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October 17: Russia Sanctions Rollback and Thwaites Glacier Projections
In Scotland
First Minister John Swinney says the Scottish National Party will launch Choose Scotland, a nationwide campaign to build support for leaving the United Kingdom. Speaking at the party’s conference Saturday, he pledged a six-figure fund and said the campaign for a second independence referendum has already begun.
At the Vatican
Pope Leo the Fourteenth returned to the Vatican Saturday, four days after surgery for lung cancer. The Vatican had expected a weeklong hospital stay and canceled his audiences through Tuesday. He plans to lead noon prayers Sunday.
In Washington
Lawyers for Representative Ilhan Omar are demanding the return of property seized during an October 12 search of her Washington home. Her legal team argues that the search violated safeguards protecting the constitutional rights of members of Congress.
In science
Researchers project that Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier could raise global sea levels by up to 1.2 inches by 2100 under a constant-climate scenario, about twice the average of earlier projections used for comparison. Modeling a wider zone where seawater reaches beneath the ice better reproduced observed retreat. A separate British Antarctic Survey study found continued ice loss even after simulated ocean-driven melting stopped, an extreme experiment rather than a realistic forecast.
Another study, published in Nature, offers a possible chemical explanation for inflammation associated with microplastics. Researchers found that water near plastic surfaces can generate reactive molecules capable of altering proteins and cell membranes. Co-author Wei Min says how this chemistry might damage living human tissue remains unclear.
In Bolivia
Bolivia is facing a severe fuel shortage after years of underinvestment in its natural gas industry. Rising energy prices tied to the ongoing war in Iran are adding pressure as the country also confronts an economic crisis.
In Tunisia
Thousands rallied against President Saied in the country’s biggest protest in years. Unions and opposition groups joined the demonstration against poor living conditions and restrictions on political freedoms.
In France
Tens of thousands demonstrated over absent teachers, deteriorating school buildings, police violence and economic pressures. Police fired tear gas in Paris, and protesters stormed a town hall in Marseille. Officials blamed the violence on the ultra-left.
In Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called President Trump’s rollback of sanctions on Russia a reward for Vladimir Putin, warning it would embolden him and intensify the war. His comments came as Moscow launched a major attack on Ukraine’s power plants ahead of winter. Zelenskyy also urged Europe to establish its own negotiations with Moscow.
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