Retiring Early? Prepare for Higher Healthcare Premiums. – Barron’s

Last month, the world’s highest court issued a long-awaited opinion on how international law should regard climate harm. The International Court of Justice concluded, unanimously, that states have binding legal obligations to act to protect the climate system, and failure to do so—by continuing to produce, consume, and subsidize fossil fuels—may “constitute an internationally wrongful…

The puerile standoff between the US and Russia ought to alert a slumbering public to a risk that is in many ways greater than during the cold war

Nuclear weapons – their lethal menace, dark history and future spread – are back in the headlines again and, as usual, the news is worrying, bordering on desperate. Russia’s decision last week to formally abandon the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty banning medium- and short-range nuclear missiles completes the demolition of a key pillar of global arms control. It will accelerate an already frantic nuclear arms race in Europe and Asia at a moment when US and Russian leaders are taunting each other like schoolboys.

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has repeatedly threatened the west with nuclear weapons during his war in Ukraine. Last November, Russian forces fired their new Oreshnik hypersonic, nuclear-capable intermediate-range missile at Dnipro. It travels “like a meteorite” at 10 times the speed of sound and can reach any city in Europe, Putin boasted – which, if true, is a clear INF violation. Moscow blames its decision to ditch the treaty on hostile Nato actions. Yet it has long bypassed it in practice, notably by basing missiles in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave on the Baltic sea, and Belarus.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

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How can supplements interact with medication? 5 things to consider before taking a supplement  NOLA.com Powered by WPeMatico

Amid a spate of terrorist and quadcopter attacks, police on Friday carried out a search and targeted operation alongside security forces in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, arresting “14 terrorist facilitators and destroying three hideouts”.

Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks, particularly targeting police personnel in Bannu in July.

Bannu police spokesperson Khanzala Quraishi said in a statement: “Pakistan Army and police conducted a joint operation in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas based on intelligence inputs and arrested 14 facilitators of the banned organisation, while 3 hideouts of terrorists were demolished.”

Quraishi added that the operation was carried out on information about the presence of terrorists in Wazirabad and Tudonar along the Tuchi River, where five suspected targets were cleared. Security forces also seized three vehicles, which included two motorcycles and a rickshaw.

“Joint patrols were also conducted in Hoveed Bazaar and its surroundings to ensure the presence of security forces in the area,” the police spokesperson added.

In a statement issued earlier today, Quraishi had said: “This operation has been launched on the basis of intelligence reports, the main objective of which is to cleanse the area from the scourge of terrorism and establish lasting peace.”

The operation began at 5am on Friday, according to Quraishi, and was launched on the instructions of Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan under the supervision of District Police Officer Saleem Abbasi Kalachi.

“During the operation, security forces and police personnel have completely surrounded the area and house-to-house searches are ongoing,” the statement said.

“In case of any suspicious activity or resistance, immediate and effective action is being taken so that the terrorists do not get any chance to escape or hide.”

A curfew was imposed in the area during the duration of the operation for the sake of public safety, and citizens were advised to cooperate with security agencies and stay indoors.

“Immediately report any suspicious person or activity to the relevant authorities,” the statement read.

“Authorities have warned that providing any kind of facility or assistance to terrorists is a serious crime, and strict legal action will be taken against such elements.”

Last week, a police constable was martyred in a terrorist attack on a checkpoint in Bannu, where an exchange of fire also left three terrorists dead and three policemen injured.

In July, ter­rorists used a quadcopter to attack a police station in Miryan, Bannu, making it the fifth such attack at the installation in a month.