Africa: Somalia Is Facing Its Worst Drought Ever

ABC News In-depth (March 23, 2023) – Somalia is one of the most dangerous places on earth. Almost two decades of conflict with the al-Qaeda backed terrorist group al-Shabaab has taken a huge toll on the country. Now Somalia is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

“People say that this is the worst drought in 40 years, but that’s wrong,” says Adam Abdelmoula, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia. “This is the worst drought in Somalia’s history, period.”

A map of Somalia.

With the world distracted by the war in Ukraine, the crisis is escalating away from the public gaze. This week on Foreign Correspondent reporter Stephanie March and producer/cinematographer Matt Davis travel to Somalia where makeshift camps have become home to more than a million hungry children and their families.

There, they meet mothers with babies who have walked for days without food and very little water. They hear incredible stories of courage and survival in a landscape that is unforgiving and unsafe. And they also face their own safety problems when their security team worries al-Shabaab has been told of their whereabouts.

As the Somali government fights back against al-Shabaab, another threat, which they have no control over, is driving the extreme weather: climate change. In the midst of this turmoil, the Foreign Correspondent team meets extraordinary people who are determined to make their story one of survival.

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Research Preview: Nature Magazine – March 23, 2023

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nature Magazine – March 23, 2023 issue: One of the main hurdles to putting autonomous cars on the road is how to ensure the reliability of the artificial intelligence that replaces the human driver. Evaluating the safety of an AI driver to the level of a human in a naturalistic environment would require testing across hundreds of millions of miles — something that is clearly impractical. 

South Pacific plankton go berserk after minor cyclone

The biggest phytoplankton bloom ever recorded in the South Pacific Ocean was triggered by a small but lingering storm.

Planet or failed star? A mysterious object blurs the line

A body classified as an exoplanet has been shown to nurture thermonuclear fusion of heavy hydrogen — a trait of objects called brown dwarfs.

Gigantic map of fly brain is a first for a complex animal

Fruit fly ‘connectome’ will help researchers to study how the brain works, and could further understanding of neurological diseases.

Health: Regular Exercise Prevents Heart Disease

 Frequent exercise is robustly associated with a decrease in cardiovascular mortality as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Physically active individuals have lower blood pressure, higher insulin sensitivity, and a more favorable plasma lipoprotein profile. Animal models of exercise show that repeated physical activity suppresses atherogenesis and increases the availability of vasodilatory mediators such as nitric oxide.

Exercise has also been found to have beneficial effects on the heart. Acutely, exercise increases cardiac output and blood pressure, but individuals adapted to exercise show lower resting heart rate and cardiac hypertrophy. 

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News: U.S. Fed Raises Key Rate, Lebanon Protests, Floating Pools In Seoul

March 23, 2023: A report on the Federal Reserve’s crucial decision on interest rates. Plus: protesters in Lebanon try to storm the government headquarters, plans for urban ‘floating’ swimming zones in Seoul, and art collectors flock to East Asia for Art Basel Hong Kong.

Front Page: The New York Times – March 23, 2023

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The Fed, Still Inflation-Focused, Raised Rates Amid Bank Uncertainty

Federal Reserve officials raised interest rates by a quarter-point while they noted that bank turmoil could help slow the economy.

Michael Cohen’s Long Arc From Trump Ally to Chief Antagonist

He once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump. Now, he’s hoping to help prosecutors put him away.

Geothermal Power, Cheap and Clean, Could Help Run Japan. So Why Doesn’t It?

For decades, new plants have been blocked by powerful local interests, the owners of hot spring resorts, that say the sites threaten a centuries-old tradition.

In a Brother Act With Putin, Xi Reveals China’s Fear of Containment

Instead of focusing on a solution to the war in Ukraine, the Chinese leader’s visit to Moscow reinforced China and Russia’s shared opposition to American dominance.

Preview: London Review Of Books – March 30, 2023

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London Review of Books (LRB) – March 30, 2023 issue:

The Pocahontas Exception

A Nation of Descendants: Politics and the Practice of Genealogy in US History by Francesca Morgan.

In A Nation of Descendants: Politics and the Practice of Genealogy in U.S. History (University of North Carolina Press, 2021), historian Francesca Morgan tracks Americans’ obsession with tracing family ancestry. Morgan sheds light on the evolution of genealogical knowledge from the early republic to the present day. Although our New Books Network conversation concentrates on African Americans, in her text, she looks explicitly at how Anglo-American white, Mormon, Jewish, African American, and Native American people wrestled with locating and documenting their kin and ultimately shaped the practice of genealogy. A Nation of Descendants also explores the transformation of genealogical practices as it becomes commercialized and commodified.

When Thieves Retire

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia by David Graeber

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

Pirates have long lived in the realm of romance and fantasy, symbolizing risk, lawlessness, and radical visions of freedom. But at the root of this mythology is a rich history of pirate societies―vibrant, imaginative experiments in self-governance and alternative social formations at the edges of the European empire.

Bermuda Seafood: Locals Hunt For Invasive Lionfish

Eater (March 22, 2023) – In Bermuda, lionfish are an invasive species that eat many of the fish local to those waters. They have therefore become a delicacy of the island, with fishermen catching them and local chefs preparing them in dishes like ceviche, jerk lionfish tacos, lionfish tempura, and more.

Lifestyle: Country Life Magazine – March 22, 2023

Country Life Magazine (March 22, 2023) – Verdi’s land of opera and glory, Picasso in Spain’s cradle of the Arts, where leading writers find their inspiration, French breeds to provoke English envy and the best in luxury overseas property

A spectacularly converted 15th century watermill with original beams, glorious surroundings and a minstrels’ gallery

Once derelict, Gurney Manor Mill was rescued in the early 1990s and transformed into a lovely family home.

Any property that is surrounded by water is guaranteed to be impressive. It’s sort of an unwritten rule. Naturally, as a former watermill, Gurney Manor  Mill falls into this category:  the mill and its 1.2 acres of gardens are surrounded by the historicwater system, creating a bucolic setting.

Thirsty work

Amelia Thorpe selects watering cans for the home and garden

Food stuff: a simple guide to nutrients and fertilisers

Don’t know your potassium from your phosphorus? Fear not, as Steven Desmond explains what to feed your plants and when

Blossoming ideas

There’s more to ornamental apple trees than merely fruit, reveals Charles Quest-Ritson

Holey moley!

Meet the ‘gentleman in velvet’—Harry Pearson unearths the underground world of the mole

Art Exhibitions: Elizabeth Price, Sound Of The Break

View of Elizabeth Price: A LONG MEMORY, The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, 2019–2020. © Elizabeth Price and The Whitworth, The University of Manchester.

SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT (March 22, 2023) – From March 23 to May 29, 2023, the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt is presenting a major solo exhibition by the Turner Prize winner Elizabeth Price (b. 1966), including both new and recent works that are being shown for the first time in Germany.

The artist creates moving-image works, composing visuals, text, and sound to form spatial installations that restage cultural and sociopolitical events and focus attention on largely unnoticed stories. Price’s moving-image works are grounded in a conceptual approach.

ELIZABETH PRICE. SOUND OF THE BREAK

23 MARCH – 29 MAY 2023

Eliz­a­beth Price (b. 1966) makes the trans­for­ma­tion of digital works visible. The artist creates moving images, composing visuals, text, and sound to form spatial instal­la­tions that restage cultural and sociopo­lit­ical events and focus atten­tion on largely unno­ticed stories. The SCHIRN is presenting a major solo exhi­bi­tion of this winner of the Turner Prize, including both new works and others that are being shown for the first time in Germany.

Each of her video works is the result of metic­u­lous research and a wide-ranging exam­i­na­tion of archives and collec­tions of mate­rial. Over the course of her digital appro­pri­a­tion, Price develops new narra­tives from art objects and docu­ments of histor­ical events. A recur­ring topic is the changing world of work as a result of digi­tal­iza­tion, the migra­tion of manual work to emerging coun­tries that pay low wages, and the increase in infor­ma­tion work, office activ­i­ties, and admin­is­tra­tion. The SCHIRN is showing two exten­sive instal­la­tions, each with two corre­sponding videos, as well as four video lectures created during the coro­n­avirus lock­down which provide insight into the artist’s working process. Price’s videos defa­mil­iarize the past until it is no longer recog­niz­able, replacing it with new, seduc­tive, and anar­chic energy.

Press release

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Travel: Walking Tour Of Galata Tower In Istanbul

March 21, 2023 Upload: Considered among the oldest towers in the world and one of the symbols of Istanbul, Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List in 2013. Galata Tower, one of the most important structures that make up the silhouette of Istanbul, was used as a long-term fire watchtower and was named Galata Fire Tower.

Video timeline: 00:00 INTRO 01:35 BUYUK HENDEK STREET (AROUND GALATA TOWER) 07:40 GALATA TOWER SQUARE 10:40 GALIP DEDE STREET 14:40 ISTIKLAL STREET ISTANBUL 38:10 TASIM SQUARE ISTANBUL

Galata Tower was first built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinianos in 507-508 AD. The ancient Tower of Galata “Megalos Pyrgos”, which means Great Tower stood on the north side of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, located in the citadel of Galata. The tower then marked the northern end of the great chain, which was expanded across the mouth of the Golden Horn to prevent enemy ships from entering the harbor. The tower contained a mechanism for raising and lowering the chain. This tower should not be confused with the present time Galata Tower, which is still standing and located at the northernmost and highest point of the citadel of Galata.

Filmed and edited by: Walking Tour With Araz