Category: World

North Korea has sent more soldiers to Russia, according to South Korea’s spy agency. They shared with AFP that over 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Russia last year to help fight against Ukraine in the Kursk area. Earlier this month, South Korea said that the North Korean soldiers who were on the front lines in Kursk hadn’t fought since mid-January. Ukraine reported that these soldiers were pulled back after suffering heavy losses.

On Thursday, a South Korean intelligence official said that some of these soldiers have been redeployed back to the front lines, along with extra soldiers. The exact number of these troops is still being figured out. Neither Russia nor North Korea confirmed this troop movement, but last year, the two countries made a deal that included a promise to defend each other.

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court paused a judge’s order that required the Trump administration to release billions of dollars meant for foreign aid. Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the lower court’s decision would be on hold until the Supreme Court can review it in detail.

What the Judge Said
Judge Amir H Ali ruled that the Trump administration must stop its freeze on foreign aid while a lawsuit by some nonprofit groups and businesses is still in progress. Previously, an appellate court had denied the government’s request to stop the judge’s order.

After an executive order by Trump, the government halted foreign assistance, which he labeled as wasteful and not fitting his global policy goals.

Big Cuts in Foreign Aid
On Thursday, the Trump administration announced plans to cut more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and a total of $60 billion in aid worldwide. These cuts leave very few remaining projects for advocates to fight to save in ongoing legal battles.

Details about these cuts were shared in a confidential memo seen by the AP news agency and in court filings.

Trump and Musk Target Foreign Aid
Trump and his ally Elon Musk are working hard to shrink the size of the federal government, believing that USAID programs promote a liberal agenda and waste taxpayer money. On January 20, Trump ordered a review of all foreign aid programs, leading to an immediate stop of all foreign assistance funds.

This funding freeze has halted thousands of US-funded programs in other countries, and many USAID employees have been put on forced leave or fired.

A U.S. private space company called Intuitive Machines has taken a big step toward exploring the Moon. On Wednesday, they launched their Moon lander, named Athena, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch took place from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and Athena is set to land on the Moon on March 6.

This is the second mission for Intuitive Machines to study the Moon. Their first mission last year ended in failure when they couldn’t land correctly.

What is Athena’s Mission?

Athena aims to touch down on the Moon’s Mons Mouton region, located about 160 kilometers from the Moon’s south pole. After landing, it will send out rovers like the Micro Nova Hopper named Grace. Grace is unique because it can hop around and gather scientific information. One of its main tasks is to explore a dark crater that’s about 400 meters away from where Athena lands. This will be the first time anyone has explored such a crater!

If Athena lands successfully, it will also observe a lunar eclipse on March 14. During this event, the Moon, the Earth, and the Sun will line up, creating a beautiful sight. While people on Earth will see the Moon vanish, Athena will watch the Sun move behind the Earth and then reappear on the other side of the horizon.

Improvements Since Last Time

Trent Martin, a senior vice president at Intuitive Machines, said this mission is “much more complex” than their last one. He emphasized the importance of landing upright to do science experiments on the Moon.

Other companies are also planning to land on the Moon. For example, Firefly Aerospace and Japan’s ispace have their own missions underway. Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will try to land this Sunday, and ispace is expected to land in the coming months.

After learning from past mistakes, Intuitive Machines has made improvements to avoid issues that caused their first mission to fail last year. In February 2024, their Odysseus lander reached the Moon’s surface but tipped over due to a broken leg. They are optimistic and prepared for this mission, but Trent Martin added, “You never know what could happen

Mark Cuban, a well-known entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, criticized Elon Musk, the billionaire behind DOGE and former CEO of Tesla, at a recent political conference in Washington, D.C. Cuban claimed that Musk is making things harder for people trying to achieve political goals, including Donald Trump’s plans.

During the Principles First Summit, Cuban noted that Musk seems unconcerned about public opinion, saying, “Elon doesn’t care.” He pointed out that while Trump has a talent for selling ideas—a skill that helps him gain support—Musk’s actions could create difficulties for Trump by making him look bad.

Cuban praised Trump for being a great salesperson in politics, saying he can convince people to buy into his ideas. However, Cuban also criticized Trump’s ability to follow through on those ideas, saying people are beginning to wonder if he can get things done.

Cuban mentioned that Trump’s supporters still stick by him, much like people in relationships no one else approves of. He humorously suggested that these supporters might ignore major issues because they don’t want to admit they made a mistake.

In addition, Cuban said Trump has struggled with his choice of advisors, which only adds to his problems. He believes that mistakes made by Musk and Trump could help the Democrats gain an advantage in upcoming elections. Cuban suggested Democrats should be more persuasive in their messaging and could even pursue investigations into shady activities.

Finally, he challenged Musk to prove his worth, saying, “Elon’s got to step up or shut up.”

An American Airlines plane arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport had to pull up and go around instead of landing safely. This happened because an air traffic controller told the pilot to avoid getting too close to another plane that was taking off from the same runway. The incident involved American Flight 2246 coming from Boston and happened around 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday.

Just a couple of hours later, another plane at Chicago’s Midway Airport also had to climb back up into the sky to avoid an accident. This was Southwest Flight 2504 coming from Omaha, Nebraska. The crew did a go-around to stay safe from another aircraft that was on the runway. They followed the safety rules and landed without any problems.

Recently, there have been concerns about safety in the skies due to several serious airplane incidents. This includes a tragic crash of a small plane in Alaska on February 6 that took the lives of 10 people. There was also a midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight at National Airport on January 26 that resulted in 67 fatalities. Additionally, a medical jet carrying a child and her mother crashed on January 31 in a Philadelphia neighborhood, killing everyone on board—seven people total—and injuring 19 others. On February 17, a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, injuring 21 passengers.

In a big announcement, Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, shared that there will be a new direction for the newspaper’s opinion section. He said it will now focus on two main ideas: personal freedom and free markets. This means that while they will still write about many topics, they won’t publish opinions that go against these two principles.

In his message to the staff, Bezos explained that newspapers used to aim to include all types of opinions to serve their readers. However, he believes that the internet now does a better job of offering a variety of views. He wants The Washington Post to be a strong supporter of personal rights and economic freedom moving forward.

Bezos also mentioned that David Shipley, the opinion editor, has decided to leave because he didn’t want to follow this new path. Bezos admired Shipley but said, “If your answer isn’t ‘hell yes,’ then it has to be ‘no.’” He respects Shipley’s choice and is looking for someone new to lead the opinion section.

Bezos believes that focusing on free markets and personal freedoms is important for America. He thinks these ideas are not well represented in today’s news and is excited about The Washington Post’s role in promoting them.

Iran is making more near-weapons-grade uranium, which is causing worries as tensions rise with the U.S. after President Donald Trump took office. A recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) shows that as of early February, Iran has 274.8 kilograms (605.8 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60%. This is a jump of 92.5 kilograms (203.9 pounds) since November.

This 60% enriched uranium is just a step away from being weapons-grade, which is 90% enriched. Last November, Iran’s stockpile was 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds), and it was even less in August.

The IAEA says that about 42 kilograms of uranium at 60% can be turned into one atomic bomb if it gets enriched to 90%. Overall, Iran has 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) of enriched uranium, which is up by 1,690.0 kilograms (3,725.8 pounds) since the last report.

Trump had earlier pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran and put sanctions back in place. He even ordered the killing of a key Iranian military leader, Qassem Soleimani.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, the IAEA leader, Rafael Mariano Grossi, warned that Iran could make “several” nuclear bombs if it wanted to. While U.S. intelligence believes Iran hasn’t started a weapons program yet, it is getting ready to create a nuclear device if it chooses.

Iran’s production of this uranium puts extra pressure on Trump, who has said he is open to talks with Iran while also increasing sanctions on their oil sales.

Even Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hinted in August that talks with the U.S. could be possible but later stated that negotiating with America is not wise or honorable.

The IAEA also said that Iran hasn’t changed its decision to ban some experienced inspectors from monitoring its nuclear activities. The report shows that despite suggesting they might accept more inspectors, they still haven’t agreed to it.

Recently, a major leak occurred affecting over 3.3 million people in the U.S. DISA Global Solutions, a company that checks backgrounds and conducts tests for many businesses, including big companies, announced that they had a data breach.

They found out about the breach on April 22, 2024, but the hackers had begun accessing their system back on February 9, 2024. This means the hackers had access to important information for more than two months without anyone noticing it.

In a letter to those affected, DISA briefly mentioned that some personal information had been stolen. According to their filing with the attorney general of Massachusetts, about 360,473 people were affected. The types of leaked information include:

– Social security numbers
– Financial account details
– Credit and debit card information
– Driver’s license numbers

However, DISA confirmed that no medical records were accessed.

On their website, DISA explained that they are still working to understand all the details of the breach. As part of their job, they collect a lot of personal information, like previous jobs, school history, criminal records, and credit details, which is why this data leak is very concerning.

When President Joe Biden announced a plan to spend $42 billion on high-speed internet for everyone in the US, he chose to go with fiber-optic cables. This decision frustrated Elon Musk, as he believed his Starlink satellite internet could connect rural areas much faster and cheaper. As a result, relations between Biden and Musk soured, especially since Musk used his influence to help Donald Trump gain support.

Now, some Republicans are pushing to let Starlink compete with fiber-optic internet, potentially giving a lot of money to Musk. Starlink, a service from Musk’s SpaceX, has been helpful in connecting areas affected by disasters—like floods in North Carolina and conflicts in Ukraine. Although fiber internet is known to be faster and more reliable, installing it can take a long time. Critics argue that satellite and 5G wireless connections can quickly bring internet access to remote locations.

Biden’s program, called the Broadband Equity and Access Deployment (BEAD) Program, has faced criticism for not getting people connected fast enough. Some Republican lawmakers, like Senator Ted Cruz, say the program favors fiber too much and keeps out newer technologies like satellites.

SpaceX recently opened a factory in Texas, claiming it can produce millions of Starlink terminals each year. During hurricanes, many people in troubled areas have relied on Starlink to stay connected. One Republican Senator, Dan Sullivan from Alaska, cautioned that Starlink’s coverage might not be as reliable yet, and he wants to ensure that internet upgrades in his state don’t slow down because of new rules.

In Louisiana, where they’re planning to spend BEAD money, officials have set a high cost limit for fiber installation, while some experts think the threshold should be much lower to encourage using satellite solutions like Starlink. Although connecting to satellite internet is cheaper initially, it can come with higher monthly bills compared to fiber.

Musk has tried to convince the US government that Starlink could help rural areas connect quickly but has faced opposition from regulators. In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission withdrew an $885 million grant that Starlink was supposed to receive. Musk was very upset with this decision and has voiced his frustrations repeatedly.

He claims that Starlink could provide service to remote locations like the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for a fraction of the cost of installing fiber there. Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, worry that Musk’s financial interests might lead to decisions that aren’t in the public’s best interest, especially since he benefits from various government programs.

In a nighttime attack on Wednesday, Ukraine’s air defense successfully shot down 110 out of 177 Russian drones, as reported by the air force. They also mentioned that they managed to lose track of 66 drones using special electronic measures. This is an ongoing story, and more information will be shared soon