Making Contact

Diplomatic contacts between the United States and Iran are progressing in Qatar, with the Gulf state acting as mediator by exchanging proposals between the two sides. The talks mark a continued channel of communication between Washington and Tehran amid ongoing tensions, with Qatar positioning itself as a key intermediary in the region.

A hypothetical question about first contact is making the rounds: if aliens landed on Earth tomorrow, what would your first question be? The prompt deliberately steers away from asking about their technology, spaceships or travel distance, instead inviting people to consider deeper questions about life, meaning or why they came. Respondents are sharing personal answers, turning the thought experiment into a casual online conversation.

The syndicated radio program Making Contact, which covers news, human rights, and social justice topics, has aired its latest episode dated March 10, 2026. The program is being shared with listeners online, with the broadcaster promoting it across topics including activism, peace, geopolitics, and US politics.

Chinese diplomats are stepping up outreach to members of the European Parliament, targeting lawmakers across the political spectrum rather than traditional partners only. The push reflects Beijing's effort to build influence in Brussels at a time of strained EU-China relations over trade, Ukraine and security issues. Contacts with MEPs from varied political groups suggest a broader lobbying strategy aimed at shaping European debate and policy.

A website collecting emails to and from Elon Musk that have been made public is drawing attention online. The archive gathers correspondence that has entered the public record through court filings and disclosures, making it easier to browse Musk's communications. It is being shared and discussed widely, particularly among people following his business dealings, government contacts and policy influence.

The Seafarers International Union announced that the labor movement is surging its grassroots outreach in the final four weeks before Election Day. The effort focuses on mobilizing members through door-knocking, phone banking and workplace conversations to boost turnout. With elections approaching, unions are intensifying voter contact efforts, underscoring organized labor's role in shaping the outcome.

CERN physicists transported a trap of antimatter particles by truck through public roads, moving them from the accelerator site to another laboratory. Antimatter annihilates on contact with ordinary matter, so the particles had to be suspended in magnetic and electric fields inside a portable trap during the journey. The unprecedented transfer aims to enable precision antimatter experiments at a facility not equipped to make the particles itself.

In July 2025, a rescue boat captain near Queensland spotted two humpback whales and the body of a stillborn calf on the seafloor. Footage shows the female repeatedly diving toward the calf, making eye contact and resting a pectoral fin on its body. Researchers describe the behaviour as consistent with grieving, drawing wide attention to whale mourning.

Japanese golf instructor Ando Ryoji is offering advice on ball position, asking players who want more consistent drives whether their ball is positioned too far forward in their stance. The tip targets amateur golfers struggling with unreliable contact and distance, and is being shared among Japanese golf communities.

Developers are sharing a fix for a common SSH error where loading a private key fails with 'error in libcrypto'. The mistake usually happens before the server is ever contacted: the key file is corrupt, has wrong line endings, wrong permissions, or is not in the expected format. Converting the key with ssh-keygen or checking the file formatting resolves it, a tip aimed at beginners in devops.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology are examining how urban design influences healthy aging and social connection among older residents. Their work looks at how features of the built environment — walkability, public space and neighborhood layout — affect wellbeing and social contact in later life, informing how cities can better support aging populations.

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson has publicly addressed his heated collision with a game referee, issuing a response as the NFL prepares to review the incident. The league is expected to examine the contact for possible discipline. Fans and commentators are debating whether the encounter was intentional or incidental, and whether Wilson should face a fine or suspension.

Reports say some iPhone 18 Pro Max owners on AT&T are unable to make phone calls, and Apple is offering free device replacements to affected customers. The move suggests Apple is treating the problem as a hardware fault rather than a network or software issue, and affected users are being advised to contact Apple support for a swap.

Lithuania scrambled NATO fighter jets to investigate an unidentified object detected near its border with Belarus. The aircraft was launched after air traffic control lost contact with a small plane, prompting security concerns in the Baltic region. The incident has drawn wide attention as NATO members remain on alert over airspace violations and unidentified aircraft incidents involving the region bordering Russia and Belarus.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri came close to colliding during the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Norris managing to avoid contact at the last moment. The McLaren teammates' near-miss is drawing attention as fans debate how close the two cars came and what it means for the intra-team rivalry this season.

John Beck registered a groundout with an exit velocity of 110.2 mph in an MLB game, one of the hardest-hit balls of the day despite resulting in an out. The stat has drawn attention from baseball fans tracking hard-hit contact and the limits of exit velocity as a measure of offensive success.

A widely syndicated advice column from Eric Thomas, published in The Washington Post, addresses a painful family dilemma: parents whose son has cut off all contact with them are wondering whether they should remove him from their will. The question of inheritance in cases of family estrangement is striking a chord with readers.

MLB.com examines which big league lineups are best built to survive October pitching, when staffs shorten bullpens and quality of arms sharpens dramatically. The analysis notes that October brings a tougher environment for hitters and that teams with better pitching generally advance, making contact skills and pitch selection more valuable than raw power as the playoffs approach.

Families across the United States are increasingly estranging themselves from relatives over political and religious differences, according to a report by Cleveland.com. The piece examines how deepening ideological divides, amplified by polarising elections and social debates, are pushing some people to cut off contact with parents, siblings and children they can no longer reconcile with.

Milwaukee Brewers hitters are swinging the bat faster in 2024 than in previous seasons, according to MLB.com. Increased bat speed can translate into harder contact, more extra-base hits and better results against high-velocity playoff pitching. The improvement is being viewed as a potentially significant factor if the Brewers make a deep postseason run in October.