Author: 5hspx
This story is a supplement to Season 3 of our investigative podcast, “In the Dark.”On the morning of November 19, 2005, a squad of Marines traveling in four Humvees hit an IED along a road in the Iraqi town of Haditha. The explosion killed one Marine, Corporal Miguel Terrazas, and wounded two others. The ensuing events sparked the largest war crimes investigation in U.S. history. Over the next few hours, the Marines killed 24 Iraqi men, women, and children. Near the site of the explosion, the Marines shot and killed five men who were driving to a university in Baghdad.…
Rio Tinto Gove, a leading Australian alumina extraction facility, has achieved significant transformation in process efficiencies and safety protocols by implementing Rhosonics slurry density meter (SDM) technology. This innovative solution replaces traditional radioactive density meters and provides a safer, more accurate and environmentally friendly method for density measurement in alumina extraction.Rio Tinto Gove faced significant challenges with traditional radioactive density measurement methods. These methods not only posed safety hazards to employees, but also introduced operational limitations that affected the reliability of the extraction process. The need for an accurate, non-radioactive solution led Rio Tinto Gove to explore alternative technologies that…
While Russian remains the most widely spoken foreign language in Kazakhstan, its role there and across Central Asia is declining. At the same time, people in the region are slowing learning other languages, in part due to economic factors such as slowing globalization, said Zamir Karazanov, a Kazakh political analyst and head of the Kemer Aruna Public Foundation. City Language Since declaring independence in 1991, all Central Asian countries have made the promotion of their own languages a priority. But foreign languages have also historically been important as a link between the region and the rest of the world. But…
When Dang Thi Hang, a spa worker in southern Vietnam, ran out of cash in early June, she turned to a Facebook group she had heard about: Shopee SPayLater Wallet Community. She found someone who would send her cash if she paid for utilities using the “buy now, pay later” option on Shopee's e-commerce platform. She did so, but never heard from them again. Pay later (BNPL) features are nearly ubiquitous in e-commerce. But their rapid growth has driven a grey market in peer-to-peer loans, also known as cashouts, in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of BNPL cashout groups on Facebook connect…
It is rare, miraculously, for a drug to have such a remarkable effect that its immediate benefits translate into years or even decades of savings in health care costs. The wonder drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi have joined the hepatitis C eradication efforts of the weight-loss drug Ozempic and its cousins Wegovy, Maunjaro and Zepbound.These drugs have shown remarkable effectiveness in reducing obesity, which indicates that users are less vulnerable to all obesity-related diseases in the long term, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, knee pain, and sleep apnea. They also appear to be effective against other unhealthy addictions, such as drug and…
Early life adversity, including threats, deprivation and unpredictable experiences, has long been recognised as a major contributing factor in causing mental health problems. A new study conducted by researchers at Anhui Medical University in China adds to this body of evidence, showing that children who endure high levels of adversity are at higher risk of facing conditions such as depression, ADHD and anxiety. However, the study also offers a ray of hope: maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including close friends, regular exercise, adequate sleep, limited screen time and a nutritious diet, could significantly weaken this relationship, especially for boys. The authors…
Get your free copy of Editor's DigestFT editor Roula Khalaf picks her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.You came to Paris to eat a falafel sandwich. It's the best reason to come to Paris, right? But this sandwich is especially recommended. Natalie Portman calls it her “favorite meal in Paris.” Rock singer Lenny Kravitz is a fan. So is Vanessa Paradis. According to an American newspaper, L'As du Fallafel (Ace of Falafel), located at 34 rue des Rosiers in the Jewish quarter of the Marais, is a favorite not only in Paris but throughout Europe.Falafel originates from the Middle East,…
By looking at how a car performed in testing when new and reviewing detailed reliability data, CR is able to recommend to car buyers the best models for the overall ownership experience.However, it's important to note that a great new car doesn't necessarily make a great used car, especially when considering depreciation and long-term reliability. Rather than just handpicking a single model year, we identified smart choices by studying cars from a generational perspective (a generation is when a single design was offered for a given year). We then narrowed down our choices by targeting specific price ranges, taking into…
A father and son in China took the national university entrance exam together and were accepted into their desired universities, surprising many online.Eighteen-year-old Liu Aohan made his family proud after being accepted into the Future Aerospace Leadership Programme at Beijing's Beihang University, one of the world's top aerospace engineering universities.He scored 625 out of 750 points in the science section of the gaokao, China's main college entrance exam, held in northwest China's Qinghai Province, ranking 64th.His father, Liu Jianbo (47 years old), also took the gaokao in the same year.He scored 454 out of a possible 750 in the humanities…
In April, a group of Orange County parents flew to Sacramento for a conference hosted by Disability Voices United, a group that advocates for people with disabilities and their families.They wanted to highlight three issues to state officials at the event: a lack of mental health care for children with developmental disabilities, a disorganized government system meant to help them, and gaps in the provision of routine care.Among them was Christine Libatas, a single mother from Fullerton who, after multiple calls to 911 and emergency hospitalizations, made the difficult decision last fall to move her autistic son, Noah, to a…