Monday, July 1

News

Shahjahan Bhuiya, TikTok-Famous Hangman, Dies in Bangladesh
News

Shahjahan Bhuiya, TikTok-Famous Hangman, Dies in Bangladesh

Shahjahan Bhuiya, who became famous for executing some of Bangladesh's most infamous criminals in exchange for reduced sentences for his crimes and later achieved brief fame on TikTok, died on Monday in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. The National Police announced Tuesday that the cause of his death, which occurred in hospital, has not yet been confirmed. Abul Kashem, Bhuiya's owner, said he took Bhuiya to the hospital on Sunday after Bhuiya experienced chest pains. Last year, Bhuiya said he was 74 in local media, but his national identity card, provided by Kashem, indicated he was 66 at the time of his death. Bhuiya was originally sentenced to 42 years in prison for robbery and murder in 1991. However, thanks to good behavior and his role in the execution of other prisoners, he managed to re...
Saudi Arabia’s Next Billion-Dollar Sports Game: Boxing Takeover
News

Saudi Arabia’s Next Billion-Dollar Sports Game: Boxing Takeover

Each class would include approximately 15 fighters each, allowing top talent to compete on a regular basis. The move would effectively create a single boxing entity that would replace the sometimes chaotic and frustrating system of warring fight promoters and sanctioning bodies. The new entity would have the resources and fighters to stage high-profile cards around the world. And unlike many of the sports Saudi Arabia has already attempted to revolutionize, professional boxing may be ripe for reinvention. The sport has lost some of its luster and glamour in recent decades and is now run by a tangled web of rival promoters and disparate sanctioning bodies that stage their own fights and award their own titles. That leaves fans to sift through a confusing system that often prevents fights b...
American travelers in Europe face phone outage
News

American travelers in Europe face phone outage

US mobile carriers AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile suffered an outage that impacted travelers in Europe. Many vacationers have lost access to essential phone functions such as data, calls and texts. Social media is full of frustrated travelers from Britain to Turkey, unable to connect for 24 hours. The cause of the outage remains unclear, but appears to be related to an issue with a third-party provider used for international roaming. Carriers have recognized the problem: AT&T says their network is operating normally, but some international customers may experience outages due to an external issue. They are working with a roaming partner to resolve the issue. Verizon informed customers on social media that its teams are working with local providers to resolve the issue. T-Mobile con...
Colombia’s peace agreement creates a birdwatching paradise
News

Colombia’s peace agreement creates a birdwatching paradise

The 2016 peace treaty, which ended decades of civil conflict in Colombia, has transformed the country into a birdwatcher's paradise. This agreement has liberated vast swathes of forests previously dominated by armed groups, making them accessible to both wildlife enthusiasts and researchers. For years, Colombia's rich biodiversity has been hidden behind the barriers of a long-running civil war. The nation's forests, home to an astonishing variety of bird species, were largely off-limits due to the presence of guerrillas and associated dangers. However, the peace agreement has made these once inaccessible areas accessible, revealing a treasure trove of avian diversity. Birdwatchers from around the world are now flocking to Colombia to witness its avian wonders. The country boa...
Julian Assange nears freedom after pleading guilty in leaked documents case
News

Julian Assange nears freedom after pleading guilty in leaked documents case

Concluding a years-long legal saga, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to return to Australia after pleading guilty to a single charge relating to the publication of classified US documents. The 52-year-old Australian citizen avoided a lengthy prison sentence by admitting guilt at a remote hearing in an American territory in the Pacific. This settlement marks a significant development in a case that has become a battleground for press freedom and national security concerns. From famous whistleblower to legal standoff Assange rose to prominence in the 2010s, when WikiLeaks published a series of sensitive documents exposing details of US military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with diplomatic cables. These leaks have sparked heated debate, with some praising Assange as a c...
How architecture became one of Ukraine’s essential defenses
News

How architecture became one of Ukraine’s essential defenses

The Ukrainian government and army have already started major reconstruction projects. Bucha and Irpin, the devastated suburbs of Kiev, have become important construction sites. Architect Norman Foster has been hired for a new master plan for Kharkiv, whose extraordinary density of modern architecture is exposed to almost daily bombing. But this exhibition continues to focus on informal, bottom-up efforts in Ukrainian architecture. It showcases the work of architects inside and outside the country, but also some of Ukraine's most notable artists, not to mention the ravers and DJs from Kiev's world-leading electronic music scene, who have aided the reconstruction efforts while the records were spinning. Vladimir V. Putin began a full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, but Russi...
A strange rock in a box is linked to a shooting star that fell 54 years ago
News

A strange rock in a box is linked to a shooting star that fell 54 years ago

She and her team hunted down image negatives containing fireballs stored at the German Aerospace Center in Augsburg. After digitizing the images, the researchers estimated various parameters related to the incoming meteors, such as their masses, shapes, speeds and entry angles. Using this data, the researchers identified a dozen events that most likely produced sizable meteorites. Before 1976 only three had occurred. The team reconstructed the trajectory of each of those three fireballs and calculated where the meteorites would most likely be found. There was only one match to the location where the Ischgl meteorite was recovered. This led researchers to conclude that the fireball that crossed the horizon in the early morning hours of November 24, 1970 gave birth to the Ischgl meteor...
When the only way out of the war in Gaza is to buy your way out
News

When the only way out of the war in Gaza is to buy your way out

In February, when Dr Ghayyda traveled to the Egyptian capital to register his parents, sister and nephew, he took his 23-year-old son with him to avoid carrying more than $10,000. By then he had raised about $25,000. “The whole process was quite long, complex and uncertain,” he said. In an interview in his office in Cairo, Mr. Organi spoke at length and in detail about Hala's activities, although he said his role in the company was limited and that he was just one of many shareholders. Hala has long been listed on Organi Group's website as one of the conglomerate's companies, but the reference appears to have been removed recently. Organi Group did not respond to a request for comment when asked why they removed Hala from their website. Mr. Organi described Hala as a tour company, “jus...
As Ukraine expands its military draft, some men are in hiding
News

As Ukraine expands its military draft, some men are in hiding

Tymofii Brik, a sociologist at the Kyiv School of Economics, said polls “suggest that the willingness to defend the nation among Ukrainians has remained constant” throughout the war, with about a third of people indicating a willingness to serve. However, Ukraine's mobilization has opened up painful divisions in society. Vitaliy Bondarenko, a 29-year-old conscript officer from Lviv, said the men ran away every time his vehicle stopped. “They see us and run away,” he said. Many Ukrainian soldiers resent those who try to avoid the draft, arguing that their actions weaken their country's war effort. “Given the intensity of the current fighting, the army cannot fight without a regular replenishment of personnel,” said another recently enlisted Mykyta, 25, who gave only his first name accord...
Crisis in the Middle East: The United States imposes sanctions on the Israeli group for blocking humanitarian convoys in Gaza
News

Crisis in the Middle East: The United States imposes sanctions on the Israeli group for blocking humanitarian convoys in Gaza

The State Department announced Friday that it will impose sanctions on a right-wing Israeli group that tried to prevent aid from reaching people in the Gaza Strip by blocking trucks traveling from Jordan to the coastal enclave.The department's statement said the sanctioned organization, Tzav 9, was "a violent Israeli extremist group that blocked, harassed and damaged convoys carrying life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza."Members of the group have tried for months to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza, the department said. They blocked roads on which aid trucks travel between Jordan and Gaza, including the West Bank, and in some cases broke into trucks, damaging them and dumping aid packages on the road, the agency said. Some Israeli activists have...