The first ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza was on its way Thursday to a floating platform built by the U.S. military. The plan is for cargo to be transferred at the pier to smaller U.S. boats that will deliver it to shore. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt, a main entry point for aid, has been shut down since Israel’s military took control of the Palestinian side early Tuesday. Civilians in Rafah have been thrown into panic and…
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Tens of thousands of people welcomed the Olympic torch Wednesday in the southern French city of Marseille, marking another milestone in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris. French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first torch carrier in France after the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille’s Old Port on a majestic three-mast ship from Greece for the welcoming ceremony amid tight security. The ship sailed into Marseille’s old port with the French national…
Fans of the “Planet of the Apes” franchise may still be mourning the 2017 death of Caesar, the first smart chimp and the charismatic ape leader. Not to worry: He haunts the next episode, the thrilling, visually stunning “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.” We actually start with Caesar’s funeral, his body decorated with flowers and then set alight like a Viking, before fast-forwarding “many generations later.” All apes talk now and most humans don’t, reduced to caveman…
Listen live for the latest updates on The George Washington University protests. D.C. police took down a pro-Palestinian encampment at The George Washington University early Wednesday morning and arrested 33 protesters, D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith confirmed during a news conference. Police told WTOP that officers began clearing University Yard around 3 a.m., after law enforcement officials gave multiple warnings to clear the encampment. Protesters who refused to leave the site were taken into custody. DC’s reasoning behind clearing…
When scientists look for an earthquake’s cause, their search often starts underground. As centuries of seismic studies have made clear, it’s the collision of tectonic plates and the movement of subsurface faults and fissures that primarily trigger a temblor. But MIT scientists have now found that certain weather events may also play a role in setting off some quakes. In a study appearing today in Science Advances, the researchers report that episodes of heavy snowfall and rain likely contributed……
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Transgender activists have flooded a Utah tip line created to alert state officials to possible violations of a new bathroom law with thousands of hoax reports in an effort to shield trans residents and their allies from any legitimate complaints that could lead to an investigation. The onslaught has led the state official tasked by law with managing the tip line, Utah Auditor John Dougall, to bemoan getting stuck with the cumbersome task of…
This location provides direct access to the gold mining underworld of Bendigo, which was responsible for Australia’s Victorian gold rush. In addition to the well-maintained surface facilities, this location offers explorers the option to go deep below the earth’s surface and travel through the upper levels of the gold mining tunnels picking up the local and global history and lingo along the way. If you are clever (and have small hands) you can even touch veins of gold still……
Eden V, also known by the name Etsuyo Maru, was a Japanese cargo ship built in 1968. On December 16, 1988, the ship was grounded on the coast near Lesina Marina, despite not having sent a mayday call. The shipwreck has been left to rot for several decades and reportedly contained toxic and radioactive material. In 2014, local authorities had large parts of the wreck dismantled. To this day, the bottom of the hull is still stuck in the……
“AI Comes Out of the Closet” is a large learning model (LLM)-based online system that leverages artificial intelligence-generated dialog and virtual characters to create complex social interaction simulations. These simulations allow users to experiment with and refine their approach to LGBTQIA+ advocacy in a safe and controlled environment. The research is both personal and political to lead author D. Pillis, an MIT graduate student in media arts and sciences and research scientist in the Tangible Media group of the MIT Media……
At the northern end of the Uniwersytecki bridge in Wroclaw, you might just miss this creepy hand that appears to be reaching out from between the stones that make up the bridge. As Wroclaw is said to be one of the most haunted cities in Poland, this hand may be connected to one of its many ghost stories. But very little is known about this concrete hand or the artist who created it. It appears to have been in……
A brightly-colored bonanza of shopping, the Ima or “Mother’s” Market covers three large buildings in the city of Imphal, India. Established in the 16th century, the market hosts around 5,000 vendors who sell a variety of products, from fruit and vegetables to seafood and spices to toys and textiles. Like so many things in India, the market is administered by a union, in this case, made up of all of its vendors. There are a vast number of public markets……
Though there is a lot of greenery even in the heart of Tokyo, from public parks to riverbanks, there remains only one natural gorge: the Todoroki Valley in Setagaya City. Carved by a river of spring water eroding layers of soft loam, the Todoroki Valley runs about half a mile through an upscale residential district, crossed over by the Kanpachi road at one point. The trail below traces the gentle curves of the stream, covered with a thick copse……
The forested island of Ilha Grande, located off the of the coast of Brazil, is largely undeveloped. But towards the eastern end of the island, just outside the village of Abraão, you can find the ruins of a stone aqueduct. Built in 1893 at the request of Emperor Dom Pedro II, the Ilha Grande Aqueduct stood 125 meters long and 30 meters tall. Now largely in ruins, the aqueduct once carried water from the Abraão stream to a nearby settlement. Next……
Since 2014, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) has advanced interdisciplinary research aimed at solving the world’s most pressing water and food security challenges to meet human needs. In 2017, J-WAFS established the Rasikbhai L. Meswani Water Solutions Fellowship and the J-WAFS Graduate Student Fellowship. These fellowships provide support to outstanding MIT graduate students who are pursuing research that has the potential to improve water and food systems around the world. Recently, J-WAFS awarded the……
The Sherman tank, known as Duguay Trouin, participated in the liberation of Dijon. On September 6, 1944, the tank, at the head of a platoon of five others in Dijon, was hit by two German anti-tank shells: three of the six men of the crew lost their lives there: Second Lieutenant Cattanéo, tank commander, Brigadier-Chief Petitbon, and Cuirassier Delaporte. Dijon was liberated on September 11, 1944. As a memory of these men and the reality of the fighting, the……
