Year: 2023

Prigozhin plane crash a Putin signal to Russia’s elite

It was both shocking and predictable. Two months to the day after Yevgeny Prigozhin launched a brief armed rebellion that threatened the Kremlin’s authority, the mercenary chief and some of his top lieutenants were listed aboard a plane that crashed with no survivors. The truth of Wednesday’s incident may never be widely known. But the…

Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record

In Bangladesh, dengue fever has killed more than 300 people this year and infected almost 63,700 others, with hospitals having a difficult time keeping up with all of the cases. This is the deadliest outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease since the government began tracking in 2000. Across Bangladesh, people are being urged to use mosquito…

Will China’s slowdown pull the US into recession?

China can’t seem to shake off its post-COVID economic slump. Will that weakness backfire on the American economy? CNBC reported that the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates this week in an effort to spur economic growth, amidst a “confidence crisis” that has seen exports fall dramatically, factory production slow down, and housing sales…

The Week contest: Literary warnings

This week’s question:  A Scottish university is warning students that Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” contains “graphic fishing scenes.” Name another potentially upsetting work of literature and, in five or fewer words, a fitting trigger warning. Click here to see the results of last week’s contest: Meeting creep Skip advert RESULTS: THE WINNER: “Goldilocks: Graphic…

Mud and thirst: Two Ukraine cities cope with dam’s destruction

Resilience Europe Mud and thirst: Two Ukraine cities cope with dam’s destruction | View caption Hide caption The destruction wrought by the June explosion of a dam in southeast Ukraine is both vast and long-lasting. Residents of two cities more than 100 miles apart are deploying different coping mechanisms to endure an event that has…