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☆ ‘We Will Hunt You’: Ugandans Flee Ahead of Harsh Anti-Gay Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a spartan safehouse with flimsy curtains and no furniture northwest of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, people from neighboring Uganda clung to the few valuables they could snatch while fleeing harsh new legislation targeting them back home. A gay man clutched the white rosary that he took to church every Sunday. A transgender woman brought her favorite shimmering blue dress. A lesbian couple clenched the one smartphone that held photos from happier days, going on dates and dancing in clubs. They began leaving after Uganda’s Parliament passed a sweeping anti-gay bill in late March that threatens punishment as severe as death for some perceived offenses, and calls for life in prison for anyone engaging in same-sex relations.

☆ Fighting in Sudan Traps Families as Generals Fail to Keep a Cease-Fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | Elian Peltier | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Street battles and rocket strikes deepened the chaos across Sudan on Tuesday as a cease-fire between the country’s two warring generals fizzled, paralyzing the capital and trapping civilians in their homes for fear of the crossfire. Parents and children, doctors and students, officials and high-profile diplomats all have come under attack since the fighting broke out over the weekend. So did a diplomatic convoy carrying American citizens, and a senior E.U. At least 185 people have been killed and more than 1,800 injured in the past four days, United Nations officials said, though the true toll is most likely far higher. General Hamdan then called for a 24-hour cease-fire to allow civilians to evacuate or obtain desperately needed supplies.

Many other hospitals were also reported to have come under attack on Monday, the third day of fighting in Sudan. Russia has also been trying to make inroads in Sudan, and members of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner private military company are posted there. Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area. “Everyone is afraid,” said Ahmed Abuhurira, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer who went out to try to charge his cellphone. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” he said.

☆ Sudan Live Updates: Civilians Feel Strain as Blasts Rock Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

A policeman in 2011 in Abyei, a dividing line between northern and southern Sudan that was the site of a long-running standoff. For decades, Sudan’s military has waged brutal conflicts in the south, east and west of the country. The two sides ultimately negotiated a peace agreement that split the country in 2011 after southerners voted in a referendum for South Sudan to become a new nation. Image Celebrations in Juba, Sudan, on the eve of independence for South Sudan in 2011. Credit... Tyler Hicks/The New York TimesWithin South Sudan, infighting in the government led to clashes in 2013 and ultimately triggered a violent feud between the two biggest ethnic groups. Nuba Mountains conflictClashes between government forces and rebel Nuba fighters in Sudan’s South Kordofan State broke out in the aftermath of South Sudan’s secession, with Nuba fighters supporting South Sudan.

☆ As New Wave of Violence Hits Sudan’s Capital, Civilians Feel the Strain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, Kenya — As a new wave of violence swept the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Monday, millions of residents hiding in their homes felt the growing strain from the battles, and doctors and hospitals were struggling to cope with casualties and get the supplies and staff members that they needed. The forces of rival generals battling for control of Sudan clashed for a third day in Khartoum, threatening to worsen a humanitarian crisis in a nation already facing dire economic straits, growing hunger and widespread unemployment. Some were too afraid to venture out for food or other supplies. A doctors’ group said that hospitals remained understaffed and were running low on supplies as wounded people streamed in. And the World Health Organization said that the insecurity in the capital was impeding medical workers and ambulances from reaching those in need of critical care.

☆ Sudan Fears ‘Ghost of Civil War’ as Explosions Rock Capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Declan Walsh | Abdi Latif Dahir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Fighter jets screamed over Khartoum, the capital, on Sunday, firing rockets into a city of millions. Artillery barrages slammed into the military headquarters, reducing it to a tower of flames. Civilian planes were bombed at the city’s airport, where terrified passengers cowered on the terminal floors. And when their relationship disintegrated into violence this weekend, it set off a breathless descent that appeared the realization of many people’s worst fears. One of the factions even captured and held Egyptian soldiers, along with seven Egyptian warplanes, threatening to suck a powerful neighbor into the fight and raising the specter of a regional conflagration.

☆ US FDA approves first OTC opioid overdose reversal drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A box of NARCAN nasal spray is photographed at an outpatient treatment center in Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S. on August 9, 2017. The approval for OTC use of the naloxone-based nasal spray will help align the federal government's stance with states that have provisions to offer the drug without prescription at pharmacies. Drug-related overdose deaths in the United States rose about 15% year-over-year to more than 100,000 in 2021, as per official data. While the approval puts Emergent ahead in the OTC product race, analysts have said it is not likely to derive significant sales from the approval. Benchmark analyst Robert Wasserman said ahead of the approval that Narcan sales peaked in 2020 and have declined since.

☆ Factbox: Who has run Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BAGHDAD, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was designed to pave the way for a thriving democracy but the mostly ineffective governments elected since 2003 have left many Iraqis disappointed. Sadr led an armed insurgency against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after American and international troops toppled Saddam. But the tables turned in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion that ushered in Shi’ite dominance leaving Sunnis, vulnerable. Sunnis have been divided by clan and ideological rivalries since 2003, which Sunni voters complain makes them weak against Shi'ite rivals. Halbousi, an engineer from western Iraq, has formed good relations with Shi'ites and Kurds who helped him become speaker.

Greg Becker, who was the longtime CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, pictured last year. "Looks like Silicon Valley Bank is in some deep shit," Uncommon Capital general partner Jamie Quint tweeted. Startup founders scrambled to get their funds out of Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. Andreessen Horowitz announced this week that it will continue banking with Silicon Valley Bank "for the foreseeable future" but is crafting a longer-term plan to diversify. Even so, he added, "I think we'd be supportive, as they stabilize, for them to be one of many partners that our founders bank with."

Google , Netflix , Meta , Apple , Amazon and Microsoft generate nearly half of all internet traffic today. Big Tech firms say this would amount to an "internet tax" that could undermine net neutrality. They bemoaned spending billions on laying cables and installing antennas to cope with rising internet demand without corresponding investments from Big Tech. One suggestion is to require individual bargaining deals with the Big Tech firms, similar to Australian licensing models between news publishers and internet platforms. "The imbalance is not down to Big Tech, it's not down to streamers, and it's not down to telcos.

☆ Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are ruining images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, threatening future science
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is getting more satellites ruining its images, a new study found. Hubble images streaked with white lines show the impact of just one satellite flying through the telescope's field of view. The proportion of Hubble images that look like this is increasing as more satellites fill Earth's orbit, the study found. Hubble peers through a growing 'wall' between us and the universeThe Hubble Space Telescope in Earth's orbit. So far SpaceX has launched more than 3,000 Starlink satellites and plans to eventually maintain up to 42,000 satellites in orbit.

The cross-border attacks followed an Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday. The Islamic Jihad said Israeli troops had surrounded two of its Nablus commanders in a house, triggering a clash that drew in other gunmen. Palestinian sources said the two Islamic Jihad commanders had been killed along with another gunman. Palestinian groups in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza went on strike on Thursday. Abdel-Latif Abdu, a vegetable seller in Gaza, kept his shop closed in support of residents of Nablus and the rest of the West Bank.

☆ Russia's Lavrov visits Baghdad to discuss bilateral relations, energy cooperation: Iraqi statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BAGHDAD, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will arrive in Baghdad on Sunday to discuss boosting bilateral relations and energy cooperation, Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement. Lavrov, who is leading a delegation that includes oil and gas companies' representatives, is scheduled to meet his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Monday, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf said in a statement. Sahhaf said the visit will focus on "strategic relations with Russia and to encourage investment opportunities, especially in relating to energy sectors". The Russian foreign minister will also meet on Monday Iraqi top officials, including Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, President Abdul Latif Rashid and parliament speaker, Sahhaf said. Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto startups are getting more due diligence heat from VCs after several high-profile blowups in the industry. But loose accounting standards are making it challenging.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investors are conducting more rigorous due diligence on crypto startups in the wake of FTX's blowup. Founders told Insider VCs are asking for background checks and more detailed performance metrics. But loose accounting standards in the industry make it hard for investors to vet company financials. After a series of bankruptcies in the crypto industry, venture capitalists are looking much more closely into the inner workings of blockchain and Web3-related startups before they cut a check. The collapse of FTX exposed serious flaws in its investors' due diligence process, several VCs and founders said.

REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will veto a bill by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) if it passes Congress, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday. In a letter last week, Granholm warned Republicans that limiting the Democratic president's authority to tap the nation's oil reserves would undermine national security, cause crude oil shortages, and raise gasoline prices. "He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backwards agenda that House Republicans are advancing" Granholm, speaking to reporters at a White House briefing, said of Biden. The House, which Republicans control by a narrow margin, is expected to vote on the bill as soon as this week. She said the administration would soon announce how it will buy back some initial replenishment oil for the reserve.

☆ Migrants cross Rio Grande into U.S. under cover of night as detentions hit new record in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A color coded plastic band used by cartels and smugglers to track paying migrants is seen on the wrist of nine month old Valentino, of Peru, as he is carried by his mother Marbel and followed by his father Carlos, as they navigate thick brush and...moreA color coded plastic band used by cartels and smugglers to track paying migrants is seen on the wrist of nine month old Valentino, of Peru, as he is carried by his mother Marbel and followed by his father Carlos, as they navigate thick brush and cold, wet weather after crossing the Rio Grande river from Mexico into Roma, Texas, U.S., November 18, 2022. REUTERS/Adrees LatifClose

☆ Elon Musk's Crackdown at Twitter Offers Hope to Fellow Tech Founders
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But there's one group, almost unnoticed in the midst of the online firestorm, that has been cheering Musk on from the sidelines: other tech executives. To some founders, Musk is simply a monstrous version of the executive they wish they could be. Musk is getting rid of perks like free meals in the Twitter cafeteria — and other tech executives are taking note. Musk's slash-and-burn approach gives tech executives cover for making unpopular decisions. But now, as tech companies cut back to prepare for a recession, the "rough waters out there" have forced his staff to "reevaluate" their demands.

☆ An assassination, a feud and the fight for power in Iraq's Kurdistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

TENSE STANDOFFAfter Rasoul's death, the KDP-dominated Regional Security Council accused a PUK security agency of the killing. It detained six men it identified as operatives involved and issued arrest warrants for another four senior PUK security officials, according to security council statement a week after the attack. Long-simmering mistrust between the two sides had already deepened this year due to a wave of defections from PUK security agencies. The senior PUK official told Reuters there had been eight. "It could've easily turned ugly," the senior PUK official said.

☆ At least 1 dead and several injured as twin blasts shake Jerusalem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The first explosion occurred near a bus stop on the edge of the city, where commuters usually crowd waiting for buses. There has been an uptick in recent weeks in Palestinian attacks. The twin blasts occurred amid the buzz of rush hour traffic and police closed part of a main highway leading out of the city, where the fist explosion went off. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants. At least five more Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent weeks.

☆ Twin blasts in Jerusalem wound at least 15
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A damaged bus is seen following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem November 23, 2022. Television images showed debris strewn around the scene of the first blast, which was cordoned off by emergency services. A spokesman for the Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the apparent bombings but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua said the bombings "resulted from the crimes conducted by the occupation and the settlers". Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Kim Coghill, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Twin blasts in Jerusalem kill one in suspected Palestinian attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"There has not been such a coordinated attack in Jerusalem for many years," police spokesman Eli Levi told Army Radio. [1/6] A damaged bus is seen following an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem November 23, 2022. In Gaza, a spokesman for Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the Jerusalem explosions but stopped short of claiming responsibility. The coordinated blasts appeared to be a step up from a string of mostly Palestinian lone-wolf stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks this year. But families of slain Palestinian militants whose remains are in Israeli custody called for an exchange of corpses.

☆ These transformative leaders in healthcare are dealing with an unprecedented era of politics in the medical industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest healthcare news and analysis — delivered weekly to your inbox. But while the peak of the pandemic appears to be in the rearview, the healthcare industry has continued to be governed by political forces. This year, healthcare focused on transgender people and abortion rights has come under attack. Other healthcare professionals are using federal power to prevent the spread of infectious diseases other than COVID-19. Social stigma from the monkeypox outbreaks has mildly echoed the intense social and political stigma of HIV, which Daskalakis has focused on for the majority of his career.

☆ Middle East's Fertile Crescent dries up as rains fail
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alaa Al-Marjani | Orhan Qereman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

As world leaders meet in Egypt for a climate summit to address issues including water and food security, Elwan’s plight highlights a crisis facing Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries that could fuel more turmoil in the region as communities fight over dwindling water resources. Reuters spoke to more than two dozen people in five provinces across Iraq who all said that a prolonged drought, which has only worsened in recent years, was crippling livelihoods. Farmers in neighbouring Syria and Turkey are also struggling with lower rainfall. In Iraq, officials and water experts said rains had come later and ended sooner in each of the last three years. “Desertification now threatens almost 40% of the area of our country - a country that was once one of the most fertile and productive in the region,” Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid told the climate summit in Egypt last week.

☆ Elon Musk's net worth slips below $200 billion as Tesla shares waver
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoNov 8 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's net worth dropped below $200 billion on Tuesday as investors dumped Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares on fears the top executive and largest shareholder of the world's most valuable electric-vehicle maker is more preoccupied with Twitter. Musk now has a net worth of $194.8 billion, according to Forbes, with a big share of that coming from his nearly 15% stake in Tesla, which has a market value of $622 billion. The company has lost nearly half its market value and his net worth has dropped by $70 billion since he bid for Twitter in April. Since buying Twitter, Musk has made very few tweets on Tesla, a practice that helped him gain traction on the platform. The net worth of the world's richest person, who also owns rocket company SpaceX, is roughly $40 billion more than the second richest person, LVMH-owner Bernard Arnault.

☆ The 6 most interesting quotes from the podcast hosted by Elon Musk's friends that Twitter staff were reportedly told to listen to amid layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Some Twitter staff were told to listen to a podcast hosted by Elon Musk's associates, Platformer reported. A Twitter VP reportedly told staff it would provide insight into why layoffs were necessary. David Sacks and Jason Calacanis — two of Musk's close associates who have stepped in to help him at Twitter — also cohost the show. 'Just helping a friend'During the podcast, Sacks and Calacanis attempted to clarify their new roles at Twitter. It later emerged that they were likely practical jokers pretending to be laid off Twitter staff.

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