

In response to a request from Hvar's registered charity Dignitea, the EC has sent a full explanation of the regulations which should be applied to the proposed oil and gas drilling in the Adriatic.


Estimated 150 million people in Europe could experience temperatures above 35C today
Over in the UK, firefighters are still trying to bring a large wildfire in Derbyshire under control.
The blaze, which has burned over 500 square metres of moorland and woodland on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, broke out on Wednesday evening, with fire crews from Manchester and Derbyshire deploying a water-dropping helicopter and six fire engines on Thursday.
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Experts worked in ocean midwater off Brazil at near-record speeds thanks to cutting-edge tech
A marine biology expedition in international waters off the coast of Brazil has discovered 31 new species in just two weeks.
The researchers believe the speed at which the species were found and identified may be a record, in part because of the cutting-edge technology designed and built by the science and engineering team. For the first time on board a ship, the researchers were able to observe the living 3D cellular structure of microbial life thanks to a technological breakthrough nicknamed the Squid.
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Three pumped storage hydroelectric power station sites in Scotland on list of 16 long-duration electricity storage plans
Great Britain’s first new hydropower projects in more than 40 years are expected to move ahead after the energy regulator gave a provisional green light to three proposals as part of a plan to reduce the country’s reliance on energy imports.
All three of the new pumped storage hydroelectric power station projects are due to be built in northern Scotland, where the region’s lochs will act as natural reservoirs to serve the hydropower stations.
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Emerging research suggests datacentres create a heat island effect, pushing up temperatures in the immediate vicinity by as much as 9C
The community living next to the largest datacentre park in Europe say the scorching summer heat has grown unbearable.
On days like Wednesday, said Nabeel Nawaz, the store manager of a Chaiiwala franchise in the centre of Slough, the heat is like something “pinching your body and burning your skin”.
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Conservationists emphasise importance of protecting nesting sites used by ‘strongly faithful’ red-listed species
Migratory swifts loyally return every year to their nests in buildings, according to a study, underlining the importance of providing the endangered birds with hollow nesting bricks if traditional nest sites are lost to renovations.
The swift, which is on the red list of conservation concern, is one of Britain’s most threatened species, having declined in number by 70% since 1995 because of the loss of nesting sites, often when old buildings are re-roofed or given better insulation. While Scotland this year made the installation of swift bricks – a simple hollow brick – a legal requirement in new buildings, the government in England has repeatedly refused to oblige builders to include a £35 swift brick in every new home.
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Inkpen, Berkshire: Mow, tedder, rake and bale – it all has to be done before the next rainfall, which is increasingly hard to predict
With the weather set fair and a heatwave under way, all around are literally making hay while the sun shines. Last year’s drought produced very little grass to make hay with, resulting in high prices and scarcity over winter. This year, the grass has received good amounts of both sun and rain – the ideal conditions.
Foxglove Farm and Manor Farm are busy at it, but it seems Rolf’s may have sold its crop standing, for someone else to make and take. Other farms on lower-lying, lusher fields made their first crop during the late May heatwave, but the fields here on the higher chalk needed more time to grow.
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Julie Elie worked out how zebra finches announce who they are, what they are doing and use individual signatures
A scientist who decoded the dictionary that a bird uses to communicate has won a $100,000 prize for making progress towards a world in which humans can talk to the animals – without being met with a blank response.
Dr Julie Elie at the University of California, Berkeley, was awarded the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for two-way interspecies communication after working out the 11 core calls in the zebra finch vocabulary and their meanings.
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Economist Prof Mariana Mazzucato says governments must ‘get back their mojo’ and believe they can change the world
Good governments have a vision. They know what they want to achieve, can articulate why, and work out in public how to get there. They don’t just spout slogans about economic growth – because growth is meaningless unless we know what it is for. They understand that there is no trade-off between solving social problems and boosting the economy, and aim to do both, while avoiding rigid fiscal rules that defeat their own purpose by strangling public investment.
If this sounds like a critique of what went wrong with Keir Starmer’s government, it is also a lot more. Mariana Mazzucato, a professor in the economics of innovation and public value at University College London, is a world-renowned economist, adviser to governments, chair of international commissions, prolific author, and PhD supervisor to at least one poet. She was the thinker who inspired Starmer to fashion his political project around five key “missions”, now largely forgotten in the mire of scandals, U-turns and infighting that beset his premiership.
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In this week’s newsletter: Opinions are divided on how to mitigate risk, and whether it’s sharks or humans themselves who are the problem. Plus, Europe breaks heat records
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Shark bites are traumatic and can spark fear and anger alongside tragedy. Around the world, the trend is flat. But in Australia, shark bites are going up.
A recent number of bites, especially around Sydney’s famous beaches, has surfers, swimmers and politicians asking why. But the answers are not straightforward.
Why humidity is making UK’s record-breaking June day feel hotter
Can the UK kick its cod habit? Fish and chip shop favourite slips down the menu as prices soar
‘No one believed it’: how a YouTube video accidentally proved Libya’s sand cat really does exist
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High temperatures make some workplaces dangerous, with economists warning disruption will dent growth
Monique Mosley is used to sweltering conditions at the food factory in Yorkshire where she works, but June’s record-breaking heatwave has made conditions unbearable. “We make hot filled food products and it’s common that we see temperatures in the high 30s,” she said. “Thanks to our union, our employer is offering extra breaks, but not every workplace is the same.”
The latest heatwave to grip the UK and much of western Europe has presented significant challenges to employers and their employees, from sweltering offices, disrupted commutes and school closures to dangerous construction sites where workers are at risk of dehydration, heatstroke and other injury.
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Novo istraživanje osvjetljava zašto crveno meso može pogoršati upalnu bolest crijeva (IBD) - i kako drugi izvori proteina mogu pomoći u zaštiti crijeva. Naime, pokazalo se, da su miševi hranjeni prehranom na bazi govedine razvili najtežu crijevnu upalu, dok su oni koji su konzumirali proteine graška pokazali samo blage simptome.
Prema nedavno objavljenoj studiji, žene s dugoročnim unosom cjelovitih žitarica od najmanje 90 grama cjelovitih žitarica dnevno, imale su manji rizik od raka dojke od žena s puno nižim unosom cjelovitih žitarica. Rezultati također sugeriraju da se povezanost rizika razlikuje ovisno o vrsti konzumirane cjelovite žitarice.
Dvadesetogodišnje istraživanje provedeno na više od 3.000 odraslih Grka otkrilo je da ljudi čija je prehrana najviše nalikovala mediteranskom obrascu prehrane na biljnoj bazi imaju znatno niži rizik od kardiovaskularnih bolesti, čak 26 posto, dok su kalorijski bogate prehrane s niskim udjelom bijelog mesa povezane s lošijim dugoročnim ishodima za zdravlje srca.
Noć bez sna proizvela je povećane markere veza između moždanih stanica, što pokazuje da san kod ljudi može biti važan za vraćanje stanične ravnoteže u mozgu, tvrdi nova studija.
Dvije nedavno objavljene studije otkrivaju da određene vrste gljivica u crijevima igraju ključnu ulogu u razvoju imunološke disregulacije i nekih alergijskih bolesti kod djece te da mogu biti obećavajuće mete za nove terapije.
Nova studija otkriva kako statini mogu gurnuti ranjive mišićne stanice u stresno stanje, što sugerira buduće strategije za smanjenje mišićnih simptoma bez ugrožavanja kardiovaskularne zaštite. Naime, studija je otkrila biološke mehanizme koji potiču nuspojave povezane s mišićima nakon terapije statinima. Pokazalo se da statini smanjuju proizvodnju izoprenoida, prenilaciju proteina i signalizaciju proteina povezanog s yes (YAP).
Američki znanstvenici s University of Kansas ukazali su na vezu između izloženosti reproduktivnim hormonima tijekom života i zdravlja mozga kod žena u dobi od 65 do 80 godina. Otkrili su da starije žene koje su koristile hormonsku kontracepciju u mladoj odrasloj dobi imaju veću vjerojatnost da imaju veće volumene u regijama mozga vitalnim za pamćenje, spoznaju i obradu informacija.
Trudnice s teškim oblikom mučnine suočavaju se s povećanim rizikom od nekoliko komplikacija u trudnoći i pri porodu, tvrdi nova studija. Inače, ovo je prva velika američka studija o opasnostima teške mučnine i povraćanja u trudnoći, stanja formalno poznatog kao hiperemeza gravidarum ili trudnička hiperemeza.
Fibromialgija je složen poremećaj koji prvenstveno karakterizira kronična raširena bol, umor i drugi fizički i kognitivni simptomi. Iako pogađa milijune ljudi diljem svijeta, temeljni biološki mehanizmi još nisu u potpunosti shvaćeni. Sada studija Sveučilišta u Barceloni sugerira da neuroimune promjene u središnjem živčanom sustavu mogu igrati ključnu ulogu u razvoju i napredovanju ovog stanja.
Pijenje voćnog soka i pića zaslađenih šećerom od djetinjstva do odrasle dobi može biti povezano s povećanim rizikom od razvoja visokog krvnog tlaka (hipertenzija) u odrasloj dobi, pokazuje nova studija. Naime, pokazalo se, da prehrambene navike u ranom životu mogu imati trajne zdravstvene posljedice.