An anonymous reader quotes the Guardian: Fans of the surreal, the bizarre and sardonic anthropomorphic cows are in a fervour after The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson's website was updated last weekend with promises of "a new online era", 24 years after the reclusive creator retired at the age of 44. Larson's iconic Far Side cartoons were syndicated in more than 1,900 daily newspapers from 1980 to 1995, treating readers to daily offerings from his offbeat visions of the world... His image of a caveman pointing to the tail of a stegosaurus and letting his audience know that it is called "the thagomizer, after the late Thag Simmonds", led paleontologists to adopt the invented term. Larson retired The Far Side in 1995 , citing "simple fatigue and a fear that if I continue for many more years my work will begin to suffer or at the very least ease into the Graveyard of Mediocre Cartoons". Hugely publicity-shy -- he has long refused to have his picture taken -- he has since then released a compilation of Far Side cartoons, but worked to keep his pictures from being reproduced digitally, explaining in a letter the "emotional cost" of having his work "offered up in cyberspace beyond my control... These cartoons are my 'children' of sorts, and like a parent, I'm concerned about where they go at night without telling me," wrote Larson. "And, seeing them at someone's website is like getting the call at 2am that goes, 'Uh, Dad, you're not going to like this much, but guess where I am.'" But the updating over the weekend of thefarside.com, which had previously remained virtually unchanged for more than a decade, has left many fans hoping for Larson's return. A new image, in which some of Larson's most iconic characters -- the cow on two legs, the bee-hived woman, the nerd -- are being defrosted from an iceberg, has appeared on the site, along with the promise: "Uncommon, unreal, and (soon-to-be) unfrozen. A new online era of The Far Side is coming!"

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Families recount raids in their houses at night to arrest young Kashmiris and the vigils they're holding to avoid them.

Warning comes as match between Atalanta and Fiorentina was briefly suspended after racist chants by supporters.

As usual journalism is cutting Trump too much slack. Here's what actually happened, via Occam's News, between Trump and the Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine. First, Trump doesn't care if there's an actual investigation. He wants Zelensky to say there was, and Biden & Biden are being charged with something heinous that carries the death penalty in Ukraine. That's the first round of hype. Then Ukraine files for extradition of the Bidens. Trump goes through a whole drama, trying to decide whether or not to allow Biden & Biden to be deported to Ukraine, or try them in the US, for interfering with an election in a foreign country, usurping the perogative of the US govt. The press reports on Trump's Decision, Day 1, Day 2 and so on. Reporters camp out in front of the White House all night waiting for a decision. Finally Trump emerges with AG Barr, he decides try them here, showing surprising mercy for the Bidens, it is reported almost everywhere. After all that Ukraine quietly the $250 million, of course with a taste for Trump. My guess is that all this will still happen even though it's been exposed. And Pelosi still will not allow impeachment.

Mahienour el-Massry has been tried and jailed twice for taking part in anti-government demonstrations.

"The US military has been forced to apologise for tweeting that it would use stealth-bombers on 'millenials' who try to storm Area 51," reports Yahoo News UK: More than two million people signed up to a Facebook event recently which encouraged atendees to visit the top secret base in Nevada. But only a few thousand UFO enthusiasts turned up on Friday to the facility, which is rumoured to contain secrets about aliens. As hordes of enthusiasts turned up the PR arm of the US military, called the Defence Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), tweeted: "The last thing #Millennials will see if they attempt the #area51raid today" with a picture of military officers in front of a stealth bomber. Shortly afterwards the tweet was deleted and the unit apologised saying it "in no way" reflects their stance... "It was inappropriate and we apologize for this mistake." Around 1,000 people visited the facility's gates on Friday and at least six were arrested by police. The Storm Area 51 invitation spawned festivals in the tiny nearby towns of Rachel and Hiko, more than two hours' drive from Las Vegas. Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee estimated late on Thursday that about 1,500 people had gathered at the festival sites, and more than 150 made the trip several additional miles on bone-rattling dirt roads to get within selfie distance of the gates.... "It's public land," the sheriff said. "They're allowed to go to the gate as long as they don't cross the boundary." Most of the arrests were for "misdemeanor trespassing on base property," which carries a $1,000 fine, according to the article. "In the end, no one actually 'stormed' Area 51, although deputies in rural Nye County resorted to 'heated warnings' to disperse as many as 200 people," reports the Associated Press. In another article the news service also quotes Lincoln County emergency services chief Eric Holt as saying resources had been mustered to handle up to 30,000 people and calling the low turnout a "best-case" scenario... Although there were two car crashes involving cows. "The cows died, but motorists weren't hurt." The main festival apparently drew 3,000 attendees, while the rival "Area 51 Basecamp" festival sold just 500 tickets for their Friday concert, prompting them to cancel their Saturday concert altogether. Its promoter told the Associated Press, "It was a gamble financially. We lost."

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Trudeau's blackface scandal cannot be muffled with weak apologies and 'blind spots' excuses.

Leader of the coalition of Arab parties says they do not endorse Gantz's policies, but hope to end Netanyahu's rule.

Corruption allegations against Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are triggering rare demonstrations.

Want a protest? Here’s a plan that would get things to change. A permanent occupation of DC by 100K people demanding impeachment. Leave when your replacement arrives.

Want a protest? Here’s a plan that would get things to change. A permanent occupation of DC by 100K people demanding impeachment. Leave when your replacement arrives.

Want a protest? Here’s a plan that would get things to change. A permanent occupation of DC by 100K people demanding impeachment. Leave when your replacement arrives.

Bishops raised the alarm over efforts to 'suffocate and assault' some political parties ahead of the 2020 election.

"A Spokane man is saying that an Apple Watch helped save his dad's life following a bicycle crash at Doomsday Hill," reports a local TV station: According to a Facebook post, Gabe Burdett was on his way to meet up with his father Bob last weekend at Riverside State Park, but Bob wasn't at their meet up spot. Burdett received a text from his father's Apple Watch, which read, "Emergency SOS Bob Burdett called emergency services from this approximate location after Apple Watch detected a hard fall." Not only had the watch texted Burdett, it also called 911 with his father's location, he said. Bob had flipped his bike at the bottom of Doomsday Hill and hit his head, knocking him unconscious, Burdett said. Thanks to the watch, Bob was able to be picked up by emergency services and transported to the hospital within 30 minutes of the fall occurring. Gabe's Facebook post includes a picture of the now-damaged Apple Watch on his father's wrist in the hospital. The Apple Watch even texted a map showing the son his father's new location at the hospital. And now "Dad is doing great, clear X-Rays and CT scan, but a little sore for sure!"

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Party officials had aimed to present Labour as a government-in-waiting but the plan is being overshadowed by Brexit crisis.