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☆ Uttar Pradesh: Court ruling effectively outlaws Islamic schools in India’s most populous state
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New Delhi CNN —A court in India’s most populous state has effectively banned Islamic schools by striking down on a law governing madrasas, weeks before a nationwide election that could further polarize the world’s largest democracy along religious lines. The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh on Friday declared the Madrasa Act of 2004 to be unconstitutional, according to a court order seen by CNN, while ordering the state government to move students enrolled in the Islamic system into mainstream schools. While the Allahabad High Court order cited India’s constitutional separation of religion and state in its reasoning for ruling against madrasas, it is Modi who has been frequently accused by critics of dismantling India’s secular traditions. Many Muslims and critics of the BJP have raised concerns that India’s secular fabric is also being eroded as anti-Muslim hate speech make frequent headlines and Muslim-owned properties face demolitions. In December 2020, the northeastern state of Assam passed a law to convert all Islamic schools to regular education institutions.

Persons: New Delhi CNN —, madrasas, ”, Narendra Modi’s, Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, Modi, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Debabrata Saikia Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Reuters, madrasas Locations: New Delhi, India’s, Allahabad, Court, Uttar Pradesh, India, country’s, Assam

☆ Billionaires going to space aim to industrialize the moon, asteroids, and Mars. It's time to set some ground rules.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Read previewThe space business is in bloom and, so far, it's largely unregulated. Other space startups have ambitions including asteroid mining, in vitro fertilization (IVF) in space, and space hotels. As space startups and billionaires vie for a foothold on the moon and beyond, experts say governments probably need to start setting some ground rules. Seven of the world's 10 biggest commercial space operators are based in the US, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. AdvertisementIn another vein, last year Florida passed a bill to protect space companies and their owners from getting sued over spaceflight passenger death or injury.

Persons: —, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk, Bezos, NASA What's, George Nield, Galileo, Joel Kearns, Richard Branson, Galactic's, Lyndon B, Johnson, Jeff Bezos, Joe Raedle, Michelle Hanlon, Jared Isaacman, William Shatner, Hanlon Organizations: Service, NASA, Houston, SpaceX, Business, Northeastern University, Federal Aviation Administration's, Space Transportation, JPL, FAA, Virgin Galactic, Virgin, Getty, Artemis Accords, Hague Institute, Global Justice, Washington, Companies, Shepard, Center for Air, Space, University of Mississippi School of Law, titans, US International Trade Commission, Organisation for Economic Co, Federal Communications Locations: Mars, Russia, China, Blue, Florida

☆ India Court Effectively Bans Madrasas in Big State Before Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

India holds a general election between April and June that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win. The BJP's Tripathi responded that Muslim BJP leaders had no reason to fear because their community equally benefits from various government welfare programmes. Friday's order applies to all madrasas in the state, whether funded privately or by the government, Javed said. The court did not give a timeline for its order, but Javed said madrasas are unlikely to be closed right away. The northeastern state of Assam, also ruled by the BJP, has been converting hundreds of madrasas into conventional schools.

Persons: Saurabh Sharma, Krishna, Narendra Modi's, Iftikhar Ahmed Javed, Subhash Vidyarthi, Vivek Chaudhary, Anshuman Singh Rathore, Rathore, Modi, Ram, Babur, Rakesh Tripathi, madrasas, Sudhanshu Chauhan, Javed, Tripathi, Krishna N, William Mallard Organizations: Das NEW, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Pradesh BJP, madrasas, Das Locations: Das NEW DELHI, India, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad, Pradesh, Assam, New Delhi

☆ An MIT professor devised a 'Fortress Ukraine' plan in 1994 that proved remarkably right about the Russian invasion
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

An MIT professor envisioned a defensive strategy in 1994 for Ukraine to survive a Russian attack. AdvertisementIn 1994, an American professor came up with a plan for Ukraine to defend against Russian invasion. Rather than seizing all of eastern Ukraine, Russia currently occupies about 18 percent of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the southeast and along the Black Sea coast. AdvertisementA member of 120th Independent Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine takes part in training exercises on March 16. "The Ukrainian force can cover about 60 percent of the front with no reserves.

Persons: Barry Posen, —, Posen's, Posen, Vladimir Putin, Gian Marco Benedetto, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, envelopments, didn't, Ukraine hadn't, George Barros, Barros, Michael Peck Organizations: MIT, Service, Russia —, NATO, Ukraine —, 120th Independent Brigade, Territorial Defense Forces, Russia, Mechanized, Russian, Institute for, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, American, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Dnipro, Posen, Soviet Union, Soviet, Moscow, America, Britain, Crimea, Donetsk, Nazi Germany, Washington ,, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Forbes

☆ Ukraine war updates: Western leaders slam Putin's election win as 'illegitimate'; Ukraine hit with new wave of drone attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with the media at his campaign headquarters in Moscow on March 18, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin swept through the country's election over the weekend to secure a fifth term in power, claiming 87.97% of the vote in a contest with no real opposition. Western leaders condemned the poll as "illegitimate" and neither free nor fair, while Putin hailed the result and turnout as proof of his country's democracy. Ukraine's Air Force said it downed 17 out of 22 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones sent from Russia over a number of Ukrainian cities overnight. It reported that six people were injured and warned of further danger from ballistic missiles in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Putin, Ukraine's Air Force Locations: Moscow, Russian, Russia, Kharkiv

The reversal comes as other high-profile liberal jurisdictions are also getting tougher on drugs and crime. And on Super Tuesday, San Francisco voters approved ballot measures that expand police powers and impose mandatory drug-screening and treatment requirements for welfare recipients. San Francisco had more than 800 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents and – though a decline from 2022 – more than 20,000 car break-ins, according to The San Francisco Standard . In 2019, the year before voters approved the decriminalization measure, Oregon saw 280 accidental opioid overdose deaths, according to state public health authorities . “If you were to ask the public at large I think there’s a perception that it hasn’t worked,” says Hansen.

Persons: ” Kassandra Frederique, “, ” Leo Beletsky, –, Bob Lee, Henry Cuellar, Democrat –, Mayor London Breed, It’s, ” Beletsky, Tina Kotek, George Floyd’s, ”, Ben Hansen, hasn’t, Hansen Organizations: Drug Policy Alliance, Washington , D.C, San Francisco, Northeastern University, D.C, San Francisco Standard, Republican, Democrat, Mayor London, University of Oregon Locations: Oregon, Washington ,, Washington, carjackings, San Francisco, downtown San Francisco, Portland, Portland –, West Coast

☆ Pope Francis' 'white flag' call for Ukraine faces backlash; India wants its 'duped' citizens back from Russian army
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A screen grab from a video shows artillerymen of the West group of troops, moving along the Kupyansk direction as military mobility of Russian soldiers of MLRS 'Tornado-G' of the group of forces 'West' in the direction of Kupiansk continue in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on March 08, 2024. Pope Francis is facing backlash from Ukrainian and other European leaders over comments he made in an interview advocating for putting up a "white flag" and negotiating with Russia, saying that the "strongest" party in the war is "the one who has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates." Shelling continues in eastern Ukraine, where local authorities say three people were killed and a dozen injured by Russian fire. Kyiv on Sunday said that Moscow launched missiles at the northeastern region of Kharkiv and drone attacks on Ukraine's center and south, while Russian authorities said that a Russian woman in the border region of Kursk was killed by Ukrainian shelling. Elsewhere, India is seeking the release of its citizens who have been "duped" into serving in the Russian army, Indian government officials have said, demonstrating a rare critique of Moscow.

Persons: Pope Francis Organizations: Sunday Locations: Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Moscow, Kharkiv, Russian, Kursk, India

☆ Analysis: China worried about return of Trump, but also sees opportunities if he wins 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Then-US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at Beijing's Forbidden City in 2017. “If this decoupling is carried out by Trump 2.0 in a very forceful way, the impact on China is going to be very severe. But experts say China’s business and official sectors are likely already considering contingency plans. Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave a reception following talks at the Kremlin in March 2023. “Whoever wins – the structure of (US) confrontation, competition, pressure to China are still there,” he said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi, Donald Trump, didn’t, –, Biden, Wang Yi, Trump, He’s, Trump’s, Brian Wong, ” Wong, Lintao Zhang, Obama, Melania, “, Xi Jinping, Peng Liyuan, Xie Huanchi, he’s, ”, Bala Ramasamy, Shen Dingli, Premier Li Qiang, Ronald Reagan, “ Biden, Shen, ” Trump, skeptically, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Pavel Byrkin, Wong, it’s, Wang Yiwei Organizations: Beijing CNN —, Communist Party, Biden, Senior, Trump’s “, University of Hong Kong’s, Contemporary, House, oceanside, Trump, of, Forbidden, Huawei, Oxford Economics, China Europe International Business School, Premier, American, South Korea Navy, Asia –, Russia’s, NATO, Europe, Kremlin, Getty, South Korea –, White House, Renmin University Locations: China, Beijing, State, US, Russia, Communist, Contemporary China, Taiwan, Lago, City, Xinhua, Shanghai, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe, China's Qingdao Port, –, Asia, Seoul, Tokyo, Ukraine, United States, AFP, Japan, South Korea, America, Washington, Hong Kong, South China

☆ The North Korean refugees sold to Chinese husbands
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

China considers North Korean refugees to be economic migrants, and forcibly deports them back to North Korea – where, as alleged defectors, they face imprisonment, possible torture or worse, activists say. During that period, she also met other North Korean refugees in the same situation – with their status public knowledge in the village, she said. According to the KFI report, the buying of a North Korean wife is “always known to the local community” but rarely reported to authorities. The other North Korean refugees she’d met in town had connections to brokers who could help them escape, while church organizations and non-profit groups discreetly helped raise funds for the journey. Brokers who remain have raised their prices due to increased risks and surveillance, while newcomers to the business are inexperienced, making it a risky gamble for North Korean refugees.

Persons: South Korea CNN — Chae, –, she’s, Yoonjung Seo, She’d, didn’t, “, ”, Chae, ” didn’t, Kim Jeong Ah, Kim, she’d, we’ll, ” Chae, Seo, Unification Ministry –, She’s, – she’s Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, CNN, North Korea –, Korea Future Initiative, KFI, US State Department, Human Rights Watch, Female North, United Nations, Liberty, Korean, Koreans, Unification Ministry, Brokers Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, China, Laos, Thailand, North Korean, Hebei, Beijing, London, Korea, Korean, North, ”, South, South Koreans

☆ Peculiar fossil reveals oldest toothless bird from 120 million years ago
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A peculiar fossil has helped scientists discover an unusual bird that lived among the dinosaurs 120 million years ago, and the find is changing the way researchers think about avian evolution. Enantiornithines are known as “opposite birds” because they had a shoulder joint feature that greatly differs from the ones modern birds have. “Before Imparavis, toothlessness in this group of birds was known to occur around 70 million years ago,” Clark said. When Jingmai O’Connor, the Field Museum’s associate curator of fossil reptiles, visited the Shandong museum’s collections a few years ago, the fossil caught her attention. While modern birds have fused forelimb digits, enantiornithines still had independent movement in the “little fingers” on their wings.

Persons: Sir David Attenborough, ”, Alex Clark, Imparavis, ” Clark, Jingmai O’Connor, O’Connor, Clark, “, enantiornithines, ” O’Connor, ” Attenborough Organizations: CNN, University of Chicago, Field Locations: China, China’s Toudaoyingzi, Shandong

☆ Constantly pretending your boss's dumb jokes are funny can lead to emotional exhaustion and lower job satisfaction, academics found
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The study, from academics at three elite universities, looked at the impacts of fake positive reactions to jokes by employees. It found that bosses who make too many jokes actually increase the amount of surface acting employees do, which can then lead to emotional exhaustion or burnout, and lower levels of job satisfaction. AdvertisementThe study found that the leaders who frequently made jokes increased surface acting in followers, which subsequently resulted in poor well-being outcomes, including emotional exhaustion. AdvertisementThe surface acting can trigger a cycle of negative well-being outcomes for employees, per the study. When leaders are more thoughtful about their humor, it actually alleviates the pressure of surface acting.

Persons: —, Randall Peterson, Xiaoran Hu, Michael Parke, Grace Simon, Peterson, they're Organizations: Service, Academy of Management, London Business School, London School of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, US Army Locations: United States

☆ Nigeria: Suspected insurgents kidnap 50 people in northeastern region
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Suspected Islamist insurgents kidnapped 50 people, mostly women, in northeastern Nigeria this week, local officials and a resident said on Wednesday, the latest mass abduction by fighters who have waged an insurgency for more than a decade. They were ambushed by gunmen and made to walk across bushy paths into neighboring Chad, the official said, adding that three of the kidnapped women managed to escape. The Nigerian Army did not respond to a request for comment. Barkindo Saidu, head of Borno’s emergency agency, said he was traveling to the area to assess the situation but was not yet ready to declare the people missing. The agency is in charge of camps housing thousands of Nigerians displaced by the insurgency.

Persons: Reuters —, Boko, Falmata Bukar, Barkindo Saidu Organizations: Reuters, Civilian, Task Force, Nigerian Army Locations: Nigeria, Boko Haram, Islamic, West Africa Province, Borno, Chad, Cameroon, Lake Chad

☆ Inside hedge funds' big Lincoln Center bash: caviar, acrobats, and a professed love for New York 'even if we move to Florida'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The alternatives industry's annual fundraiser for Lincoln Center had David Geffen Hall stuffed with acrobats, dancers, jugglers, and magicians — to say nothing of the billionaires sipping cocktails and noshing on hors d'oeuvres such as a potato bite topped with caviar and crème fraîche. The event pulled in hundreds of traders, bankers, and lawyers despite a rainy, windy night on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It was a celebration of New York, according to one of the gala's chairs, Ilana Weinstein, a longtime hedge-fund recruiter born in the city. Steve Tananbaum, Ilana Weinstein, and Steve Cohen. Guests at Lincoln Center's Alternative Investment Industry Gala were entertained by dancers, musicians, jugglers, and acrobats.

Persons: David Geffen, —, Ilana Weinstein, Point72, Steve Cohen, Steve Tananbaum, Dave Kotinsky, Ken Griffin, Steves, Weinstein, Hunter Point's Bennett Goodman, York, Jamie Dinan, Axel Capital's Anna Nikolayevsky, Lincoln, partygoer Organizations: Lincoln Center, David Geffen Hall, Business, Lincoln Center In, Sunshine State, Citadel Securities, Citadel, Lincoln, Alternative, Industry Locations: New York, Florida, Lincoln Center In Florida, Miami, West Palm, Chicago, Balyasny

☆ Super Tuesday may underline Trump’s transformation of the GOP
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Ron Brownstein | Analysis Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

His performance so far reflects his success at transforming the Republican Party in his image. The most important message from the primaries is the most straightforward: Trump’s coalition is the dominant faction in the GOP. Like McConnell’s announcement, the choices by GOP elected officials in the primary contest signal their acknowledgement of the party’s direction. The share of GOP elected officials who have endorsed Haley isn’t anywhere near as large as her share of the total vote. But a deeper factor also explains the imbalance in support among GOP elected officials.

Persons: Donald Trump, He’s, Ronald Reagan, Nikki Haley, –, Trump, Reagan, Bob Dole, George W, Bush, Mitt Romney, Whit Ayres, Democrat Grover Cleveland, Republican Benjamin Harrison, ” Ayres, Ayres, Grover Cleveland, ” Chris Wilson, Ron DeSantis, “, ”, Gary Langer, he’s, Kyle Kondik, “ It’s, William Mayer, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Democrat Al Gore, Haley, Dwight Eisenhower, Sen, Robert Taft, Mitch McConnell, Haley isn’t, Chris Sununu, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Liz Cheney, Wilson, Mike Johnson, McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Jennifer Horn, Biden, William Galston, Galston, ’, ‘, Kristen Soltis Anderson, isn’t, Eisenhower, “ Trump, ” Galston, ” Trump, Missouri GOP Sen, Eric Schmitt, wouldn’t, he’d Organizations: CNN, Republican, Republican Party, South Carolina Gov, GOP, Washington, Trump, Veteran GOP, White, Democrat, Democratic, Florida Gov, ”, ABC, University of Virginia’s Center, Politics, Northeastern University, Republican internationalists, Republicans, Chicago Council, Global Affairs, Trump’s GOP, New Hampshire Gov, South, Brookings Institution, Biden, Republican National Committee, Missouri GOP Locations: Sunday’s, Iowa , New Hampshire, South Carolina, Michigan, George H.W ., Southern, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oakland, Washtenaw, Kent, Ukraine, Trump’s, Missouri

☆ Nuclear War: The Rising Risk, and How We Stop It - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( W.J. Hennigan | W.J. Hennigan Writes About National Security For Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The United States estimates Russia has a stockpile of up to 2,000 tactical nuclear warheads, some small enough they fit in an artillery shell. But the detonation of any tactical nuclear weapon would be an unprecedented test of the dogma of deterrence, a theory that has underwritten America’s military policy for the past 70 years. Possessing nuclear weapons isn’t about winning a nuclear war, the theory goes; it’s about preventing one. If Mr. Putin dropped a nuclear weapon on Ukraine — a nonnuclear nation that’s not covered by anyone’s nuclear umbrella — what then? Many in the administration believed the Kremlin’s dirty bomb ploy posed the greatest risk of nuclear war since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

Persons: Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Lloyd Austin, Russia Sergei Shoigu, Britain Ben Wallace, Defense Turkey Hulusi Akar, Sebastien Lecornu, General Austin, Mark Milley, Biden, Putin’s, William J, Burns Organizations: United, of American, NATO, Defense, State, Defense Turkey, National Defense, Defense Minister American, Russian, Biden, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Moscow, White House, State Department, The Energy Department, Strategic Command, ’, Pentagon, Unmute Defense, Central Intelligence Agency Locations: Washington, Ukraine, Russia, United States, Kharkiv, Kherson, Russian, U.S, Crimean, Moscow, Poland, China, India, Turkey

☆ Murder and Magic Realism: A Rising Literary Star Mines China’s Rust Belt
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Vivian Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For a long time during Shuang Xuetao’s early teenage years, he wondered what hidden disaster had befallen his family. His parents, proud workers at a tractor factory in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang, stopped going to work, and the family moved into an empty factory storage room to save money on rent. But they rarely talked about what had happened, and Mr. Shuang worried that some special shame had struck his family alone. The region had been China’s industrial heartland, but suddenly millions of laborers were left unemployed. Even today, the region, sometimes called China’s Rust Belt, has not fully recovered.

Persons: Shuang Xuetao’s Locations: Shenyang, China

☆ Alabama IVF ruling: Here’s what could happen next
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Lauren Mascarenhas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

At least three providers in Alabama, including the state’s largest health system, have halted some in vitro fertilization services since the court’s ruling. Republicans hold a majority in both the Alabama House and Senate. “Any legislation that gets passed is ultimately up to interpretation by the Alabama Supreme Court,” O’Conner said. A trial court initially dismissed the claims, but the state Supreme Court ruling reversed that decision. The clinic involved in the lawsuit, The Center for Reproductive Medicine in Mobile, is among those that have halted some IVF services.

Persons: Steve Marshall, Katie O’Connor, ” O’Conner, Anthony Daniels, Kay Ivey’s, Daniels, Bill, Republican Terri Collins, Tim Melson, “ I’m, ”, Democratic Sen, Tammy Duckworth, Savannah Koplon, Butch Dill, ” Dr, Janet McLaren Bouknight, Katherine Kraschel, “, ” Kraschel, Greg Abbott, Trump, ” Abbott, CNN’s Dana, Abbott, Richard Drew, ” O’Connor, Sen, Erin Grall, Kraschel, Trip Smalley, Smalley Organizations: CNN, Republican, National Women’s Law, Alabama, Democratic, Alabama House, Gov, Alabama Republicans, Senate, Republicans, Alabama Supreme, University of Alabama, Alabama Legislature, The University of Alabama, Birmingham, Infant Center, Alabama Fertility Specialists, Facebook, “, Alabama Fertility, Northeastern University School of Law, Texas Gov, Union, AP Lawmakers, Tampa Bay Times, Center, Reproductive Medicine Locations: Alabama, Montgomery, state’s, House, Birmingham, Birmingham , Alabama, Texas, “ State, Florida, Republican Florida, Mobile, ”

☆ Sweden is exactly what the West needs to counter Putin's underhand tactics
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sweden this week became the newest member of the NATO alliance. On Tuesday, Hungary's parliament voted to approve Sweden's NATO membership in a move that may be exactly what the West needs to counter Putin and his underhand tactics. Sweden has accused Russia of spreading misinformation about Koran burnings to damage its bid for NATO membership. NATO has some major challengesDespite the boost from Sweden's membership, NATO still faces some of the gravest challenges in its history. "The same is true for Finland and Sweden's NATO membership."

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, He's, Putin, Oscar Jonsson, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND, Nima Khorrami, St, Russia's, It's, Shawn Coover, Emmanuel Macron, Jonsson, Khorammi, Donald Trump Organizations: NATO, Service, Russia, Swedish Defence University, Business, Forces, Swedish Amphibious Corps, US Marine Corps, Stockholm Archipelago, Getty, Arctic Institute, Staff, US Locations: Sweden, Ukraine, Russian, Hungary's, Russia, Baltic, Europe, Stockholm, NATO, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, USSR, Crimea, South Carolina, Western, Finland

☆ Chuck Mawhinney, 74, Dies; Deadliest Sniper in Marine Corps History
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Mawhinney, who served in Vietnam from May 1968 to March 1970, had 106 confirmed kills and another 216 probable kills, averaging about four a week — more than the average company, which comprised about 150 soldiers. As a sniper, Mr. Mawhinney filled a number of roles. He would stay up all night with his rifle and night scope, watching the perimeter of an encampment for incursions. He would go out on patrol with other Marines, ready to support them if a firefight broke out. But mostly he and his spotter, a novice sniper who helped him identify targets, went out alone, looking for individual targets to kill as a way of sapping enemy morale.

Persons: Chuck Mawhinney, Mawhinney, Chris Kyle, Adelbert Waldron Organizations: Marine Corps, Coles, Navy SEAL, Army Locations: South Vietnam, Baker City, Oregon, Vietnam, Iraq

☆ Here’s where the price of rent is dropping in the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The national median price of rent for apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments fell 0.3% year-over-year to in January. Still, prices are over 18% higher than pre-pandemic levels, due to continued strong demand and limited supply in some markets. The national median rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $1,892 in January, down 0.6%, while rent for a one-bedroom was essentially flat at $1,591. Still, even with the uptick, Chicago’s median rent of $1,852 is almost $1,000 less than coastal big cities like New York at $2,844 and Los Angeles at $2,829. But the supply of new multifamily housing is growing, which helps to bring down rental prices, according to the report.

Persons: That’s, Realtor.com, ”, Danielle Hale, Hale, weren’t Organizations: DC CNN, Kansas, Las Locations: Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City , Missouri, New York, Angeles, Memphis , Tennessee, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, Louis , Missouri, Miami, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston

☆ Japan’s millennia-old ‘naked man festival’ ending because of population decline
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Chris Lau | Himari Semans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

They now face a ballooning elderly population and shrinking workforce, in a challenge to fund pensions and health care as demand from the aging population surges. Participants wearing only "Fundoshi" loincloths at the Somin-sai festival at Kokusekiji Temple in Iwate prefecture, Japan, on February 17, 2024. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty ImagesThe Somin-sai festival was one of three major “naked man” or Hadaka Matsuri festivals held in the country. It took place annually on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year at the Kokusekiji Temple in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate. Participants purify themselves with cold water on Yamauchigawa river during Somin-sai festival at Kokusekiji Temple in Iwate prefecture, Japan on February 17, 2024.

Persons: Japan’s, Daigo Fujinami, Priest, “, Kikuchi Toshiaki, ” Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Asahi Shimbun, NHK Locations: Kokusekiji, Japan, Iwate prefecture, Iwate, Okayama prefecture, Kuronuma, Fukushima

☆ Why it’s so hard to find an apartment you can afford
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington, DC CNN —Finding a new apartment to rent can be a slog. In New York City, the rental vacancy rate, which is the share of habitable unoccupied units, has dropped to a record low 1.4%. In Boston, the rental vacancy rate was a very tight 2.6% at the end of last year, according to the Census Bureau. However, the most recent vacancy rate is also lower than the more typical 3.6% from prior to the pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.

Persons: Maria Torres, ”, Orphe Divounguy, “, that’s, Lawrence Yun, Yun Organizations: DC CNN, New York City Department of Housing Preservation, Development, Census, New York City, Springer, Real Estate Investment Services, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, National Association of Realtors Locations: Washington, Northeastern, New York, Boston, New York City, Yorker, Manhattan, Northeast, Southern, Austin , Texas

☆ The Ukraine war grinds on — 4 ways the conflict with Russia could end
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian president has also indirectly suggested a cease-fire, something that the US has refused to consider unless Ukraine is involved in discussions, Reuters reported. Nuclear warPutin has made several threats of using nuclear weapons since the invasion began, but the West is divided on how seriously to take his comments. Jones said the risks of breaking the ultimate nuclear weapons taboo would likely outweigh any benefits. I think the US has already communicated pretty forcefully that all bets are off if Russia were to use nuclear weapons," he added.

Persons: It's, —, Max Bergmann, Bergmann, Caesar Kunikov, Eliot A, Cohen, Arleigh, Burke, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, Putin, Adrienne Watson, Seth Jones, Jones, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Service, Bakhmut, Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Representatives, Russia's, CSIS, Nazi, Reuters, Ukrainian, Bloomberg, Kremlin, National Security Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Avdiivka, Donetsk, Europe, Russian, YORUK, Nazi Germany, Red, Moscow, United States

A fast-moving storm system brought several inches of snow to parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions for the second time this week, leaving two inches of snow in Central Park but double-digit accumulations in other areas, such as parts of Long Island. Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Md., described the overnight system, which over-performed in some places, as having a “narrow stripe” that brought eight to 12 inches of snow across portions of central Ohio through central Pennsylvania, north-central New Jersey and clipped the very extreme southern portions of New York. Nearly 10 inches of snow accumulated in Coney Island, while parts of Queens recorded up to six inches, according to the National Weather Service. Two inches of snow fell in Central Park. Snow totals so far have ranged from six to 10 inches across southwestern Long Island, southern portions of northeastern New Jersey and parts of Staten Island, forecasters said.

Persons: Zack Taylor Organizations: National Weather Service Locations: Central, Long, College Park, Md, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Coney Island, Queens, Central Park, Staten Island

☆ Two Dead, Scores Injured After Police Open Fire in India's Manipur State
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Tora AgarwalaGUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - At least two people were killed and scores injured in India's northeastern Manipur state after security forces opened fire at a mob in Churachandpur district late on Thursday, a police official said, as sporadic violence continued in the region. Churachandpur, home to the Kuki-Zo community, was among the first areas in the state to witness ethnic clashes when violence first erupted in May. About 400 people stormed the district police chief's office at around 7.30 p.m. (1400 GMT), demanding the order be revoked. The official said about 25 people were injured, and were being treated in hospital. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), an apex tribal body, warned district police chief Shivanand Surve, who had issued the suspension order, to leave Churachandpur within the next 24 hours.

Persons: Tora Agarwala, Shivanand Surve, Sudipto Ganguly, Kim Coghill Organizations: Security, Authorities, Indigenous Tribal Leaders ' Locations: Tora Agarwala GUWAHATI, India, India's, Manipur, Churachandpur, Kuki, Myanmar

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