Five years after Parkland, school shootings haven't stopped, and kill more people

Access to Some News Websites Restricted in Afghanistan

Afghans wanting to access news online including via some of VOA's websites are being met with blank screens and error messages.  For at least two weeks, people in several provinces have reported problems when trying to access websites via their cellphones when using the networks of some privately owned telecoms carriers.  The websites affected are VOA's Pashto and Dari sites and the websites for Azadi Radio, which are run by VOA's sister network, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Other international public broadcasters, including the BBC, and VOA's English-language website appear to still be accessible.  Affected carriers include the privately owned telecommunication companies Afghan Wireless, Roshan, and Etisalat Afghanistan, which is a subsidiary of a United Arab Emirates-owned company.  The news sites were still accessible via Wi-Fi, or on the Salaam state internet provider, as well as when accessed via virtual private networks or VPNs, VOA found. At least two people familiar with the situation told VOA they believe the block is the result of a Taliban order.  A source at one of the telecom providers — who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation — told VOA that the Taliban had ordered the company to block access to the websites.  A person familiar with the Afghan Media Violation Commission told VOA that the official body had not received an order to restrict the websites, but that it appeared the Taliban had acted on their own.  The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "It is clear that it is not a technical problem because the websites are closed on … major carriers. It is clear that it is [the Taliban's] work, but it has not been referred to the Commission."  A spokesperson for the Taliban did not respond to VOA's requests for comment.  A statement released on the Twitter feed of VOA's Acting Director Yolanda Lopez said the blocking of the network's websites "was not unexpected."  "We have prepared for it [and] our audience in Afghanistan has been using VOA-promoted tools to circumvent the blocking," the statement said.  The broadcaster is also transmitting via medium and shortwave radio after the Taliban in late 2022 blocked its FM broadcasts. "Despite the efforts of the Taliban to censor us, VOA will continue to serve the people of Afghanistan with accurate information," the VOA statement said.  The unidentified person with knowledge of the media commission's work noted that the Taliban had previously ordered FM broadcasts for VOA and RFE/RL to be stopped and separately had ordered the blocking of the news websites Hasht-e Subh and Zawia Media.  The Taliban made threats against at least one of those outlets before the later order to have it blocked.  Abdul Khalil Rasoli, a journalist who used to work for Hasht-e Subh in Herat and Kabul, told VOA last year the newspaper had received "direct threats from Taliban" after it reported in late 2021 on meetings between the Taliban acting interior minister and families of suicide bombers.  "They [the Taliban] threatened our media outlets [and journalists], including me, telling us, 'If you are going to continue publishing such news and using terms, such as suicide attacker, we will let our Mujahideen do whatever they want with you. And we will not guarantee your security,'" said Rasoli.  "After that, in an online meeting [of the media outlet], it was decided to gradually close the outlet and take a moderate approach to cover news so that our colleagues, particularly those colleagues who were well known and at risk, get out of Afghanistan," he added.  Rasoli left Afghanistan with his family in 2022. The Taliban return to power has had a negative impact on media in the country, says the watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Within the first three months of their takeover in 2021, 43% of the country's media outlets shuttered, and 84% of female journalists have been forced to leave their jobs. VOA's Afghan division contributed to this report. 

Nigerian AG Challenges Supreme Court Ruling on Currency Deadline

Nigeria's government is challenging a Supreme Court order that suspended Friday's deadline for the phaseout of old currency notes, saying it lacks jurisdiction. The issue of when the old currency becomes invalid has turned into a significant issue as Nigeria prepares for elections a little more than two weeks away. On Wednesday, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit filed by three Nigerian state governors to stop the central bank from phasing out the old notes by this Friday, February 10. Nigeria's attorney general, Abubakar Malami, challenged the Supreme Court's ruling in a countersuit filed by his legal team late Wednesday and called for the ruling to be dismissed. Malami argues the power to rule on the suit is within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, not the Supreme Court. Hours to the deadline, anxiety is growing among citizens over the uncertainty. Martin Obono, a lawyer and team lead at TAP initiative, a nonprofit that promotes government accountability and transparency, is concerned about the uncertainty of the situation. "Following the government's antecedents in terms of not respecting court judgment and court orders, I am not sure the federal government is going to obey whatever the Supreme Court has said, especially in an instance where it has a lot of political undertones,” he said. “That obviously is going to have an effect on what Nigerian people should do or expect. Obono said he encourages Nigerians to go to the bank and change their currency. “This is a judgment that you can't trust,” he said. The governors behind the lawsuit, from Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, say the country needs more time to transition to new 200-, 500- and 1000-naira notes introduced in December. They point out that a cash shortage is leading to attacks on banks. Critics say the governors and other politicians who support the Supreme Court are doing so in order to enable vote-buying with the old currency ahead of the February 25 polls. But Olumuyiwa Onlede, executive secretary of the Citizens Awareness Against Corruption Initiative, said even though politicians may be acting for selfish reasons, ordinary Nigerians are also affected by the impending deadline. "This policy is a very good policy but what I think the attorney general is not looking at is the resultant effect of this policy and the implementation on the masses,” Onlede said. “So many banks are under lock and key, they're afraid of being attacked." For weeks, millions of Nigerian citizens have been lining up at banks to get the new notes. In some instances, tempers run high leading to protests and attacks on banks. Abuja resident Nelly Nwora wants authorities to obey the Supreme Court’s ruling and extend the deadline. "It is difficult accessing cash, you have needs and you can't meet your needs, not because you do not have money but because you really can't access cash,” Nwora said. “You go to the ATM machines and you see long queues, your mind will skip. It has not really been easy and we're hoping that this is resolved as soon as possible." Authorities say the new currency is paying off in fighting crime and counterfeiting, and reducing excess cash in circulation. This week, the International Monetary Fund urged Nigerian authorities to extend the currency swap deadline.

Georgia Scheduled For More U.S. Military Assistance > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

Georgia has been approved for a risk-assessed payment schedule so it will be able to request and acquire vital military capabilities more easily, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said.

Biden to Host Brazil’s da Silva on Friday 

U.S. President Joe Biden will welcome Brazil’s newly installed leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, to the White House on Friday, seeking to strengthen relations with the South Amercian nation, which had cooled somewhat under da Silva’s predecessor. Da Silva, commonly known as Lula, took office in early January after narrowly defeating Brazil’s former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, in an October runoff election. A week after da Silva's inauguration, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the capital and trashed main government buildings, demanding that the leftist president’s election be overturned. Biden condemned the action and pledged U.S. assistance. Analysts say the visit is important for da Silva to shore up support from the U.S. to help reassure the world of his nation’s political stability. In a statement, the White House said Biden and da Silva would discuss how the two countries can continue to work together to promote inclusion and democratic values in the region and around the world, particularly in the lead-up to a March 2023 Summit for Democracy. They will also “address common challenges, including combating climate change, safeguarding food security, encouraging economic development, strengthening peace and security, and managing regional migration.” The Reuters news agency, citing Brazil’s foreign ministry, said da Silva’s delegation would include Environment Minister Marina Silva, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Racial Equality Minister Anielle Franco.

'Quiet Professionals' Dazzle in Training > U.S. Department of Defense > Story

America's elite special operations forces conduct training that is rigorous, highly specialized and sometimes secretive. When captured by a skilled military photographer, their efforts can be stunning too.

February 9, 2023

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

Ugandan Activists Decry Closure of UN Human Rights Office in Uganda 

Activists and opposition in Uganda have cried foul at the government’s decision to close the United Nations human rights office in the country. A letter from Uganda's foreign ministry leaked this week said the U.N. office was no longer needed because the government is capable of upholding human rights. Rights activists in the country strongly disagree. The mandate of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights effectively ends today, February 9, three years after it was last renewed. Human rights activists say the government of Uganda has been playing hide and seek whenever renewal of the mandate came up. The government in a letter dated February 3 said that due to the prevailing peace throughout the country, coupled with strong national human rights institutions and a vibrant civil society with the capacity to monitor, promote and protect human rights in Uganda, it will not renew the mandate of the office. Livingstone Sewanyana, director of a local NGO, the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, tells VOA that the closure is surprising, but he sees it as part of a larger trend. “However, for the last couple of years, we are aware that Uganda’s civil society has been weakening," he said. "The civic space has been shrinking. And increasingly we are also aware that the Uganda human rights commission’s capacity has been growing less and less. Now, it is the time to rebuild that.” In February 2021, after Uganda’s general elections, Bobi Wine, the leader of the opposition National Unity Party platform, delivered a petition to the U.N. human rights office in Kampala. The petition was to protest human rights abuses and abductions of his supporters in the run up to and after that year’s presidential election, won by longtime President Yoweri Museveni. Journalists covering the petition were beaten up in front of the office. Speaking to VOA, Wine says the abductions continue. He says the party does not have any trust in the National Human Rights Commission office to deliver justice to victims and their families. “But I’m not shocked. I’m not surprised. And I don’t think any Ugandan should be surprised. That is General Museveni’s modus operandi. Whenever he’s called to account in regards to human rights violations, he will react in a rather ominous way.” Reacting to the rights office closure, the U.S. ambassador to Uganda, Natalie Brown, said that a society does not advance if it does not respect the human rights of its citizens. Brown called for all Ugandans to speak up when rights are violated and seek help from civil society. “There are many ways to protect those rights. They can be enshrined in law, but we have to uphold the law. And we have to hold security forces and elected officials, and those in executive positions, they have to be accountable when individual’s rights are violated,” she said. The Kampala office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights was established in 2006 to focus on the human rights situation in conflict affected areas in north and eastern Uganda but was later expanded to the rest of the country. The Ugandan government says after the Kampala office is closed, it will continue its cooperation with U.N. human rights officials through their headquarters or their permanent mission in Geneva.

Through the Lens: One Year on, Russia's War in Ukraine Hits Egypt's Poor

Egypt is embroiled in cost-of-living and currency crises, in part, exacerbated by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly one year ago — the fallout of which has led to severe disruptions in global food and energy security.

US Deeply Concerned About Malawi's Hindrance of Corruption Fight

Malawi's government has rejected U.S. concerns that it is waging a campaign of intimidation against the country's anti-corruption chief. The U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe on Wednesday condemned what it called harassment of Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau director, Martha Chizuma. Last week, Secretary to the Office of President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba suspended Chizuma, citing an audio recording where Chizuma accused some top officials of hindering her fight against corruption. A court ordered the government to lift the suspension, but the government has asked the court to vacate the order. In a recorded statement, the U.S. ambassador in Malawi, David Young, said the government's move "culminates two months of harassment" against Chizuma, and he said the embassy was deeply concerned with the government's actions.  "As a democratic partner, the embassy of the United States of America looks to the government of Malawi to actively pursue the fight against corruption and not to wage a campaign of intimidation against anti-corruption champions," Young said. "We have actively engaged senior government officials to seek renewed commitment to the fight against corruption, but those efforts have not yielded results." Young cited the midnight arrest of Chizuma in December and criminal charges the government filed against her as other examples of government intimidation.   "Our shared commitment to Malawi's development depends on trust that Malawi will use public resources including development funds, transparently, fairly and with accountability. These recent actions undermine the credibility of the government of Malawi's stated commitment to the fight against corruption," he said. The United States is Malawi's biggest financial supporter, providing more than $350 million annually in bilateral assistance. According to the budget and finance committee in Malawi's parliament, studies have found that 20 percent of Malawi's national budget is lost through corruption. Moses Kunkuyu, the Malawi government spokesperson, said in a statement that the Malawi government will follow diplomatic channels to address the concerns the U.S. Embassy has raised. Kunkuyu, who is also the government's minister of information, told state radio that it is wrong to accuse the government of failing to fight corruption. He said President Lazarus Chakwera has supported Chizuma since opposition lawmakers rejected her appointment as head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau.  "There came this issue of audio, the president stood with her and pardoned her," Kunkuyu said. "Then the commission of inquiry recommended that some action should be taken against her, and the president stood with her. Then, there have been issues of funding crippling operations of ACB, the president ... issued that his government should provide funding to ACB." The High Court of Malawi has dismissed the government's request to lift an injunction against Chizuma's suspension, saying it lacked merit. The Malawi government says it will appeal against Wednesday's ruling, which has effectively allowed Chizuma to return to work. 

US Sanctions Iran's Petroleum Industry

The U.S. State and Treasury Departments announced sanctions Thursday against nine entities identified as working with Iran's petrochemical and petroleum products trade that worked around previous U.S. sanctions. A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the targeted companies include six Iran-based companies, two Singapore-based entities, and one Malaysian-based company, all involved in the production and/or sale and distribution of petrochemicals or petroleum. In a statement, Under Treasury Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said Iran is increasingly turning to buyers in East Asia to sell its petrochemical and petroleum products in violation of U.S. sanctions. Nelson said, "The United States remains focused on targeting Tehran's sources of illicit revenue and will continue to enforce its sanctions against those who wittingly facilitate this trade." In his statement, Blinken likewise said Thursday's action demonstrates the U.S. commitment to disrupt Iran's efforts to circumvent sanctions. The latest sanctions against the Islamic republic come as relations between it and the West are increasingly strained. Recent efforts to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal have stalled, and Iran's government continues its violent crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters. 

Why fighting HIV means attending to trauma

Mental and psychosocial health challenges facing older adults with HIV/AIDS affect their well-being—and the trajectory of the virus.

Lack of diversity in clinical trials is leaving women and patients of color behind and harming the future of medicine

Eritrea to Cooperate with Other Countries to Promote Regional Stability

The presidents of Kenya and Eritrea have wrapped up two days of talks by agreeing to remove visa requirements for their citizens as part of improving relations. Kenya's William Ruto and his Eritrean counterpart, Isaias Afwerki, also agreed to promote regional peace and stability even as Eritrea faces questions over alleged rights abuses in Ethiopia.  Afwerki said Eritrea would rejoin the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, an East African trade bloc. "This is an obligation in the name of the people of the Horn region," he said. "We have to assume responsibility and revitalize IGAD so that we can have a functional, real organization for the region is critical. Without that mechanism, ideas and goodwill will not be productive. We will have to create an institution that is functional and result-oriented so that we can say we have changed the face of the region." Eritrea suspended its IGAD membership in 2007 following a disagreement with Ethiopia over the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia. In 2018, Eritrea and Ethiopia reestablished diplomatic relations and agreed to end years of hostility. Ruto said he expects Eritrea to support the region's ongoing security operations and peace efforts. "I look forward to working with you to ensure that we stabilize Somalia, we eliminate terrorism and we build a much more secure region," Ruto said. "I also look forward to working with you in resolving the issues in Sudan and South Sudan, and working with our brothers in Ethiopia to build a better region for all our people and ensuring we make this region attractive for investment, trade and business." Eritrea, Ethiopia's neighbor, has been accused of widespread human rights violations in two conflicts that erupted in November 2020 between Ethiopian federal government forces and the Tigray rebel group. Last November, the government in Addis Ababa and representatives from the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia signed a peace agreement.  Tigray officials and residents say Eritrean troops have yet to leave the region, months after signing a peace agreement that requires Asmara to withdraw its forces.  Afwerki dismissed the allegations against his troops. "Why are you bothered about the Eritrean troops who are there or not there? Come out and not come out," he said. "Let's assume the peace process in Ethiopia is going on without any obstacles. We would like to see the agreement signed in Pretoria and Nairobi implemented on the ground so that we can secure peace and stability in Ethiopia for the benefit not only of Ethiopians but the whole region." Eritrea has denied its troops fought in Ethiopia's conflict in Tigray region, but rights groups allege the troops committed atrocities, including punishing families of accused draft dodgers. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch on Thursday called for sanctions against Eritrea for the government's alleged role in rounding up people and their family members who refused to participate in mandatory military service. Laetitia Bader, who heads the Horn of Africa operation at Human Rights Watch, said since September of last year, the Eritrean conscription campaign has been targeting draft evaders. "They have resorted to new methods of repression against families of alleged draft evaders. So, we found that they were detaining relatives, including older people, but they were also evicting people from their homes," she said. "So, this was not only the security forces but alongside local officials that keep a list of households through a coupon system which enables people to have access to subsidized goods, and they were going door-to-door trying to identify individuals who were missing."  The U.S.-based rights organization is urging the international community to pressure Asmara to reform what Human Rights Watch calls Eritrea's abusive national service system. The rights group says the system continues to drive Eritreans into exile. 

US Senate Panel Questions Southwest Airlines about Holiday Failures  

Southwest Airlines executives and union officials are appearing before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Thursday to explain the cancellation of 16,700 flights last December in the middle of the holiday traveling season. In a statement to the media ahead of his testimony, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson took full responsibility for the failures that left more than 1 million passengers stranded in airports around the United States. “We messed up. We own that,” he said, and pledged to take steps to ensure there will not be a repeat in the future. Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), is also scheduled to testify at Thursday’s hearing. In a statement, he blamed the airline’s outdated scheduling technology and operational processes. Murray said the airline ignored warnings about the system for years and said SWAPA predicted the holiday meltdown a month before it happened. In a statement ahead of the hearing, Senator Maria Cantwell, chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said she was eager to hear the pilot’s testimony on how the debacle could have been avoided if the airline had acted sooner. She said the committee will be considering how to strengthen protections for consumers. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

Several US Universities to Experiment With Micro Nuclear Power 

If your image of nuclear power is giant, cylindrical concrete cooling towers pouring out steam on a site that takes up hundreds of acres of land, soon there will be an alternative: tiny nuclear reactors that produce only one-hundredth the electricity and can even be delivered on a truck. Small but meaningful amounts of electricity — nearly enough to run a small campus, a hospital or a military complex, for example — will pulse from a new generation of micronuclear reactors. Now, some universities are taking interest. "What we see is these advanced reactor technologies having a real future in decarbonizing the energy landscape in the U.S. and around the world," said Caleb Brooks, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The tiny reactors carry some of the same challenges as large-scale nuclear, such as how to dispose of radioactive waste and how to make sure they are secure. Supporters say those issues can be managed and the benefits outweigh any risks. Universities are interested in the technology not just to power their buildings but to see how far it can go in replacing the coal and gas-fired energy that causes climate change. The University of Illinois hopes to advance the technology as part of a clean energy future, Brooks said. The school plans to apply for a construction permit for a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor developed by the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, and aims to start operating it by early 2028. Brooks is the project lead. Microreactors will be "transformative" because they can be built in factories and hooked up on site in a plug-and-play way, said Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Buongiorno studies the role of nuclear energy in a clean energy world. "That's what we want to see, nuclear energy on demand as a product, not as a big mega project," he said. Both Buongiorno and Marc Nichol, senior director for new reactors at the Nuclear Energy Institute, view the interest by schools as the start of a trend. Last year, Penn State University signed a memorandum of understanding with Westinghouse to collaborate on microreactor technology. Mike Shaqqo, the company's senior vice president for advanced reactor programs, said universities are going to be "one of our key early adopters for this technology." Penn State wants to prove the technology so that Appalachian industries, such as steel and cement manufacturers, may be able to use it, said Professor Jean Paul Allain, head of the nuclear engineering department. Those two industries tend to burn dirty fuels and have very high emissions. Using a microreactor also could be one of several options to help the university use less natural gas and achieve its long-term carbon emissions goals, he said. "I do feel that microreactors can be a game-changer and revolutionize the way we think about energy," Allain said. For Allain, microreactors can complement renewable energy by providing a large amount of power without taking up much land. A 10-megawatt microreactor could go on less than an acre, whereas windmills or a solar farm would need far more space to produce 10 megawatts, he added. The goal is to have one at Penn State by the end of the decade. Purdue University in Indiana is working with Duke Energy on the feasibility of using advanced nuclear energy to meet its long-term energy needs. Nuclear reactors that are used for research are nothing new on campus. About two dozen U.S. universities have them. But using them as an energy source is new. Back at the University of Illinois, Brooks explains the microreactor would generate heat to make steam. While the excess heat from burning coal and gas to make electricity is often wasted, Brooks sees the steam production from the nuclear microreactor as a plus, because it's a carbon-free way to deliver steam through the campus district heating system to radiators in buildings, a common heating method for large facilities in the Midwest and Northeast. The campus has hundreds of buildings. The 10-megawatt microreactor wouldn't meet all of the demand, but it would serve to demonstrate the technology, as other communities and campuses look to transition away from fossil fuels, Brooks said. One company that is building microreactors that the public can get a look at today is Last Energy, based in Washington, D.C. It built a model reactor in Brookshire, Texas that's housed in an edgy cube covered in reflective metal. Now it's taking that apart to test how to transport the unit. A caravan of trucks is taking it to Austin, where company founder Bret Kugelmass is scheduled to speak at the South by Southwest conference and festival. Kugelmass, a technology entrepreneur and mechanical engineer, is talking with some universities, but his primary focus is on industrial customers. He's working with licensing authorities in the United Kingdom, Poland and Romania to try to get his first reactor running in Europe in 2025. The urgency of the climate crisis means zero-carbon nuclear energy must be scaled up soon, he said. "It has to be a small, manufactured product as opposed to a large, bespoke construction project," he said. Traditional nuclear power costs billions of dollars. An example is two additional reactors at a plant in Georgia that will end up costing more than $30 billion. The total cost of Last Energy's microreactor, including module fabrication, assembly and site prep work, is under $100 million, the company says. Westinghouse, which has been a mainstay of the nuclear industry for over 70 years, is developing its "eVinci" microreactor, Shaqqo said, and is aiming to get the technology licensed by 2027. The Department of Defense is working on a microreactor too. Project Pele is a DOD prototype mobile nuclear reactor under design at the Idaho National Laboratory. Abilene Christian University in Texas is leading a group of three other universities with the company Natura Resources to design and build a research microreactor cooled by molten salt to allow for high temperature operations at low pressure, in part to help train the next generation nuclear workforce. But not everyone shares the enthusiasm. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, called it "completely unjustified." Microreactors in general will require much more uranium to be mined and enriched per unit of electricity generated than conventional reactors do, he said. He said he also expects fuel costs to be substantially higher and that more depleted uranium waste could be generated compared to conventional reactors. "I think those who are hoping that microreactors are going to be the silver bullet for solving the climate change crisis are simply betting on the wrong horse," he said. Lyman also said he fears microreactors could be targeted for a terrorist attack, and some designs would use fuels that could be attractive to terrorists seeking to build crude nuclear weapons. The UCS does not oppose using nuclear power, but wants to make sure it's safe. The United States does not have a national storage facility for storing spent nuclear fuel and it's piling up. Microreactors would only compound the problem and spread the radioactive waste around, Lyman said. A 2022 Stanford-led study found that smaller modular reactors — the next size up from micro — will generate more waste than conventional reactors. Lead author Lindsay Krall said this week that the design of microreactors would make them subject to the same issue. Kugelmass sees only promise. Nuclear, he said, has been "totally misunderstood and under leveraged." It will be "the key pillar of our energy transformation moving forward."

Why taxing cow burps isn’t the best climate solution

Women around the world are avoiding marriage

A new book chronicles women moving away from "traditional" marriages in societies where it's widely considered obligatory.

Twitter cutoff in Turkey amid earthquake rescue operations: A social media expert explains the danger of losing the microblogging service in times of disaster

Data from New Jersey is a warning sign for young sports bettors

New Zealand wants to tax cow burps – here's why that's not the best climate solution

Twitter cutoff in Turkey amid earthquake rescue operations: a social media expert explains the danger of losing the microblogging service in times of disaster

Public school enrollment dropped by 1.2M during the pandemic – an expert discusses where the students went and why it matters

CBD is not a cure-all – here's what science says about its real health benefits

Medication abortion could get harder to obtain – or easier: There's a new wave of post-Dobbs lawsuits on abortion pills

Brazil's president visits the White House as he tries to counter rising threats to democracy at home

US Senator Fetterman Being Observed at Washington Hospital 

U.S. Senator John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke last year, was taken to hospital late on Wednesday but is in "good spirits" and showed no signs of a new stroke, his office said in a statement. The 53-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat asked his staff to take him to a hospital in Washington after feeling lightheaded at a Senate Democratic retreat, his spokesman Joe Calvello said. Fetterman remains at George Washington Hospital for observation and additional testing, the spokesman said, adding he would "provide more information when we have it." "He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family," Calvello wrote. Fetterman had a stroke last year while campaigning for one of the key political swing state's two U.S. Senate seats. The stroke initially left lingering problems with his speech and hearing that sometimes cause verbal miscues, but Fetterman's doctor has said the politician could serve in office with no restrictions as long as he followed recovery instructions. Fetterman, in a statement on his recovery last year, said he had been diagnosed with a heart condition years earlier but had stopped taking his medication, avoided going to the doctor and ignored warning signs.

North Korean Leader Mum as Military Parade Rolls Out Largest ICBM Display  

A grand nighttime event in Pyongyang Wednesday parading military hardware featured the largest contingent of North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles to date, including a handful believed to be mock-ups of nuclear-capable missiles that would run on solid-fuel engines. Reporting on the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency praised the ICBM display as a show of a “revolutionary development” of its defense power and its “tremendous nuclear attack capability.” Eleven Hwasong-17 ICBMs were rolled out at Kim Il Sung Square, carried by 11-axle transporter erector launchers, according to images released by state media. They were followed by five smaller, previously unseen canisterized — in transportation containers — ICBMs that were not identified but believed by multiple analysts to be early versions of a solid-fuel ICBM Pyongyang has long aimed to develop. “One ICBM launcher for every letter in the word ‘denuclearization.’ Coincidence?” asked Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in a tweet. He raised concern that the sheer number of ICBMs — if capable — could overpower U.S. ground-based interceptors. The Hwasong-17 ICBM has been dubbed a “monster missile” for its hypothetical ability to reach the continental United States, carrying multiple nuclear warheads intended for multiple targets. Its first successful test was in November, which shot the missile on a vaulted trajectory, giving it an estimated flight distance of 15,000 kilometers. North Koreans are known to be working on reentry technology, alongside a solid fuel engine — the latter of which would enable ICBMs preloaded with fuel, cutting the time from dispatch to launch, compared to their liquid-fueled counterparts. Some Seoul-based analysts project Pyongyang could soon test the Hwasong-17 ICBM again — this time in a normalized, straightened trajectory — in what would be a highly inflammatory move for Washington. “Our young regular armed forces developed into the most powerful entity, with a stockpile of overwhelming force, to completely suppress and crush imperialist tyranny,” the Korean Central News Agency said Thursday in its report on the parade referring to North Korea’s weaponized nuclear capability. It also mentioned a new tactical nuclear weapons operation unit, which it said would fulfill “their strategic mission at any time loyal to the order of the leader only.” Leader Kim Jong Un, taking in the military parade at a VIP box alongside his military top brass, joined by his wife and daughter, notably refrained from making an address. Surprising silence There had been expectations Kim Jong Un would use the occasion to send a vocal message to Washington and Seoul amid the allies’ reenergized combined military exercises as part of the U.S. pledge for extended deterrence. A U.S.-South Korea tabletop exercise, halted under the previous South Korean government of Moon Jae-in, will resume later this month, with a focus on a North Korea nuclear attack scenario, according to Seoul. Last Thursday, in response to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s South Korea visit earlier in the week, North Korea’s foreign ministry blasted the U.S. for reaching “an extreme red line,” criticizing a pledge for increased U.S. strategic asset deployments to the region. Its spokesperson warned any military action by Washington would be met with “the principle of ‘nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation.’” “This time, Kim Jong Un let North Korea’s expanding tactical and long-range missile forces speak for themselves,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, on the absence of a speech. “Military parades largely serve to justify Kim’s policies to a domestic political audience. The message Pyongyang wants to send internationally, demonstrating its capabilities to deter and coerce, will likely come in the form of solid-fuel missile tests and detonation of a miniaturized nuclear device.” New ICBM first impressions Video of the nighttime military parade had not been aired by North Korea at the time of writing, and it will be some time before more is known about, in particular the new ICBM prototype unveiled in a cloud of suspense. “Of interest in this military parade is that ‘hidden card’ that followed the Hwasong-17 on a nine-axle transporter erector launcher,” said Kim Dong-yup, professor at the University of North Korea Studies. “When we consider how North Korea has been presenting its new weapons, it does so first in a military parade then proceeds to develop and test it.” Kim, the professor, noted the presumed solid-fuel ICBM could be a model of a forthcoming Pukguksong missile, the submarine-launched ballistic missile series, over the land-based Hwasong series. It could be less than a year before the world sees the new ballistic missile fly, he said, and by 2025, at the latest, before Kim Jong Un’s stated five-year plan for military modernization expires in 2026.

US General to Aggressors: Allies Are Battle-Ready in Asia

Russia's setbacks in Ukraine should serve as a warning to potential Asian aggressors like China and North Korea

Lavrov in Khartoum to Meet with Sudanese Military Leaders

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to meet Thursday in Khartoum with Sudan's military rulers on Russia and other matters, the country’s state-run SUNA news agency said. Along with Sudan-Russia ties, the talks were expected to focus on Khartoum’s role with affairs in its neighboring conflict-stricken countries, including Chad, South Sudan and Central African Republic, according to Sudan's acting Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq. He offered no further details. Lavrov’s visit to Sudan comes as senior diplomats from the U.S. and other European nations conclude two days of talks with Sudanese military leaders and pro-democracy groups to push for a final agreement to restore the country’s transition to democracy. An October 2021 military coup derailed Sudan’s short-lived, democratic transition. It came after the removal of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 amid a popular uprising against his Islamist-backed repressive rule. Late last year, the generals reached an initial deal with major pro-democracy groups to establish a civilian government. Internationally-backed talks were still under way to achieve a final agreement. Lavrov’s visit is part of a multileg Africa trip that has taken him to Mali and Mauritania. It is Lavrov's second trip to Africa this year as Russia seeks to maximize its interests on the continent amid rising global interest in Africa's rich resources.