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☆ Extreme Heat Means More Wildfires. It’s Taking a Toll on Firefighters.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Arijeta Lajka | Sarah Kerr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of the major risks of firefighting is smoke exposure. When wildfire smoke is inhaled, tiny particles can get lodged deep into the lungs.Some studies have revealed potential links between smoke exposure and higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and some cancers.But wildland firefighters generally don’t wear much respiratory protection. There currently aren’t respirators that are light and comfortable enough for long-term wear in wildfire conditions — and that are certified for use. Instead, many use cloth face coverings over their nose and mouth.

I realized I needed to take pictures and document and little videos because nobody would believe it unless I did. I started a WhatsApp group where I shared reflections and stories almost like a diary or journal entry. The capacity of the hospital was supposed to be between 150 and 200 people, and there were 700 patients in that hospital. Today Deir al Balah, the area I’m in, was bombed, resulting in a massive mass casualty event at the hospital. A little girl lay on a cardboard box.

Persons: Shrapnel, Nabil, Mohammed, Deir al Balah, gurney, Farrah, he’s, Anas, Khan Younis, It’s, I’ve Locations: Deir, Khan

☆ Merrill and Wells Fargo are taking Bitcoin ETFs even more mainstream
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wells Fargo and Bank of America's Merill will be offering bitcoin ETFs to clients, per Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley is another large firm looking into offering spot bitcoin ETFs, Coindesk reported. "Spot bitcoin ETFs are available for unsolicited purchases through an advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors or through our online WellsTrade platform," Sarah Kerr, a Wells Fargo spokesperson, confirmed to Business Insider. With bitcoin ETFs, retail investors can get exposure to the cryptocurrency's price movements without having to directly buy bitcoin through a less regulated exchange. In the weeks since US regulators approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs in January, the investment vehicles saw record-high trading volumes.

Persons: Wells, Morgan Stanley, —, Bank of America's Merrill, Wells Fargo, Sarah Kerr, Merrill, Coindesk, Bloomberg's James Seyffart, Janel Jackson Organizations: Bank, America's, Bloomberg, Service, Bank of America's, SEC, Advisors, Business, Vanguard Locations: Wells Fargo, Wells

“I stopped counting how many neighborhoods I’ve erased,” the caption reads on the video posted to his personal TikTok, accompanied by a militaristic anthem. Since Israel’s invasion in October, soldiers have shared videos from Gaza on social media, offering a rare, unsanctioned look at operations on the ground. The New York Times reviewed hundreds of these videos. Some show unremarkable parts of a soldier’s life — eating, hanging out or sending messages to loved ones back home. Others capture soldiers vandalizing local shops and school classrooms, making derogatory comments about Palestinians, bulldozing what appear to be civilian areas and calling for the building of Israeli settlements in Gaza, an inflammatory idea that is promoted by some far-right Israeli politicians.

Persons: “ Organizations: New York Times Locations: Gaza

An Israeli official said that the government was assessing the data, which was released before Friday’s bombardment. The high number of children reported killed — about 40 percent of the total — is broadly in line with the high share of children in the Gazan population. In total, the list named 2,665 children who have been killed and 2,902 women and girls. The date of death is not listed for each individual, but a separate summary of the deaths from the health ministry indicates that the toll has been increasing in recent days. The ministry said the list did not include an additional 281 people who had been killed but could not be identified, bringing the total number to 7,028.

Persons: —, Biden, Mr, ”, “, Omar Shakir Organizations: Hamas, Gaza, Ahli Arab Hospital, U.S, Rights Watch, UNICEF Locations: Gaza, Al, Ahli, Israel, Palestine, Afghanistan, Africa

On July 26, as a military coup was underway in the West African nation of Niger, the airwaves of Télé Sahel, the state television station, filled with upbeat music videos praising the military. Some of these videos had been circulating for years, but since a group of generals toppled the democratically elected president in July, Niger has witnessed a revival of both old and new military propaganda, now remixed for the TikTok era. Fear and respect toward the military are also deeply entrenched within the society, analysts said. It is not clear how many Nigeriens support the military takeover. Among throngs of men assembled in front of the country’s national assembly, the green and orange Nigerien flags, raised fists and defiant messages against Western countries provided an ideal backdrop for their new song, “Niger Guida,” or “Niger My Home” in the Hausa language.

Persons: —, insurgencies, Zabeirou Barké, Niger, Nigeriens, ” Organizations: Nigerien Locations: West African, Niger, Sahel, West, Nigeriens, Niamey

Online, the Defense Ministry published a splashy video ad focusing on two central motivations: machismo, and money. It defines military service as more meaningful — and manly — than what’s depicted as the Russian man’s typical, humdrum existence. Since the invasion’s beginning, state television newscasts have been offering viewers a sanitized view of the war. “I got all the payments that contract servicemen are entitled to if they’re wounded,” the veteran, Nikolai Karpenko, says. “Contract military service, Nikolai says, gave him the chance to show that he’s a real defender of the fatherland,” the reporter intones.

Persons: “, Nikolai Karpenko, Nikolai, intones Organizations: Defense Ministry, Russian Defense Locations: Russian, Irkutsk, Siberia, Ukraine

The fatal shooting of a French teenager of Algerian and Moroccan descent by a police officer has set off days of violent protests that have rocked France. From Nanterre, the working class Paris suburb where the teenager was shot, to the northern city of Lille and the Mediterranean city of Marseille, demonstrators have burned cars, damaged buildings and bus shelters over three nights of clashes with the authorities. Here is how the events have unfolded. Tuesday morningThe Fatal ShootingOn June 27 after a French police officer shot an unarmed teenager, French news media, citing anonymous police sources, initially reported that the teenager, driving a yellow Mercedes, had plowed into police officers, leading one of them to shoot.

Locations: Algerian, France, Nanterre, Paris, Lille, Marseille

rules governing how asylum seekers must be treated. We showed the video in person to three senior officials from the European Commission in Brussels, describing how we had verified it. asylum rules and international law, including ensuring access to the asylum procedure,” said Anitta Hipper, the European Commission spokeswoman for migration. Greece and the European Union hardened their attitudes toward migrants after the arrival in 2015 and 2016 of more than one million refugees from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Poland, Italy and Lithuania have recently changed their laws to make it easier to repel migrants and to punish those who help them.

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A Culture in theCross Hairs Russia’s invasion has systematically destroyed Ukrainian cultural sites. It has also dealt a grievous blow to Ukrainian culture: to its museums and monuments, its grand universities and rural libraries, its historic churches and contemporary mosaics. This is how empires always work.” The war in Ukraine is a culture war, and the extent of the destruction is becoming clearer. Kyiv Sviatohirsk UKRAINE Damaged or destroyed religious sites Areas controlled by Russia at any time since invasion. Kyiv Sviatohirsk UKRAINE Damaged or destroyed religious sites Areas controlled by Russia at any time since invasion.

☆ How Ukraine Blew Up a Key Russian Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Marco Hernandez | James Glanz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Last month, a truck laden with explosives drove across the Kerch bridge, a critical artery connecting Russia with its troops fighting in southern Ukraine. Structural and explosive experts who reviewed the bridge’s design and imagery of the blast offered new details on how the bridge was damaged. There are few direct parallels to such a spectacular act of sabotage on a bridge behind enemy lines in wartime. The blast ignited a train carrying large fuel tanks on an adjacent bridge, creating flames and a plume of smoke. “If it were a suicide truck bomb,” Mr. Nair said, “I would think the guy would have destroyed the main span.”But the trigger for the bomb is still unknown.

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