RAMALLAH (ANP) - De Palestijnse president Mahmoud Abbas is de Saudische kroonprins Mohammed bin Salman erkentelijk voor de rol die zijn land heeft in het bereid vinden van andere landen om de Palestijnse staat te erkennen. Dat meldt staatspersbureau SPA maandag over het telefoongesprek dat de twee eerder op de dag hadden.

Abbas, de leider van de Palestijnse Autoriteit, het bestuursorgaan op de Westelijke Jordaanoever, zou de 39-jarige troonopvolger hebben bedankt "voor zijn intensieve inspanningen om tijdens de conferentie in New York de breedste internationale steun voor de Palestijnse zaak te verkrijgen, om het Palestijnse volk en hun rechtvaardige zaak te steunen", staat in een verklaring.

CINCINNATI (ANP) - Aryna Sabalenka is met een moeizame zege op Emma Raducanu doorgedrongen tot de achtste finales van het toernooi van Cincinnati. De nummer 1 van de wereld was in drie sets te sterk voor de Britse voormalig winnares van de US Open: 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (5).

Sabalenka verdedigt haar titel in Cincinnati en stuit in de achtste finale op de Spaanse Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. De 27-jarige speelster uit Belarus verdedigt over twee weken ook haar titel op de US Open.

Cover story, Akihiro Yamada

Oz, Max Berry

The high desert, Jason Levesque

Companies are canceling clean hydrogen projects across the United States after Congress shortened the qualification window for a Biden-era tax credit by five years, requiring projects to be under construction by the end of 2027.

Energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie estimates three-quarters of proposals will not meet this deadline. Woodside Energy and Fortescue have scrapped projects in Oklahoma and Arizona respectively, citing cost increases and policy uncertainty. According to McKinsey, fewer than 15% of low-emission hydrogen projects announced in the United States since 2015 have reached final investment decision stage.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Starbucks patrons in South Korea are setting up de facto offices at the coffee chain, bringing along their desktop computers and printers. The company implemented a new policy banning bulky items from store locations. In South Korea, where office space is scant, remote workers are using cafes as a cheap place to work.

Starbucks South Korea is experiencing this exact phenomenon and is now banning patrons from bringing in large pieces of work equipment, treating the cafes like their own amenity-stuffed office space. "While laptops and smaller personal devices are welcome, customers are asked to refrain from bringing desktop computers, printers, or other bulky items that may limit seating and impact the shared space," a Starbucks spokesperson told Fortune in a statement.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Just the other day, I learned that Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the LoTR movies, did an unabridged audiobook version of the original trilogy, as well as one of The Hobbit:

The Hobbit (Libro.fm, Amazon, Audible)
The Fellowship of the Ring (Libro.fm, Amazon, Audible)
The Two Towers (Libro.fm, Amazon, Audible)
The Return of the King (Libro.fm, Amazon, Audible)

I’ve listened to about three hours of Fellowship so far; it’s very good. Serkis is an exceptional voice actor who doesn’t so much narrate as perform the book. The whole trilogy clocks in at around 65 hours¹ but I’m immersed already so it can go on as long as it wants for all I care.

And if you’re super hardcore, there’s also a Serkis-narrated version of The Silmarillion that clocks in at more than 19 hours. That is a lot of Middle Earth.

1. 75 hours if you include The Hobbit. You can shorten your listening time if you skip over the singing like I’ve been doing.↩

Tags: Andy Serkis · audiobooks · books · The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings

💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - posted a photo:

Un piccolo edificio dall’aspetto vissuto, con la pittura segnata dal tempo. Dietro la porta scorrevole, un cartello indica che si possono fare ordini da asporto. Davanti, un uomo passa tenendo in braccio il suo animale, senza fermarsi. Una scena semplice e comune di Kirishima.

時間の経過で塗装が色あせた小さな建物。引き戸の奥には、持ち帰り注文ができると告げる看板がある。前を、ペットを抱いた男性が立ち止まらずに通り過ぎていく。霧島の日常の一場面。

A small, weathered building, its paint worn by time. Behind the sliding door, a sign announces that take-out orders are available. In front, a man walks by carrying his pet, without stopping. A simple, everyday scene from Kirishima.