DAILY NEWS Stream – March 9, 2026

South Africa signs a new memorandum of understanding with the Netherlands to deepen digital cooperation, focusing on skills, emerging technologies, AI [artificial intelligence], and cybersecurity as both countries explore ways to align Dutch expertise with South Africa’s digital transformation goals (WeAreTech Africa)

Cambodia intensifies its nationwide crackdown by pledging to eliminate all online scam centers by the end of April, expanding its efforts to track remaining suspects, tighten oversight, and protect the country’s economy and international reputation (VnExpress)

US President Trump announces that major US tech companies have signed a Ratepayer Protection Pledge committing to pay the full cost of new power generation for AI data centers so electricity prices do not rise for American households, a move the White House calls a landmark step for energy affordability and AI-driven economic growth (White House)

Croatia declares itself landmine-free after a 31-year effort that cleared more than 100,000 mines and 400,000 unexploded munitions, ending one of Europe’s largest postwar demining campaigns and opening the way for safer communities, revived rural development, and expanded tourism (Good News Network)

Mexico’s Senate introduces a proposed federal bill to ban all industrial octopus- and cephalopod-people raising, positioning the country at the forefront of a growing global movement that rejects intensive octopus-folk confinement and cultivation because of its severe animal-people welfare, environmental, and public health consequences (Perishable News)

People who regularly use anticholinergic medications [prescribed to reduce effects of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine]—including certain antidepressants, antihistamines, and drugs for urinary incontinence— show a steadily higher long-term risk of cardiovascular disease, with the heaviest users experiencing about a 71% increase in heart-related events, according to a large observational study from Karolinska Institutet [Sweden] (Karolinska Institutet)

High caffeine levels [between 90 to over 350 milligrams] in popular pre-workout supplements like Bang! and C4 trigger severe sleep loss in youth. Users are twice as likely to get five hours of sleep or less, threatening mental health and academic performance. Medical professionals now urge stricter oversight and screening, advising teens to avoid these potent stimulants at least 12 hours before bedtime (SciTech Daily)

Nigeria’s Benue State and international partners intensify their response to a growing Lassa fever outbreak. Health officials provide protective equipment and strengthen emergency measures to bolster isolation centers and contain the spreading virus (Vanguard)

Sparkling water’s carbonic acid can erode tooth enamel, especially in flavored varieties with citric acid. Dr. Rahul Chirag [senior consultant at CARE Hospitals (India)] and other experts warn that frequent sipping leads to sensitivity and decay. To minimize damage, drink quickly through a straw and rinse with plain water. Importantly, wait 30 minutes before brushing to allow temporarily softened enamel to re-harden naturally (Lao Động)

Researchers find tropical flowering seasons shifting by two days per decade due to climate change. These timing shifts disrupt pollinators and fruit-eating animal-people, threatening ecological balance across Africa, Asia, and South America (Mongabay)

New research warns that rising temperatures push many tropical insects to their biological heat limits. Scientists fear half of Amazon insect species could face life-threatening stress if the planet keeps warming, potentially destabilizing global pollination and critical food webs (Phys.org)

Shrinking Arctic sea ice forces Pacific walrus-people farther north to rest and forage. Scientists warn that disappearing frozen habitats lead to crowded land colonies, increasing stress, stampede risks, and intense competition for food (Polar Journal)

Hundreds of people gather outside Halifax’s Province House [Canada] to stand with Mi’kmaq First Nation land defenders in protesting Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston’s austerity budget, which cuts millions from community programs and is criticized as undermining Indigenous rights, environmental protection, and the democratic process (Halifax Examiner)

Switzerland loses nearly 3% of its glacier ice in 2025 as a snow-poor winter and extreme summer heat drive one of the fastest years of Alpine glacier shrinkage on record (SciTechDaily)

Seoul [South Korea] deploys a 24-hour AI system that automatically detects, reports, and helps delete illegal sexually exploitative content online, offering the technology free to institutions nationwide to speed victim support and curb digital sex crimes (The Korea Times)

The Sun entered an unusually spotless phase on February 22, 2026, briefly losing all sunspots for the first time in nearly four years, even as Solar Cycle 25 continues and future bursts of activity remain possible (Báo 24h)

UK vegan pet food startup Omni reports 200% sales growth following its February 2025 Dragons’ Den [popular British reality TV show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas] appearance. Founded by a veterinarian, the brand scales rapidly, reaching £8.4 million in annual revenue (Pet Food Industry)

Long-term research finds processed red animal-people meat increases dementia risk by 13%. Replacing bacon or hot dogs with legumes or nuts lowers cognitive decline risk by 20%, highlighting diet’s brain-health impact (VegNews)

Vegan skincare brand AXIS-Y’s Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum goes viral for its 5% niacinamide formula. The cruelty-free blend uses vegan squalane and papaya to brighten skin and fade hyperpigmentation (Says)

A wolf-individual trapped inside a bridge support on the Milani Canal near Verona [Italy] is freed by firefighters and wildlife personnel, who briefly sedate it during the rescue for safety before transporting it to a recovery center for treatment and release (Vigili del Fuoco)

Veterinarians from Centro Veterinario Austral rescue a missing dog companion struggling offshore near Puerto Madryn in El Golfito, Argentina, using paddleboards. The exhausted pet-person, missing four days, reunites with its family hours later after rapid community coordination (Noticias Ambientales)

In Cà Mau [Âu Lạc (Vietnam)], homeowner Nguyễn Hoàng Duy keeps his gate open near the steep Vĩnh Hưng A Bridge, turning his yard into a safety buffer that helps out-of-control motorists avoid the frequent crashes at a dangerous Y-junction (VnExpress)

Neighbors and Georgia [US] firefighters join forces to rescue over a dozen pets, including dog- and cat-people and a guinea pig-person, from a massive blaze at an apartment complex in Cherokee County. One resident is hospitalized, and investigators work to determine the fire’s cause (FOX5 Atlanta)

Enlightening quote of the day: “If the truth is perceived as subject to creation and destruction, formation and decay, it is not real.” – The Venerated Enlightened Master of Chan Buddhism Nanyue Huairang (vegetarian) (Terebess.hu)

In part 1 of 2 of Nicole Majik’s near-death experiences, American chemist and intuitive guide Nicole shares how she died twice — once in a highway accident where she shifted into another dimension, and once during surgery where she guided a stranger’s soul back into his body — and how those experiences transformed her life.

Nicole was working as a lead chemist in Cambridge, Massachusetts, overseeing analytical teams across five countries when her first near-death experience (NDE) occurred in 2006. At the time, she was struggling with undiagnosed postpartum depression so severe that it had become an obsession with death. One evening, she was driving home on the Massachusetts Turnpike [toll road].

And I looked over on the other side of the Jersey barrier, and there was a woman in a car, and her door was smashed in. So, the driver’s side door was smashed in, and she was just like bouncing from side to side, and I could see all these little details. Time slowed down to like frame by frame.

So, I saw the car that hit her and went up over the Jersey barrier. And now the guy was looking at me and screaming, and I’m looking at him, and I’m like, “Oh my God!” Our eyes kind of met for a split second, and his face was contorted, and all this with pure terror. And I screamed, and I kind of ducked down like this in my car because he was going to land right where my steering wheel was. And in that moment when I screamed, everything went into like this blackness, and I felt like a calming presence.

And I ended up having a vision of sitting down with each of my children. At the time, I had three young boys. And I just remembered saying goodbye, like having a conversation and saying goodbye. And then when that was all done, this blanket of just calm and like warmth, like an inner warmth came over me with that spiritual presence, and I said, “Okay, I’m ready.” And that blackness just took over. And then all of a sudden it felt like I was being projected through a tunnel. And I describe it as like I was like a pinball in a pinball machine when you first pull back and let it go. It was like down this tunnel, and everything was coming at me super-fast, and there were like the lights and the shapes and yet it was still fairly dark, but with the lights and the shapes coming at me really fast.

When Nicole came back, she was still driving — 2.5 miles [4 kilometers] from where the impact had occurred, with no memory of the gap. She called her mother, who had been seized by an overwhelming urge to pray for Nicole at that exact moment. Later, when she arrived home, one of her young sons ran to greet her at the door.

So, I had grabbed him, and it was just a couple days before his birthday, and I grabbed him and I just squeezed him, and I was like, “I love you so much. I love you so much.” And I didn’t realize it at that point in time yet because there was so much happening overwhelming in my whole person, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual being, that I didn’t realize that that depression was completely gone. And I mean, this was a depression that turned into like an obsession with death and thinking how I could exit this world.

Nicole came to believe she had not simply survived the accident but had shifted into a parallel dimensional timeline — dying in one dimension while her consciousness moved into a nearly identical one, which explained the strange gaps in her memory. Her intuitive abilities also exploded open. She began receiving full visions mid-day, making prophetic warnings, and on one occasion pulled herself and her husband out of a party minutes before a shooting erupted at the exact spot where she had been sitting.

Nearly two decades later, something happened that would push her even further into the unknown. So, when that [presence] came over me in that space, I said, “OK, like here I am.” And my consciousness went to my friend Sandy. And I said, “Sandy, remember these words. I have to come back. I have work left here to do. A lot of work is left here to do. I have to come back.” Join us tomorrow for Part 2 of 2 of Nicole Majik’s near-death experiences. (Spiritual Warrior Journey)