Beth Holloway said that the never-ending nightmare 'was over' and for her, it was 'better than closure'

National and regional authorities in Spain signed an agreement Monday to invest 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in areas around the treasured national park of Doñana in a bid to stop the park from drying up. Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said the plan was aimed at encouraging farmers to stop cultivating crops that rely heavily on water from underground aquifers that have been overexploited in recent years, damaging one of Europe’s largest wetlands. “This is an agreement with which we put an end to pressure on a natural treasure the likes of which there are few in the world,” Ribera said. Andalusia regional President Juan Moreno said farmers will receive financial incentives to stop cultivating and to reforest land in and around some 14 towns close to Doñana. He said farmers who wish to continue cultivating will receive less money but must switch to farming dry crops ecologically. As part of the agreement, Andalusia will cancel previously announced plans to expand irrigation near Doñana, a decision that UNESCO, the central government and ecologists criticized for putting more pressure on the aquifer. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, Doñana is a wintering site for half a million waterfowl and a stopover spot for millions more birds that migrate from Africa to northern Europe. Ecologists working in and near the park have long warned that its ecosystem of marshes and lagoons is under severe strain because of agriculture and tourism. The situation has been made worse by climate change and a long drought, along with record high temperatures. Andalusia recently announced a plan to allow the Doñana park to annex some 7,500 hectares (18,500 acres) by purchasing land from a private owner for 70 million euros. Doñana currently covers 74,000 hectares (182,000 acres) on an estuary where the Guadalquivir River meets the Atlantic Ocean on Spain’s southern coast. ___ Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment Read More Elon Musk visits Israel to meet top leaders as accusations of antisemitism on X grow Tesla sues Swedish agency as striking workers halt delivery of license plates of its new vehicles Qatar is the go-to mediator in the Mideast war. Its unprecedented Tel Aviv trip saved a shaky truce

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A Ukrainian court has ordered the country’s richest tycoon Ihor Kolomoisk to be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. The detention of the one-time supporter of president Volodymyr Zelensky, whose election he backed in 2019, comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress during a wartime crackdown on corruption. Following the arrest, Mr Zelensky made an oblique reference to the case and thanked law enforcement bodies for their work on long-running cases. “I thank Ukrainian law enforcement officials for their resolve in bringing to a just outcome each and every one of the cases that have been hindered for decades,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address. Meanwhile, Ukraine has claimed to have broken through the first line of Russia’s defences in several locations in the south and made gains in the Zaporizhzhia region. “There is an offensive in several directions and in certain areas. And in some places, in certain areas, this first line was broken through,” Hanna Maliar, deputy defence minister, told local TV on Friday night. Read More Putin’s forces pushed back in southern Ukraine – as Zelensky claims new long-range weapon The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones Ukraine pilot films moment drone flies into Russian truck

Whoopi Goldberg has made it clear that she is a big fan of Nathan Shelley from 'Ted Lasso'

Mike Pence led the charge for the foreign interventionist wing of the 2024 Republican primary against their isolationist rivals this weekend as new hostilities erupted between Israel and the Hamas militants of the occupied Gaza Strip. It was a banner weekend for that wing of the GOP, whose members among the 2024 primary field spent their hours one-upping each other with rhetoric endorsing an unmitigated Israeli response against the Palestinian militant group that launched attacks across the country. Mr Pence made his remarks in Iowa, where he is battling for a surprise victory (or at least a decent-enough showing) in the first-in-the-nation caucuses. Calling out Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis by name, he accused them of supporting America’s retreat from a global military, diplomatic and economic footprint he argued was previously responsible for tamping down on unrest around the world. His rebuke, he said, was directed at “voices of appeasement like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis that I believe have run contrary to the tradition in our party that America is the leader of the free world.” “This is ... what happens when you have leaders in the Republican Party signaling retreat on the world stage,” charged the former vice president. A response was issued by Donald Trump Jr, who tweeted: “You’re the embodiment of the kind of weakness that led to this. You should have paid attention when you were groveling at the feet of the master. Trump brought peace because the world knew — F around and find out! We’ll never return to the failed approach of you and your uniparty fools.” Mr Pence also faulted President Joe Biden for supposedly continuing that “retreat”, as others in the hawkish wing have done, and blamed the incumbent president for not projecting the strength that would supposedly have warned Vladimir Putin off of ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Those sentiments were repeated by other figures representing the “establishment politics” wing of the Republican Party, namely Tim Scott and Nikki Haley. The former accused Mr Biden of being “complicit” in the Hamas attacks on Israeli police, military and civilian targets over the weekend. Such rhetoric used to be frowned upon in Washington. In the modern Republican Party, accusing one’s political rivals of being in bed with terrorists is no longer a rarity, but a feature of the typical GOP politician. The Biden administration and its allies have taken notice. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, rebuked Republican senator Rick Scott after a similar posting, writing: “For too many Republicans, their hatred of Democrats is their only organizing prism. Even on a day like today all they can do is attack. Senator Scott’s social media is mostly attacks on Biden instead of support for Israel. There are times for politics. There are times for unity.” Ms Haley drew her own accusations of bloodthirst from the left after she tweeted at Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to “finish them” — referring to Hamas militants. The Palestinian militant group is accused of deliberately killing hundreds of civilians over the weekend and taking others hostage; both actions are considered war crimes under international law. The scope and scale of Israel’s response has drawn similar accusations from supporters of the end of Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Donald Trump, meanwhile, focused his criticism on Joe Biden over the weekend — a sign that he continues to view the Republican primary as largely decided. “THE HORRIBLE ATTACK ON ISRAEL, MUCH LIKE THE ATTACK ON UKRAINE, WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT - ZERO CHANCE!” wrote Mr Trump in a Sunday-morning Truth Social post. Read More White House official accuses GOP senator JD Vance of ‘shameful lies’ after he blamed Biden for Hamas attack Biden says the US ‘stands with Israel’ in TV address as he condemns ‘appalling terrorist attacks’ by Hamas Would a Speaker Jim Jordan doom the House GOP majority? Mike Pence says he is 'deeply disappointed' in vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum Here's where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House

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After a few days of filming ‘The View’ Season 27 premiere week in New York, Ana Navarro has returned to Miami, Florida

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Tristan Tate tweeted about his passion for the British Empire and was bombarded with criticism soon afterward