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Hungary brushes off ministerial no-shows at EU Council health summit

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Hungary brushes off ministerial no-shows at EU Council health summit

EU Council presidency holder Hungary claims progress in its push for an EU action plan on cardiovascular health and a potentially contentious plan to boost organ donation despite a diplomatic ruckus over the actions of its nationalist prime minister.

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Government health officials gathered in Budapest this morning (25 July) to discuss EU action on heart disease and implementation of new rules on sharing and access to medical data, with Hungary claiming progress despite an ongoing diplomatic chill that saw only a handful of countries send ministers to the informal summit.

Orazio Schillaci from Italy, Bulgaria’s Galya Kondeva-Mankova and Maltese lawmaker Jo Etienne Abela were the only fully fledged ministers on the attendee list. Czechia and Greece sent deputy ministers; some eight others – including Germany and neighbour Slovakia – sent delegates of state secretary or similar rank.

Hungarian health minister Péter Takács brushed off suggestions that the lack of senior government officials reflected a backlash against Hungary’s conduct in the first weeks of its six-month turn as chair of inter-governmental legislative debates, with premier Viktor Orbán having drawn fire for using the EU Council presidency as a launchpad for a self-styled ‘peace mission’ to Moscow and Beijing.

“I believe that given it is the summer season these are by no means bad numbers,” Takács told reporters after chairing a first round of talks. He stressed that informal ministerial summits were policy forums where delegates share opinions “based on facts and not ideology”. Such meetings were “an island of peace in European politics and, I hope, will remain so”, he said.

Still, the choice of delegate from some member states was difficult to interpret other than as a diplomatic rebuke: Austria sent its resident ambassador, Denmark an EU affairs specialist, Belgium an attaché from its EU representative office in Brussels, and France the deputy head of a delegation on European and international affairs.

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Action on heart disease

On the substance of the talks, the Hungarian minister said there had been broad agreement among delegates on the need for concerted action on cardiovascular disease, and the importance of prevention and promoting health literacy. Ideas put forward during the discussion would be channelled into Council conclusions at a formal ministerial summit in December, he said.

“We are confident that we will jointly adopt an action plan as successful as the one on cancer that was agreed [during the presidencies of] Sweden, France and Czechia,” Takács said.

Sharing health data

Regarding implementation of the recently agreed regulation for a European Health Data Space (EHDS), the minister said Hungary was floating the idea of setting up a joint platform where data could be shared in a “structured form” for subsequent use in research and policy planning.

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“I believe this could be a good pilot project where we can test in real time what the system is capable of,” he said. “Good decisions can only be based on good data – I am convinced of this.”

Organ donation plan

Discussions were due to move onto the topic of organ donation in an afternoon session, said Takács, who earlier in the week had outlined potentially controversial plans to boost availability by implementing a universal ‘opt-out’ system.

“Organ donation not only saves lives, but is also the most effective intervention in the treatment of certain chronic diseases,” Takács said.

“The success of the EU organ donation and transplantation action plan between 2009 and 2015, which saw a 21% increase in organ donation, shows that cooperation is crucial, and that a new action plan is needed,” he said.

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Russia kills 12 in Ukraine as Kyiv mourns 707 children killed since 2022

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Russia kills 12 in Ukraine as Kyiv mourns 707 children killed since 2022

At least 12 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commemorated at least 707 children killed by Russia during the two countries’ more than four-year-long war.

At least five people were killed and 11 others injured in Russian bomb and drone attacks on eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the National Police of Ukraine’s press service said on Thursday.

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“Seven settlements were under fire: the cities of Dobropillya, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, Mykolaivka, Sloviansk, the village of Oleksiyevo-Druzhkivka, and the village of Kuritsyne. 42 civilian objects were destroyed, including 16 residential buildings,” the press service said in a message on Telegram.

The damage to civilian infrastructure was extensive, read the message, with at least 14 apartment buildings and 11 cars damaged as well as “a medical institution … an evacuation vehicle and an ambulance” also destroyed.

The next deadliest Russian attack took place in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. At least three people were killed and 21 others were injured in Russian missile and drone attacks in the region, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

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Also in northeastern Ukraine, at least two people were killed and four others injured in a Russian attack on the village of Yampil, in the Shostka district, according to Oleg Hrygorov, the head of the Sumy regional military administration.

“The enemy attacked the central part of the Yampil community … two people died as a result of the attack … Four injured women were also taken to hospital. They are being provided with the necessary medical assistance,” Hrygorov wrote on Telegram.

At least one person was killed and five others injured in Russian shelling in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, said Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the region’s military administration.

“In the Nikopol region, the Nikopol, Marhanetska, Chervonogryhorivska, Pokrovska and Myrivska communities were under attack,” wrote Ganzha on Telegram, adding that the injured were in hospital receiving treatment.

Ganzha said that the Russian shelling caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, with fires breaking out in Slobozhanske and Petrykivska.

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“The fire that occurred in the building of a logistics company was extinguished,” he added.

Lastly, one person was killed by Russian shelling on the Komyshany settlement in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the local military administration.

Over 707 children killed

Russia’s latest attacks across Ukraine came as Zelenskyy commemorated International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression by remembering the children killed over the course of Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

“This day is about the most painful episodes of the war, about the greatest injustice and the evil Russia inflicts when the most vulnerable and the most innocent are killed. Children,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media.

At least 707 Ukrainian children have been killed, said Zelenskyy, adding that “there are also thousands of children whom Russia has wounded, abducted, and thousands of children whose fate remains unknown”.

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“Eternal memory to every child who was killed. It is our enduring duty to remember, to protect our children, and to do everything possible to ensure that the evil Russia has brought is punished.”

Later on Thursday, the Kremlin said that Zelenskyy is welcome to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow “any time”, after the Ukrainian president called to set a date for a face-to-face meeting between the pair to end the war.

“Zelenskyy can come at any time to Moscow,” state media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, adding that Putin had not yet been shown Zelenskyy’s letter.

Latest Ukrainian attacks

In Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, at least one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Luhansk, according to the Moscow-appointed regional governor, Leonid Pasechnik.

“In the Troitsky Municipal District, an enemy drone struck a civilian vehicle. Unfortunately, the driver was unable to escape and died at the scene from his injuries,” Pasechnik wrote on the Makh channel.

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Pasechnik said that the Ukrainian army also hit a commuter train in the Novoaidar Municipal District, adding that none of the 13 passengers on board were injured.

At least one person was killed and three others injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on a commuter train in the Russia-annexed Crimea, according to Sergei Aksyonov, Moscow-backed head of the Ukrainian peninsula.

Later on Thursday, Aksyonov said that three people were killed and seven others injured in a Ukrainian attack on non-residential buildings in Crimea’s Simferopol city.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had taken control of the village of Komsomolskoye, in southeast Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region.

In a statement, the ministry said it had launched three assaults on the Ukrainian army, resulting in losses of “up to 430 servicemen, four armoured combat vehicles, eight cars, and a counter-battery radar station”.

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The assault came as Putin said the country must strengthen its air defences, a day after Ukrainian drones struck an oil complex and naval base in St Petersburg, Russia.

“Russia has an air defence system. Yes, we must improve it. Yes, we must strengthen it. And we will do so,” Putin said during a meeting with foreign journalists in St Petersburg.

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A new kind of date makes personal to-do lists a reason to get together with friends

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A new kind of date makes personal to-do lists a reason to get together with friends

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Life tasks like paying bills, canceling subscriptions and answering overdue emails are becoming a reason to socialize for friends, couples, roommates and other people who get together for what’s known as “admin dates.”

The low-pressure gatherings taking place in coffee shops, accommodating bars and private homes are intended to turn tedious and procrastination-inducing adult responsibilities into productive time with a twist. Tackling a personal to-do list alongside others is a double-duty activity that combines the satisfaction of tending to necessary chores with the no less vital work of nurturing relationships.

“You can have both — getting things done and connecting with people,” Thema Bryant, a Pepperdine University psychology professor and past president of the American Psychological Association, said. “At the gym, if I’m taking a group exercise class, I’m less likely to stop in the middle of other people. … In the same way, admin dates can help with accountability, motivation and connection.”

Romantic or business partners looking to get on the same page, and club members or volunteers collaborating on a big project also may find admin dates helpful. Experts generally advise against meeting up in this way with regular work colleagues, especially supervisors, because it might add unnecessary pressure or create self-consciousness that’s counterproductive to confronting in-box gremlins.

Here’s why experts think admin dates have taken off on social media and elsewhere, and some suggestions to keep in mind when organizing one:

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Why doing life together feels good

Spending time with friends and classmates at Northern Arizona University is part of the college experience for 21-year-old roommates Alexia Ruvalcaba, Sami Hawkins and Mandi Bluth, but they say their get-togethers often revolve around everyday responsibilities made more enjoyable with iced white mochas sprinkled with cinnamon.

“Being together helps us get things done,” said Ruvalcaba, a junior pursuing a degree in hotel and restaurant management. She says they look for places where other people are working. Usually that’s one of the more than dozen coffee shops in Flagstaff, Arizona.

“There’s not a single person here that doesn’t have a laptop,” Ruvalcaba said from a table inside Foxtail Coffee Co., a Flagstaff franchise of the Florida-based chain. “I don’t know them, I haven’t talked to them, but all the people here are working or studying.”

This article is part of AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.

Dealing with too many uncompleted tasks can feel overwhelming to some people, but whittling away at them in the company of trusted friends or even strangers engrossed in their own screens can clear some of the mental fog and foster a sense of community, said Bryant, the author of a book titled “Matters of the Heart: Healing Your Relationship with Yourself and Those You Love.”

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One reason admin dates can help with productivity is because of modeling, a theory from behavioral psychology about learning by observing and imitating others, she said. Seeing other people check off items on their agendas can motivate us to do the same, Bryant said.

“In some ways, the reward is in community. That social support is a big protector of our mental health,” she said. “On the flip side, it can cultivate a sense of joy and connection. So it can be inherently rewarding to be in the company of people that we enjoy, even if we’re not doing a fun activity per se, but that presence in and of itself can be healing.”

What to think about before an admin date

Before taking on tasks as a group, discuss how often and for how long the participants want to meet, what level or kind of social interaction they want to have, and the kind of work they have languishing, experts advise. The latter will influence where an admin date takes place. Some people work best in relative quiet, and some tasks can get noisy or are location-dependent, like grocery shopping or home maintenance.

Creating an emotionally safe and mutually productive environment also will inform who is invited to the event — again, bosses typically are a poor choice — and may require establishing some guidelines. Admin dates “are intended to be helpful to everyone,” but self-motivated participants sometimes end up coaching others instead of focusing on their own to to-dos, Bryant noted.

Attending an admin date also may require some mental preparation for every person involved. Telling yourself you are disorganized or can’t manage to get anything done is a stress response that makes it harder to overcome overwhelm or break out of procrastination mode, said Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a physician at Harvard Medical School who specializes in mental health.

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Nerurkar, who is the author of “The 5 Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience,” said that for individuals with harsh inner critics, having a realistic list of tasks to complete during an admin date and the company of a group can turn down the volume on unhelpful thoughts and make the process more manageable.

The goal, she said, is creating mental space to focus and for the list to “empower you instead of overwhelm you.”

Prioritizing tasks also is important since the social aspect of admin dates can become an excuse to procrastinate. Experts also caution against comparing yourself to other admin date attendees, saying the point is to draw motivation from seeing friends work toward similar goals.

“This is not about a competition. This is very much a collaboration,” Nerurkar said.

Don’t forget to have fun

Food and beverages figure into most admin dates at some point, so deciding if they will be shared and if so, how the costs will be managed are other factors to consider. Organizers also should determine how participants feel about the consumption of beer, wine or cocktails during an event mixing personal business and pleasure.

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Since admin dates are supposed to be communal, focusing only on tasks that require deep concentration or silence can undercut the social element that makes them appealing in the first place. Even if your to-do list is a mile long, remember to leave room for conversation, life updates and laughs.

To preserve the enjoyment factor, experts encourage admin daters to celebrate themselves and each other. Updated a resume? Put money into savings? Take a break and acknowledge the completion or grab a sweet treat from the coffee shop. Doing so, experts say, increases motivation and confidence.

Bluth says her college friend group used to write each person’s tasks on a whiteboard and congratulate each other whenever something got crossed off.

Sometimes the students get off track having too much fun, but “by the end of the day, what we need to do gets done,” Hawkins said.

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Albino buffalo nicknamed ‘Donald Trump’ becomes sensation at Bangladesh’s national zoo for its blond hair

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Albino buffalo nicknamed ‘Donald Trump’ becomes sensation at Bangladesh’s national zoo for its blond hair

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A buffalo with a distinctive hairstyle is going viral for its resemblance to President Donald Trump.

The rare albino buffalo, nicknamed “Donald Trump,” has become a sensation at Bangladesh’s national zoo thanks to its blond tuft of hair, which many say resembles the president’s signature look.

The animal first gained attention after a local farmer noticed the resemblance.

A video of the pale, horned buffalo quickly spread across social media, drawing crowds to a farm outside Dhaka where it was being kept.

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‘SUPER RARE’ ALBINO SQUIRREL SPOTTED ON GOLF COURSE: ‘KEEP AN EYE OUT’

A rare albino buffalo fondly named after Donald Trump for its distinctive blond tuft is seen in an enclosure at the national zoological park, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Rajib Dhar)

The buffalo was originally sold and slated for slaughter during Eid al-Adha, the Muslim “Feast of Sacrifice,” but government officials intervened and ordered the animal transferred to the national zoo in the capital.

Since arriving at the zoo, the buffalo has attracted large crowds and sparked debate over its unusual nickname.

Some visitors embraced the comparison.

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DAVID MARCUS: TO BURNISH TRUMP’S LEGACY, WE NEED TO STOP NAMING THINGS AFTER HIM

A rare albino buffalo nicknamed “Donald Trump” has become a viral attraction at Bangladesh’s national zoo because of its distinctive blond hairstyle. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

“There is a resemblance to Donald Trump in its eyes, hairstyle, and skin color,” Mohammed Nasim, a student in Dhaka, told The Associated Press.

“And just as Donald Trump has a distinctive personality and lifestyle, this buffalo, after going viral, is now living a similar kind of life, enjoying a lot of attention and special treatment,” he added.

According to local media reports, the exhibit initially featured a sign identifying the animal as “Donald Trump,” though the sign has since been removed.

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TRUMP MOUNTAIN? GEORGIA LAWMAKER INTRODUCES RESOLUTION TO RENAME ATLANTA-AREA LANDMARK AFTER PRESIDENT

A rare albino buffalo nicknamed “Donald Trump” has become a viral attraction in Bangladesh because visitors say its blond hairstyle resembles President Donald Trump. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

The zoo’s curator was later fired, although officials have not publicly disclosed the reason for the dismissal.

As visitors crowded around the enclosure this week, many stopped to take photos and videos of the increasingly famous buffalo.

Others, however, said naming the animal after the president was inappropriate.

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“Giving a farm animal the name of one of the world’s most influential leaders was certainly the wrong thing to do,” local resident Mohammad Joynal Adedin told the AP.

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Still, Adedin made the trip to the zoo to see the buffalo for himself.

“It seems disrespectful,” he added. “I think the farmer who did this made a poor decision.”

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