NIGER
Russia, US use same base
Russian military personnel have entered an air base in Niger that is hosting US troops, a senior US defense official told Reuters, a move that follows a decision by Niger’s junta to expel US forces. The military officers ruling the West African nation have told the US to withdraw its nearly 1,000 military personnel from the country, which until a coup last year had been a key partner for Washington. A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces were not mingling with US troops, but were using a separate hangar at Airbase 101, which is next to Diori Hamani International Airport. The move by Russia’s military puts US and Russian troops in close proximity at a time when the nations’ military and diplomatic rivalry is increasingly acrimonious over the conflict in Ukraine.
BRAZIL
Floods kill at least 29
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday visited the country’s south where floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains have killed 29 people, with the toll expected to rise. Authorities in Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency as rescuers continue to search for dozens of people reported missing among the ruins of collapsed homes, bridges and roads. Storm damage has affected about 150 municipalities in the state, also injuring 36 people and displacing more than 10,000. Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said the state is dealing with “the worst disaster in [its] history.”
UNITED STATES
Boeing whistle-blower dies
Josh Dean, a former quality auditor at a Boeing Co supplier who raised concerns about the safety of the 737 MAX jet, has died. “Our thoughts are with Josh Dean’s family,” Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, which makes aircraft parts for Boeing, said in a statement. “This sudden loss is stunning news here and for his loved ones,” it added. Dean, who was 45, was hospitalized after developing breathing problems just over two weeks ago and had struggled with pneumonia and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a serious bacterial infection, the Seattle Times reported, citing his aunt Carol Parsons. Dean had given a deposition in a Spirit shareholder lawsuit and also filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration alleging “serious and gross misconduct by senior quality management of the 737 production line” at Spirit, according to the Times report. Dean’s death follows the passing of another Boeing whistle-blower in March.
INDONESIA
Orangutan treats its wound
An orangutan appeared to treat a wound with medicine from a tropical plant — the latest example of how some animals attempt to soothe their own ills with remedies found in the wild, scientists reported on Thursday. Scientists observed Rakus pluck and chew up leaves of a medicinal plant used by people throughout Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation. The adult male orangutan then used his fingers to apply the plant juices to an injury on the right cheek. Afterward, he pressed the chewed plant to cover the open wound like a makeshift bandage, according to a new study in Scientific Reports. “This is the first time that we have observed a wild animal applying a quite potent medicinal plant directly to a wound,” said coauthor Isabelle Laumer, a biologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz, Germany. The orangutan’s intriguing behavior was recorded in 2022 by Ulil Azhari, a coauthor and field researcher at the Suaq Project in Medan, Indonesia.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
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