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An volcanic eruption has sent lava and smoke pouring out of the side of Mount Fagradalsfjall, near Iceland's capital Reykjavik. It comes after intense earthquake activity in the area. Local authorities said on Monday there was no imminent hazard to people in the region. The volcano is located in the country's southwest, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which is known to be a seismic hotspot. Domestic flights were delayed after the eruption created a plume of smoke over the road connecting the capital to the country's largest airport. Full Story and Video footage

President Biden has a profane temper behind closed doors that contrasts with his folksy, affable public demeanor, according to a report. Axios reports that, according to current and former aides, the president has a short fuse and is prone to eruptions such as, “God dammit, how the f–k don’t you know this?!” and “Get the f–k out of here!” Biden also aggressively interrogates aides to the point that some try to avoid meeting alone with the president, according to the report. However, Axios cited aides who say facing an outburst from the president is a sign of respect, and that the behavior signals Biden’s high expectations for those around him. In public, Biden is less prone to profanity — though has occasionally cursed on hot mics. Among the president’s perceived political strengths is empathy and his “regular Joe” persona, despite spending his entire career in Washington. His speeches are often filled with folksy anecdotes, calls for civility and even whispers to emphasize some points. Axios notes in a podcast accompanying the report that those public habits contrasts with his raising the volume in private settings. Biden’s top challenger in 2024 is once again former President Trump, who lost his own reelection bid to Biden in 2020. FULL STORY

The head of a U.S. think tank who has repeatedly accused President Biden and his family of corruption has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent of China, Manhattan prosecutors announced Monday evening. Gal Luft, co-director of the Maryland-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, is accused of recruiting and paying an unnamed former high-ranking U.S. government official on behalf of principals based in China in 2016, without registering as a foreign agent, which is legally required. The former high-ranking official was an advisor to then President-elect Trump and was allegedly paid to publicly support certain policies pertaining to China, according to the 58-page, eight-count indictment unsealed Monday. Manhattan prosecutors also allege Luft attempted to broker illicit arms deals to sell weapons to countries including Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Kenya without having a license to do so, as is legally required in the U.S. FULL STORY

Migrants saved in one of the first rescue operations in the Mediterranean since hundreds of people died when a boat sank off the Greek coast, say nothing could deter them from trying to reach Europe. They spoke to the BBC's Alice Cuddy - on board a rescue vessel patrolling the sea for migrant boats in distress. As the giant red and white rescue ship sails across an expanse of Mediterranean Sea, the horizon is interrupted by the sight of a dark blue inflatable boat, crammed with bobbing heads. Rescue workers from the charity SOS Mediterranée don helmets and life jackets as they race to the scene in speedboats. They quickly pull the migrants on board the vessels one by one, counting as they go. The boys and young men, most from The Gambia, have been at sea for 15 hours and have made it 54 nautical miles from the Libyan town of Castelverde, near Tripoli. They are in a state of distress. Some later tell me that shortly before rescuers arrived, a fight had almost broken out on board the over-packed boat. Some were determined to keep going, while others were begging to give up and try again later. One dropped his phone in the sea in the melee. FULL STORY

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Yevgeny Prigozhin five days after the Wagner mercenary boss led a failed mutiny, the Kremlin has revealed. The BBC's Russia Editor gets to grips with the latest twist in the Wagner saga. So, let me get this straight. On the morning of 24 June, the day of the mutiny, Vladimir Putin accused the Wagner leadership of "treachery" and "a stab in the back". Later that day, Russian air force pilots were killed, shot down by Wagner fighters. Then, with the mercenaries just 200km (120 miles) from the Russian capital, the Kremlin and Wagner did a deal. The mutiny was over. No-one was arrested. No-one has been prosecuted. Not only was Yevgeny Prigozhin not clapped in irons and hauled off to the police station for his rebellion. It's now emerged that five days later he was in the Kremlin, together with his commanders, sitting round the table and chatting with President Putin. Yet another twist and turn in a story that's already surpassed Dostoyevsky for levels of surprise and mystery. FULL STORY

Nato leaders are gathering in Lithuania for a crucial summit that could shape the direction of the war in Ukraine and the future of the Western alliance. The 31 allies hope to show Russia they have the resolve to support Ukraine militarily for the long term. They arrive with a welcome boost after Turkey dropped its objections to Sweden joining the alliance. But there remains disagreement over what to say about Ukraine's own ambitions of future membership. It is thought some allies will promise Kyiv new security guarantees designed to deter future Russian aggression. They will also discuss providing more weapons and ammunition. On the membership issue, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants Nato to say Ukraine could join as soon as possible after the fighting ends - setting out explicitly how and when this could be achieved. But some Nato nations are reluctant to go too far, fearing the promise of near-automatic membership could give Russia an incentive both to escalate and drag out the war. FULL STORY

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support Sweden's bid to join Nato, the military alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg says. He said the Turkish leader would forward Sweden's bid to the parliament in Ankara and "ensure ratification". Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said: "I am very happy, it is a good day for Sweden." Turkey had previously spent months blocking Sweden's application, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants. As one of Nato's 31 members, Turkey has a veto over any new country joining the group. Reacting to the news, US President Joe Biden said he welcomed the commitment by President Erdogan to proceed with "swift ratification". "I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd Nato ally," a White House statement said. FULL STORY

Troll comment and subsequent responsesto it, removed.

exercise - get off your butt and do something, medical fact... "Physical activity may help bump up the production of your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. Although this function is often referred to as a runner's high, any aerobic activity, such as a rousing game of tennis or a nature hike, can contribute to this same feeling." and NO the Hoookers dont qualify !????

Troll and off topic posts removed. Please stay on the topic. Jomtien changing the rules again?

Troll remarks removed.

A record number of bills aimed at restricting the rights of LGBTQ people have become law in the past three years, but the majority of those that have faced legal challenges haven’t held up in court, according to an NBC News analysis, legal experts and the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed legal challenges against some of the laws. Just this year, state representatives introduced 491 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights, with 77 of them becoming law, according to the ACLU. The majority of bills proposed and passed focused on limiting the ability of transgender youth to receive gender-transition care and play school sports. In the past year, lawmakers in at least 16 states also introduced bills to restrict drag performances. FULL STORY

The prospect of mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group moving to Belarus as part of the deal struck to end their mutiny has made Poland extra wary of its neighbour. A border once marked by a few pillars and wooden look-out posts has already been transformed by miles of tall metal fencing, thermal cameras and spotlights. They were installed after Belarus began encouraging thousands of migrants to cross into Poland two years ago in what Warsaw calls an act of hybrid warfare; Minsk and Moscow are close allies. Ahead of this week's Nato summit in Lithuania, the Polish government has been warning that Wagner forces could be used to spark more trouble, so it's deploying hundreds of extra officers at its eastern border as reinforcements. "The biggest threat is that our neighbour, Belarus, is completely unpredictable," Michal Bura of the local border guard explains, although all is calm as we talk - apart from swarms of vicious summer bugs in the wheat fields. "We have to be ready for any developments. Maybe Wagner will be a problem, but no one really knows why they're going there or what they're preparing for." FULL STORY

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Imagine the scenario of two kayakers basking in the serenity of a tranquil day on the water. Suddenly, without warning, their peaceful excursion takes an unimaginable turn. A colossal whale emerges from the depths, engulfing them within its enormous maw.

So he got his happy ending with 1000bt then ????????

Meanwhile , down in Pattaya..........

A transgender woman has been crowned Miss Netherlands for the first time in the beauty pageant's history and is now set to compete for the Miss Universe crown. Rikkie Valerie Kolle, 22, made history after she won the competition in the Dutch country on Sunday. Full Story

Six people including three children have been killed in a kindergarten stabbing in China's south-eastern Guangdong province. Police said they have arrested a 25-year-old man with the surname Wu in Lianjiang town. The other victims are a teacher and two parents, AFP reported, quoting a local city official. One person is also injured. The attack happened on Monday at 07:40 local time (23:40 Sunday GMT). The man was arrested at 08:00 and police have called this a case of "intentional assault". A storeowner who works near the kindergarten told the BBC the surrounding area has been sealed. The attack has sparked widespread conversation across Chinese social media platforms, with many users responding in shock. Violent crime is relatively rare in China, but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, including several in schools. STORY

From the others idea of the coin so to speak.... "So take the YouTuber's allegations with a pinch of salt. They reportedly belong to a failed car-sharing service called Microcity, which had thousands of Kandi 11 models, as documented by the Chinese state-owned newspaper People's Daily."

Spanish rescuers are looking for a boat that vanished more than a week ago and was transporting at least 200 African migrants in the waters off the Canary Islands. According to the humanitarian organisation Walking Borders, the fishing vessel left from Kafountine, a coastal settlement in southern Senegal that is some 1,700 kilometres (1,057 miles) from Tenerife. According to the group, there are a lot of kids on board, reported Spain's Efe news agency. It is also reported that two other boats carrying dozens more persons are missing. On June 27, a boat bound for the Canary Islands left Kafountine with roughly 200 people on board. A plane had joined the search, according to the Spanish maritime rescue service, Efe. The other two vessels are largely unknown. According to Helena Maleno of Walking Borders, who was reported by the news agency Reuters, there are around 65 individuals on board one boat and up to 60 on the other, bringing the total number of persons missing across the three boats to almost 300. The news comes just after a crowded trawler capsized off the coast of Greece, causing one of Europe's deadliest Mediterranean migrant shipwrecks. The UN estimated that up to 500 people were still missing, although at least 78 drowning deaths have been confirmed. - © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-10

Two men are carrying torches and homemade arrows as they slip into the ocean at night on an Indonesian island. They are from an indigenous community of Bajau people - renowned freedivers who find it better to hunt in the dark when fish, lobsters and sea cucumbers are less active. But they fear time is running out for their traditional way of life. "Right now, the water is still clear," says Tawing, one of the fishermen. "But it won't stay that way… nickel waste enters our water during the rainy season and the current carries it here." Nickel is an integral part of global life, used in stainless steel, mobile phones and electric car batteries. As the world shifts to greener vehicles and needs more rechargeable batteries, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that demand for nickel will grow by at least 65% by 2030. FULL STORY

A shocking $50 billion (£39 billion) has been paid to G20 creditors by debt-ridden countries that are also extremely vulnerable to the climate problem since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic, according to a new study. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) performed the analysis to shed light on the financial burden placed on the world's poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries as they struggle to pay back debts owed to the 20 richest countries in the world. The analysis, which is based on the most recent World Bank statistics, was released in advance of the G20 finance ministers and governors of central banks meeting in Gandhinagar, India. The analysis shows that the contributions paid by 58 LDCs and SIDS totaled $21 billion (£16 billion) in 2022, up from $14 billion (£11 billion) in 2021 and $13 billion (£10.3 billion) in 2020. The world's poorest nations, which also run the greatest risk from escalating climatic calamities, are caught in a never-ending cycle of financial hardship due to the mounting debt obligations. -- © Copyright Asean Now 2023-07-10