery, and political process. It includes information and communications technology supporting government with software built by community-led teams of volunteers, nonprofits, consultants, and private companies as well as embedded tech teams working within government. (Full article...)
• 
  An oncolytic virus is a virus that preferentially infects and kills cancer cells. As the infected cancer cells are destroyed by oncolysis, they release new infectious virus particles or virions to help destroy the remaining tumour. Oncolytic viruses are thought not only to cause direct destruction of the tumour cells, but also to stimulate host anti-tumour immune system responses. Oncolytic viruses also have the ability to affect the tumor micro-environment in multiple ways.
  
  The potential of viruses as anti-cancer agents was first realised in the early twentieth century, although coordinated research efforts did not begin until the 1960s. A number of viruses including adenovirus, reovirus, measles, herpes simplex, Newcastle disease virus, and vaccinia have been clinically tested as oncolytic agents. Most current oncolytic viruses are engineered for tumour selectivity, although there are naturally occurring examples such as reovirus and the senecavirus, resulting in clinical trials. (Full article...)
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  The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is an American nonprofit, federally tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Alcor advocates for, researches, and performs cryonics, the freezing of human corpses and brains in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of resurrecting and restoring them to full health if the technology to do so becomes available in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism within the scientific community and has been characterized as quackery and pseudoscience.
  As of October 2023, Alcor had 1,927 members, including 222 who have died and whose corpses have been subject to cryonic processes; 116 bodies had only their head preserved. Alcor also applies its cryonic process to the bodies of pets. As of February 2009, there were 33 animal bodies preserved. (Full article...)
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  Example of a smart meter based on Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP) in use in Europe that has the ability to reduce load, disconnect-reconnect remotely, and interface to gas and water meters.

  
  
  A smart meter is an electronic device that records information—such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor—and communicates the information to the consumer and electricity suppliers. Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communication between the meter and the supplier. (Full article...)
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  Characteristics of a traditional centralized electrical system (left) vis-à-vis those of a smart grid (right)

  
  
  
  
  The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is mainly focused on three systems of a smart grid – the infrastructure system, the management system, and the protection system. Electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects of the smart grid.
  
  The smart grid represents the full suite of current and proposed responses to the challenges of electricity supply. Numerous contributions to the overall improvement of energy infrastructure efficiency are anticipated from the deployment of smart grid technology, in particular including demand-side management. The improved flexibility of the smart grid permits greater penetration of highly variable renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind power, even without the addition of energy storage. Smart grids could also monitor/control residential devices that are noncritical during periods of peak power consumption, and return their function during nonpeak hours. (Full article...)
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  WiTricity Corporation is an American wireless charging technology company based in Watertown, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spin-off was founded by professor Marin Soljačić in 2007. WiTricity technology allows wireless power transfer over distance via magnetic resonance and the company licenses technology and reference designs for wireless electrical vehicle (EV) charging as well as consumer products such as laptops, mobile phones and televisions. (Full article...)
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  A ground-effect train (concept art)

  
  A ground-effect train is a conceptualized alternative to a magnetic levitation (maglev) train. In both cases the objective is to prevent the vehicle from making contact with the ground. Whereas a maglev train accomplishes this through the use of magnetism, a ground-effect train uses an air cushion; either in the manner of a hovercraft (as in hovertrains) or using the wing–in–ground-effect design. (Full article...)
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  NASA engineers in mission control ensure safety for astronauts onboard Apollo 13.

  
  Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is similar, but deals with the electronics side of aerospace engineering.
  
  "Aeronautical engineering" was the original term for the field. As flight technology advanced to include vehicles operating in outer space, the broader term "aerospace engineering" has come into use. Aerospace engineering, particularly the astronautics branch, is often colloquially referred to as "rocket science". (Full article...)
• 
  This is a comparison of various properties of different display technologies. (Full article...)
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  Memristor developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and National Energy Technology Laboratory

  
  A memristor (/ˈmɛmrɪstər/; a portmanteau of memory resistor) is a non-linear two-terminal electrical component relating electric charge and magnetic flux linkage. It was described and named in 1971 by Leon Chua, completing a theoretical quartet of fundamental electrical components which also comprises the resistor, capacitor and inductor.
  
  Chua and Kang later generalized the concept to memristive systems. Such a system comprises a circuit, of multiple conventional components, which mimics key properties of the ideal memristor component and is also commonly referred to as a memristor. Several such memristor system technologies have been developed, notably ReRAM. (Full article...)
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  Taxonomy of money, based on "Central bank cryptocurrencies" by Morten Linnemann Bech and Rodney Garratt

  
  Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital currencies include cryptocurrency, virtual currency and central bank digital currency. Digital currency may be recorded on a distributed database on the internet, a centralized electronic computer database owned by a company or bank, within digital files or even on a stored-value card.
  
  Digital currencies exhibit properties similar to traditional currencies, but generally do not have a classical physical form of fiat currency historically that can be held in the hand, like currencies with printed banknotes or minted coins. However, they do have a physical form in an unclassical sense coming from the computer to computer and computer to human interactions and the information and processing power of the servers that store and keep track of money. This unclassical physical form allows nearly instantaneous transactions over the internet and vastly lowers the cost associated with distributing notes and coins: for example, of the types of money in the UK economy, 3% are notes and coins, and 79% as electronic money (in the form of bank deposits). Usually not issued by a governmental body, virtual currencies are not considered a legal tender and they enable ownership transfer across governmental borders. (Full article...)
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  Ekranoplan A-90 Orlyonok

  
  A ground-effect vehicle (GEV), also called a wing-in-ground-effect (WIGE or WIG), ground-effect craft/machine (GEM), wingship, flarecraft, surface effect vehicle or ekranoplan (Russian: экранопла́н – "screenglider"), is a vehicle that is able to move over the surface by gaining support from the reactions of the air against the surface of the earth or water. Typically, it is designed to glide over a level surface (usually over the sea) by making use of ground effect, the aerodynamic interaction between the moving wing and the surface below. Some models can operate over any flat area such as frozen lakes or flat plains similar to a hovercraft. The term Ground-Effect Vehicle originally referred to any craft utilizing ground effect, including what is known later as hovercraft, in descriptions of patents during the 1950s. However, this term is nowadays regarded as distinct from air-cushion vehicles or hovercraft. The definition of GEVs does not include racecars utilizing ground-effect for increasing downforce. (Full article...)
• 
  Smell-O-Vision is a system that released odor during the projection of a film so that the viewer could "smell" what was happening in the movie. Created by Hans Laube, the technique made its only appearance in the 1960 film Scent of Mystery, produced by Mike Todd Jr., son of film producer Mike Todd. The process injected 30 odors into a movie theater's seats when triggered by the film's soundtrack.
  
  Roughly similar concepts integrating odor experiences into entertainment performances date back at least to 1868 for live theatre, with the first film usage in 1906. Other approaches include General Electric's "Smell-O-Rama" in 1953 and the rival "AromaRama" system in 1959. In cheeky homage to this era, John Waters enhanced his 1981 film Polyester with an "Odorama" scratch-n-sniff card. (Full article...)
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  General concept for TDMR using multiple read elements

  
  
  Two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR) is a technology introduced in 2017 in hard disk drives (HDD) used for computer data storage. Most of the world's data is recorded on HDDs, and there is continuous pressure on manufacturers to create greater data storage capacity in a given HDD form-factor and for a given cost. In an HDD, data is stored using magnetic recording on a rotating magnetic disk and is accessed through a write-head and read-head (or read-element). TDMR allows greater storage capacity by advantageously combining signals simultaneously from multiple read-back heads to enhance the recovery of one or more data-tracks. In this manner, data can be stored with higher areal-density on the disks thus providing higher capacity in each HDD. TDMR is a read-back technology and thus applies equally well to future recording (writing) technologies such as heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR). (Full article...)
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  A solid-state transformer (SST), power electronic transformer (PET), or electronic power transformer is an AC-to-AC converter, a type of electric power converter that replaces a conventional transformer used in AC electric power distribution. It is more complex than a conventional transformer operating at utility frequency, but can be smaller and more efficient than conventional transformers because it operates at higher frequencies. Solid-state transformers are an emerging technology As of 2025.
  
  Solid-state transformers can actively regulate voltage and current. Some can convert single-phase power to three-phase power and vice versa. Variations can input or output DC power to reduce the number of conversions, for greater end-to-end efficiency. As a complex electronic circuit, it must be designed to withstand lightning and other surges. (Full article...)
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  Possible scenario of smart and sustainable mobility

  
  A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technology to collect data and operate services. Data is collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities, urban forestry, water supply networks, waste disposal, criminal investigations, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services. The foundation of a smart city is built on the integration of people, technology, and processes, which connect and interact across sectors such as healthcare, transportation, education, infrastructure, etc. Smart cities are characterized by the ways in which their local governments monitor, analyze, plan, and govern the city. In a smart city, data sharing extends to businesses, citizens, and other third parties who can derive benefit from using that data. The three largest sources of spending associated with smart cities as of 2022 were visual surveillance, public transit, and outdoor lighting.
  
  Smart cities integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and devices connected to the Internet of Things (IOT) network to optimize city services and connect to citizens. ICT can enhance the quality, performance, and interactivity of urban services, reduce costs and resource consumption, and to increase contact between citizens and government. Smart city applications manage urban flows and allow for real-time responses. A smart city may be more prepared to respond to challenges than one with a conventional "transactional" relationship with its citizens. Yet, the term is open to many interpretations. Many cities have already adopted some sort of smart city technology. (Full article...)
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  DNA digital data storage is the process of encoding and decoding binary data to and from synthesized strands of DNA.
  
  While DNA as a storage medium has enormous potential because of its high storage density, its practical use is currently severely limited because of its high cost and very slow read and write times. (Full article...)

Selected global issues and related topics

• 
  Biotechnology risk is a form of existential risk from biological sources, such as genetically engineered biological agents. The release of such high-consequence pathogens could be

  • deliberate (in the form of bioterrorism or biological weapons)
  • accidental, or
  • a naturally occurring event.

  
  
  A chapter on biotechnology and biosecurity was included in Nick Bostrom's 2008 anthology Global Catastrophic Risks, which covered risks including viral agents. Since then, new technologies like CRISPR and gene drives have been introduced.
  
  While the ability to deliberately engineer pathogens has been constrained to high-end labs run by top researchers, the technology to achieve this is rapidly becoming cheaper and more widespread. For example, the diminishing cost of sequencing the human genome (from $10 million to $1,000), the accumulation of large datasets of genetic information, the discovery of gene drives, and the discovery of CRISPR. Biotechnology risk is therefore a credible explanation for the Fermi paradox. (Full article...)
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  Raw sewage and industrial waste in the New River as it passes from Mexicali (Mexico) to Calexico, California

  
  Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources. These are sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution may affect either surface water or groundwater. This form of pollution can lead to many problems. One is the degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Another is spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource.
  
  Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse. An example is agricultural runoff. Pollution is the result of the cumulative effect over time. Pollution may take many forms. One would is toxic substances such as oil, metals, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, and industrial waste products. Another is stressful conditions such as changes of pH, hypoxia or anoxia, increased temperatures, excessive turbidity, or changes of salinity). The introduction of pathogenic organisms is another. Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.
  
  Control of water pollution requires appropriate infrastructure and management plans as well as legislation. Technology solutions can include improving sanitation, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, erosion control, sediment control and control of urban runoff (including stormwater management). (Full article...)
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  Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.

  
  Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
  
  Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
  
  Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...)
• 
  Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.
  
  Although environmental pollution can be caused by natural events, the word pollution generally implies that the contaminants have a human source, such as manufacturing, extractive industries, poor waste management, transportation or agriculture. Pollution is often classed as point source (coming from a highly concentrated specific site, such as a factory, mine, construction site), or nonpoint source pollution (coming from a widespread distributed sources, such as microplastics or agricultural runoff).
  
  Many sources of pollution were unregulated parts of industrialization during the 19th and 20th centuries until the emergence of environmental regulation and pollution policy in the later half of the 20th century. Sites where historically polluting industries released persistent pollutants may have legacy pollution long after the source of the pollution is stopped. Major forms of pollution include air pollution, water pollution, litter, noise pollution, plastic pollution, soil contamination, radioactive contamination, thermal pollution, light pollution, and visual pollution. (Full article...)
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  Destruction, from The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole (1836)

  
  Societal collapse (also known as civilizational collapse or systems collapse) is the fall of a complex human society characterized by the loss of cultural identity and of social complexity as an adaptive system, the downfall of government, and the rise of violence. Possible causes of a societal collapse include natural catastrophe, war, pestilence, famine, economic collapse, population decline or overshoot, mass migration, incompetent leaders, and sabotage by rival civilizations. A collapsed society may revert to a more primitive state, be absorbed into a stronger society, or completely disappear.
  
  Virtually all civilizations have suffered such a fate, regardless of their size or complexity. Most never recovered, such as the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, the Maya civilization, and the Easter Island civilization. However, some of them later revived and transformed, such as China, Greece, and Egypt.
  
  Anthropologists, historians, and sociologists have proposed a variety of explanations for the collapse of civilizations involving causative factors such as environmental degradation, depletion of resources, costs of rising complexity, invasion, disease, decay of social cohesion, growing inequality, extractive institutions, long-term decline of cognitive abilities, loss of creativity, and misfortune. However, complete extinction of a culture is not inevitable, and in some cases, the new societies that arise from the ashes of the old one are evidently its offspring, despite a dramatic reduction in sophistication. Moreover, the influence of a collapsed society, such as the Western Roman Empire, may linger on long after its death. (Full article...)
• 
  Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broader viewpoint, an investment can be defined as "to tailor the pattern of expenditure and receipt of resources to optimise the desirable patterns of these flows". When expenditures and receipts are defined in terms of money, then the net monetary receipt in a time period is termed cash flow, while money received in a series of several time periods is termed cash flow stream.
  
  In finance, the purpose of investing is to generate a return on the invested asset. The return may consist of a capital gain (profit) or loss, realised if the investment is sold, unrealised capital appreciation (or depreciation) if yet unsold. It may also consist of periodic income such as dividends, interest, or rental income. The return may also include currency gains or losses due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
  
  Investors generally expect higher returns from riskier investments. When a low-risk investment is made, the return is also generally low. Similarly, high risk comes with a chance of high losses. Investors, particularly novices, are often advised to diversify their portfolio. Diversification has the statistical effect of reducing overall risk. (Full article...)
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  Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.

  
  Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
  
  Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
  
  Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...)
• 
  Existential risk from artificial intelligence refers to the idea that substantial progress in artificial general intelligence (AGI) could lead to human extinction or an irreversible global catastrophe.
  
  One argument for the importance of this risk references how human beings dominate other species because the human brain possesses distinctive capabilities other animals lack. If AI were to surpass human intelligence and become superintelligent, it might become uncontrollable. Just as the fate of the mountain gorilla depends on human goodwill, the fate of humanity could depend on the actions of a future machine superintelligence.
  
  The plausibility of existential catastrophe due to AI is widely debated. It hinges in part on whether AGI or superintelligence are achievable, the speed at which dangerous capabilities and behaviors emerge, and whether practical scenarios for AI takeovers exist. Concerns about superintelligence have been voiced by computer scientists and tech CEOs such as Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Alan Turing, Elon Musk, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In 2022, a survey of AI researchers with a 17% response rate found that the majority believed there is a 10 percent or greater chance that human inability to control AI will cause an existential catastrophe. In 2023, hundreds of AI experts and other notable figures signed a statement declaring, "Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war". Following increased concern over AI risks, government leaders such as United Kingdom prime minister Rishi Sunak and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an increased focus on global AI regulation. (Full article...)
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  Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.

  
  Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming). Further problem areas are air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.
  
  Many scientists, along with the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a growing human population because this leads to human overpopulation and excessive consumption. Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries. In any case, all contemporary biodiversity loss has been attributed to human activities.
  
  Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity. For example, coral reefs—which are biodiversity hotspots—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate. Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss. Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems. (Full article...)
• 
  The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the interlinked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, internet telephony, and file sharing.
  
  The origins of the Internet date back to research that enabled the time-sharing of computer resources, the development of packet switching in the 1960s and the design of computer networks for data communication. The set of rules (communication protocols) to enable internetworking on the Internet arose from research and development commissioned in the 1970s by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense in collaboration with universities and researchers across the United States and in the United Kingdom and France. The ARPANET initially served as a backbone for the interconnection of regional academic and military networks in the United States to enable resource sharing. The funding of the National Science Foundation Network as a new backbone in the 1980s, as well as private funding for other commercial extensions, encouraged worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies and the merger of many networks using DARPA's Internet protocol suite. The linking of commercial networks and enterprises by the early 1990s, as well as the advent of the World Wide Web, marked the beginning of the transition to the modern Internet, and generated sustained exponential growth as generations of institutional, personal, and mobile computers were connected to the internetwork. Although the Internet was widely used by academia in the 1980s, the subsequent commercialization of the Internet in the 1990s and beyond incorporated its services and technologies into virtually every aspect of modern life.
  
  Most traditional communication media, including telephone, radio, television, paper mail, and newspapers, are reshaped, redefined, or even bypassed by the Internet, giving birth to new services such as email, Internet telephone, Internet radio, Internet television, online music, digital newspapers, and audio and video streaming websites. Newspapers, books, and other print publishing have adapted to website technology or have been reshaped into blogging, web feeds, and online news aggregators. The Internet has enabled and accelerated new forms of personal interaction through instant messaging, Internet forums, and social networking services. Online shopping has grown exponentially for major retailers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs, as it enables firms to extend their "brick and mortar" presence to serve a larger market or even sell goods and services entirely online. Business-to-business and financial services on the Internet affect supply chains across entire industries. (Full article...)
• 

  

  Summary of major environmental-change categories that cause biodiversity loss. The data is expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue), as of 2021. Red indicates the percentage of the category that is damaged, lost, or otherwise affected, whereas blue indicates the percentage that is intact, remaining, or otherwise unaffected.

  
  Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological diversity in a given area. The decrease can be temporary or permanent. It is temporary if the damage that led to the loss is reversible in time, for example through ecological restoration. If this is not possible, then the decrease is permanent. The cause of most of the biodiversity loss is, generally speaking, human activities that push the planetary boundaries too far. These activities include habitat destruction (for example deforestation) and land use intensification (for example monoculture farming). Further problem areas are air and water pollution (including nutrient pollution), over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.
  
  Many scientists, along with the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, say that the main reason for biodiversity loss is a growing human population because this leads to human overpopulation and excessive consumption. Others disagree, saying that loss of habitat is caused mainly by "the growth of commodities for export" and that population has very little to do with overall consumption. More important are wealth disparities between and within countries. In any case, all contemporary biodiversity loss has been attributed to human activities.
  
  Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity. For example, coral reefs—which are biodiversity hotspots—will be lost by the year 2100 if global warming continues at the current rate. Still, it is the general habitat destruction (often for expansion of agriculture), not climate change, that is currently the bigger driver of biodiversity loss. Invasive species and other disturbances have become more common in forests in the last several decades. These tend to be directly or indirectly connected to climate change and can cause a deterioration of forest ecosystems. (Full article...)
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  Solid waste after being shredded to a uniform size

  
  Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
  
  Examples include municipal solid waste (household trash/refuse), hazardous waste, wastewater (such as sewage, which contains bodily wastes (feces and urine) and surface runoff), radioactive waste, and others. (Full article...)
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  Unemployment rate, 2021

  
  
  Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the reference period.
  
  Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, which is the number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed added to those unemployed).
  
  Unemployment can have many sources, such as the following: (Full article...)
• 

  

  A typical suburban development in the United States, located in Chandler, Arizona

  
  
  Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for very dense urban planning. Sometimes the urban areas described as the most "sprawling" are the most densely populated. In addition to describing a special form of urbanization, the term also relates to the social and environmental consequences associated with this development. In modern times some suburban areas described as "sprawl" have less detached housing and higher density than the nearby core city. Medieval suburbs suffered from the loss of protection of city walls, before the advent of industrial warfare. Modern disadvantages and costs include increased travel time, transport costs, pollution, and destruction of the countryside. The revenue for building and maintaining urban infrastructure in these areas are gained mostly through property and sales taxes. Most jobs in the US are now located in suburbs generating much of the revenue, although a lack of growth will require higher tax rates.
  
  In Europe, the term peri-urbanisation is often used to denote similar dynamics and phenomena, but the term urban sprawl is currently being used by the European Environment Agency. There is widespread disagreement about what constitutes sprawl and how to quantify it. For example, some commentators measure sprawl by residential density, using the average number of residential units per acre in a given area. Others associate it with decentralization (spread of population without a well-defined centre), discontinuity (leapfrogging development, as defined below), segregation of uses, and so forth.
  
  The term urban sprawl is highly politicized and almost always has negative connotations. It is criticized for causing environmental degradation, intensifying segregation, and undermining the vitality of existing urban areas, and is attacked on aesthetic grounds. The pejorative meaning of the term means that few openly support urban sprawl as such. The term has become a rallying cry for managing urban growth. (Full article...)
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  Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's Maranhão state, 2016

  
  Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.
  
  
  The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, palm oil, rubber and various other popular products. Livestock grazing also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the wood industry (logging), urbanization and mining. The effects of climate change are another cause via the increased risk of wildfires (see deforestation and climate change).
  
  
  Deforestation results in habitat destruction which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. Deforestation also leads to extinction of animals and plants, changes to the local climate, and displacement of indigenous people who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as desertification and soil erosion. (Full article...)
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  Changes in surface air temperature over the past 50 years. The Arctic has warmed the most, and temperatures on land have generally increased more than sea surface temperatures.

  
  Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years.
  
  Climate change has an increasingly large impact on the environment. Deserts are expanding, while heat waves and wildfires are becoming more common. Amplified warming in the Arctic has contributed to thawing permafrost, retreat of glaciers and sea ice decline. Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries. These include ocean heating, ocean acidification and sea level rise.
  
  Climate change threatens people with increased flooding, extreme heat, increased food and water scarcity, more disease, and economic loss. Human migration and conflict can also be a result. The World Health Organization calls climate change one of the biggest threats to global health in the 21st century. Societies and ecosystems will experience more severe risks without action to limit warming. Adapting to climate change through efforts like flood control measures or drought-resistant crops partially reduces climate change risks, although some limits to adaptation have already been reached. Poorer communities are responsible for a small share of global emissions, yet have the least ability to adapt and are most vulnerable to climate change. (Full article...)
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  Tar sands in Alberta, 2008. Oil is one of the most used resources by humans.

  
  Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. The use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion. The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource. The more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases. There are several types of resource depletion, including but not limited to: mining for fossil fuels and minerals, deforestation, pollution or contamination of resources, wetland and ecosystem degradation, soil erosion, overconsumption, aquifer depletion, and the excessive or unnecessary use of resources. Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to farming, fishing, mining, water usage, and the consumption of fossil fuels. Depletion of wildlife populations is called defaunation.
  
  Resource depletion also brings up topics regarding its history, specifically its roots in colonialism and the Industrial Revolution, depletion accounting, and the socioeconomic impacts of resource depletion, as well as the morality of resource consumption, how humanity will be impacted and what the future will look like if resource depletion continues at the current rate, Earth Overshoot Day, and when specific resources will be completely exhausted. (Full article...)
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  Women selling produce at a market in Lilongwe, Malawi

  
  Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Similarly, household food security is considered to exist when all the members of a family have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food-secure individuals do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Food security includes resilience to future disruptions of food supply. Such a disruption could occur due to various risk factors such as droughts and floods, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars. Food insecurity is the opposite of food security: a state where there is only limited or uncertain availability of suitable food.
  
  The concept of food security has evolved over time. The four pillars of food security include availability, access, utilization, and stability. In addition, there are two more dimensions that are important: agency and sustainability. These six dimensions of food security are reinforced in conceptual and legal understandings of the right to food. The World Food Summit in 1996 declared that "food should not be used as an instrument for political and economic pressure."
  
  There are many causes of food insecurity. The most important ones are high food prices and disruptions in global food supplies for example due to war. There is also climate change, water scarcity, land degradation, agricultural diseases, pandemics and disease outbreaks that can all lead to food insecurity. Additionally, food insecurity affects individuals with low socioeconomic status, affects the health of a population on an individual level, and causes divisions in interpersonal relationships. Food insecurity due to unemployment causes a higher rate of poverty. (Full article...)
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  Global concentrations of health care resources, as depicted by the number of physicians per 10,000 individuals, by country. Data is sourced from a WHO indicator and is from 2017-2023

  
  Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields. Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, midwifery, nursing, optometry, audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, and other health professions all constitute health care. The term includes work done in providing primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and public health.
  
  Access to health care may vary across countries, communities, and individuals, influenced by social and economic conditions and health policies. Providing health care services means "the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes". Factors to consider in terms of health care access include financial limitations (such as insurance coverage), geographical and logistical barriers (such as additional transportation costs and the ability to take paid time off work to use such services), sociocultural expectations, and personal limitations (lack of ability to communicate with health care providers, poor health literacy, low income). Limitations to health care services affect negatively the use of medical services, the efficacy of treatments, and overall outcome (well-being, mortality rates).
  
  Health systems are the organizations established to meet the health needs of targeted populations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care system requires a financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver quality medicines and technologies. (Full article...)
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  Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, convention centers (pictured here) were deemed to be ideal sites for temporary hospitals, due to their existing infrastructure (electrical, water, sewage). Hotels and dormitories were also considered appropriate because they can use negative pressure technology.

  
  
  A pandemic (/pænˈdɛmɪk/ pan-DEM-ik) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic diseases with a stable number of infected individuals such as recurrences of seasonal influenza are generally excluded as they occur simultaneously in large regions of the globe rather than being spread worldwide.
  
  Throughout human history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox. The Black Death, caused by the Plague, caused the deaths of up to half of the population of Europe in the 14th century. The term pandemic had not been used then, but was used for later epidemics, including the 1918 H1N1 influenza A pandemic—more commonly known as the Spanish flu—which is the deadliest pandemic in history. The most recent pandemics include the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the 2009 swine flu pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all these diseases still circulate among humans though their impact now is often far less.
  
  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 194 member states of the World Health Organization began negotiations on an International Treaty on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, with a requirement to submit a draft of this treaty to the 77th World Health Assembly during its 2024 convention. Further, on 6 May 2024, the White House released an official policy to more safely manage medical research projects involving potentially hazardous pathogens, including viruses and bacteria, that may pose a risk of a pandemic. (Full article...)
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  Global distribution of dryland areas based on the aridity index computed over a 30-year average during 1981 to 2010. Typical deserts are indicated by the hyper-arid category (light yellow).

  
  Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.
  
  The immediate cause of desertification is the loss of most vegetation. This is driven by a number of factors, alone or in combination, such as drought, climatic shifts, tillage for agriculture, overgrazing and deforestation for fuel or construction materials. Though vegetation plays a major role in determining the biological composition of the soil, studies have shown that, in many environments, the rate of erosion and runoff decreases exponentially with increased vegetation cover. Unprotected, dry soil surfaces blow away with the wind or are washed away by flash floods, leaving infertile lower soil layers that bake in the sun and become an unproductive hardpan.
  
  At least 90% of the inhabitants of drylands live in developing countries, where they also suffer from poor economic and social conditions. This situation is exacerbated by land degradation because of the reduction in productivity, the precariousness of living conditions and the difficulty of access to resources and opportunities. (Full article...)
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  International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.)
  
  In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has existed throughout history (for example Uttarapatha, Silk Road, Amber Road, salt roads), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries.
  
  Carrying out trade at an international level is a complex process when compared to domestic trade. When trade takes place between two or more states, factors like currency, government policies, economy, judicial system, laws, and markets influence trade. (Full article...)
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  Two Indian stamps which combine to symbolize gender equality

  
  Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs equally, also regardless of gender.
  
  UNICEF (an agency of the United Nations) defines gender equality as "women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike."
  As of 2017, gender equality is the fifth of seventeen sustainable development goals (SDG 5) of the United Nations; gender equality has not incorporated the proposition of genders besides women and men, or gender identities outside of the gender binary. Gender inequality is measured annually by the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Reports. (Full article...)
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  Mushroom cloud from the 1954 explosion of Castle Bravo, the largest nuclear weapon detonated by the U.S.

  
  A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radioactive fallout, with global consequences. Such a scenario envisages large parts of the Earth becoming uninhabitable due to the effects of nuclear warfare, potentially causing the collapse of civilization, the extinction of humanity, or the termination of most biological life on Earth. Global fallout from widespread testing of nuclear weapons has caused until 2000 up to 2.4 million deaths, with some calling this testing genocide or ecocide.
  
  Besides the immediate destruction of cities by nuclear blasts, the potential aftermath of a nuclear war could involve firestorms, a nuclear winter, widespread radiation sickness from fallout, and/or the temporary (if not permanent) loss of much modern technology due to electromagnetic pulses. Some scientists, such as Alan Robock, have speculated that a thermonuclear war could result in the end of modern civilization on Earth, in part due to a long-lasting nuclear winter. In one model, the average temperature of Earth following a full thermonuclear war falls for several years by 7 to 8 °C (13 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit) on average.
  
  Early Cold War-era studies suggested that billions of humans would survive the immediate effects of nuclear blasts and radiation following a global thermonuclear war. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War believe that nuclear war could indirectly contribute to human extinction via secondary effects, including environmental consequences, societal breakdown, and economic collapse. (Full article...)
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  Map of the world's biodiversity hot spots, all of which are heavily threatened by habitat loss and degradation

  
  
  Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease in biodiversity and species numbers. Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide.
  
  Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors can contribute to habitat destruction more indirectly. Geological processes, climate change, introduction of invasive species, ecosystem nutrient depletion, water and noise pollution are some examples. Loss of habitat can be preceded by an initial habitat fragmentation. Fragmentation and loss of habitat have become one of the most important topics of research in ecology as they are major threats to the survival of endangered species. (Full article...)

Did you know...

• ... that the Apollo 16 Heat Flow Experiment was disabled when astronaut John Young tripped over a cable and tore it from its connector?
• ... that in the 1909 election to the city council of Surabaya, less than 1 percent of the population was enrolled to vote?
• ... that the 1962 space-age pop album Latin-esque was recorded with halves of the orchestra separated by almost a city block to heighten its stereo effects?
• ... that the steps of Pohang Space Walk represent an ascent to an unreachable utopia?
• ... that the Antarctic lichen Buellia frigida has been to outer space?
• ... that Voyager 2 has been transmitting data for more than 46 years, making it the oldest active space probe in history?
• ... that the COSMOS field is the largest contiguous survey of the universe ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope?
• ... that nekonomics includes the leveraging of stray cat populations on islands to draw tourists?
• ... that while the laws governing Jewish astrology prohibit worshipping the stars, gaining knowledge of their influences on humans is permitted?
• ... that the two known populations of the desert musk shrew are found on opposite ends of Africa?
• ... that with a population of 1,500, Millstreet in County Cork, Ireland, became the smallest settlement to host the Eurovision Song Contest when it staged the 1993 event?
• ... that around the age of four, Jacob von Eggers was deported to Arkhangelsk in Russia together with the entire German-speaking population of Tartu?
• ... that the LACE satellite tracked rocket plumes from space for the United States's Star Wars program?
• ... that the FBI set up temporary offices in a museum on an aircraft carrier while investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

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Selected images that captured my attention

• 
  Astronaut Buzz Aldrin saluting the flag of the United States, part of the Lunar Flag Assembly, during Apollo 11. The Lunar Flag Assembly was designed to survive a Moon landing and to appear to "wave" as it would in a breeze on Earth. This flag fell over when the Lunar Module Eagle took off.
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  A Marginated Tortoise hatchling.
• 
  Sandboarding is a boardsport similar to snowboarding, but competitions take place on sand dunes rather than snow-covered mountains. Here, a member of the US Navy sandboards down a dune in Jebel Ali, Dubai.
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  The mushroom cloud from the Ivy Mike nuclear test, one of two tests conducted as part of Operation Ivy at the Pacific Proving Grounds on Elugelab in the Marshall Islands. Mike was the first successful full-scale test of a multi-megaton thermonuclear weapon, and it left an underwater crater 6,240 ft (1,900 m) wide and 164 ft (50 m) deep where the island had been.
• 
  The mushroom cloud caused by the detonation of the "Fat Man" bomb during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, rising approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) above the hypocenter.
• 
  Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the Cupola module of the International Space Station, observing the Earth below during Expedition 24. Caldwell Dyson is an American chemist and astronaut. She was selected by NASA in 1998 and made her first spaceflight in August 2007 on the STS-118 mission aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour.
• 
  Devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana during 2005, shown here looking down on Interstate 10 at West End Boulevard towards Lake Pontchartrain. Over 1,800 people were confirmed dead with 705 still missing. It was the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history causing around $86 billion in damage. This photo shows flooded roadways as the United States Coast Guard conducted initial damage assessment overflights of New Orleans on Monday, August 29, 2005. The city flooded due primarily to the failure of the levee system. Many who remained in their homes had to swim for their lives, wade through deep water, or remain trapped in their attics or on their rooftops.
• 
  The "Baker" explosion, part of Operation Crossroads, a nuclear weapon test by the United States military at Bikini Atoll, Micronesia, on July 25, 1946. Its purpose was to test the effect of nuclear weapons on naval ships. It was the second US nuclear bomb set off since the bombing of Nagasaki.
• 
  The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was a magnitude 9.15, undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26 2004. The earthquake generated a tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people around the Indian Ocean, making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history. This photograph shows the tsunami as it reached Ao Nang, Thailand.
• 
  View from Notre-Dame de Paris.
• 
  An overhead view of Skylab, the United States' first space station, in Earth orbit as photographed from the Skylab 4 Command and Service Modules. Skylab 4 was the last mission to Skylab and brought back its final crew; this photograph was the last one taken of the station before the mission re-entered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated in 1979.
• 
  You are feeling very sleepy...
• 
  A dust storm rushes towards a military camp as it rolls over Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, just before nightfall on April 27, 2005. A dust storm (or sandstorm) is a meteorological phenomenon common in dry, arid and semi-arid regions, usually the result of convection currents created by intense heating of the ground. These currents then carry clouds of sand over large distances.
• 
  Sand castle
• 
  One of two monkey selfies taken by Celebes crested macaques using equipment belonging to the British nature photographer David Slater. In mid-2014, the images' hosting on Wikimedia Commons was at the centre of a dispute over whether copyright could be held on artworks made by non-human animals. Slater argued that, as he had "engineered" the shot, he held copyright, while Wikimedia considered the photographs public domain on the grounds that they were made by an animal rather than a person. In December 2014, the United States Copyright Office stated that works by a non-human are not subject to US copyright, a view reaffirmed by a US federal judge in 2016.
• 
• 
  A neutral density filter is a filter that reduces or modifies the intensity of all wavelengths or colors of light equally, giving no changes in hue of color rendition. The filter reduces the amount of light entering the lens, allowing the photographer to select combinations of aperture, exposure time and sensor sensitivity to avoid overexposed pictures. It would normally be attached to the lens, but is hand-held here to illustrate the effect.
• 
  The American Bison, or Buffalo, is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and once inhabited the Great Plains in massive herds. They were central to the lives of Native American tribes. This pile of bison skulls from the 1870s illustrates the extent of their slaughter in the 19th century by settlers: from a population of about 60 million in 1800 to as few as 750 in 1890. They have since been reintroduced into the wild and are no longer considered a high risk endangered species.
• 
  The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the freestanding bell tower of the Cathedral of Pisa, Italy. The third oldest structure in the city's Square of Miracles, it is known worldwide for its unintended tilt. The tower's tilt began during construction in the 12th century, caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt gradually increased until the tower was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The tower, which measures 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
• 
  The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman aqueduct located in Segovia, Spain that transports water from the Rio Frio. It is thought to have been constructed during the 1st century CE. One of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula, the aqueduct is considered a symbol of Segovia and is present on the city's coat of arms.
• 
  Lucky Diamond Rich (b. 1971) is a New Zealand-born performance artist and street performer who holds the Guinness World Record for most tattooed man, taking the title from Tom Leppard in 2006. He is recognized by Guinness as being covered in tattoos over 100% of his body, including the inside of his eyelids, ears, and mouth.
• 
  aurora australis, as seen from the International Space Station. Aurorae are natural light displays in the sky caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude thermosphere. The particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere.
• 
  Glaucus atlanticus is a species of small, blue sea slug. This pelagic aeolid nudibranch floats upside down, using the surface tension of the water to stay up, and is carried along by the winds and ocean currents. The blue side of their body faces upwards, blending in with the blue of the water, while the grey side faces downwards, blending in with the silvery surface of the sea. G. atlanticus feeds on other pelagic creatures, including the Portuguese man o' war.
• 
• 
  American astronaut Eugene Cernan (born March 14, 1934), shown here on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission, the last time any human has set foot on it. In that final lunar landing mission, launched December 7, 1972, Cernan became "the last man on the moon" since he was the last to re-enter the Apollo Lunar Module during its third and final extra-vehicular activity. Prior to this, Cernan had also gone into space twice on the Gemini 9A and Apollo 10 missions.
• 
  The International Space Station (ISS) as seen from the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Zarya, the first module of the ISS launched in 1998, is seen in the foreground. Since then, twenty-six Space Shuttle flights have docked with the ISS to assemble various other modules and components, which include four pairs of solar arrays seen on each side.
• 
  Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and currently the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). It was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development known as Downtown Dubai. Construction took over five years, and the skyscraper was officially opened in January 2010.
• 
  The Door to Hell is a natural gas field in Derweze, Turkmenistan, which has been burning since 1971 when it was ignited by Soviet scientists who expected it to burn out within days. They were trying to prevent the release of poisonous gases. The name "Door to Hell" was given to the field by locals. The hot spots range over an area with a width of 60 metres (200 ft) and to a depth of about 20 metres (66 ft).
• 
  Crash landing of an F6F Hellcat into the port side 20mm gun gallery of the USS Enterprise, November 10, 1943. Lieutenant Walter L. Chewning, Jr., USNR, the Catapult Officer, is climbing up the plane's side to assist the pilot from the burning aircraft. The pilot, Ensign Byron M. Johnson, escaped without significant injury. Note the plane's ruptured belly fuel tank.
• 
  The Hubble Extreme Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax released by NASA on September 25, 2012. The successor to the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, this image was compiled from 10 years of previous images with a total exposure time of two million seconds, or approximately 23 days.
• 
  Height comparison of notable statues: 1) Statue of Unity 240 m. 2) Spring Temple Buddha 153 m. 3) Statue of Liberty 93 m. 4) The Motherland Calls 91 m. 5) Christ the Redeemer 39.6 m. 6) Statue of David 5.17 m.
• 
  Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, on a concrete-floored dock at the port of Hvalba, which is in the Faroe Islands, north of the United Kingdom. Whaling in the Faroe Islands has been practised since at least the 10th century. It is strongly regulated by Faroese authorities and is approved by the International Whaling Commission.
• 
  The Thinker
• 
  An animation of a cicada undergoing ecdysis, the molting of the exoskeleton in arthropods and related groups. Since the cuticula of these animals is inelastic, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The old, empty exoskeleton is called an exuvia. Within one or two hours, the cuticle hardens and darkens, during which time the animal grows, since growth is otherwise constrained by the rigidity of the exoskeleton. Each frame of this image was taken at one-minute intervals, with a 30-minute gap in middle while the cicada rested. The entire process took about 2 hours to complete.
• 
  Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the August 28 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. An estimated 200,000 to 500,000 people participated in the march, which featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was a major factor leading to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The march was also condemned by the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X, who termed it the "farce on Washington".
• 
  The I-35W Mississippi River bridge was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Saint Anthony Falls of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Once the third-busiest bridge in the state, it suddenly collapsed on August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring 145. Rescue of people stranded on the bridge was complete in three hours, while recovery of bodies—involving 75 local, state and federal agencies—took three weeks. An NTSB investigation cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, noting that a too-thin gusset plate ripped along a line of rivets.
• 
  A lava lake at Mount Nyiragongo, a volcano found in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lava lakes, which can form in three different ways, are large volumes of molten lava, usually basaltic, contained in a volcanic vent, crater, or broad depression. Persistent lava lakes such as the one at Nyiragongo, which is the largest to appear in recent times, are rare.
• 
  United States Navy personnel engage in Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) training between a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopter and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). SPIE involves either a person or goods being lowered from or raised to a helicopter via a cable above terrain on which landing would be difficult.
• 
  NGC 1300 is a barred spiral galaxy located roughly 69 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Eridanus. In its core, the nucleus shows its own extraordinary and distinct "grand-design" spiral structure that is about 3,300 light-years long.
• 
  Imagine waking up to this. Which makes me wonder whatever happened to the guy who took this photo.
• 
  A swan created using modular origami, a paperfolding technique which uses two or more sheets of paper to create a larger and more complex structure than possible with single-piece origami techniques. Each individual sheet of paper is folded into a module, or unit, and then modules are assembled into an integrated flat shape or three-dimensional structure by inserting flaps into pockets created by the folding process. These insertions create tension or friction that holds the model together.
• 
  The sperm whale is the largest toothed animal on Earth. The species was hunted extensively by humans throughout history, until protected by a worldwide moratorium on whaling starting in 1985–86.
• 
  San Francisco Bay shrouded in fog, as seen from the Marin Headlands looking east. The fog of San Francisco is a kind of sea fog, created when warm, moist air blows from the central Pacific Ocean across the cold water of the California Current, which flows just off the coast. The water is cold enough to lower the temperature of the air to the dew point, causing fog generation. In this photo, the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen poking through the fog, and the Bay Bridge is visible in the distance.
• 
  A man engaging in big wave surfing at Mavericks, located just north of Half Moon Bay, California. Big wave surfing is a discipline within surfing in which experienced surfers paddle into or are towed onto waves which are at least 20 ft (6.1 m) high, and is a hazardous activity, as surfers can be pushed far beneath the surface of the water after a wipeout.
• 
  The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy located 21 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was first discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, and communicated to Charles Messier, who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries. This image, released on February 28, 2006, is composed of 51 individual exposures, as well as some extra ground-based photos. At the time of its release, it was the largest and most detailed image of a galaxy by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Trump news tracker

27 May 2025 – 2025 royal tour of Canada

King Charles III, in his capacity as King of Canada, visits Canada along with Queen Camilla on Prime Minister Mark Carney's advice. He also read the Speech from the Throne, the first reigning monarch to do so since 1977. The visit is seen as a reinforcement of Canadian sovereignty in light of American president Donald Trump's rhetoric on threatening to annex Canada. (NPR)

26 May 2025 – European Union–United States relations, Tariffs in the second Trump administration

U.S. president Donald Trump says the implementation of 50% tariffs on all goods imported from European Union countries will be postponed until July 9. (CNN)

23 May 2025 – European Union–United States relations, Tariffs in the second Trump administration

U.S. president Donald Trump announces the implementation of 50% tariffs on all goods imported from European Union countries starting June 1. European stock exchanges including the German DAX, the French CAC 40, and the British FTSE 100 report losses afterwards. (DW)

21 May 2025 – Gaza war

Donald Trump's Gaza Strip proposal

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that the implementation of U.S. president Donald Trump's plan to forcibly displace Gazan civilians is a condition for his government to end the war. (The Times of Israel) (Middle East Eye)

21 May 2025 – South Africa–United States relations, White genocide conspiracy theory

U.S. president Donald Trump confronts South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House during a state visit by Ramaphosa, claiming that there is a genocide against Afrikaners in South Africa, which Ramaphosa strongly denied. (Reuters)

18 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia launches 273 drones at Ukraine, the largest such attack since the beginning of the war. The attack comes a day after a round of direct peace talks between the two countries, and a day before Donald Trump's scheduled call with Vladimir Putin. (The Guardian)

15 May 2025 – Iran–United States relations

U.S. president Donald Trump says that the U.S. and Iran have "sort of" agreed on the terms of a deal on Iran's nuclear program, which reportedly includes Iran agreeing to give up highly enriched uranium while keeping lower-grade uranium needed for civilian nuclear power, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. (AP)

14 May 2025 – Syria–United States relations

U.S. president Donald Trump meets with Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa during a trip to Saudi Arabia prior to departing for Qatar, marking the first meeting between a U.S. and Syrian president since 2000. (Al Jazeera)

13 May 2025 – Syria–United States relations

US President Donald Trump announces that the United States will lift all sanctions imposed on Syria under the previous regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and expresses willingness to work with the Syrian transitional government. (Al Jazeera)

12 May 2025 – Immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration, South Africa–United States relations

The first group of Afrikaners arrive in the United States after U.S. president Donald Trump grants refugee status to the white minority group, who Trump says face a "genocide" in the South African farm attacks. The government of South Africa rejects the claims. (AP)

10 May 2025 – 2025 India–Pakistan conflict

United States President Donald Trump and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar announce a full and immediate ceasefire between India and Pakistan, mediated by the U.S. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri later confirms the ceasefire as well. (BBC News)

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28 May 2025 – Miss Grand International 2024

The reigning Miss Grand International Rachel Gupta resigns from her title, citing "mistreatment and a toxic environment". Concurrently, the Miss Grand International Organization announces Gupta's termination from the title, citing her failure to fulfill assigned duties and her engagement in external projects without prior approval. (Manila Bulletin)

28 May 2025 – Pamplona massacre

The Immigration Service of Timor-Leste arrests expelled former Philippine lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr., the main suspect in the assassination of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo in 2023. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

27 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Northern Ukraine border skirmishes

2025 Sumy Oblast incursion

A local official says that Russian forces have seized four Ukrainian villages in the northeastern Sumy Oblast near the border with Russia. (AP)

27 May 2025 –

At least five people are killed and six missing after a blast at a chemical plant in Gaomi, Shandong, China. (Reuters)

27 May 2025 – COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Department of Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces that the United States Centers for Disease Control will remove the COVID-19 vaccine from its list of recommended vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. (NPR) (Reuters)

27 May 2025 – Accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN

Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the ASEAN, announces that Timor-Leste will officially join the ASEAN as its 11th member state in October. (The Straits Times)

27 May 2025 –

Argentine president Javier Milei ratifies Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organization. (The Guardian)

27 May 2025 – 2024 South Korean martial law crisis

South Korean authorities announce travel bans on former acting presidents Han Duck-soo and Choi Sang-mok, as they are investigated for insurrection along with former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who is already indicted. (Macau Business)

27 May 2025 – Capital punishment in Vietnam

The National Assembly of Vietnam begins deliberations on a government proposal to end the death penalty for some offences, including drug trafficking and some national security crimes, and replace them with life in prison without parole. (Vietnam News)

27 May 2025 – 2025 royal tour of Canada

King Charles III, in his capacity as King of Canada, visits Canada along with Queen Camilla on Prime Minister Mark Carney's advice. He also read the Speech from the Throne, the first reigning monarch to do so since 1977. The visit is seen as a reinforcement of Canadian sovereignty in light of American president Donald Trump's rhetoric on threatening to annex Canada. (NPR)

27 May 2025 – 2025 Samoan general election

Samoan prime minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa says that she will dissolve parliament and seek an early election after leading a minority government since January, when she was expelled from her party. (RNZ)

27 May 2025 – Starship flight test 9

SpaceX's first flight to reuse a Super Heavy Booster ends without achieving its goal. (Reuters)

26 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

Israeli attacks kill at least 52 Palestinians in Gaza, including 36 in a school used as a shelter. (BBC News)

26 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Government and intergovernmental reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

German chancellor Friedrich Merz announces that Germany and several other NATO allies have lifted all restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weaponry inside Russia. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov says that the decision is contrary to efforts to reach a political settlement to end the war. (Reuters) (Euronews)

26 May 2025 – European Union–United States relations, Tariffs in the second Trump administration

U.S. president Donald Trump says the implementation of 50% tariffs on all goods imported from European Union countries will be postponed until July 9. (CNN)

26 May 2025 – 2025 Liverpool parade incident

A vehicle ploughs into crowds of Liverpool F.C. fans celebrating their Premier League title win in the city centre of Liverpool, England. At least 47 people are injured, 27 of whom are hospitalised, and a suspect is detained by Merseyside Police. (BBC News)

26 May 2025 – Capital punishment in Nigeria

A Sharia court in Kano State, Nigeria, sentences a 38-year-old man to death and 150 strokes of the cane for setting a mosque on fire and killing 23 people inside in May 2024. (Vanguard Nigeria)

26 May 2025 – Mass shootings in the United States

Two people are killed and nine are injured in a mass shooting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. (WPVI-TV)

26 May 2025 –

A court in Ica, Peru, opens a criminal investigation into an Israeli soldier who is on vacation in the country who is accused of war crimes. The Public Ministry referred the case to the local court to localize the man. (La República)

A barangay captain and two Sangguniang Barangay members are killed, while a Sangguniang Kabataan secretary is critically injured, in a shooting in Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines. The shooter, a former tanod, fatally shoots himself. (The Star) (Sun Star)

26 May 2025 – 2025 Romanian presidential election

Nicușor Dan is sworn in as the new president of Romania. (Euronews)

26 May 2025 – 2025 Games of the Small States of Europe

The XX Games of the Small States of Europe are inaugurated in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. (Diari d'Andorra)

25 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Kyiv strikes

Russian forces launch their largest air attack on Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv, since the start of the war, killing at least 14 people and wounding dozens more. At least 298 Iranian Shahed drones and 69 missiles are launched at Ukrainian cities during the overnight attack. (Reuters) (BBC News)

25 May 2025 –

Ten people are killed, including Humboldt University students and professors, and eleven others are injured in a car accident near Armenia, Colombia, when a bus loses control and crashes into a barrier. (WBBM-TV) (Daily Sabah)

Five people are found dead near the ski resort of Zermatt in Valais, Switzerland, following an avalanche. (Reuters)

At least four people are injured, including one seriously, in a mass stabbing attack with a machete and fight between gangs at the Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. (ABC News Australia)

25 May 2025 – 2025 Surinamese general election

Citizens of Suriname vote to elect 51 seats of the National Assembly. (France 24)

25 May 2025 – 2025 Venezuelan parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections in Venezuela are held amidst heightened government repression and opposition boycott. (AP)

The Venezuelan government holds an election for the Essequibo region of Guyana, which Venezuela claims as part of its territory. In response, Guyana military chief Omar Khan visits border towns to reinforce its military presence. (The New York Times) (Stabroek News)

25 May 2025 – 2024–25 EuroLeague

In basketball, the EuroLeague concludes with Fenerbahçe beating Monaco 81–70 in the Final Four Playoff championship game. Nigel Hayes-Davis is awarded MVP. (Daily Sabah)

25 May 2025 – 2025 Indianapolis 500

In auto racing, three-time Indycar champion Álex Palou of Spain wins the 109th Indianapolis 500, giving Chip Ganassi Racing its sixth victory in the event. (Fox News)

25 May 2025 – 2025 Monaco Grand Prix

In Formula 1, British driver Lando Norris wins the Monaco Grand Prix for McLaren. It is McLaren's first victory at the event since 2008. (Motorsport)

25 May 2025 – 2025 IIHF World Championship

In ice hockey, the United States men's national team defeats Switzerland 1–0 in overtime in the final to win their first World Men's Championship since 1960. (NHL)

24 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Odesa strikes

Russia fires two ballistic missiles at the seaport in Odesa, Ukraine, for the second time in 24 hours, killing two people and injuring seven others. (The Kyiv Independent) (Kyiv Post)

Fifteen civilians are injured in a nighttime Russian drone and missile attack. (The Guardian)

24 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

At least 79 Palestinians are killed by Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, including nine of a doctor's ten children. (AP)

24 May 2025 – Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

Police in Jharkand, India, confirm the deaths of two top Naxal-Maoist militants in an operation in Latehar amid intensified efforts by the Indian government to end the decades-long Naxal insurgency in the country. (Times of India)

24 May 2025 –

Three of the four people on board are killed after a Bell 212 police helicopter crashes and gets engulfed in flames in Nong Kok village, Prachuap Khiri Khan province, Thailand. (Bangkok Post)

24 May 2025 – Japan–North Korea relations, North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens

Families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea decades ago hold a rally in Tokyo to call on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to return their relatives to Japan. (The Mainichi)

24 May 2025 –

A power outage occurs during the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, which French police later claim it was due to suspected arson. (AP)

Daniel Noboa is sworn-in for his second consecutive term as President of Ecuador. (Infobae in Spanish)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 Coupe de France

In association football, Paris Saint-Germain wins a record 16th Coupe de France title after defeating Stade Reims 3–0 in the final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris. (BBC Sport)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 Cypriot Cup

In association football, AEK Larnaca win the Cypriot Cup after defeating Pafos FC on penalties 5–4 after a 0–0 draw at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. (Cyprus News Agency)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 DFB-Pokal

In association football, VfB Stuttgart win the German Cup after defeating Arminia Bielefeld 4–2 in the final at Olympiastadion in Berlin. (BBC Sport)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 EFL Championship

In association football, Sunderland AFC defeats Sheffield United 2–1 in stoppage time to win the English Football League play-off final at Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, and are promoted to the Premier League after an 8-year absence as a result. (Sky Sports) (The Guardian)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 Ekstraklasa

In association football, Lech Poznań wins their 9th Ekstraklasa title on the last day of the season after defeating Piast Gliwice 1–0 at home. (Polsat Sport in Polish)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup

In rugby union, Bordeaux Bègles defeat the Northampton Saints 28–20 in the final to win the European Rugby Champions Cup at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. (BBC Sport)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 Scottish Cup

In association football, Aberdeen F.C. wins their 9th Scottish Cup and their first in 35 years after defeating 42-time winners Celtic F.C. 4–3 in the final on penalties after a 1–1 draw at Hampden Park in Glasgow. (BBC Sport)

24 May 2025 – 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League

In women's association football, Arsenal wins the UEFA Women's Champions League for the second time after defeating FC Barcelona 1–0 in the final played at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal. (BBC Sport)

23 May 2025 – Sudanese civil war

Battle of Khartoum

After the capture of Omdurman and the consequent end of the battle of Khartoum, Sudanese Armed Forces find a mass grave with around 465 bodies located in Omdurman. (The North Africa Post)

23 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine begin the largest prisoner exchange since the war began in February 2022, consisting of three days and 1,000 prisoners of war from each side. (NPR) (CNN)

23 May 2025 – European Union–United States relations, Tariffs in the second Trump administration

U.S. president Donald Trump announces the implementation of 50% tariffs on all goods imported from European Union countries starting June 1. European stock exchanges including the German DAX, the French CAC 40, and the British FTSE 100 report losses afterwards. (DW)

23 May 2025 –

At least 260 miners are trapped after a collapse at the KDC gold mine near Carletonville, Gauteng, South Africa. (ABC News)

23 May 2025 – Canada–United States relations

A group of U.S. senators visit Ottawa, Canada, to meet with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in an effort to maintain the relationship between the two countries amidst Trump's tariffs on the country and calls to make it the 51st state. (The New York Times)

23 May 2025 – Israel–United Kingdom relations

British Minister of State for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard says that the UK "does not recognize" the comments made by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, where he accused British prime minister Keir Starmer, along with French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, of "siding with Hamas" and being on "the wrong side of humanity". (Sky News)

23 May 2025 – Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute

Guyanese Foreign Minister Hugh Todd says that Guyana will defend its sovereignty in the face of Venezuela's referendum next Sunday, passing a motion in parliament and reaffirming warnings that Venezuelans voting in the referendum in Guyana will be deported. (News Room Guyana)

23 May 2025 – 2024–2025 Georgian protests

A court in Georgia places opposition figure Zurab Japaridze, a leader in the country's largest opposition group Coalition for Change, in pre-trial detention for failure to appear before a parliamentary inquiry, after the group led protests against the current government and the ruling party Georgian Dream. (DW)

23 May 2025 – 2025 Hamburg stabbing attack

Seventeen people are injured, including four critically, in a mass stabbing at the main train station in Hamburg, Germany. A woman is arrested at the scene, and four platforms are closed, according to Deutsche Bahn. (Tagesschau) (The Guardian)

23 May 2025 – 2025 killing of Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C.

The suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, D.C. two days ago, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with other charges, both federally and locally. (NPR)

23 May 2025 –

Authorities from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. announce a joint operation to crack down on malware around the world, which took down over 300 servers, neutralized 650 domains, and seized over €3.5 million (US$3.9 million) of cryptocurrency. (DW)

United States district judge Allison D. Burroughs from the District of Massachusetts blocks homeland security secretary Kristi Noem's order to disallow Harvard University from enrolling international students. (AP)

23 May 2025 – 2024–25 Jamaica Premier League

In association football, Cavalier F.C. win their second consecutive and fourth ever Jamaican Premier League title after defeating Mount Pleasant F.A. 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out after a 0–0 draw in the play-off final. (Jamaica Observer) (Radio Jamaica News)

23 May 2025 – 2024–25 Serie A

In association football, SSC Napoli win their fourth Serie A title and second title in three seasons after defeating Cagliari 2–0 on the final matchday. (BBC Sport)

22 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

At least 80 Palestinians are killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip. (Al Jazeera)

22 May 2025 – 2025 San Diego Cessna Citation II crash

Six people are presumed dead (including Daniel Williams, former drummer of metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada), eight others are injured, about 100 people are displaced, and damage to houses and vehicles are reported when a Cessna Citation II aircraft crashes on approach to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in the military neighborhood of Murphy Canyon in San Diego, California, United States. (AP) (KNSD-TV)

22 May 2025 – 2025 New South Wales floods

At least four people are killed in major flooding in various Mid North Coast areas of New South Wales, Australia. (Nine News Australia)

22 May 2025 –

Four people are killed and 17 more are missing after heavy rains triggered landslides in Guizhou, China. (Reuters)

22 May 2025 – Argentina–Venezuela relations

Venezuelan interior minister Diosdado Cabello announces the arrest of several foreign citizens on "conspiracy" charges. The government of Argentina acknowledged the arrest of an Argentine citizen and warned Argentines against travelling to Venezuela, accusing the Venezuelan government of "taking hostages". (MercoPress)

22 May 2025 – Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute, Mauritius–United Kingdom relations

British prime minister Keir Starmer signs a deal formally handing over sovereignty of the disputed Chagos Archipelago in its entirety to Mauritius. The UK and United States will retain control of the Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia for 99 years as part of the deal. (BBC News)

22 May 2025 –

Prosecutors in Sweden announce that they will charge a Swedish citizen with "aggravated war crimes and terrorist crimes committed in Syria" for the 2015 murder of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh. (DW)

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem orders the termination of Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, removing the institution's ability to enroll new international students and requiring current international students to transfer or lose their legal status. (Reuters)

22 May 2025 – 2025 Philippine general election, 2025 Philippine cabinet reshuffle

Philippine president Bongbong Marcos reshuffles the entire Cabinet, with all Cabinet secretaries ordered to submit their courtesy resignations in the wake of the results of the midterm elections. (Rappler) (Reuters)

21 May 2025 – Gaza war

Donald Trump's Gaza Strip proposal

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces that the implementation of U.S. president Donald Trump's plan to forcibly displace Gazan civilians is a condition for his government to end the war. (The Times of Israel) (Middle East Eye)

May 2025 Gaza offensive, Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

At least 82 Palestinians are killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip. (AP)

21 May 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan

2025 Khuzdar school bus bombing

At least six people are killed, including four children, and 38 others are injured, in an improvised explosive device bombing targeting an army-operated school bus in Khuzdar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)

21 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Six Ukrainian National Guard personnel are killed in a Russian missile strike on a training camp in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. (BBC News)

21 May 2025 – Syrian civil war

Two soldiers are killed in a shooting against the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria. Both the perpetrators, who are also killed, were foreign nationals who had worked as military trainers at a naval college. (AP)

21 May 2025 –

During the launching of the Choe Hyon 2, the second ship of the North Korean Choe Hyon-class destroyer, a "serious accident" occurs and damages the hull in the process. (BBC News)

NHS England announces the country will start rolling out a vaccination programme for gonorrhea, using the 4CMenB vaccine, starting in August. This will be the world's first vaccination programme for gonorrhea. (BBC News) (The Week) (NHS England)

21 May 2025 – Foreign relations of Israel

More than a dozen governments condemn the Israeli military firing in the direction of a diplomatic delegation with representatives from 31 countries including Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera)

Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Uruguay summon their Israeli ambassadors over the incident in the occupied West Bank. Canada, the EU, and Turkey call for the launch of an official investigation. (BBC News) (CNN) (Middle East Eye) (Turkish Minute)

Israel's Foreign Ministry releases a statement saying that after the delegation "deviated from the approved route", Israeli soldiers fired "warning shots" to distance them away. (Time)

21 May 2025 – Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute

Guyana Defence Force brigadier general Omar Khan warns Venezuelans living in Guyana against participating in the May 25 referendum on the Essequibo proposed by the Venezuelan government, with Khan saying that they will risk arrest for "treason and other felonies" as well as deportation. (AP)

21 May 2025 – Kenya–Uganda relations

Kenya admits that it assisted Uganda in the kidnapping of opposition politician Kizza Besigye in Nairobi in November 2024. Besigye was later taken to Uganda, where he is currently on trial. (Barron's)

21 May 2025 – South Africa–United States relations, White genocide conspiracy theory

U.S. president Donald Trump confronts South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House during a state visit by Ramaphosa, claiming that there is a genocide against Afrikaners in South Africa, which Ramaphosa strongly denied. (Reuters)

21 May 2025 – Violent incidents in reaction to the Gaza war

2025 killing of Israeli Embassy workers in Washington, D.C.

Two Israeli Embassy staffers are shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., after attending an American Jewish Committee event at the museum. The suspect is arrested at the scene. (NBC News)

21 May 2025 –

Andriy Portnov, former People's Deputy of Ukraine and aide to former president Viktor Yanukovych, is assassinated in Madrid, Spain, by unidentified gunmen. (Sky News)

Argentine president Javier Milei issues a decree limiting the right to strike for several services, banning some trade unions from further suspending operations as a method of protest. (ABC)

21 May 2025 – 2024–25 UEFA Europa League

2025 UEFA Europa League final

In association football, Tottenham Hotspur wins the Europa League, its first trophy since 2008, after defeating Manchester United 1–0 in the final played at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain. (CNN)

20 May 2025 – Somali Civil War

Islamic State insurgency in Puntland

Puntland counter-terrorism operations

Puntland authorities confirm the killing of Ahmed Muse Said, a senior leader of the Islamic State in Somalia who led the recruitment of members from local clans, during a security operation in the Togga Miiraale area of the Bari Region, Puntland. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online)

2025 Mogadishu military base bombing

Al-Shabaab claims at least six rounds of mortar fire caused damage to properties in the Aden Adde International Airport area of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, which includes the Halane base camp. The facility houses United Nations offices, African Union personnel, and diplomatic missions. (Garowe Online)

2025 Shabelle offensive

An Al-Shabaab mortar attack kills three Somali army personnel in Hiilweyne military barracks near Bal'ad in Middle Shabelle, Somalia. (Hiiraan Online)

20 May 2025 – Sudanese civil war

Battle of Khartoum

The Sudanese Armed Forces announces full control of Khartoum State following the withdrawal of the last remaining Rapid Support Forces units from the region. (AP)

20 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

Israeli strikes kill at least 85 Palestinians in Gaza. (AP)

20 May 2025 – Mexican drug war

Seven people are killed, including minors, in a mass shooting by Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel gunmen in San Felipe, Guanajuato, Mexico. (CBS News)

20 May 2025 – International Booker Prize

Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi win the 2025 International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, a collection of short stories. (The Guardian)

20 May 2025 –

Four people are killed and two others are reported missing amid power outages and widespread damage from flooding in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. (BBC News) (Sky News)

20 May 2025 – European Union–Russia relations

The European Council adopts a 17th sanctions package against Russia, including 189 additional vessels of Russia's shadow fleet. (European Commission)

20 May 2025 – Israel–United Kingdom relations

The United Kingdom suspends negotiations on a new free trade agreement with Israel and summons the Israeli ambassador amid the recent Israeli offensive in Gaza. (BBC News)

20 May 2025 – 2025 New Orleans jailbreak

A fifth escapee is captured in New Orleans following the largest jailbreak in United States history. Five escapees remain at large. (CBS News)

20 May 2025 –

An attack in Mexico City, Mexico, kills two of mayor Clara Brugada's top aides. (BBC News) (NOS)

Three students are injured in a mass stabbing attack at a school in Pirkkala, Pirkanmaa, Finland. The suspect, a 16-year-old, released a manifesto saying his target was women. (Yle)

20 May 2025 – 2025 Australian federal election

The federal wing of the National Party leaves the Liberal-National Coalition for the first time since 1987, citing poor performance in the recent federal election and growing policy differences. (The Guardian Australia)

20 May 2025 – 2025 Bolivian general election

Former Bolivian president Evo Morales fails to secure his candidacy for the presidential election as the deadline expires amid a court's decision to uphold his ban to run for a fourth term. Morales announces he will appeal the decision. (Reuters)

20 May 2025 –

Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and 143,000 players draw in an online freestyle chess match on Chess.com lasting 46 days. The game sets a new record with the biggest number of opponents. (The Guardian)

19 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

At least 84 Palestinians are killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. (Al Jazeera)

19 May 2025 – Somali Civil War

Over 70 Al-Shabaab militants are killed along the Hiran–Middle Shabelle border in Somalia in an overnight military operation by the Somali National Army and local defense fighters from Hiran. (Hiiraan Online)

19 May 2025 –

National broadcasters VRT of Belgium and RTVE of Spain call for a debate on Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. (Semana)

Indian National Highway 66 collapses in Kooriyad, Malappuram district, Kerala. Four cars on the service road are damaged in the collapse and seven passengers are injured. (The Hindu) (CNBC TV18) (The Times of India)

19 May 2025 – Iran–United Kingdom relations

The Iranian foreign ministry summons the British chargé d'affaires to protest the arrest of seven Iranian nationals in London earlier this month. (DW)

19 May 2025 – Mbanie Island territorial dispute

The International Court of Justice rules 13–2 that Equatorial Guinea possesses sovereignty of the islands of Conga, Mbanié, and Cocoteros in a territorial dispute with Gabon. (BBC News) (DW) (Bloomberg via WorldOil)

19 May 2025 – Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union

The United Kingdom and European Union conclude a deal on travel, food and metals exports, fishing access, and border security. (The Guardian)

19 May 2025 – 2025 New Orleans jailbreak

A fourth escaped inmate, of a total of 10 escapees, is captured following the mass escape of prisoners in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Six escaped prisoners remain at large. (ABC News)

19 May 2025 –

Lithuania files a lawsuit against Belarus with the International Court of Justice, accusing it of orchestrating the migrant crisis and violating international law. (Baltic Times)

Russia bans Amnesty International as an undesirable organisation, accusing the group of openly supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia. (Reuters)

The trial of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and 80 other officials begins in Brasília. Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting the 8 January Brasília attacks, faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. (France 24)

19 May 2025 – 2025 Philippine general election

The nominees of the winning party-lists of the election held on May 12 are proclaimed. However, the proclamation of party-lists Duterte Youth and Bagong Henerasyon are suspended due to pending disqualification cases, leaving four seats unresolved. (GMA News)

18 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, May 2025 Gaza offensive

At least 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza in the last day. (Sky News) (Reuters)

18 May 2025 – Somali Civil War

2025 Mogadishu military base bombing

At least 21 people are killed, including the perpetrator, and 15 others are injured in a suicide bombing at the entrance of a military base in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Reuters) (Hiiraan Online)

18 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia launches 273 drones at Ukraine, the largest such attack since the beginning of the war. The attack comes a day after a round of direct peace talks between the two countries, and a day before Donald Trump's scheduled call with Vladimir Putin. (The Guardian)

18 May 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan

Four people are killed and twenty others are injured in a bombing near a market in Killa Abdullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Several shops collapsed, fires were started and buildings were damaged. (The Hindu)

18 May 2025 – Syrian civil war

Three police personnel are killed and two others are injured in a car bombing targeting a police station in Mayadin, Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. (SANA) (Al Jazeera English)

18 May 2025 – Papal inauguration of Pope Leo XIV

The papal inauguration Mass of Pope Leo XIV is held at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. (Sky News)

18 May 2025 –

Seventeen people are killed and several others are injured in a building fire in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. (DW)

Six people are killed and eleven others are injured in a mining accident at a gold mine in Mwakitolyo Village, Shinyanga Urban District, Tanzania. (The Citizen Tanzania)

Three people are killed, including a 5-year-old, and two others are injured, including an infant, when a train strikes five civilians near a bridge in Fremont, Ohio, United States. (Sandusky Register)

18 May 2025 – Capital punishment in Iran, 2022 Shah Cheragh attack

A court in Shiraz, Iran, sentences three people to death over two attacks on a Shiite shrine in 2022 and 2023 in Shiraz and several to others to different prison terms. (The Times of Israel)

18 May 2025 –

Kenyan politician Martha Karua, who legally represents incarcerated Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, is arrested at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and set for deportation. (France 24)

Six people are injured, including the perpetrator and one critically, in a mass stabbing attack when a Syrian national stabs a group of football fans with a swordstick and knives outside of a bar in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. (Euronews) (BNO News)

Three people are injured, including an 11-year-old, in a mass stabbing attack outside of a house after an altercation in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. (Der Spiegel)

18 May 2025 – 2025 Polish presidential election

Incumbent mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski leads the first round of the Polish presidential elections with 31.4% of the vote, followed by Karol Nawrocki with 29.5%. As no candidates received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff between the two is scheduled for June 1. (Euronews) (Elections of Poland) (The Times of India)

18 May 2025 – 2025 Portuguese legislative election

Citizens in Portugal vote to elect 230 seats of the Assembly of the Republic. (AP)

18 May 2025 – 2025 Romanian presidential election

Romanians vote in the second round to choose their president between far-right George Simion and independent-declared centrist and incumbent Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan. (DW)

Nicușor Dan is elected President of Romania after winning 53.6% of the vote. (CNBC) (DW)

18 May 2025 – 2025 South Korean presidential election

Liberal Unification Party presidential candidate Koo Joo-wa resigns from his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election on June 3. (Yonhap (in Korean))

Former People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-wook joins the Democratic Party of Korea, three days after he declared support for Lee Jae-myung as the party's presidential candidate and ten days after leaving the conservative party. (The Korea Herald)

18 May 2025 –

The party of Argentina's president, Javier Milei, La Libertad Avanza, wins the Buenos Aires legislative election, with presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni securing the victory. (Reuters)

18 May 2025 – 2024–25 CEV Champions League

In men's volleyball, Umbria Volley Perugia beats Warta Zawiercie 3–2 to win the CEV Champions League. (Volley Times) (World of Volley)

18 May 2025 – 2024–25 Eredivisie

In association football, PSV Eindhoven wins their 26th total and second consecutive Eredivisie title in the last round after defeating Sparta Rotterdam 3–1. (The Guardian)

18 May 2025 – 2024–25 Ligue 1 Mauritania

In association football, FC Nouadhibou win a record 13th Super D1 title. (Meczyki (in Polish))

18 May 2025 – 2024–25 Süper Lig

In association football, Galatasaray win a record 25th Süper Lig title after defeating Kayserispor 3–0. (BBC Sport)

18 May 2025 – 2024–25 Premier League

Everton F.C. play their final game at Goodison Park in Walton, Liverpool, England, the club's home ground for the last 133 years. They will transition to Everton Stadium in Vauxhall starting the 2025–26 season. (BBC Sport)

18 May 2025 – 2024–25 Women's FA Cup

In women's association football, Chelsea complete a domestic treble after beating Man United 3–0 in the Women's FA Cup final. (BBC Sport)

18 May 2025 – 2025 Indianapolis 500

In motorsports, Robert Shwartzman of Prema Racing wins pole position for the Indianapolis 500, the first rookie to do so since 1983. (AP via Toronto Star)

17 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in the last 24 hours. (AP) (Reuters)

17 May 2025 – Republican insurgency in Afghanistan

Thirteen Taliban fighters are killed and four others are injured in a bombing at a military base in Darah District, Panjshir Province, Afghanistan. The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan claims responsibility. (Afghanistan International)

17 May 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine

Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

A bus evacuating civilians is attacked by a Russian drone near Bilopillia, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, killing nine people and injuring five others. (Ukrainska Pravda)

17 May 2025 – Terrorism in the United States

2025 Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing

One person is killed, four others are injured, and significant damage is reported in a car bombing at a fertility clinic near the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California, United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirms the explosion was an act of terrorism. (The Desert Sun) (BNO News)

17 May 2025 – Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute

The chief of the Guyana Defence Force, Omar Khan, says that military reinforcement have been sent to the Cuyuní River area after Venezuelan civilians shot at Guyanese soldiers on Thursday, as tensions between both nations increase over a referendum by Venezuela on the Essequibo. (Infobae)

17 May 2025 – War against the Islamic State, Syrian civil war

Three Islamic State gunmen are killed and four others are arrested in Aleppo during a military operation by the armed forces. Weapons, explosives and uniforms with official insignia are seized. A security forces member is also killed in the confrontation. (Al Jazeera)

17 May 2025 – 2025 Eura mid-air collision

Five people, including Estonian businessmen Oleg Sõnajalg and Priit Jaagant, are killed when two Robinson R44 civilian helicopters en route to Piikajärvi Airfield collide mid-air and crash into the ground in a forested area near Eura, Satakunta, Finland. (Eesti Rahvusringhääling)

17 May 2025 – Cuauhtémoc Brooklyn Bridge collision

Two crew members are killed and twenty-five others are injured, including two critically, when Mexican Navy training ship ARM Cuauhtémoc with a crew of 277 people on a festive visit collides with the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, New York, United States. A search and rescue operation is currently underway. The bridge suffered no damage, and has since reopened. (WNBC-TV) (The New York Post)

17 May 2025 – Tornado outbreak sequence of May 15–16, 2025

The death toll from severe weather yesterday, including likely tornadoes, in St. Louis, Missouri, and Somerset, Kentucky, United States, rises to 31. More severe weather is expected today near the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas. (NPR) (AP)

17 May 2025 – Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda relations

Hundreds of Rwandan refugees from the 1994 genocide return to Rwanda under the auspices of a United Nations program. The refugees, mostly Hutu civilians, were residing in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)

17 May 2025 – Capital punishment in Iran, Blasphemy law in Iran

The Supreme Court of Iran overturns a 5-year prison sentence imposed by a Tehran court against singer Amir Tataloo and confirms his death sentence for blasphemy. Tataloo had been extradited from Turkey in 2023. (News Central Africa) (IranWire)

17 May 2025 – Mass shootings in the United States

Three people are killed and another person is critically injured in a mass shooting outside of a nightclub in Seattle, Washington, United States. No arrests have been made. (KOMO-TV)

17 May 2025 –

Eight people are killed in a mass shooting by unidentified gunmen inside a tavern in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A manhunt for the suspects has been launched. (CBS News)

17 May 2025 – 2025 Philippine general election

The twelve winning candidates of the Senate election held on May 12 are officially proclaimed as senators-elect. The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas coalition of President Bongbong Marcos wins the most seats with six. However, one of its members, Senator-elect Camille Villar, is also a candidate of the opposition coalition DuterTen, supported by Vice President Sara Duterte, which won a total of five seats. (Inquirer.net) (ABS-CBN News)

17 May 2025 –

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol leaves the People Power Party a month after the Constitutional Court of Korea removed him from office due to his short-lived declaration of martial law. (Reuters)

17 May 2025 – 2024–25 Bundesliga

In association football, Bayern Munich are the defending champions of the Bundesliga after defeating TSG Hoffenheim 4–0 on the final matchday. (NBC Sports)

17 May 2025 – 2024–25 FA Cup

In English football, Crystal Palace wins the FA Cup after defeating Manchester City 1–0 in the final played at Wembley Stadium in London. It is Crystal Palace's first major trophy in the club's 119-year history. (Fox Sports)

17 May 2025 – 2024–25 Ligue 1

In association football, Paris Saint-Germain defeat AJ Auxerre 3–1 to become Ligue 1 champions. (BBC Sport)

17 May 2025 – 2025 Preakness Stakes

At the Pimlico Race Course, the horse Journalism, jockeyed by Umberto Rispoli, wins the Preakness Stakes. (NBC News)

16 May 2025 – Gaza war

Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip

More than 74 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since midnight. (RTÉ News)

16 May 2025 – Red Sea crisis

The Israeli Air Force launches airstrikes on the ports of Hudaydah and Salif in Houthi-controlled Yemen, as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Israel Katz warn that if the Houthis persist in attacking Israel, their leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi will be directly targeted. (Al Arabiya)

16 May 2025 – Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan

A locally renowned doctor in Sargodha, Pakistan, belonging to the Ahmadiyya community, is killed after an unknown assailant shoots him twice in the back. (Dawn)

16 May 2025 – United States federal government credit-rating downgrades

Moody's Ratings lowers the United States' credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, citing the government's rising debt, widening deficits, and increased interest payments. (USA Today)

16 May 2025 – Tornado outbreak sequence of May 15–16, 2025

A tornado strikes St. Louis, Missouri. At least 5 people are killed, 35-45 others are injured and more than 100,000 are without power in the St. Louis metropolitan area following severe weather in the city and surrounding areas. (Associated Press) (KSDK)

16 May 2025 –

Five people are killed and three others are injured by a landslide at a hydropower plant construction site in Phong Thổ, Lai Châu province, Vietnam. (News.az)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration clears the Fujirebio Lumipulse for distribution, the first blood test that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in people 55 years or older with memory problems by detecting amyloid plaques. Alzheimer's can currently only be diagnosed using a PET scan. (NPR) (FDA)

16 May 2025 – Foreign relations of Angola, 2023 Gabonese coup d'état

The Government of Angola says that former President of Gabon Ali Bongo, along with former First Lady Sylvia Bongo Ondimba and their son Noureddin Bongo Valentin arrived last night in Angola, where they received asylum "for humanitarian reasons", days after their release from prison, where they had been since the 2023 coup. (Reuters)

16 May 2025 – Stabbing of Salman Rushdie

A court in New York, United States sentences 27-year old Hadi Matar to 25 years in prison for the August 2022 stabbing attack on Indian-British-American author Salman Rushdie, which left Rushdie severely injured while he was giving a talk in Chautauqua. (AP)

Me (incomplete), described in userboxes...

This user created the User page design guide. Outlines comprise bullets like these This user started WikiProject Outlines. This user started Wikipedia's Help Project (as User:Go for it!). This user started WikiProject Health and fitness (as User:Go for it!). This user started WikiProject Indexes This user started WikiProject Glossaries This user proudly participates in WikiProject Lists mesoThis editor is a mesopedian. This user is not a prose nazi and sees no problem with a list or a table being on an article. A, B, and CThis user prefers the serial comma. inclThis user is an inclusionist. incrThis editor is an incrementalist. evenThis editor is an eventualist. This user has been on Wikipedia for 19 years, 7 months and 17 days. This user is a Wikipedia tipster. This user uses AutoWikiBrowser to quickly make repetitive edits. This user has made over 300,000 edits to Wikipedia.  35,000+ This user has created 35,000+ active redirect pages on the English language Wikipedia. This user has created over 500 Outlines in Wikipedia. This user is interested in the digital revolution. {{Wiki}}This user is an advanced writer in the MediaWiki language. This user develops user scripts; Perl-2This user is an intermediate Perl programmer. js-2This user is an intermediate JavaScript programmer. re-3This user writes advanced regular expressions. This user thinks you can learn a lot by editing an encyclopedia. This user is a transhumanist. This user advocates humanism. This user is a member of the Geography WikiProject. Globus This user does not believe in borders, and is a World citizen. This user is interested in the Planet Earth. This user is interested in history. This user is interested in Human Prehistory This user is interested in ancient civilizations. This user is interested in ancient Egypt. This user is interested in ancient Greece. This user is interested in ancient Rome.

History and contributions...

Awards and praise I've received over the years...

Tip of the day April 21, 2006: Thanks for helping a newbie!

Filmcom 14:36, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

I award this random acts of kindness Barnstar to Go for It! for being very helpful to a newcomer wikipedian, without being asked to.Filmcom 19:41, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

I just want to thank you for building on my tip and making it a true wikipedia tip of the day. I'm still learning a lot about how to do things around here, so your help was greatly appreciated! Keep up the great work, and keep on Going for it!

Smashing!

Smashing job on Tip of the day!

You've done a great job getting the Tip of the Day off the ground. As a result, I think you deserve this! smurrayinchester^{(User), (Talk)} 17:52, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Barnstar

This Working Man's Barnstar is awarded to Go for it! for your tireless and diligent work on the reference desk templates! -- Natalya 19:37, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Barnstar

For going above and beyond the call of duty at Esperanza/Admin coaching, I award you this Original Barnstar. Good work! --Fang Aili ^talk 18:34, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Award

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Your kindess was not random, because you were kind enough to listen to my requests to fix my userpage. Your major kindness will not be ignored, as this BarnStar is my token of appreciation! Kyo catmeow! 01:59, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

!!!

<O.o --The Prophet Wizard of the Crayon Cake 01:45, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

You're welcome. The Transhumanist 01:55, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The da Vinci Barnstar
		Awarded to User:The Transhumanist. Sometimes those who take on large areas of wikipedia organisation seem to be taken for granted, and this is just to show that your work is appreciated by the community. Khukri (talk . contribs) 09:56, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

!

Cool signature Kamope · talk · contributions 12:58, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks.   The Transhumanist 05:52, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks so much!

Thanks so much for the hints in your userpage tutorial. . I am a new user and familiar with HTML markup, but not so with Wikimark up. Your userpage tutorial really helped! Real96 06:14, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

You're welcome. I'm glad you found it useful. If you see any way to improve it, by all means, please feel free to do so.   The Transhumanist 06:36, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

WC

How can I sum the above up....? Oh yes:

		The Original Barnstar
		For your revamp of The Welcoming Committee, and of the Welcome Page, I award you the original barnstar. Well done! Anthonycfc [T • C] 18:19, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

WOW!!

as a near- noob, this is by far the most detailed and useful article on wikipedia for me! Excellent! I really wish I had a user page like this after two years...Snailey! 15:42, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		For all your work with admin coaching, barnstar awarding, Wikipedia-expanding, and various administrative duties (if you can call all that political stuff we Wikipedians must wade through such a name), I, Sharkface217, hereby award you this Tireless Contributor Barnstar. Good job. S h a r k f a c e 2 1 7 19:36, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Just a few words...

TT, my friend, my mop would never have been gained without your incredible expertise. My kindest regards to you, and drop by as often as possible! Now, a little token of my appreciation...

The Golden Wiki Award;
This, the Golden Wiki Award, the highest attainment level of awards and barnstars, goes to you - The Transhumanist - for being one of the most helpful, kind, resourceful and generous Wikipedians I've had to utmost fortune to meet. Your contributions around the Wiki - at the WikiClassroom, in Dispute Resolution, at the Welcoming Committee, but most of all being a genuinely fun guy, are an amazing feat, and if half the trolls I'll undoubtedly meet after gaining my mop (thanks to you) took a leaf from your book, Wikipedia would be a nicer place.

My kindest possible regards,
Anthony 21:38, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Barnstar

		What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar
		I award you this Brilliant Idea Barnstar for helping others to earn Barnstars and awards through your Award Center! • The Giant Puffin • 13:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Award

Hello The Transhumanist, (Hold on, can I say that or is it "Hello Transhumanist")
I was going to give you an award but there wasn't one good enough, so I made one better than any that has ever been seen before - This message. Yes, yes, I know, you don't think your worthy of it, but I assure you, you are the only one good enough for it - Pheonix 19:34, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

A Help:Contents Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		As the top contributor to Help:Contents, you deserve this barnstar. Thank you! Jreferee (Talk) 05:59, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Original Barnstar
		For taking up the challenge and improving my command page, I, Sharkface217, hereby award you this Original Barnstar. Another feather in the Transhumanist cap, eh? :-P --Sharkface217 21:37, 19 December 2007 (UTC)

:D

Hi there Trans Face! X××x××pink×jellocreature××x××X (talk) 01:36, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

You won an award!

X××x××pink×jellocreature××x××X (talk) awards you the unofficial funniness award!

Fractional-reserve banking

You deserve a barnstar for your efforts. I can't think of anyone who has contributed more to Wikipedia, except maybe Jimbo. I'm not sure where to put this on your frontpage, so here it is:

		What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar
		For boldly redirecting Debt-based monetary system to Criticisms of fractional-reserve banking, both saving it from deletion while defending Wikipedia from those who would violate WP:FRINGE, and being one of the most helpful editors on Wikipedia, in general. Zenwhat (talk) 03:41, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		I, Diligent Terrier, award you this "Tireless Contributor Barnstar" for your work in starting the List of basic American Civil War topics article from scratch. Great Job! DiligentTerrier • talk |sign here 22:17, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

My Userpage

Hi There First id like to thank you immensly for your pages about creating a decent userpage!! They are great and I would be lost without them!! Just one question, On my userpage i have a small welcome banner up the top. How do I make this text larger and change the font? Sorry if you have already covered this somewhere. Thanks in advanceCstubbies (talk) 12:40, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

A valuable service

I think you need recognition for doing the job of ten other editors, and doing it out of altruism and genuine belief in Wikipedia. Not many editors here have the same good attitude and provide the same service as you - I don't have any specific point to put across, but I thought you should just be prodded and reminded that you do a lot of good around here, in the hope you'll keep it up. Kudos! Seegoon (talk) 17:43, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

:)

		The Excellent Userpage Award
		Nice page. jaytur1 (talk · contribs) 12:13, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Welcoming committee

Just a note, I've made a minor update to your contributions. To reiterate my edit summary, you put in a tonne of effort there, and you deserve to be credited for it :) Feel free to revert, nonetheless. Regards, AGK (contact) 16:44, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

List of basic space exploration topics

Hi there TTH, Just wanted to thank you for your labors on this page, which is a great resource for us. Bill Wwheaton (talk) 17:48, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

You'd better hope there is a humour barnstar

... because you just gave me the biggest laugh in weeks. Good stuff giving that RfA spammer what-for here. αѕєηιηє ^t/_c 22:03, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

List of basic Canada topics

Nice work -- I will withdraw the AfD nom. – ukexpat (talk) 00:55, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Done

		The Barnstar of Recovery
		For saving List of basic Canada topics from being deleted, I - Milk's Favorite Cookie hereby award you this Barnstar! Congrats! - Milk's Favorite Cookie 01:16, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Fictional lists

The deletion review was approved for recreation: Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2008 March 10. Just letting you know, in case you weren't watchlisting it. I'm not sure what you have to do next to get the old version undeleted though (if that's what you wanted :) Nice catch on rescuing that grouping. -- Quiddity (talk) 00:21, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

'Tis for you

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		I've noticed the extra mile you've gone to help a new user, and I wanted you to know it hasn't gone unnoticed. Keep up the good work! Keeper | 76 | Disclaimer 16:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for being patient and taking four rounds of references from me, until they were all valid. LAAFan 01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for putting funny stuff on his discussion page which led me to copy them and put some of those funny stuff on my website. Thanks. Emir34 01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

List_of_basic_France_topics

Hi Transhumanist, I wanted to note that I saw all of your work on the List of Basic France topics, and I appreciate it! Lazulilasher (talk) 02:12, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

From Zach...

		The da Vinci Barnstar
		For helping me so many times. and for my wonderful userpage. Cheers, Zacharycrimsonwolf 04:08, 30 September 2008 (UTC)

(next page...)

Guidance Star

		The Guidance Barnstar
		For helping me to find resources on humanism, which I will hopefully be able to use to improve the articles on it here as well! Scapler (talk) 02:39, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Happy Transhumanist's Day!

The Transhumanist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, so I've officially declared today as Transhumanist's Day! For your incredible organization and leadership skills, enjoy being the star of the day, dear The Transhumanist! Signed, Dylan (chat, work, ping, sign)

→ Dylan620 (Toolbox Alpha, Beta) 00:26, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Happy The Transhumanist's Day!

The Transhumanist has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, and therefore, I've officially declared today as The Transhumanist's day! For your history of dedicated work to the project, enjoy being the Star of the day, The Transhumanist! Cheers, bibliomaniac15 22:08, 4 June 2009 (UTC) If you'd like to show off your awesomeness, you can use this userbox.

Congrats. :) –Juliancolton | ^Talk 23:44, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I think...

...you need a barnstar for all of the hard work you have put into the WP:WPOOK!

		The Barnstar Barnstar
		You deserve two! at-210 discovered elements ∞ what am I? 20:21, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Barnstar

Transhumanist my friend,

It's about time you deserve a barnstar for all your contributions to outlines on Wikipedia, and also for being the promoter that you are for outlines. If it wasn't for you we might not have outlines as they are, so it is my honor to present to you the Special Barnstar because no other barnstar could merit what you do for outlines on Wikipedia.  :-) Burningview (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

		The Special Barnstar
		This barnstar is presented to Transhumanist for all the hard work, contributions, coordination, and promotion he does in advancing the idea, coverage, content, and quality of Outlines on Wikipedia. For this he deserves a Special Barnstar Burningview (talk) 03:42, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

Well done

		The Special Barnstar
		This award is in appreciation of the excellent work you have done supporting the development of Outlines on Wikipedia Thruxton (talk) 18:59, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Made me laugh

You once said in a AFD: "If you are building a robot, you can start with just the left pinky." I love that. Happy New Year! Jerry delusional ¤ kangaroo 20:34, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

another thanks

I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of a formatted signature. For some reason I couldn't find any reference to how it is done in the years I have been here. Cheers. ◦◦derekbd◦◦my talk◦◦ 12:16, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

Impressed

I just wanted to tell you (probably not the 1st ^^ ) that your are an incredible wikipedia member, your userpage is simply amazing and your contribution is...gigantic? huge? Incredible? not for the number edits (still high) but rather over the appropriateness of the things that you have created, especially the outline project. I wont give you another award, you already have billions, but simply a modest "Bravo!". -- Offiikart (Talk) 05:23, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Thanks

Hi, thanks a lot for the barnstar, you are truly a user with whom it is pleasant to interact. I greatly appreciate your help, your tips and you recognition on the work done, even if only very minimal compared to the work you have done.

I think you, more than everyone else, deserve a special recognition. Here is the first Barnstar I ever awarded :

		The WikiProject Barnstar
		To The Transhumanist who created the outline project and tirelessly continues to improve it. A special thanks for your help and your recognition. OffiikartTalk 13:54, 29 June 2011 (UTC)

ps. I did put the page alert on my watchlist

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Your fine contributions are not overlooked. You are a quality editor, and we are so glad you are here. Thanks to the user:Transhumanist! Pinkstrawberry02™ talk 01:49, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Note to user getting this message: Please respond on Pinkstrawberry02's talk page. If for some reason you cannot, please send them a {{talkback}} and reply on your own talk page. Thanks for your understanding in this manner. See ya around the wiki!

barnstar

		The Chess Barnstar
		Awarded for many contributions to chess articles, especially the Outline of chess. Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 16:34, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Thanks so much for your work on the Outline of domestic violence, it is so much better that it's astounding how far it's come along. Thanks for making my first outline "sing"! CaroleHenson (talk) 11:11, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

You're first one? Wonderful! I can't wait to see what you come up with next. And I also look forward to seeing what you have in store for this outline. Thank you for the barnstar. It's very nice to feel appreciated. The Transhumanist 22:10, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Wow! Thanks for your help on the Future studies project. I can't believe all the pages you've contributed to, but glad you found ours!... RealFuturist (talk) 17:09, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Copyeditor's Barnstar
	Thanks for the ndashes on the Apple outline article. Zach Vega (talk) 00:58, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

A cookie for you!

Many years ago, back before I had created my current account, I created a humble little userspace navigation menu based off of two of your menus from the User Page Design Center (initially 15, but ultimately 6). Over the years it has grown, but I don't know if I ever would have started it without seeing your menus first. I just want to thank you for putting the effort into creating those menus and then sharing them at the Design Center where they have been helpful for people like me. I hope you don't mind me borrowing from your hard work! Thanks again and take care! Michael Barera (talk) 03:30, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Thank you

		The Instructor's Barnstar
		This Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have performed stellar work in the area of instruction & help for other editors. Just wanted to stop by and say this edit was something I wanted to do but simply did not have the "kahunas" to do so. Thank you for the bold edit :-) Moxy (talk) 07:25, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Barnstar of Diligence
	For your efforts on updating, improving and organising Outline of human anatomy LT910001 (talk) 06:39, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
	For your work on "Outline of space science" Tetra quark (don't be shy) 05:55, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. The Transhumanist 07:45, 18 January 2015 (UTC)

A cup of coffee for you!

A cup of coffee for you! masum (talk) 06:10, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. The Transhumanist 06:56, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

At Tip-Of-The-Day: Thank you for your updates & guidance!

Do have an e-cookie and enjoy!

Greetings The Transhumanist,

Want to let you know the value of your insights & feedback!
Regards, JoeHebda (talk) 21:53, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. Keep up the good work. The Transhumanist 16:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Pony!

Pony!
Congratulations! For all your hard work on redirect repair at Glossary of North American horse racing and general wikignoming along the way of articles such as Easy Goer, you have received a pony! Ponies are cute, intelligent, cuddly, friendly (most of the time, though with notable exceptions), promote good will, encourage patience, and enjoy carrots. Treat your pony with respect and he will be your faithful friend! We need more wikipedia editors like you! Montanabw^(talk) 02:22, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

To send a pony or a treat to other wonderful and responsible editors, click here.

Thank you for being one of Wikipedia's top medical contributors!

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The Cure Award

In 2015 you were one of the top 300 medical editors across any language of Wikipedia. Thank you from Wiki Project Med Foundation for helping bring free, complete, accurate, up-to-date health information to the public. We really appreciate you and the vital work you do! Wiki Project Med Foundation is a user group whose mission is to improve our health content. Consider joining here, there are no associated costs, and we would love to collaborate further.

Thanks again :) -- Doc James along with the rest of the team at Wiki Project Med Foundation 03:59, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
	Great work with the Outlines :) Pratyush (talk) 21:07, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

Thank you. The Transhumanist 15:31, 28 September 2016 (UTC)

Love the outlines

Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that I think your planet outlines are really cool. I have long thought it was a shame that only Wikipedians seem to know about Books or Portals, because they are really great tools for structuring knowledge (while everyone loves diving down the Wikipedia rabbit hole, we could really do with some better content organization). The outlines strike me as a great way to bring that sort content organization to mainspace, where it will actually reach a large number of readers. I notice that I am the first one to edit them besides yourself, and I hope you know that I do so with love.

		What a Brilliant Idea Barnstar
		Great idea with the outline articles - a great solution to a need for better mainspace-based content structuring! I see from WP:Outlines that you actually came up with this concept some years ago, but this is the first I've noticed it. A2soup (talk) 02:46, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you!

		The Portal Barnstar
		The Portal Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have made significant contributions to topic portals. Awarded to Transhumanist for his overly enthusiastic efforts regarding the portal system and WikiProject Portals. – Lionel(talk) 11:02, 30 April 2018 (UTC)

Transhumanist, thank you for your extraordinary efforts on behalf of portals. It reminds me of the time when a series of attacks on scientific bibliographies led to the formation of WikiProject Bibliographies. I don't understand why your detractors are so passionate about deleting portals, but your actions have been a model for how to deal with an attack constructively. RockMagnetist(talk) 16:10, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you!

		The Article Rescue Barnstar
		May all who see this barnstar know that The Transhumanist made a valiant and commendable effort for defending the portal namespace from deletion. It preserved countless hours of work initially invested into creating the content. Moreoever, The Transhumanist, is doing a yeoman's job in attempting to improve the content within with portal namespace. RightCowLeftCoast (talk) 00:24, 26 May 2018 (UTC)

@RightCowLeftCoast: Thank you. I feel honored. Please keep in mind that I have not been working alone. Credit goes to the nearly 400 editors who came forward to speak up for the keeping of portals. And although the RfC to delete all portals is over, the job of defending portals from deletion is not. For the portal namespace to be retained in the long term, the portals in it will need to be improved to a worthy quality level, otherwise we may see more deletion attempts. This task is far more than a single editor can handle. Fortunately, many editors have come forward to meet the challenge. Working to develop portals and the entire portal system, is a team of 80 editors who are diligently redesigning, upgrading, updating, and maintaining portals. They are the members of the Portals WikiProject, and without them there might be no portals. They are doing a wonderful job, and I am very proud of them. Thank you.    — The Transhumanist   17:22, 26 May 2018 (UTC)

Precious

thinking-related topics

Thank you for organising a list of thinking-related topics, for Shift work sleep disorder and the index of oral health and dental articles, for your thoughts and efforts regarding portals, and beginnings such as Portal:Thinking/Selected picture, - you are an awesome Wikipedian!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:53, 29 May 2018 (UTC)

Precious

portals

Thank you for your thoughts and efforts regarding portals, for the concept of outlines, for sectional redirects, for articles such as Life Extension Foundation, for service from 2006, including portal philosophy and user page design center, - repeating (1 & 4 June 2009): you are an awesome Wikipedian!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:54, 31 May 2018 (UTC)

Thank you. I looked, but couldn't figure out what 1 & 4 June 2009 were referring to. Just curious.    — The Transhumanist   19:26, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Follow the link "awesome W." and look for your name: 2 others said it before me! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:48, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

Executive director of portals

		The Portal Barnstar
		Not sure if a simple barnstar can express the communities gratitude to the portal work that you're doing. Your an indispensable member of our community. Moxy (talk) 18:08, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Moxy, thank you. I'm honored, and I receive this praise for the team, without whom there would be very little progress on portals. They are literally transforming them into something new. I'm glad to be a part of that.    — The Transhumanist   18:20, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you

		The Portal Barnstar
		The Portal Barnstar is awarded to Wikipedians who have made significant contributions to topic portals. Thanks for the great work you have been doing in the WikiProject. Dreamy Jazz talk | contribs 22:15, 4 July 2018 (UTC)

You are welcome, formerly Wpgbrown. Nice new name. ;)    — The Transhumanist   10:26, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Technical Barnstar
	Good to see others of the view we have as to the need to know more. Im a research person here just of this week and your views relate to my work here. take care. Tleesd (talk) 17:56, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thank's for updating the Portal:Seventh-day Adventist Church. You deserve this star for your good work. Catfurball (talk) 15:28, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
	For your excellent work on Portals. Everyday the portal project improves. Your dedication and willingness to get people involved really pays off. Cannot wait to continue working with you and the Portal team. Thank you for your work. AmericanAir88(talk) 00:30, 30 October 2018 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Thank you for helping me in my first attempt in creating a portal page ‑‑V.S.(C)(T) 10:51, 23 December 2018 (UTC)

Some barnstars for you!

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Hummingbirds when I asked for it. Keep doing a good job! Catfurball (talk) 00:01, 4 January 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for making Portal:Capsicum. Catfurball (talk) 19:38, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for making Portal:Peaches. Catfurball (talk) 21:11, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Woodpeckers for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:15, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Tyrant flycatchers for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:16, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Plums, you do a great job creating portals. Catfurball (talk) 18:45, 21 February 2019 (UTC)

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for creating Portal:Cotingas for me. Catfurball (talk) 19:07, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Portal Barnstar
		For your tireless dedication to creating, maintaining, and improving portals, as well as your active involvement in making improvements to the system of portals itself. I'm sorry to hear that you're temporarily unable to create them, but your work is greatly appreciated 🙂 Brendon the Wizard ✉️ ✨ 14:17, 23 March 2019 (UTC)

A Barnstar for you

		The Original Barnstar
		message Ambuj Shukla 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

You have made immense contributions to outlines over the years, and have encouraged many more Wikipedians to follow your lead. The impact of your contributions are great. Keep doing the good work! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ambujshukla2004 (talk • contribs) 19:16, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

Thank you.    — The Transhumanist   00:06, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Outline Barnstar
		Hello The Transhumanist, you are receiving this award for the creation and continued dedication to WikiProject Outlines. You deserve this barnstar more than anyone. Jerium (talk) 19:18, 12 November 2023 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Barnstar of Good Humor
	I appreciate you reviving the User page design center! I used this when I was new. Also, everyone has a phases where they religiously obsess over their user page (especially userboxes), and this tool is a good way to show them how to have fun with it. Panini! • 🥪 23:59, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

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