The following pages are returning "404 page not found" consistently, for me at least. (Also, breaks infinite scroll on homepage.)

https://kbin.social/?p=2
https://kbin.social/?p=6
https://kbin.social/newest

(Though, https://kbin.social/newest?p=1 does seem to to work.)

Also not working:
https://kbin.social/all
https://kbin.social/active

Latest news and live updates on Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York as Ivanka Trump takes the stand. The former president appeared Monday, and his sons spoke last week.

Further updates and reporting are available here: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-67288390

The ability to 'boost' your own comments/threads has been used by a very small number of users in a way that seriously degrades conversation on the platform. These users constantly move their own contributions to the top of the conversation without regard to their value. If allowed to continue it will likely become standard for everyone to do the same and the value of the 'boost' feature will be lessened.

I can't see a downside to removing the ability to do so, and it seems like it would be very easy to implement. Though, I am open to discussion on the topic.

Thank you. (And, once again, I apologize if there is a thread about this topic already. I searched, but didn't see one.)

Are there plans for a 'hide thread' feature, under 'more'? (next to comment and boost)

Just curious. It's not the highest priority by any means, but I've found myself looking for it sometimes. (think it was a reddit option, can't remember for sure)

There are occasions when a thread is bothersome or somewhat triggering for one reason or another (maybe the image is a little much) and it would be nice to just not see that individual thread again in my own feed.

Thanks in advance. (And, sorry if there's another thread on this. I tried searching and didn't see one.)

ExxonMobil and Chevron both increased their stake in fossil fuels this month as they plan to continue their destruction of the environment.

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As Reuters reports, two weeks ago ExxonMobil agreed to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources for nearly $60 billion. This week, Chevron, the second largest oil company in the world, agreed to pay $53 billion for Hess. The Exxon acquisition is the largest in the company’s history since it acquired Mobil Oil nearly 20 years ago. The driving force behind the Chevron deal is that it gives it access to a new fossil fuels reserves being developed in Guyana, a country in northeast South America between Venezuela and Brazil.
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... This week in Germany, the Munich Regional Court sentenced four climate scientists turned activists to fines totaling €1680 each. If they do not pay the fines, they will be required to serve 105 days of prison. The four were convicted of criminal damage and trespassing during their peaceful protest against Germany’s policy failure regarding the climate crisis last year in Munich.
...

archive link: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/GyX1o

California has lost over 1,760 square miles—nearly 7%—of its tree cover since 1985, according to a recent study.

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Dead pines, firs, and cedars stretch as far as the eye can see. Fire burned so hot that soil was still barren in places more than a year later. Granite boulders were charred and flaked from the inferno. Long, narrow indentations marked the graves of fallen logs that vanished in smoke.
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After wildfires in 2020 and 2021 wiped out up to about a fifth of all giant sequoias — once considered almost fireproof — the National Park Service last week embarked on a controversial project to help the mighty trees recover with its largest planting of seedlings a single grove.
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archive link: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/wJQT6

Hills and valleys carved by ancient rivers in area the size of Belgium has remained untouched for more than 34m years

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Exactly when sunshine last touched this hidden world is difficult to determine, but the researchers are confident it has been at least 14m years.
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“We are now on course to develop atmospheric conditions similar to those that prevailed” between 14m and 34m years ago, when it was 3C to 7C warmer than currently, they wrote in the journal Nature Communications.
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday its computer system had been hacked, a breach at one of the world's most high-profile international institutions and one that handles highly sensitive information about war crimes.

The ICC said it had detected unusual activity on its computer network at the end of last week, prompting a response that was still ongoing. A spokesperson declined to comment on how serious the hack was, whether it has been fully resolved, or who might be behind it.

"Immediate measures were adopted to respond to this cybersecurity incident and to mitigate its impact," the ICC said in a short statement.

The ICC is the permanent war crimes tribunal in the Dutch city of The Hague, established in 2002 to try war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors at the court are currently conducting 17 investigations into situations in Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Afghanistan and the Philippines, among others.

In March, the court made headlines when it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of illegally deporting children from Ukraine. The Kremlin rejects the accusations and the court's jurisdiction.

Highly sensitive documents at the ICC could include anything from criminal evidence to names of protected witnesses, though the court did not disclose what part of its systems had been accessed.

The court said in its statement that it was continuing to "analyse and mitigate the impact of this incident" with the assistance of the Dutch government. It said it was also taking steps to strengthen its cybersecurity.

A spokesperson for the Dutch Justice Ministry confirmed the country's National Cyber Security Centre was supporting the investigation but declined further comment.

The president of the ICC's bar association, Marie-Hélène Proulx, said lawyers for defendants and victims had been impacted "in the same manner as the court's staff" by unspecified security measures taken in response to the incident.

"We commend efforts ... in securing the court's information systems and hope that the situation will be resolved promptly," she said.

The Dutch intelligence agency (AIVD) said in its 2022 annual report that the ICC was "of interest to Russia because it is investigating possible Russian war crimes in Georgia and Ukraine". In June 2022, the AIVD disclosed it had found a Russian military agent posing as a Brazilian in an attempt to infiltrate the court.

In August 2023, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said that cyber attacks could be part of future war crimes investigations. He warned that the ICC itself could be vulnerable and should strengthen its defences.

"Disinformation, destruction, the alteration of data, and the leaking of confidential information may obstruct the administration of justice at the ICC and, as such, constitute crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction that might be investigated or prosecuted," he wrote in a Foreign Policy Analytics report funded by Microsoft.

"But prevention remains better than cure."

archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/Uj7S1

International Court of Justice heard arguments on whether Russia’s invasion can be challenged under 1948 treaty.

archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/DaOnS

Moscow and Kyiv faced off this week in The Hague over Ukraine’s claim that Russia’s 2022 invasion violates a landmark treaty, the Genocide Convention of 1948.

The case before the International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, proceeded decorously as bombs exploded 2,000 miles away and Russia continued to ignore the court’s preliminary orders last year to halt its attacks. Findings by the world court and other international tribunals could influence both allied support for Ukraine and the shape of an eventual peace, meaning the record both sides sought to establish could someday have consequences.

Russia argues that however its invasion is characterized—“special military operation” is the Kremlin’s term—it isn’t covered by the Genocide Convention and therefore Ukraine’s complaint should be dismissed. Kyiv argues that Russia violated the treaty by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide in the country’s Donbas region to justify the invasion.

“For nine years we have endured lies about genocide from the highest level of the Russian government. For a year and a half we have suffered terrible attacks because of those lies. Today Ukraine is simply asking for its day in court,” Ukrainian Ambassador Anton Korynevych told the court Tuesday.

A lawyer for Russia, Alfredo Crosato, said the Kremlin’s political rhetoric about genocide was legally irrelevant.

“What this case is really about is the legality of the special military operation and the recognition of the DPR and LPR as states,” Crosato said at Monday arguments, using abbreviations for the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, puppet states Moscow has recognized in occupied portions of Ukraine.

“The legality of these actions [falls] not under the Genocide Convention, but under the U.N. Charter and customary international law,” Crosato said, and therefore outside the world court’s jurisdiction.

Proceedings will continue into next week, including arguments from Australia, Canada, the U.K. and 29 other countries that have intervened in support of Ukraine. If the court declines to dismiss the case, a future round will consider the merits of Ukraine’s claim.

The U.S. also sought to intervene in support of Ukraine, but the ICJ ruled that Washington was ineligible because it hasn’t itself agreed to be bound by the court’s application of the Genocide Convention.

The 15-judge world court hears disputes between nations that consent to its jurisdiction but has no independent enforcement power. Its current president, Joan Donoghue, is a former official with the U.S. State Department. The court issued its March 2022 order for Russia to halt its military operations by a 13-2 vote, with the Russian and Chinese judges dissenting.

Russia and its leaders face legal scrutiny from several international bodies, including the International Criminal Court, which in March issued warrants for President Vladimir Putin and a senior Kremlin official, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, over the forced deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. A Kremlin spokesman dismissed the ICC warrants as an outrage and said Russia wasn’t subject to the court’s jurisdiction.

Like the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court has no police force and must rely on the cooperation of national governments for enforcement of its orders.

By Jess Bravin
Updated Sept. 19, 2023 2:59 pm ET

Plans could include delaying a ban on sales of new petrol cars and the phasing out of gas boilers.

BBC News - Rishi Sunak is considering weakening some of the government's key green commitments in a major policy shift.

It could include delaying a ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars and phasing out gas boilers, multiple sources have told the BBC.

The PM is preparing to set out the changes in a speech in the coming days.

Responding to the reported plans, he said the government was committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 but in a "more proportionate way".

The prime minister said: "For too many years politicians in governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs. Instead they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all.

"This realism doesn't mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments. Far from it.

"I am proud that Britain is leading the world on climate change."

He added that the UK was committed to international climate agreements it had already made.

Mr Sunak said he would give a speech later this week "to set out an important long-term decision we need to make so our country becomes the place I know we all want it to be for our children".

If he presses ahead with the plan it would represent a significant shift in the Conservative Party's approach to net zero policy, as well as establishing a clear dividing line with the Labour Party.

According to multiple sources briefed on Downing Street's thinking, Mr Sunak would use the speech to hail the UK as a world leader on net zero.

But he would also argue that Britain has over-delivered on confronting climate change and that other countries need to do more to pull their weight.

Some specifics of the speech are still thought to be under discussion, but as it stands it could include as many as seven core policy changes or commitments, documents seen by the BBC suggest.

First, the government would push the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars - currently set to come into force in 2030 - back to 2035. The 2030 date has been government policy since 2020.

Second, the government would significantly weaken the plan to phase out the installation of gas boilers by 2035, saying that they only want 80% to be phased out by that year.

Third, homeowners and landlords would be told that there will be no new energy efficiency regulations on homes. Ministers had been considering imposing fines on landlords who fail to upgrade their properties to a certain level of energy efficiency.

Fourth, the 2026 ban on off-grid oil boilers will be delayed to 2035, with only an 80% phase out target at that date.

In addition, Britons will be told that there will be no new taxes to discourage flying, no government policies to change people's diets and no measures to encourage carpooling.

Mr Sunak is also likely to rule out what he sees as burdensome recycling schemes.

The government had reportedly been considering a recycling strategy in which households would have had "seven bins" - with six separate recycling bins plus one for general waste.

A Labour spokesperson said: "This is a total farce. The country cannot go on with a Conservative government in total disarray, stumbling from crisis to crisis.

"Ministers need to urgently provide clarity on all eight of the policies reportedly up for review."

Conservative MP Chris Skidmore, the former chairman of the UK government's net zero review, said diluting green policies would "cost the UK jobs, inward investment, and future economic growth that could have been ours by committing to the industries of the future".

"Rishi Sunak still has time to think again and not make the greatest mistake of his premiership, condemning the UK to missing out on what can be the opportunity of the decade to deliver growth, jobs and future prosperity," he said.

Former Conservative minister, Sir Alok Sharma, who was president of the COP26 climate summit, said the UK had been a leader on climate action "but we cannot rest on our laurels".

"For any party to resile from this agenda will not help economically or electorally," he added.

Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas called any rollback on net zero "economically illiterate, historically inaccurate and environmentally bone-headed".

But Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, who chairs the net zero scrutiny group, said he was "pleased to see some pragmatism" from Mr Sunak.

Moving back dates for net zero targets "will take pie in the sky 'greenwash' measures out of clearly unachievable deadlines".

Former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns told Sky News she backs weakening green pledges "a million per cent".

She said constituents in her red wall seat "don't buy the net zero - it's not only the freedom argument, it's the economic argument".

On Thursday, the King will be on a State Visit to France, where he will host what is known as a Climate Mobilisation Forum.

The event convenes specialists in climate finance, and aims to help developing economies make adjustments to cut emissions.

The King will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Reporting By Henry Zeffman & Chris Mason & Brian Wheeler

archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/xQwhm

The crash site for a stealth fighter jet that went missing during the weekend after its pilot ejected has been located in rural South Carolina after the military asked the public for help finding an aircraft built to elude detection.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The crash site for a stealth fighter jet that went missing during the weekend after its pilot ejected was located Monday in rural South Carolina after the military asked the public for help finding an aircraft built to elude detection.

The debris field was discovered in Williamsburg County, about two hours northeast of Joint Base Charleston. Residents were being asked to avoid the area while a recovery team worked to secure it.

“We are transferring incident command to the USMC this evening, as they begin the recovery process,” the base posted Monday on the X social media platform.

Authorities had been searching for the jet since the pilot, whose name hasn’t been released, parachuted to safety into a North Charleston neighborhood about 2 p.m. Sunday. He was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition, Marines Maj. Melanie Salinas said.

“The mishap is currently under investigation, and we are unable to provide additional details to preserve the integrity of the investigative process,” the Marine Corps said in a news release on Monday evening.

The Marine Corps announced earlier Monday it was pausing aviation operations for two days after the fighter jet’s crash — the third costly accident in recent weeks.

Gen. Eric Smith, the acting commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered the stand-down while authorities searched near two South Carolina lakes for the missing FB-35B Lightning II aircraft.

It’s the third event documented as a “Class-A mishap” over the past six weeks, according to a Marine Corps announcement. Such incidents occur when damages reach $2.5 million or more, a Department of Defense aircraft is destroyed, or someone dies or is permanently disabled.

Commanders will spend the stand-down reinforcing safe flying policies, practices and procedures with their Marines, according to the Monday release.

The announcement gave no details on the two previous incidents. But in August, three U.S. Marines were killed in the crash of a V-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft during a training exercise in Australia, and a Marine Corps pilot was killed when his combat jet crashed near a San Diego base during a training flight.

Cpl. Christian Cortez, a Marine with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, said the details of what prompted the pilot to eject from the aircraft Sunday were under investigation.

Based on the missing plane’s location and trajectory, the search was initially focused on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, said Senior Master Sgt. Heather Stanton at Joint Base Charleston. Both lakes are north of North Charleston.

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter joined the search after some bad weather cleared in the area, Stanton said. Military officials appealed in online posts Sunday for any help from the public in locating the aircraft.

The pilot of a second F-35 returned safely to Joint Base Charleston, Salinas said.

The planes and pilots were with the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing based in Beaufort, near the South Carolina coast.

archive: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/FLK1X