A scheduled S7 Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Moscow, due to depart at the same time as EL AL's Flight LY611 on Thursday morning, was also canceled.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

NASA's Perseverance rover has detected complex organic carbon in ancient Martian mudstones. The measurements were taken by the rover's Sherloc instrument and the organic carbon that was identified was from the Bright Angel outcrop, "a dried-up river that carried water into the planet's Jezero crater billions of years ago," notes The Guardian. From the report: The form of carbon detected, known as macromolecular carbon or MMC, can originate from living organisms. Geological processes can also produce the material, meaning its detection does not amount to proof of past Martian life. Dr Ashley Murphy at the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona said MMC can be found in different settings and types of rocks. "It may originate from biological sources such as fossilized organic matter found in microbial mats and coal," she said, but could also form in reactions between rocks and water or arrive on impacting meteorites.

The mudstone rocks from the Bright Angel outcrop caused a stir in 2024 when the Perseverance rover discovered intriguing surface spots and nodules that resemble features produced by fossilized microbes on Earth. When the scientific details were published last year, Sean Duffy, the former acting head of Nasa, said: "This very well could be the clearest sign of life that we've ever found on Mars." [...] The discovery means Nasa rovers have now found organic-bearing mudstones more than 2,000 miles apart on Mars. The others were reported by the Curiosity rover which is exploring the planet's Gale crater. It "indicates that the habitability of Mars, and the availability of organics, may have been widespread across the planet billions of years ago," the authors write in Science Advances.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Sophie Straat scandeerde tijdens een optreden op Best Kept Secret: „Alle witte mannen naar achteren!” Maar ‘de witte man’ die zij aanspreekt staat waarschijnlijk niet in het publiek.

China beperkt sinds januari de uitvoer van kritieke grondstoffen naar Japan, nadat beide landen hevige ruzie kregen over Taiwan. Nu heeft China twee Japanse burgers vastgezet.

D66-minister Jaimi van Essen is relatief onbekend, maar dat gaat vanaf vrijdag veranderen. Dan presenteert hij de stikstofaanpak die Nederland ‘van het slot’ moet halen. „Bloemen of een lauwerkrans krijgt hij pas als er resultaat is.”

The vice-president, leading a foundering peace deal to end the kind war he’s opposed in the past, is left holding the bag

JD Vance has taken the greatest gamble of his vice-presidency by making himself the face of the Iran ceasefire deal – a shaky agreement that already seems to be unraveling at the seams.

But after months spent in limbo due to the war, it may be the best chance for him to find his feet again.

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• Fifa agrees joint venture with lobby group EFC

• Next edition poised to expand from 32 to 48 clubs

Fifa has agreed to create a joint venture with the lobby group European Football Clubs (EFC) to operate the Club World Cup that is likely to see more Premier League clubs enter the lucrative competition.

Chelsea earned around £84m from winning last year’s inaugural 32-team tournament, leading other big European clubs to lobby Fifa for it to be expanded to increase their chances of qualification.

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jspeter9191 has added a photo to the pool:

In the evening at Tallawong, Sydney, Australia.
Peace be with you.