Gen Z does a good job taking sick days, unlike their older coworkers. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about how the mix of generations in today’s workforce is redefining how we work.

Muslim vigilante groups are working with federal authorities to lure young people into sharing blasphemous content on social media in order to put them behind bars, according to an investigation by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights

Fulani herdsmen kidnapped four Christians in an attack on villages in north-central Nigeria.

Fulani herdsmen killed six Christians on Friday and Saturday in Benue state, Nigeria, after slaughtering 15 Christians in a nearby village two days earlier, sources said.

Hollywood actor Chris Pratt has signed on to “Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey” as an executive producer, joining forces with director Rich Hull and former combat chaplain Justin D. Roberts. 

The latest entry in the fantasy role-playing franchise 'Dragon Age' allows players to make their character trans-identifying and features a scene where one character is forced to atone for “misgendering” someone by performing a series of push-ups. 

The specter of drought is often raised in these early days of summer. And for good reason, though water levels have returned to normal around the New Hampshire, state officials are still warning residents to remain cautious after last summer drought. And while we often fret about the health of our lawns and our gardens, Dave (from the Forest Society) wanted to address drought resistance among his favorite species, trees. So, we all know that trees need water to survive. Basically the many leaves on a given tree have these pore-like holes called stomates that leak moisture into the surrounding air. As that vapor exits the tree through the leaves it draws more water up through the trunk and branches, like through a bundle of straws. Harnessing the power of the sun, trees break apart that water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen molecules; forming glucose with the hydrogen and exhaling the oxygen into the atmosphere. The glucose is what fuels growth in the tree, from buds to bark to

Earlier this year, the city of Lebanon gave a small group of residents the chance to bring not their trash and recyclables to the local landfill, but their compost too. It makes Lebanon one of a few cities in the state helping residents reduce food waste, which is a major contributor to climate change.

New Hampshire artists have suffered a lot during the pandemic, but they've also helped people get through these hard times. For NHPR's series, The Show Goes On , we're talking with artists across the state to hear what inspiration they've found throughout this year and what's kept them going.

People suffering as a result of unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion should be allowed to seek professional help, and the Church must offer a more hopeful message than simply telling them to be celibate for the rest of their lives.

Events that occurred this week in Christian history include Bob Marley joining the Orthodox Church, the death of Billy Sunday, and Pope Leo X defending indulgences.

Events that occurred this week in Christian history include the martyrdom of a Georgian king, a social reformer claims to have a vision, and the founding of a Baptist denomination.

The Rev. Bernard Randall, an ordained Church of England chaplain, has taken legal action against Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for blocking a disciplinary case against the Bishop of Derby who labeled him a safeguarding risk due to his traditional Christian views on gender identity..

Weeks after failing to reach an agreement with Pastor Matthew Queen to vacate his position after he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to federal authorities about a sexual abuse investigation, Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, announced that he has resigned.

President-elect Donald Trump announced that former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan will serve as "border czar" in his new administration.

President-elect Donald Trump has asked Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

A Christian counselor is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block enforcement of a Colorado law that regulates what licensed professionals can say while discussing unwanted same-sex attractions with clients, arguing that the state government censors speech it disfavors. 

Pheaross Graham (Stanford) Title and description TBA A reception will follow.

The woman who journalistically captured a burgeoning epidemic of self-harm among teen girls suddenly identifying as transgender has confronted yet another colossal behemoth: the mental health industry.

Experiments with colors are very interesting and useful Pensioner Valentina Aleksina from Moscow is a real enthusiast; she is an expert in color therapy. The woman believes that the color with which a person contacts can influence his state of health and spirits. But how is it possible? Ancient healers of the East believed that color had the unique capability of healing people's bodies and souls. The medicines of Ancient India, China, Egypt, Laos and other eastern countries had a trend called ra-therapy which cured people with the help of the rainbow colors. The ancient wise were not Orthodox and believed that energetic peculiarities of each person are unique. This in its turn means that each person has colors and shades that are particularly favorable for him. The ancient wise men made up a reasonable system revealing the influence of different colors upon the human organism; the system is based upon the individual properties of each color.

Pilot Viktor Belenko, who hijacked a Soviet MiG-25 interceptor fighter to Japan and sought political asylum in the United States, died in the US. He was 76. The pilot, who literally brought USSR's advanced technology to Western specialists, died on September 24. A routine notice of his death appeared in the obituaries section of The Washington Post two weeks later. The New York Times published an article about Viktor Belenko's life in November. Belenko's sons Tom and Paul were staying with their father at the time of his death. The pilot got married in the USA, but later divorced. He is survived by two children and four grandchildren. They decided not to hold a memorial service.

Source: REX/Shutterstock Alexander Rutskoy, Russian Air Force General, was the man who brought Boris Yeltsin to power. Rutskoy has unveiled a few interesting facts from the history of Russia. The general said that Boris Yeltsin was drinking a lot during the coup in 1991 and tried to escape to the US Embassy. Rutskoy also said that after the collapse o the Soviet Union, Yeltsin called George H. Bush to report the news to the USA. When serving as vice president, Rutskoy defended independence and Constitution of the Russian Federation, especially in the days of the State Emergency Committee. Later, however, he changed his opinions. In an interview with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Alexander Rutskoy spoke about the days, when the Soviet Union stopped its existence. He said that there was an urgent need to remove Mikhail Gorbachev from power, appoint Nikolai Ryzhkov as acting president of the USSR, prepare a new candidate and then hold popular elections for the President of the USSR and the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR.Rutskoy said that he did not have even a shadow of doubt about whom to support in the situation of those days. "I swore as an 18-year-old boy to serve the Motherland and the people, and I have never showed disloyalty to the oath," he said.Today, Rutskoy does not conceal the fact that he had believed Yeltsin's promises about the defense of Russian interests. The vice president of the RSFSR, unlike those, who signed the Belavezha Accords, virtually had no access to the governance of the country. During the interview, Rutskoy said that Boris Yeltsin had tried to escape to the US Embassy. He also said that Gorbachev was not isolated from the world during the days of the State Emergency Committee. Gorbachev could be contacted via secret communication channels, and he was perfectly aware of what was going on. Rutskoy said that Gorbachev simply escaped prior to the signing of the new Unified Treaty. Gorbachev, Rutskoy stated, was executing the mission to destroy the country. It was Rutskoy, who escorted Yeltsin to Minsk,  only to find out later that the USSR would be dissolved. Rutskoy wrote a notice to terminate his powers of the vice president, but his initiative did not move forward. During the ratification of Belavezha Accords, he voted against it. Rutskoy and Yeltsin went separate ways when the latter appointed Gaidar, Chubais and Nechayev for key economic positions in the country. The three officials eventually made Russia experience an economic collapse. According to Rutskoy, the putsch in 1991 took place because Gorbachev betrayed his homeland and the people who were close to him in his team. The State Emergency Committee made a humble attempt to keep the Union afloat. The putsch in 1993 was a coup, which took place with the support of the United States and Europe. "There was an intelligence report saying that the White House in Moscow would be attacked. Yeltsin suddenly decided to go to the US Embassy. I was trying to stop him, I was telling him that he should not be doing it. I was asking him whether he was aware of the things that he was doing.  When they signed the Belovezha  Accorda, the first person, whom Yeltsin informed that the Soviet Union was no more, was George H. Bush," Rutskoy admitted. "Yeltsin was maintaining a contact with the US leadership to inform the Americans about successes of the unilateral surrender in the Cold War," he added.The book of memoirs by George H.W. Bush titled "A World Transformed" also says that Boris Yeltsin was cooperating with the USA for the collapse of the Soviet Union. "On December 8, 1991, Boris Yeltsin from a hunting lodge near Brest, in Belarus. Only recently elected President of the Russian Republic, Yeltsin had been meeting with Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, and Stanislav Shushkevich, President of Belarus. "Today, a very important event took place in our country," Yeltsin said. "I wanted to inform you myself before you learned it from the press." Then he told me the news: the Presidents of Russia, Belarus and ukraine had decided to dissolve the Soviet Union," George H.W. Bush wrote. According to George H.W. Bush, Yeltsin's tone changed after he finished reading his text. The signed documents, he continued, formulated the provisions that the USA had been advocating. Bush was unwilling to express either his approval or disapproval, so he simply responded with "I understand." 

Since 1478, Russia has taken part in 138 wars and suffered defeat in 18 of them. Three of those wars led to most severe territorial and human losses for Russia.  Livonian War (1558 - 1583) The conflict sparked after the Livonian Confederation refused to pay tribute that Russia had imposed  since the previous war in 1481. The Livonians actively obstructed the development of Russian trade in the Baltic Sea and concluded an offensive-defensive treaty with Poland and Lithuania. Having realised that the war with the Baltic would be inevitable, Ivan the Terrible organised a crusade to Livonia. At first, Russia was winning, and both Livonia and Lithuania were completely defeated. However, the European countries joined their forces in the face of the threat from the Russian army. 

The Russians love to win. Unfortunately, other countries often take advantage of our victories, whereas we easily forget about our military prowess. Today, during the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, few people in Russia may remember that it was the Soviet army that put an end to the worst war in the history of mankind - World War II, or the Great Patriotic War, as it is known in Russia. It was on September 3rd, when it happened.  September 3rd is the official date of the end of World War II in the Soviet Union. It used to be celebrated as a non-working day and had been officially called the National Day of Victory over Imperialist Japan until 1947. One can still find posters at history museums in the Far East of Russia that say: Victory Day over Japan - September 3rd. The day of September 3rd was officially approved as the red date of the calendar by the decree from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 2, 1945. USSR's first and, unfortunately, the only parade of victory over Japan took place on September 16, on the territory of Harbin, where the Chinese still take care of Soviet burials.

Russia has a very extensive history of military operations and wars. Russia has been successful in most of its wars, but the price was too high as too many lives had been lost. Therefore, our descendants need to remember the lessons that our ancestors left for us as a legacy. Most of the threats that Russia had to deal with were coming from the south and the southwest. One of those campaigns took place in 1827-1828, when France and England pushed Russia into the flames of another war with Turkey. General Nikolai Yepanchin combined his service in the army ranks with extensive scientific and teaching activities. He was also a member of the Military Historical Commission of the General Staff for compiling a description of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. He repeatedly criticised the military component of the Russian Empire, dwelling in detail on how the Russian army was prepared for military campaigns.

Guided hypersonic weapons have given Russia absolute leadership in the field of the development of strategic weapons. No other country in the world, save for, possibly, China, has hypersonic missiles in service. Military analysts do not have any reliable data about China's new weapons. Russia has at least three types of missiles capable of causing irreparable damage to any potential aggressor.Reference: Avangard hypersonic system is capable of developing the speed of up to Mach 28. The system currently uses the Stilett silo-based intercontinental ballistic missile as a carrier. In the future, the new prospective intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat is to be used for the purpose. For the time being, Russia has four such systems on alert. A missile like that is capable of flying from Saratov to New York in 18 minutes. The H-47M2 missile of the Kinzhal (Dagger) complex develops a speed of 12,250 km/h, has a combat range of 3,000 kilometers. Its carrier is the MiG 31K high-altitude fighter-interceptor aircraft. To date, Russia has made several hundreds of Kinzhal missiles. The Zircon is the anti-ship missile. It accelerates to Mach 8. Currently, one Russian warship can carry up to 20 Zircon missiles. At the same time, according to open data, at least several hundred units of these missiles have been produced. During naval exercises held in the White Sea this year, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate launched the Zircon missile that successfully struck the target at a distance of over 350 km. As one can see, all types of Russian hypersonic missiles have already proven their combat effectiveness. At the same time, Russia does not stop here: Russian engineers already work on an air defense system to neutralize hypersonic weapons. Russia's Supreme Commander-in-Chief — President Putin that is — intrigued the world with his words that he said in 2020:

About 4,500 people have been injured as a result of explosions of communication devices that took place in Lebanon. It was Hezbollah members' pager devices that started blowing up first on September 17. The following day, explosions continued, although it was not just pagers, but walkie-talkies, laptops, radios, smartphones, fingerprinting devices and solar-powered units that started exploding. Israel was not the first state to have used remote detonation of communication devices. In fact, a description of such a technology can be found in Pentagon documents from 50 years ago. Israel previously used remotely detonated communication devices in its military operations. For example, one of the leaders of Hamas movement, Yahya Ayyash, received a phone with an explosive planted in it. The devices that exploded in Lebanon were from a new batch These and other cases have one thing in common: the devices that exploded in Lebanon on September 17 and 18 had explosives installed in them in advance.

Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1985-1991, the first and last president of the USSR, died on Tuesday evening, August 30, 2022. Gorbachev personifies a lot of things for both Russia and other nations of the world: perestroika, glasnost, the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact Organization, a bloc created as a counterweight to NATO. Gorbachev took a course to improve relations with the West and contributed to the unification of Germany. At the same time, there was a series of bloody conflicts in the USSR during his rule. Many hold Gorbachev accountable for the violent dispersal of the rally in Tbilisi in 1989, when 21 people were killed. The same applies to events in Vilnius in January 1991. The results of Gorbachev's era still raise a lot of questions and debates. Some hold him up for the democratization of the regime, while others blame the politician for the collapse of the USSR. It is worthy of note that all the world leaders, with whom Mikhail Gorbachev had worked are now dead:

An expanded meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defenсe was held in Moscow on December 21. During the meeting, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu delivered a keynote speech. President Vladimir Putin also spoke at the meeting. Below are key remarks that Shoigu and Putin made about the army, the special operation and priority tasks for 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin: Of course, the hostilities and military operations are always associated with tragedy and loss of lives. We understand this very well, we are aware of this. But since this [conflict] is inevitable, better today than tomorrow. I think that everyone present in this auditorium perfectly understands what I am talking about. I still consider the Ukrainian people our brotherly nation. What is happening now is a tragedy, but it does not come as a result of our policy. We need to study NATO's experience and tactics in order to include that in the troops training programme and equipping the army. NATO weapons must be analyzed and used to build the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Russia will continue to develop the nuclear triad. This is the main guarantee of maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. As many as 150,000 of the 300,000 mobilised are now undergoing training at training grounds. The other half is in the zone of hostilities. This is enough for the special operation. The past mobilisation has revealed certain problems. To eliminate them, we need to modernise the system of military commissariats. The hostilities have identified issues that need to be worked on, including communication issues. The Ministry of Defence should be attentive to criticism. The ministry should respond to it in a timely manner. Everything a fighter needs must be modern and reliable. Officers and sergeants who have gained experience in the special operation should be assigned to new positions as a matter of priority. It is necessary to develop and use drones in the army — they must be everywhere. We need to expand the arsenal of modern attack weapons. Sarmat intercontinental missiles will be put on combat duty in the near future. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate with state-of-the-art Zirkon hypersonic missile systems will enter combat service in early 2023. We need to saturate the troops with everything necessary — from modern first-aid kits to sights. Everything is important on the battlefield. There are no restrictions to finance the Russian Armed Forces. The country gives the army everything they ask for. We've got everything. We look forward to constructive and meaningful negotiations with a visible end result that would ensure equal security for all, within a certain timeframe. We will not engage in the militarization of the country and economy. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu:

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) announces new leadership for the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO).

A football player was killed when a flash of lightning struck him during a match between Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca in Peru. The incident occurred when the players were leaving the field due to bad weather. Thirty-nine-year-old defender Hugo de la Cruz Mesa died on the spot. Four other players were hospitalized, one of them remains in serious condition, Peruvian agency Andina said.

Five people were hurt when an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into a multi-story apartment building in Belgorod. The drone crashed into a building on Kashtanovaya Street. A large fire started in the building as a result of the explosion. According to Mash Telegram channel, there was a family staying in the apartment at the moment when the drone struck. Relatives are unable to contact anyone from the family.

Elvira Nabiullina approved as Chairperson of Russian Bank The economist, Elvira Sakiphzadovna Nabiullina, has been approved by the Russian State Duma as Chairperson of the Russian Bank and will take office on the 24th of June 2013. She was born in Ufa, Bashkortostan, on the 29th of October 1963, of Tatar descent.  After graduating from the Lomonosov State University in Moscow, she gained a PhD in Economics, in 1990. Stations of her career were the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Russian Ministry for Economic Development and Trade, and Sberbank. In 2008, Elvira Nabiullina was appointed as Minister for Economic Development and Trade. When Vladimir Putin was re-elected for his third term as President of the Russian Federation, in 2012, she joined his advisory committee as presidential aide.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Russian fencers Sergei and Violetta Bida on wanted list after the athletes left for the United States. At the same time, it remains unknown which article of the Russian Criminal Code was used to put the two world medalists in fencing on wanted list. Tokyo Olympics vice-champion Sergei Bida and his wife, world medalist Violetta Bida (nee Khrapina) left Russia without permission. The athletes were active officers of the Russian Guard, but they voluntarily left Russia in 2023 and moved to the United States (to California). Sergei was a member of Dynamo Moscow and had the rank of a warrant officer of the Russian Guard; Violetta Bida was an active service member of the Ministry of Defence at CSKA Moscow.

More surprises: Japan and Senegal Japan beat Colombia 2-1, the same result as the Senegal versus Poland game   

State testing of the Stretta laser range system may begin in April, a source in the Russian military-industrial complex told TASS. "State tests of the Stretta system are to begin on April 1 of this year. They will last for about three months,” the source told the agency. There is no official confirmation to this information, though.

On November 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi. The head of state announced a war for a new world order, spoke about guarantees of the West not to use nuclear weapons, and warned of difficult years to come. According to the Russian leader, the old world order is going down in history and the moment of truth was coming. "A serious, irreconcilable struggle is unfolding for the formation of a new [world order]. It is irreconcilable because this is not even a fight for power or geopolitical influence. This is a clash of the very principles on which relations between countries and peoples will be built at the next historical stage," Putin said.

India's strategic pivot towards liquefied natural gas (LNG) is set to redefine its energy landscape, especially amid the shifting dynamics of global energy trade. Earlier this year, GAIL (India) Ltd, the country's largest government-owned natural gas company, secured a 10-year LNG purchase agreement with Vitol, a global energy trader with extensive operations in Russia. This deal, which begins in 2026, will ensure approximately 1 million metric tons (mt) of LNG annually, including gas sourced from Russia. This agreement is instrumental for India as it strives to elevate natural gas consumption to 15% of its energy mix by 2030. India's LNG imports have demonstrated considerable variability, reflecting its dependence on this critical energy source. Imports surged to 3,516 million standard cubic meters (MMSCM) in May but fell to 2,794 MMSCM in July. Over the first four months of the year, LNG accounted for a substantial 12,269 MMSCM out of a total gas consumption of 24,210 MMSCM, underscoring the country's reliance on imported LNG to meet its growing energy needs. This volatility highlights the strategic importance of agreements, like the one with Vitol and the one between Novatek and Deepak Fertilisers, signed in February 2023, for both spot and long-term supply contract markets in securing energy stability. Russia, for its part, has been adapting its LNG export strategy in response to global pressures and the evolving market landscape. In the first half of 2024, Russian LNG imports to Europe rose by 11% from last year, with Russia supplying 69.95 million mt so far. Despite a general decline in European gas consumption and a shift toward long-term contracts, Russian LNG remained a significant portion of imports, with France alone seeing a 110% increase. This demonstrates the resilience of Russian LNG in maintaining its foothold in European markets. Additionally, Russia's LNG exports to China have also seen growth, with 1.648 million mt shipped in the first quarter of 2024-a 2% increase from the previous year.

On the first day of October, Iran fired more than 200 missiles at Israel. The missiles reached their targets in 10-12 minutes. According to the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces said, the attacks were conducted to hit Navatim and Netzarim air bases, where F-35 aircraft, radars and tank assembly centers are based. It is believed that Iran used new Fattah-2 hypersonic missiles for the attack. The hypersonic ballistic missile flies at a speed of about 6,000 km per hour (up to 5 Mach); its flight range amounts to 1,400 km.

Robert Fico became the first NATO leader to have given an interview to Russian media after the start of the special military operation and he made some very bold statements in it. The West fails to bring Russia to its knees Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico gave an interview to Russian journalist Olga Skabeeva on the state-run Rossiya-1 TV channel. He started his interview with a Slovak proverb that says that "no one on their knees can be considered defeated — perhaps they are just tying their shoelaces."

Russia's first musical marking appeared on a section of the M-11 Neva Highway (connects Moscow and St. Petersburg). When driving along the 653rd kilometer of the highway at the permitted speed, motorists can hear a fragment of the world-famous Kalinka Malinka song. Musical markings will prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel. They will encourage them to concentrate on the road when approaching an accident-prone section, for instance. The musical markings will serve an important purpose to reduce the number of car accidents. Such markings have not been used on Russian roads before, the press service of Avtodor (Russian Highways) said.

An ostrich farm in the village of Pazhga in the Komi Republic, became famous in Russia due to its runaway Australian emu named Vasya (a short for Vasily). On the night of October 26, the bird escaped from its enclosure and ran into the  forest. Dozens of volunteers and hunters were trying to bring Vasya back home for five days. The news of his escape into the wild made national headlines.  During these days, the emu was running about the forest avoiding all traps and tricks that the volunteers could come up with. The bird would walk away from nets, and it was impossible to attract him with food - the emu can do away without food for up to 40 days.

West African innovator and technology-telecommunications company owner Alain Capo has been announced the winner of the World Literacy Award for his outstanding contribution in the individual category.

As digital natives, Gen Z -  those aged 10 to 25 - have been surrounded by technology, social media, mobile devices, and the internet their entire lives.

Thoughtworks, the global technology consultancy that integrates strategy, design and engineering to drive digital innovation, has started a strategic partnership with UK-based cybersecurity startup Advanced Cyber Defence Systems (ACDS) by providing Thoughtworks DAMO AI-powered application managed services.

New data from Demica, the fintech, reveals that the paper packaging sector in key markets across Europe and North America is showing signs of stabilisation.

It has recently emerged that consumer habits amongst Gen Z are changing, with many now turning to social media for retail therapy. Weighing in on this growing phenomenon of social media shopping, Nick Drewe, founder of the online discount platform Wethrift, offers his insights:

DHL eCommerce UK has made two new appointments to its management team, drawing on experience from the retail industry to further align DHL’s services to the evolving eCommerce market.