Als sokken ín je overtrek terecht kunnen komen, waarom komen ze er dan niet meer uit?

New rice varieties give hope that farmers can overcome the climate emergency and a warmer future that threatens harvests

When schoolchildren in Shiroishi were enlisted to plant rice seedlings in June, Shinto priests blessed the land and asked the deities for a bountiful crop. Judging by the fields behind farmer Haruki Kawasaki, their prayers have been answered.

The 63-year-old is preparing to harvest this year’s crop of hinatamaru, a variety of rice whose plump grains have thrived despite exposure to another hot and dry summer, conditions that typically punish rice yields.

Fears persist about Trump ‘sucking up’ to Xi on Taiwan, but few concrete outcomes anticipated from US meeting

When Xi Jinping, China’s leader, touches down in Maryland on Wednesday, he will step out into the arms – perhaps a hug, if Donald Trump’s wishes come true – of a US president who has shown China more bonhomie than any of his recent predecessors.

The meeting between Xi and Trump this week will be the second time that the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies have talked face to face this year. At the previous summit, held in Beijing in May, there was much talk of building a “strategic stability” between the two powers. But there was little by way of concrete outcomes: the countries remain at loggerheads over trade, export controls and geopolitics.

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Peter Nessling, a keen photographer, visited Raintrees on 29th August 2026. He was kind enough to be my subject to allow me to create this Repeat Subject Panorama.

Black Diamond Images has added a photo to the pool:

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CHAT GPT constructed image 23rd September 2026.
ART NOT PHOTOGRAPHY

Instructions
Create a 4 to 1 colourful panoramic image of an Australian tropical rainforest stream with Australian rainforest fruiting and flowering species along its banks. The stream should be flowing over large rounded granite boulders as do many streams in far north Queensland. Add Archontophoenix maxima and Archontophoenix alexandrae as well as Licuala ramsayi fan palms in the low lying parts of the image. The palms should be fruiting and some flowering. Add a small waterfall in a stream entering from one side. Add Asplenium nidus ferns in the trees as well as Drynaria species also on rocky outcrops by the stream. An odd Australian tropical orchid also would be great. Throughout the image and along the stream in appropriate places add examples of colourful glass or other relevant sculptures. Make sure to create the panorama with the highest resolution and at least 4 times longer on the horizontal side to 1 on the vertical side. Add a small Black Diamond Images logo in one of the two bottom corners.

American based Ai does not seem to be able to accurately display Australian rainforest species or scenes without highly specific instructions. It often includes non Australian species like the Heliconia sp. in the left hand corner not to mention the incorrect rendering of the fronds of Licuala ramsayi.

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