SLet's start somewhere else. The BBC is reporting that a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Tibet and killed at least sixteen people.
EMountainous, sparsely populated region. That's the worst combination for a quake — hard to get rescue crews in, hard to get people out.
SThe BBC says the casualty number comes from local reports. Sixteen confirmed so far, but in that kind of terrain, the first numbers are rarely the last numbers.
EAnd you're already dealing with altitude, landslides, roads that barely exist. Every hour matters.
SWe'll stay on that as numbers firm up.
EMeanwhile, the BBC has an investigation out that's honestly hard to read. Hospitals deliberately targeted by Sudan's RSF fighters.
SThe UN human rights chief says the multiple attacks may amount to war crimes. That's not a phrase they throw around casually.
EThe RSF has been fighting Sudan's army for control of the country for years now. And if the BBC is right, they've been hitting the places where the wounded go.
SThere's no justification for that. Not in any conflict, under any rules. Hitting a hospital isn't collateral damage — it's a statement.
EAnd the people who survive the fighting end up dying in their beds because the building gets shelled. It's the most cynical kind of warfare.
SThe BBC's investigation is detailed. We'll link it. These are the stories that should get more attention, and they probably won't.
ENo, they won't. But that's the show, right? Earthquakes in Tibet, war crimes in Sudan, and one more from the business side.
SSpeaking of strange market forces: L'Oréal says weight-loss drugs are hurting their beauty and skin care sales.
EWait. Ozempic is now a threat to moisturizer?
SThat's what their CEO says. GLP-1 drugs are 'a very important phenomenon for us.'
EI have questions. Like, how does losing weight make you buy less face cream?
SHere's the theory: when people lose a lot of weight, their skin changes — sometimes more sagging, different texture. And apparently, in L'Oréal's view, they're not buying as much skin care to deal with it.
EThat seems backwards. If my skin changed drastically, I'd be buying more product, not less.
SMaybe the issue is money. These drugs are expensive. If you're paying hundreds a month for GLP-1s, you're cutting the serum budget.
EOr — and hear me out — people who lose weight feel better and skip the expensive creams because they're not trying to fix themselves with a jar of hope.
SA jar of hope.
EI'm just saying. The beauty industry sells a feeling more than a moisturizer. If you don't feel as bad, you don't buy as much.
SThat's a genuinely interesting theory, and I think the beauty industry would fight you in a parking lot over it.
EGood. Let them come. I've got sunscreen and opinions.
EAnd one more from the BBC while we're here: Western diplomats in Moscow are describing life under what they call constant paranoia.
SThe report says officials compare working in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine to the Cold War era. Surveillance, fear of being followed, careful conversations.
EThat feels like a story that's been true for a while and is only now getting the diplomatic version on record.
SWhich matters, because when diplomats talk like that on the record, it tells you how bad the relationship has gotten. They're not just complaining about bureaucracy anymore.
EAnd it's not a leak from one guy at a cocktail party. It's a pattern across multiple Western officials.
SFor now, the earthquake numbers and the Sudan investigation are where the story is moving. We'll keep an eye on both and come back when there's more to say.