Yemeni Heroes Save Hundreds Of Sheep From a Capsized Ship In The Red Sea

A dramatic rescue unfolded off the coast of Ras Al-Ara in Yemen's Lahj province as locals sprang into action to save hundreds of sheep from the Red Sea. A commercial ship, en route to Djibouti, ran aground and capsized, leading to a frantic effort by Yemenis to rescue the animals. Video footage captured the scene as rescuers worked tirelessly to pull sheep from the water. The incident highlights both the challenges faced by maritime transport in the region and the community's determination to respond swiftly in times of crisis. The vessel's grounding has raised concerns about shipping safety and animal welfare during transport. Local residents expressed their commitment to saving as many animals as possible. "We did everything we could," one rescuer said. "We couldn't stand by and do nothing." While this event underscores ongoing issues with maritime safety, it also showcases a community united in compassion and quick action.

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This Teen Just Made History as Scotland's First Wheelchair Racing Driver

Three years ago, Ally Chalmers was a rising ski star standing proudly on the podium at a national competition. Two weeks later, he was in a hospital bed, paralysed from the waist down after a devastating skiing accident in Glencoe. Now 17, the Glasgow teenager has swapped ski poles for a steering wheel, becoming Scotland’s first wheelchair-using racing driver. His story isn’t just about recovery. It’s about rewriting the rules — literally. In June, Ally competed in his first official race, the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup at Knockhill in Fife. Driving a specially adapted Mini Cooper S, he earned runner-up Driver of the Day. “The adrenaline’s quite fun,” he said simply. Ally’s car has no foot pedals. Instead, acceleration is controlled by a ring he pulls with his hands. Gear shifts happen with two buttons — one to go up, one to go down — and braking is managed with a lever next to the steering column. When you're doing 160 km/h around a tight circuit, that’s a lot to handle. But Ally has always loved competition. Before his accident in March 2022, he was a national-level ski racer. The crash left him with multiple injuries: a broken back, neck, collarbone, and ribs. Months of rehabilitation followed. Then his mum, Carole, suggested motor racing — something he’d enjoyed before through go-karting. Together, they took on a new challenge. They bought a Mini and worked with teams across the UK to convert it into a hand-controlled race car. One of those teams was Minimax in Scotland, where the team principal, Scott MacKenzie, recalled, “Ally’s been really good. As soon as he got in the car nothing really phased him.” But the road back to competitive sport wasn’t easy. Before he was even allowed to race, Ally had to prove he could exit the car on his own in under 10 seconds in case of a crash. He and Carole also had to campaign for rule changes so that hand-controlled vehicles could compete in official races. Earlier this year, Ally became the first wheelchair user in Scotland to pass the Association of Racing Drivers test, which allows him to enter licensed competitions. “It’s taken a lot of hard work and I’ve had the support of so many people,” he said. “I’m younger than a lot of the other drivers, so I’m proud of how the race went.” For Carole, watching her son on the track was emotional. “I knew, knowing Ally, that he would not be happy in life not having a sport that was as high adrenaline as ski racing was,” she said. “It was important to me that he could continue to not just participate, but compete.” What makes motorsport unique is that disabled drivers like Ally race alongside able-bodied competitors, not in a separate category. “With other sports there are specialist groups for a reason,” Ally said. “But with racing there’s no need if you have a hand-controlled car.” Looking ahead, Ally already has his sights set on Team Brit — the world’s only competitive racing team made up entirely of disabled drivers. The UK-based squad is working to break barriers in motorsport, with plans to one day compete in the Le Mans 24-hour race. They’re also building a support system to help disabled drivers rise through the ranks — something Ally is eager to be a part of. He’s already planning more races, hoping this is just the start. “Getting back into sport after my accident has been huge for me,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to racing again and hopefully one day I can go professional.” And while Ally may be the first, Carole hopes he won’t be the last. “He might be the first disabled race car driver in Scotland, but hopefully there’ll be many more who follow him into the sport.”

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Pitbull Hailed As Hero for Helping Bring life-saving Help to Unconscious Owners

A pit bull in Pittsburgh recently captured attention for its life-saving actions. The dog navigated through heavy traffic to get help for its owners, who were unresponsive in a tent encampment. Local resident Gary Thynes was at a park with his dog on July 29 when the pit bull approached him, barking and trying to grab someone’s attention. Thynes, intrigued by the dog's behavior, decided to follow it. Leaving his pet with a friend, he embarked on a journey across a busy street led by the determined pit bull. They eventually arrived at a secluded tent encampment behind some train tracks. There, Thynes found a man lying on a red couch and unsuccessfully tried to wake him up. He also noticed an unconscious woman with her legs sticking out of a nearby tent. Realizing the severity of the situation, Thynes called 911. Emergency responders quickly arrived and transported the pair to the hospital. Pittsburgh's public safety department confirmed that both individuals were unresponsive when they were taken for medical treatment. In his social media post, Thynes shared that he later met a social worker familiar with the people involved. The social worker identified them as unhoused individuals and confirmed that the heroic pit bull belonged to them. Rather than leaving the dog at a local pound, Thynes chose to care for it while its owners recovered in the hospital. "It is an honor for me to take care of this guy until his humans are well enough to reunite with a dog that loves them very much," Thynes expressed in his post and during an interview with WTAE. The story has spread widely online, prompting numerous comments on Thynes's Facebook page. One commenter claimed to be one of the rescued individuals and thanked both Thynes and their dog for saving their lives: "This is the woman [whose] life you and my dog saved – my boyfriend and I would love to meet you." Thynes replied reassuringly about their dog's well-being: "He will be here when you are ready." He also offered encouragement: "I know it's hard... it can get better." Heroic dogs have made headlines before for alerting others to emergencies involving their humans. In Washington state last year, another dog saved her owner by leading help straight to him after he couldn’t get up due to injury.

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Somalia’s Camel Milk Revolution Is Improving Nutrition and Creating Jobs

In the dry outskirts of Mogadishu, camels are doing more than just roaming — they’re helping drive Somalia’s newest agricultural shift. Beder Camel Farm, one of several new camel dairies popping up near the capital, is changing the way Somalis produce and consume camel milk. The idea isn’t just catching on, it’s gaining momentum, driven by a mix of entrepreneurial energy and nutritional need. Somalia has more camels than any other country in the world — over 7 million by most estimates — but until recently, only a small share of their milk made it to city markets. That’s beginning to change. At Beder, camels wander through sand-covered paddocks while workers in nearby sheds collect their milk in sanitized containers. Each camel now yields up to 10 liters a day, nearly double the output from traditional herding, thanks to better veterinary care, nutrient-rich feed, and consistent milking routines. “For a long time, camel milk stayed in rural areas,” said Dr. Abdirisak Mire Hashi, the farm’s manager and a veterinarian. “Now, we’re not just milking camels. We’re preserving a piece of our culture — and we’re doing it in a modern way.” Beder was among the first commercial camel milk farms in Somalia, opening in 2006. Today, it holds roughly 40 percent of the local market and employs nearly 200 people full-time, with more brought in during peak farming seasons. But the real innovation, Hashi says, is happening in a yogurt factory tucked behind the paddocks. It’s the country’s first facility dedicated to turning camel milk into yogurt — and it’s helping the dairy find a foothold in urban supermarkets under the Beder brand. Nelson Njoki Githu, a Kenyan food engineer who manages production, says camel milk yogurt offers key health benefits that set it apart from the more familiar cow variety. “It’s got less lactose, so people with lactose intolerance can drink it easily,” said Githu. “And the levels of vitamin C, iron, and zinc are higher too.” Nutritionist Dr. Yahye Sholle agrees. He says the yogurt could play a meaningful role in improving public health. “It’s rich in magnesium, calcium, B12, and D — all important for bone health and development,” Sholle said. “Plus, it contains probiotics, which support gut health.” Demand is growing. Beder is now eyeing expansion beyond Mogadishu by training rural pastoralists in hygiene and milk handling so more product can enter the supply chain safely. “If we can modernize how we raise camels and handle the milk, we can create jobs, improve nutrition, and build pride in our own local products,” said Hashi. The Somali government is paying attention too. Dr. Kasim Abdi Moalim, Director of Animal Health at Somalia’s Ministry of Livestock, said support is growing. A new Dairy Act has been established and a national livestock investment strategy is in the works. “The benefits of camel milk are countless,” he said. “In countries like the UAE, camel milk is also used for cosmetics. Somalia must catch up and develop the full value chain.” From the dusty tracks of nomadic herders to supermarket coolers stocked with locally made yogurt, Somalia’s camels are making their mark in a new way — quietly revolutionizing a centuries-old practice, one bottle at a time.

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Vatican Strikes Solar Farm Deal to Become the World’s First carbon-neutral State

The Vatican is one step closer to becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral country, thanks to a new deal with Italy that will transform a sprawling field north of Rome into a massive solar power farm. On Thursday, Italy formally agreed to a Vatican proposal to develop a 430-hectare site in Santa Maria Galeria into a clean energy hub. The land, about 35 kilometers from the capital, is technically part of the Vatican but holds extraterritorial status under Italian law. Once complete, the solar farm is expected to produce enough electricity to fully meet the energy needs of Vatican City. Any surplus power will be shared with the local community. The Vatican said the development will preserve existing agricultural use of the land and minimize environmental impact. While the Holy See will be exempt from Italian import taxes on solar panels, it won’t qualify for the financial incentives that typically come with solar investments in Italy. In return, the Italian government can count the solar farm toward its EU-mandated clean energy targets. Vatican officials estimate the project will cost under €100 million ($114 million). Once Italy’s parliament approves the arrangement, construction contracts will be put out to bid. The deal also puts to rest decades of tension over the Santa Maria Galeria site, which has hosted Vatican Radio towers since the 1950s. Those towers have long been a source of local controversy. As surrounding areas became more populated, residents raised alarms about the possible health risks of electromagnetic waves emitted by the transmitters. Some linked the radiation to childhood leukemia and other health problems, though no definitive causal link was ever established. At the height of the dispute in the 1990s, residents even sued Vatican Radio officials, claiming the emissions exceeded Italian legal limits. The court ultimately cleared the transmitter, but in 2012, the Vatican reduced transmission hours, citing technological advances and cost savings, not health concerns. Pope Francis had asked the Vatican last year to explore turning the site into a solar farm as part of his broader push to move the Church away from fossil fuels. His successor, Pope Leo XIV, visited the area in June and reaffirmed his commitment to the project. Leo has made it clear he intends to carry forward Francis’ environmental agenda, most recently unveiling new prayers and liturgical readings focused on climate stewardship. Thursday’s agreement was signed by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister, and Francesco Di Nitto, Italy’s ambassador to the Holy See. Because of the legal and financial implications, the deal still requires approval from the Italian parliament. But if all goes according to plan, the site that once symbolized a clash between technology and public health could soon become a model for sustainable energy — and a major milestone in the Vatican’s push for ecological reform.

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Two Missing Shetland Ponies Found After UK-wide Search

Two Shetland ponies that had been missing for several months have been happily reunited with their owner, James Penny. The ponies were spotted by a member of the public running down a narrow country lane in a rural part of a London borough. Penny expressed his relief and happiness at having them back, saying, "We've just got to find the others." The ponies vanished from the land near Bramshaw and Cadnam in the New Forest, Hampshire, last month. Their disappearance sparked a nationwide search across the UK. Hampshire police believe the six animals were stolen sometime between July 20 and 22. Penny's neighbor Lisa Merritt played a key role in raising awareness about the missing ponies. Merritt, along with her daughter Anna, launched a social media campaign to help track them down. On Saturday, Merritt accompanied Penny to retrieve the two ponies, which are a mother and her offspring. Describing the retrieval process as "fraught and emotional," Merritt noted that one of the ponies was particularly difficult to catch, taking about three hours to secure. "We just want to get her back and get her comfortable again," she said. While this reunion is a positive development, four more ponies remain unaccounted for. The search continues for these animals as Penny and his neighbors keep their hopes up for another successful recovery.

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Brother and Sister Separated Shortly After Birth Find Each Other After 80 Years Apart

Marian Griffin, 80, recently discovered the missing piece in her life—an older brother she never knew existed. For nearly eight decades, she lived without any inkling of Donald Hefke, now 81, who had been searching for her for years. Their separation happened shortly after Griffin's birth in 1946. Both siblings were placed in foster care when their mother was institutionalized due to post-traumatic stress disorder. Their father couldn't manage alone with the children, so they were separated: Griffin was adopted by a Lutheran minister's family while Hefke stayed with a foster family before joining the U.S. Air Force. Hefke learned he had a sister named Marian during his search for information about his biological family back in 1963. He reached out to Griffin's adoptive parents but was told to stop and his attempts were hidden from Griffin. "If I had known I had a brother out there, I would have been looking for him," Griffin lamented. It wasn't until Denise Baker, Hefke’s daughter, decided to continue the search that progress was made. She sifted through paperwork and ancestry websites for over two decades before finding a match on Ancestry via DNA testing done by Griffin’s son. In July 2024, this connection finally led Baker to contact Griffin. Initially skeptical of Baker's claim, thinking it might be a scam, Griffin soon realized the truth after several conversations with Baker. When she spoke to Hefke for the first time, he expressed overwhelming joy: “He kept saying my name again and again,” said Griffin. While they've celebrated their newfound bond through phone calls, geographic distance remains an obstacle; Hefke lives in Florida and is in poor health while Griffin is based in California. However, Baker managed to meet her aunt in person and noted the similarities between her father and Griffin. Griffin plans to visit Hefke once she can afford the trip and they speak monthly by phone. “We've got 80 years to catch up on,” she said.

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From Dumpster to Donations: How a Pizza Shop's Kindness Fed an Entire Community

A small pizza shop in Minnesota has become a powerful symbol of kindness and community after its owner discovered that people had been rummaging through the dumpster for food. On July 29, Chris Kolstad, owner of Heights Pizza Man in Columbia Heights, shared an emotional Facebook post after learning that someone had been regularly eating out of the restaurant’s trash. “I don’t even know how to start this post but here goes,” Kolstad wrote. “Please do not eat out of our dumpster. Nobody deserves that.” Instead of reacting with anger or shame, Kolstad made an offer: anyone struggling with hunger could simply ask for food—no questions, no judgment. And for those who felt too embarrassed, he proposed a discreet option: leave a note, and the shop would quietly set aside extras near the back door. “You don't even have to see us,” he wrote. “If you are the ones doing so, leave me a note and we will find a way to leave any extras or mistakes out back so you have something to eat without going through the trash.” Kolstad even said he’d start placing a cheese pizza outside in the spot where empty boxes had been left. The post quickly struck a nerve. Within a day, it had gone viral, drawing thousands of reactions and hundreds of supportive comments. But the biggest impact came offline: more than $1,100 in donations poured in through the restaurant’s Venmo account in just 24 hours. That money allowed Heights Pizza Man to start offering multiple free pizzas per day and even make grocery donations to two local food banks. “We did not expect nearly the kind of response we have gotten off of this,” the shop posted in a follow-up. “The support over the last 24 hours has been unreal.” The goodwill kept growing. New customers started showing up, drawn not only by the food but by the restaurant’s compassion. Business improved, which in turn meant more resources to keep helping. What started with a heartbreaking discovery behind a dumpster has turned into something far greater: a reminder that sometimes all it takes is one person’s kindness to rally an entire community.

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Meet The Dog Saving Bees: A Four-Legged Hero In A Beekeeping Suit

In a Michigan field buzzing with activity, a 10-year-old English Springer Spaniel named Maple is suiting up in a tiny beekeeping outfit — and she’s not just here to look cute. Maple has a serious job: helping researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) save honeybee colonies by sniffing out a dangerous and highly contagious disease called American foulbrood (AFB). It’s a spore-forming bacteria that attacks honeybee larvae and can wipe out entire hives if not caught early. Normally, commercial beekeepers have to manually inspect hundreds of hives to spot signs of AFB — a tedious process that can take days. But Maple, with her highly trained nose, can do the same job in a fraction of the time. “She works with incredible focus,” said Sue Stejskal, Maple’s trainer and an MSU alum, who guides the dog through her daily inspections at the university’s Pollinator Performance Center. This isn’t Maple’s first time serving the public. She previously worked as a police dog, helping to search for missing people. An injury forced her into early retirement, but her career wasn’t over yet. When Stejskal introduced her to the scent of AFB spores, Maple had a new mission — one with global implications. Bees are crucial to agriculture and ecosystems. About one-third of the food we eat relies on pollination, much of it by bees. So when bee colonies collapse, it’s not just a beekeeping problem — it’s a food security issue. Maple isn’t the only dog working to protect pollinators. In North Carolina, a German shorthaired pointer named Darwin has also been trained to sniff out underground beehives. His handler, Appalachian State University researcher Jacqueline Staab, said she was inspired by a 2011 scientific paper about a British military dog trained to detect bee nests. “Working with Darwin is really cool because he's always super motivated, super positive, ready to go,” Staab told WCNC in a 2021 interview. With climate change, pesticide use, and disease all threatening bee populations worldwide, tools like scent-detection dogs may become essential to conservation efforts. For Maple, that means another chance to serve — this time, with a much smaller and humbler species.

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Miracle Rescue: Kitten's Heartwarming Journey From Car Engine To Forever Home

They thought it was the engine purring — until they opened the hood and found a kitten instead. Firefighters responding to a call in Nottingham, England last week were met with an unusual rescue: an eight-week-old kitten clinging tightly inside a car’s engine bay. The stranded feline was discovered on Mansfield Road, where members of the public had spotted the animal and called for help. Watch Manager Leigh Curtis and firefighter Bruce Mason from Arnold Fire Station happened to be nearby and responded to the scene. “It was a bit of a strange place for a cat to become stuck,” said Curtis. “My worry was that he’d got into the engine, maybe at the home address, and that way he could then be trapped by the mechanisms and travelled some distance.” Fortunately, one of the bystanders reassured her the kitten hadn’t traveled far. That allowed Curtis to carefully reach in and extract the cat, who was clinging on “for dear life.” The kitten, uninjured and unchipped, was affectionately named “Bruce Leigh” after his two rescuers. He didn’t stay homeless for long. A member of the public who had been at the scene took him in temporarily and soon helped find him a permanent home. Bruce Leigh now lives in the village of Tutbury, Staffordshire, where he's settling in with his new family. Curtis said she was heartened by the happy ending. “One of the things about rescuing any animal or human from an incident is that we don’t often get to know what’s happened afterwards,” she said. “I’m glad we got it out and got it to safety, because I think otherwise it running across a busy road could’ve potentially caused an accident.”

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New Drug Offers Hope: Breakthrough Relief for PTSD Sufferers

Scientists in South Korea have uncovered a new brain mechanism behind post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), offering fresh hope for millions who struggle to recover from trauma. The team, led by Dr. C. Justin Lee at the Institute for Basic Science and Professor Lyoo In Kyoon at Ewha Womans University, found that a chemical imbalance in the brain’s support cells — not neurons — plays a key role in preventing the brain from letting go of traumatic memories. More importantly, they’ve identified a promising drug that could help restore that balance. At the heart of the discovery is GABA, a chemical that typically helps calm brain activity. In people with PTSD, researchers found unusually high levels of GABA in the medial prefrontal cortex — a region of the brain crucial for regulating fear. This excess seems to block the brain’s natural ability to “extinguish” fear memories, one of the hallmark challenges of PTSD. But unlike what many had assumed, the source of the problem isn’t the neurons. It’s astrocytes — star-shaped support cells in the brain — that are producing too much GABA. The researchers pinpointed the enzyme responsible: monoamine oxidase B (MAOB). That’s where the drug comes in. KDS2010, a selective MAOB inhibitor developed by the same research institute, was able to reverse PTSD-like symptoms in mice. The drug reduced GABA levels, normalized blood flow in the brain, and allowed the animals to let go of fear responses — something they couldn’t do before. “This study is the first to identify astrocyte-derived GABA as a key pathological driver of fear extinction deficit in PTSD,” said Dr. Won Woojin, a postdoctoral researcher and co-first author of the study. “Our findings not only uncover a novel astrocyte-based mechanism underlying PTSD, but also provide preclinical evidence for a new therapeutic approach using an MAOB inhibitor.” KDS2010 has already passed Phase 1 safety trials in humans and is currently in Phase 2. That puts it well on the path toward potentially becoming an approved treatment — especially for patients who haven’t responded to existing drugs, which mostly target serotonin. To reach these findings, the team used an unusual research strategy. Instead of starting with lab mice and hoping the results might one day apply to humans, they worked in reverse. They first studied brain scans from over 380 people — including PTSD patients — and noticed high GABA levels and reduced blood flow in the fear-processing region of the brain. From there, they traced the problem back to astrocytes and confirmed the mechanism using both postmortem brain tissue and animal models. Dr. Lee said the research breaks new ground in more ways than one. “By identifying astrocytic GABA as a pathological driver in PTSD and targeting it via MAOB inhibition, the study opens a completely new therapeutic paradigm not only for PTSD but also for other neuropsychiatric disorders such as panic disorder, depression, and schizophrenia,” he said. The team now plans to explore astrocyte-targeted treatments for those conditions too. But for the moment, their findings offer new optimism in the long-running effort to treat PTSD — a condition that continues to affect millions worldwide, often with limited treatment options. And for the patients whose symptoms haven’t improved with existing medications, that optimism can’t come soon enough.

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