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IMPORTANT
| | | | | Too Tragic | At Least 60 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Italian Coast The boat, which was carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iran, broke apart in rough seas while trying to land near Crotone in southern Calabria. The dead include 12 children, one of them an infant. Eighty people made it off the boat alive “including some who managed to reach the shore after the sinking,” said Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, but as many as 30 people may still be missing. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s right-wing anti-immigration leader, said her government was “committed to preventing departures, and with them the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so.” (Sources: BBC, AP) |
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| | | Watching Paint Dry | Frustration Grows as Nigeria Election Results Trickle In With 18 candidates and three potential winners, the 2023 election’s expected to bring an end to Nigeria’s two-party politics. But first the ballots in one of Africa’s most important elections in decades will have to be counted. At the time of writing only one of the 36 states had declared a winner, although more results were imminent. The introduction of an electronic voting system was meant to speed up the counting process, but there have been widespread reports of internet problems and of election officials refusing to upload results. Attacks on polling stations saw the vote extended into Sunday in many states. (Source: BBC) |
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| | | Justifying a Disaster | Putin Says the West Wants to ‘Dismember’ Russia In a TV interview Sunday Russian President Vladimir Putin argued that the U.S. and NATO are seeking to carve his country into a number of weak mini-states — a plan he claims has been underway since the collapse of the Soviet Union. “We had no choice but to react,” he explained. As he tried to drum up support at home for his faltering war effort, Putin claimed that the West is complicit in Ukraine’s “crimes” and that the U.S. and its allies want to “inflict a strategic defeat on us.” Putin added, “How can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions?” (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | What a Waste | EPA Takes Over Disposal of Toxic Waste From Ohio Train Wreck Shipments of contaminated waste from the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, are set to resume today after they were paused over the weekend by the Environmental Protection Agency. Norfolk Southern has handled the removal of toxic materials since the fiery crash three weeks ago, but federal authorities stepped in Friday to ensure waste sites met EPA standards. Contaminated materials have been shipped to Michigan and Texas, though some have been returned and will be sent to two facilities in Ohio. Authorities maintain that East Palestine is safe, though many evacuated residents are wary of returning to their homes. (Sources: AP, WaPo) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Released unharmed. All the hostages seized by a criminal gang in Papua New Guinea have now been released. Australian academic Bryce Barker and two local researchers were the last to be given their freedom. (Source: The Guardian) Jury’s out. Despite being dropped to the canvas in the final round, Tommy Fury narrowly defeated Jake Paul in an eight-round fight in Saudi Arabia. (Source: Sky Sports) Keeping it in the family. Alex Kwong, the ex-husband of Hong Kong model Abby Choi, was charged with killing and dismembering her. Also charged were Kwong’s brother and his parents. (Source: CNN) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | Real Leader | Shinta Ratri, Indonesia’s Champion of Transgender Rights, Dies at 60 The founder of an Islamic boarding school that’s a haven for transgender women died of a heart attack earlier this month. “In the public mosque we made people uncomfortable. We needed a safe place for trans women to pray,” Ratri explained. “In here you can be with a women’s clothes or men’s clothes, it’s up to you.” In Indonesia, transgender women are known as “waria,” a mashup of the words for “man” and “woman.” Georgie Williams, founder of the /Queer podcast, said, “Shinta was, and still is, the face of the waria rights movement. She is all over the internet.” (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Joke’s on Him | Papers Rush to Drop ‘Dilbert’ Comic After Creator’s Racist Tirade In a bizarre YouTube rant, Scott Adams described Black people as a “hate group.” He said, “I don’t want to have anything to do with them … The best advice I would give to White people is to get the hell away from Black people, just get the f*** away.” The entire USA Today Network, The Washington Post and distributor Andrews McMeel Universal dropped the comic strip. “Scott Adams … went on a racist rant this week … and we will no longer carry his comic strip in The Plain Dealer,” wrote editor Chris Quinn. “This is not a difficult decision.” (Sources: CNN, AP) |
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| | | Frog Prince | He’s on a Mission to Save the World’s Biggest Frog The goliath frog gets as big as an adult cat, measuring 13 inches and weighing in at 7 pounds. Native to the riverbanks of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, it’s heavily hunted for food and the pet trade. Habitat loss has further compounded its plight. Now the only thing standing between the pudgy amphibian and extinction may be Cameroonian conservationist Cedrick Fogwan. “When I found this species … I said this is something that we cannot easily find elsewhere and I was proud of it,” he said. “I believe we can have it forever and we can continue to be proud of it.” (Source: BBC) |
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| | | | | Elf Yourself | Mexican President’s ‘Elf’ Photo Is No Joke President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has taken a hefty dose of online flak after posting a grainy image of what he claimed was an aluxe, a small mischievous woodland creature in Mayan folklore that’s said to play tricks on people. Addressing his 9.9 million Facebook followers, López Obrador wrote that the photo was taken three days ago by an engineer on the Maya Train project. “It appears to be an aluxe,” he wrote. “Everything is mystical.” While some commenters seemed to agree with the president’s assessment, one user suggested that the photo showed controversial senator Lilly Téllez “supervising works.” (Source: AP) |
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| | | Offsides | Italian Soccer Refs Punish Dark-Skinned Players More Between 2009 and 2019, referees in Serie A, Italy’s top division, awarded an average of 20% more fouls against darker-skinned players. Players of color also received 11% more yellow cards per season and 16% more red cards. However, researchers Beatrice Magistro and Morgan Wack say the prejudice is probably the result of crowd pressure: During the COVID-19 pandemic, when matches were played behind closed doors, Black and white players received equal treatment. Supporters of many Italian clubs have ties with far-right groups, and Black players including Romelu Lukaku, Kalidou Koulibaly and Mario Balotelli have frequently complained of racist abuse in Italy. (Source: The Guardian) |
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