The EPA announces a comprehensive ban on asbestos, which is still used in bleach and brake pads. / STAT As China and India grow richer, they may decide "that the costs of asbestos have come to outweigh its benefits." / Works in Progress What do American households use electricity for?
Vladimir Putin wins a fifth term in Russia, partly because the Kremlin made sure he didn't have real opponents. / BBC News Thousands of Russian voters silently protested Putin by showing up to the polls at noon. / Reuters Berlin's techno scene is now registered as part of
More than 300 people are believed to have been kidnapped this week in northern Nigeria. / CBS News "I started dragging myself like a snake." An account of a 17-year-old boy who got away. / BBC News A round-up of recent events in Haiti. / Interruptrr France and
Voters begin casting ballots in Russia where the Kremlin "remains determined" to render a semblance of legitimacy. / BBC News A day of mourning is declared after another Russian missile attack in Odesa. / The Guardian Protesters at the New York Times hand out editions of the New York Crimes.
A list of key events on day 160 of Israel's war on Gaza. / Al Jazeera "Every day felt like an eternity." A short interview with a freed Israeli hostage. / BBC News Unrelated? "That the U.S. military establishment employs so many historians should be little
The European Union's foreign policy chief accuses Israel of using starvation as a "weapon of war." / The Times of Israel In photographs: what it's like right now to hunt for food in Gaza. Meanwhile, food insecurity in Nigeria, in Haiti. / The New York Times
The director of the World Peace Foundation says he was wrong to predict the end of large-scale famines. / The New York Times [+] Linking indifference toward suffering in Sudan to a pattern of antiblackness. / Africa Is a Country See also: An argument that "you, personally, should want a larger
An error in Saturday's newsletter suggested this year's Tournament of Books just concluded. In fact, the second week is just beginning! Palestinians in Gaza are afraid of attending Ramadan evening prayers for fear of being bombed. / Al Jazeera The United States removes non-essential staff from
Sailor Cole Brauer becomes the first American woman to race nonstop around the world by herself. / The Newport Daily News Republican and Democrat First Ladies are said to both deal with different versions of the "same gendered expectations." / Politico See also: A roundtable with three female watch collectors.
Sweden joins NATO as the 32nd member of the alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality. / The Associated Press Related: How Sweden and Finland went from neutral to NATO. / BBC News A report finds an Israeli tank crew killed a Reuters reporter in October by firing two shells
