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☆ Skepticism, a ticking clock: What Trump's picks mean for Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | Hannah Abraham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementDonald Trump's cabinet choices suggest a skeptical direction of travel on Ukraine policy. Advertisement'Losing your allowance'The comments suggest that Trump would find little opposition if he moved to cut US aid to Ukraine. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that US aid being cut would lead to Ukraine losing the war. Trump's son, Don Jr. — an influential figure albeit with no official role — seemed to relish the idea of Ukraine losing its funding. Trump's callIt remains to be seen how influential any of Trump's picks would be in shaping policy.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Trump, Donald Trump, hasn't, Ukraine —, Marco Rubio, Joe Biden's, Trump's, Vladimir Putin, Pete Hegseth, Shawn Ryan, Putin, Alfons Cabrera, Mike Waltz, Biden, Tulsi Gabbard, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Don Jr, —, Alexander Libman, Mark Cancian, Mylovanov Organizations: Ukraine, State, Defense, NBC News, Pentagon, Fox News, Getty, National Intelligence, Free University of Berlin, Marine Corps, Kyiv School of Economics, Economist Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, America, Russia, Florida, Afghanistan, Iraq, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Kramatorsk, Donetsk Region, Europe

☆ Trump's Pentagon pick criticized US involvement in Ukraine, said Putin probably wouldn't go 'much further' if he wins
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementDonald Trump has chosen Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary at a key point in the war in Ukraine. The military veteran and Fox News commentator has mostly aligned with Trump on Ukraine. The choice of Hegseth raised questions about the US approach to the war in Ukraine under a second Trump administration. In an episode of the "Shawn Ryan Show" podcast last week, recorded before Trump's announcement, Hegseth contemplated a scenario where Putin wins in Ukraine. Vance has previously criticized US support for Ukraine, and said: "I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another."

Persons: Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Trump, Shawn Ryan, Hegseth, Putin, Joe Biden's, Lloyd Austin, Ukraine Hegseth, Jesse Watters, Joe Biden, NATO Hegseth, Michael Waltz, JD Vance, Marco Rubio, Vance, Alexander Libman, Libman, Anton Barbashin Organizations: Fox, Trump, Fox News, Putin, NATO, Kyiv, Reuters, State, Ukraine, Free University of Berlin, Riddle Russia Locations: Ukraine, Europe, Poland, Afghanistan, Iraq, Hegseth, Ukrainian, Donetsk, Luhansk, Soviet Union, Eastern Europe

☆ Russia is likely trying to exploit the conflict in the Middle East to expand its influence, war experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementThe Kremlin is likely trying to exploit the conflicts in the Middle East to expand its own influence, according to military experts. Wall Street's main indexes opened lower again on Thursday amid persistent worries that hostilities in the Middle East could escalate. Advertisement"Russia clearly benefits from the war in the Middle East, at least since it distracts global attention from Ukraine," he added. AdvertisementRussia "wants to appear relevant in the Middle East but not getting sucked in ongoing conflicts," he said. It said it was trying, through these efforts, to regain major influence on Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean gas sales, especially liquefied natural gas.

Persons: —, Hezbollah's, Hassan Nasrallah, Mikhail Bogdanov, Israel, Anatoly Viktorov, Sergey Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Libman, Mark N, Katz, doesn't, It's Organizations: Service, Russian, Israel, Lebanese, Israel Defense Forces, TASS, Washington Institute for Near, Policy, Free University of Berlin, George Mason University, Reuters, Jamestown Foundation Locations: Israel, Iran, Russia, Lebanon, Ukraine, Tehran, Red, Iraq, Syria, Palestinian, Eastern

☆ Arrowheads shed light on who fought in Europe’s oldest known battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Inselmann collected literature, data and examples of more than 4,700 Bronze Age arrowheads from Central Europe and mapped out where they came from to compare them with the Tollense Valley arrowheads. Otherwise, they would expect to find evidence of arrowheads within ceremonial burials in the region that were practiced during the Bronze Age. “This new information has considerably changed the image of the Bronze Age, which was not as peaceful as believed before,” Terberger said. I consider the conflict as a sign that this major transformation process of Bronze Age society was accompanied by violent conflicts. Ute BrinkerThe scale of conflictThe large scale of battle has researchers rethinking what social organization and warfare were like during the Bronze Age.

Persons: ’ ”, Leif Inselmann, “, Inselmann, ” Inselmann, Thomas Terberger, haven’t, Barry Molloy, Molloy, ” Molloy, ” Terberger, ”, Ute Brinker, —, ’ Organizations: CNN, Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies, Free University of Berlin, Germany’s University of Göttingen, University College Dublin, ” Locations: Germany, Europe, Central Europe, Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Bavaria, Moravia, Tollense

☆ Microplastics found in nose tissue at base of brain, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Tiny plastic shards and fibers were found in the nose tissue of human cadavers, according to a small new study. The threads and microplastic pieces were discovered in the olfactory bulb, the part of the nose responsible for detecting odors that sits at the base of the brain. Microplastics are polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer). However, an April 2023 study found that microplastics made of polypropylene appeared to exacerbate the advance of breast cancer. The nose is one of many ways through which microplastics can enter the body, experts say.

Persons: ”, Luís Fernando Amato, Lourenço, Amato, Lourenço, Phoebe Stapleton, “ I’m, ” Stapleton, “, Betsy Bowers, ” Bowers, ” Sherri “ Sam ” Mason, ” Amato, microplastics, Julian Ward, Leonardo Trasande, don’t, Trasande Organizations: CNN, Free University of Berlin, Rutgers University, Industry Alliance, Penn State, JAMA, US Environmental Protection Agency, Getty, American Academy of Pediatrics, NYU Langone Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, Invest Locations: Piscataway , New Jersey, Erie , Pennsylvania

☆ Ukraine could soon fire Western-supplied missiles at targets in Russia. But don't expect that to tilt the war in its favor.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Advertisement"The military logic of allowing Ukraine to use weapons against targets in Russia is straightforward," he said, but "there are structural limits, which Ukraine is now facing." AdvertisementOn Tuesday, France said Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons to hit targets in Russia — but only sites that Russia is using to launch attacks on Ukraine. Related storiesThree unnamed officials told Politico on Thursday that Ukraine can now use US-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia. AdvertisementUkraine could also struggle to develop the intelligence needed to find and quickly strike targets farther inside Russia. Advertisement"This does not mean that allowing Ukraine to hit targets in Russia will not help — but it is clearly not a silver bullet to win the war," he said.

Persons: —, Keir Giles, should've, Alexander Libman, Vladimir Putin, hadn't, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Giles, John Hardie Organizations: Service, Business, Chatham House's, Eurasia Programme, Free University of Berlin, NATO, Politico, Times, Russia's, Foundation for, Defense of Democracies, Ukraine, New York Times, EU, intel Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Chatham House's Russia, Eurasia, Kharkiv, Ukraine's, France, Ukrainian, London, Russian

☆ Opinion: What it means to be born Black in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Opinion Josephine Apraku | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It is hard to group Black Germans — sometimes also referred to as Afro-Germans — under one umbrella; there is no one description that encompasses the diversity of Black people here. The same year I was born, a seminal work about Black Germans, “Showing Our Colors: Afro-German Women Speak Out,” was published. I think that these are precisely the times when Black community, Black alliances and Black spaces are so important. In 2020, the Black Student Union at the University of Bremen renamed February “Black Our Story Month,” and has been holding Black History Month events every year since, creating visibility for the complexity of Black experiences. The Black community in Germany celebrated its first Black History Month in 1990.

Persons: Josephine Apraku, I’m, I’ve, ” Josephine Apraku Dahahm Choi It’s, there’s, ” Josephine Apraku, ”, Christian Mang, Audre Lorde, Lorde, Roma, Sinti, — that’s, Steffi Loos, Schwarzer, George Floyd, Black, — Organizations: African Studies, CNN, Berlin CNN, Black, Africa, Free University of Berlin, CDU, Christian Democratic Union, Black Student Union, University of Bremen, ISD, of Black People, White Locations: Berlin, Germany, Black, East Germany, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, German, Ghana, Europe, Territories, Namibia, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Cameroon, Togo, ” Josephine Apraku Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, United States, Tiergarten, Black Germans, Deutschland

☆ Casimir Funk is today's Google Doodle: What to know about the genius who created the term 'vitamins'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

If you take a multivitamin every day or a vitamin D supplement every now and then, you have Casimir Funk to thank. Born Kazimierz Funk on Feb. 23 in 1884, the Polish-American biochemist introduced the concept of vitamins, which he called "vital amines," according to Google. "In his later research, Funk studied animal hormones and contributed to the knowledge about hormones of the pituitary and sex glands, emphasizing the importance of balance between hormones and vitamins." Funk's family describes him as someone who was a "driven and curious child," according to Google. But Funk was also a family man who valued time with his loved ones, even after becoming well-known for his discoveries, his family told Google.

Persons: Casimir Funk, Kazimierz Funk, Funk Organizations: Google, American Nutrition Association, Nutrition, of Fame, University of Bern, University of Berlin, Pasteur Institute Locations: Polish, American, Europe, Switzerland, Paris, Albany, N.Y

☆ Luyanda Mpahlwa’s pioneering architectural journey fuels social upliftment in South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Lauren Lee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —As a young boy growing up in the 1960s in Mthatha, South Africa, Luyanda Mpahlwa loved to draw houses. Mpahlwa was among the first Black Africans permitted to study architecture in South Africa. “South Africa was in a state of emergency,” he said. There, he earned a master’s degree in architecture from the Technical University of Berlin in 1989 and began working for Pysall.Ruge, a design firm based in what is now the German capital. “The reality is the majority of people of South Africa live in conditions that are actually below what we should be defining as an urban environment,” he said.

Persons: Luyanda Mpahlwa, ”, Mpahlwa, Nelson Mandela, “, Curry, ” Mpahlwa, iThemba, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, Town, Design Network, South, Radisson, Technical University of Berlin, Pysall.Ruge, Technikon Natal, Durban University of Technology, Embassy, African Institute of Architects, MMA, Department of Basic Education, Design, Lutheran Community Center Locations: Mthatha, South Africa, Robben, ”, Cape Town, “ South Africa, Berlin, Germany, Luyanda, Africa, “, Eastern, Cape Town’s, Kosovo, Philippi Township, Western Cape

☆ A ‘Soda Ocean’ on a Moon of Saturn Has All the Ingredients for Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Enceladus — the sixth-largest of Saturn’s 146 moons — has a liquid ocean with a rocky floor under its bright, white and frosty surface. They found them using data from Cassini, a joint NASA-European orbiter that concluded its study of Saturn, its rings and moons in 2017. The results, which add to the prospect that Enceladus is home to extraterrestrial life, were published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. Phosphorus is a key ingredient in human bones and teeth, and scientists say it is the rarest bio-essential ingredient in the cosmos. Planetary researchers had previously detected the other five key elements on Enceladus: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur (the last of which has been tentatively detected).

Persons: ”, Frank Postberg Organizations: NASA, European, Saturn, Free University of Berlin

☆ An Asian elephant learned to peel her own bananas with her trunk — and may have figured it out after watching her caretaker do it for her
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An elephant named at the Berlin Zoo really likes peeling her bananas. The study said Pha would only engage in peeling if handed a yellow banana with brown spots. When given a green or yellow banana, she will eat the entire thing, peel and all, similar to other elephants. In that setting, she will typically eat spotty yellow bananas whole, just like everyone else — except for one. Though elephants have been documented using their trunks in many interesting ways, researchers said peeling bananas appeared to be a rare behavior.

The news Wednesday that a far-right group had plotted to overthrow the German government in a coup surprised many around the world who thought the country had largely done away with its extremist right wing. The group is closely associated with the extremist Reichsbürger movement — literally meaning “citizens of the Reich,” or kingdom — which rejects the legitimacy of the German state. Miro Dittrich, an expert at CeMAS, a German group that monitors right-wing extremism, said this was not the first far-right group to have plotted a coup d’etat in recent years. One of the group’s main leaders is Heinrich XIII Prince Reusthe, holder of a royal title that lapsed with the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the creation of the modern German state in 1918. What unites them, he added, was a “belief that the Germans are being oppressed by a powerful foreign power,” or that the German state is assisting in this oppression, therefore justifying an armed insurrection.

☆ First Russia, now China? Europe doesn’t appear ready to ‘decouple’ from Beijing just yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Marie Brockling | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Scholz was the first leader of a Group of 7 nations to visit China since the start of the pandemic, which was first detected there in 2019. China’s relations with Europe have deteriorated amid tensions over Taiwan, human rights issues and Beijing’s tacit support for Russia in its war on Ukraine. China has welcomed Scholz’s visit, saying it would “contribute to world peace, stability and growth.” But it received considerable pushback in Europe. Fears over Chinese interferenceScholz’s one-day visit to Beijing comes amid heightened fears in Europe over Chinese interference abroad. Wang suggested Europe could have the “best of both worlds” by playing a mediating role between Beijing and Washington.

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