AND CALL.

The education union SUD Education is inviting teachers across French school academies to connect with local strike funds and contribute financially. The appeal targets salaried staff willing to support colleagues who are losing pay while on strike, directing people to the union's contact page to find hotlines in their académie. The call comes amid ongoing education sector strike action in France.

A public call has been issued inviting people to share their stories about the Friendship Garden. Organisers are gathering memories and personal accounts connected to the space, likely for a community project or anniversary. Little further detail is available about who is collecting the stories or what they will be used for.

A new project called Thoreau BASIC presents itself as an answer to the question of what programming would look like if BASIC had stayed in mainstream use. Launched on Hacker News, it invites developers to revisit the once-ubiquitous teaching language. The launch drew strong engagement, with commenters debating BASIC's legacy and whether simplicity-first languages deserve a comeback.

New reporting highlights a rise in colorectal cancer cases among young people, including children and teenagers, with researchers noting the disease in kids may differ biologically from the adult form. The trend adds to growing concern among doctors about early-onset colorectal cancer, whose causes remain unclear, and prompts calls for greater awareness of symptoms and earlier screening in younger age groups.

Donald Trump is calling on his supporters to vote by mail, even as he continues to claim that mail-in voting is vulnerable to fraud. The appeal marks a shift in strategy, encouraging Republicans to use a voting method he has repeatedly criticized. Observers see it as an effort to ensure his base does not cede an advantage to Democrats, who have historically promoted mail balloting.

A new open-source project called Graphene has been released, offering a data analysis toolkit designed to work with coding agents such as AI programming assistants. The toolkit is available on GitHub, where developers can try it, review the code, and contribute. Early reactions on Hacker News are mixed into general discussion about how AI coding agents can handle data analysis tasks more effectively.

A project called tester-army/e2e, an open-source end-to-end testing framework for web and mobile applications written in TypeScript, is drawing interest on GitHub. Its developers describe it as a next-generation option for automated e2e testing, positioning it alongside established tools like Playwright and Cypress.

The Goldwater Institute is calling for a renewal of civics education in American classrooms, arguing that schools have drifted away from teaching students the fundamentals of government, citizenship and the Constitution. The push reflects a broader national debate over what schools should teach and how to prepare young people for informed participation in democratic life.

Richard Parker, the Labour mayor of the West Midlands, has called on the chancellor to relax the UK's electric vehicle targets, arguing the current mandates risk harming the region's car industry. The West Midlands is home to major automotive manufacturing, and Parker says firms need more time and flexibility to shift to electric production. The plea puts him at odds with parts of his own party's green agenda.

Parents caring for autistic children in China are facing high levels of stress, driven by difficult mealtimes, social stigma around autism, and job loss as caregiving demands force parents out of work. Reports highlight how the combination of daily feeding struggles and discrimination places a heavy mental and financial burden on families, prompting calls for better support for caregivers.

A home garden on the corner of 44th Street and 14th Avenue in Rock Island, Illinois, is being called a 'skeleton garden' in the Quad-City Times. The feature highlights the unusual display at the residential corner, which has caught the eye of locals in the Quad Cities area. Details about its creator or purpose were not provided.

Carly Rae Jepsen is scheduled to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 15th. The Canadian pop singer, known for hits like 'Call Me Maybe', will appear at the iconic venue as part of her touring schedule. No further details about the show have been made available.

Commenters are pushing back on the idea that human life on Mars is within reach, calling it a fantasy for the vast majority of people. The discussion touches on space travel and UFO topics, reflecting ongoing public skepticism about plans to colonize the red planet despite bold claims from the space industry.

Internal combustion engine vehicles have reportedly fallen below half of global new car sales for the first time in roughly a century, marking a historic shift in the automotive market. The milestone reflects the rapid rise of electric vehicles and hybrid models, with analysts calling it a turning point in the transition away from petrol and diesel cars worldwide.

Drivers living on terraced streets face a 'postcode lottery' when it comes to charging electric vehicles, according to reports highlighting the difficulty of installing home charge points where off-street parking is unavailable. Households without driveways must rely on public chargers, and access varies sharply by area, prompting calls for fairer charging infrastructure.

Formula 1 has published its official race highlights for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix, drawing a large audience within a day of release. The clip condenses the season's opening-round action in Bahrain into a short recap, and motorsport fans are sharing reactions to the key overtakes, pit strategy calls and finishing order as the new Formula 1 season gets underway.

A Vietnamese theatre event called 'Vietnam en Scène' is being presented in Paris, bringing Vietnamese stage performance to French audiences. Details of the programme, venues and participating companies are not specified in the available information. The initiative highlights growing cultural exchange between Vietnam and France.