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NunoSempere


				

				

				
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joined 2022 September 10 10:19:29 UTC

				

User ID: 1101

NunoSempere


				
				
				

				
0 followers   follows 3 users   joined 2022 September 10 10:19:29 UTC

					

No bio...


					

User ID: 1101

Some headlines I'm reading:

Geopolitics

United States

Trump tells Pentagon to resume testing US nuclear weapons | Reuters

Rest of the Americas

Largest ever police raid in Rio de Janeiro leaves at least 132 dead, public defender’s office says. Approximately 2,500 police officers participated in the operation.

At least 132 killed in Rio police raid, officials say

Europe

Russia has tested a new nuclear powered, nuclear-capable missile

Middle East

Israeli raid in Lebanon kills municipal worker

Israeli soldiers raid municipal building in southern Lebanon, kill employee | AP News

Iran

The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, a resistance group in Iran with good English publicity, organized protests, reports Iran News Update, as well as their twitter presence. Our sources from Iran tell us that [hopefully they'll get back to us by Monday]. Some background on the MEK.

Gaza

Deadliest day in Gaza since ceasefire as Israel launches wave of strikes, accusing Hamas of breaching truce | CNN

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 104, health ministry says

Netanyahu Orders New Strikes on Gaza as U.S. Insists Ceasefire Still Holding

Israel kills more than 100 in strikes after soldier's death, says it still backs ceasefire.

Yemen
Asia

Thai, Cambodia leaders sign expanded ceasefire deal with Trump present.

Text transcript of the Ministry of Defense regular press conference, October 2025

Plenary session on national defense and military modernization as it decides on its 15th five-year plan

India/Pakistan

15% of deaths in Delhi in 2023 linked to air pollution

Africa

Over 1,850 Sudanese civilians killed in North Darfur this year, UN says, calls for El-Fasher siege to end

Macron’s great lakes peace push falters amid gunfire and skepticism over Goma airport plans | Africanews

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the reopening of Goma airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for humanitarian flights, and revealed a pledge for 1.5B EUR in international aid. M23 rebels, who control the area, called the plan "inopportune, disconnected from realities on the ground".

UN alarmed by ‘terrifying’ situation in Sudan’s El Fasher, calls for immediate ceasefire | UN News

RSF claims capture of El Fasher after fierce battles with Sudanese army

Key Sudan city falls to paramilitary group following 18-month siege

Satellite images reveal evidence of mass killings in Sudan's El Fasher

Reported massacre at hospital in Sudan’s El Fasher leaves 460 dead | UN News

RSF kills ‘at least 1,500 people’ in Sudan’s el-Fasher

At least 460 people killed in El Fasher's last functioning hospital in Sudan

Tanzania opposition says over 700 killed in vote protests

Biorisks

H9N2 Bird Flu Virus Could Pose Human Pandemic Risk, Experts Warn

New virus with potential to spark another pandemic discovered in bats in South America.

To combat the spread of H5N1, officials in the states of Saarland and Hamburg have enacted bans on free-range poultry farming

Germany culls over 400K poultry

Artificial Intelligence

More tech

Economy

Trump shaves China tariffs in deal with Xi on fentanyl, rare earths | Reuters

Trump-Xi 'amazing' summit brings tactical truce, not major reset | Reuters

Climate and Nature

Others

Chinese fentanyl trafficking operator arrested in Cuba

Yeah, but as the OP highlights, patria comes from pater, padre, (cognates vater, father); compare https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/father and https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/patria#Latin.

One must avoid not only the useless actions, but also the useless thoughts. -- Marcus Aurelius according to my notes.

If nothing matters, what do I chose to do?

"I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” - Heinlein

Life is not a highschool exam; you don't have to solve it on your own.

"The cup is already broken" https://www.themotte.org/comment/216921?context=3#context

the fear was always worse than the reality

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

What is true is already so. Owning up to it doesn't make it worse. Not being open about it doesn't make it go away. And because it's true, it is what is there to be interacted with. Anything untrue isn't there to be lived. People can stand what is true, for they are already enduring it.

Funny story, I used to look like this a few weeks ago, but cut my beard; got stopped too much at airports.

Here is an interview with a drone expert on the future of AI warfare.

In Europe! But not in South America!

Thanks, mentioned you in the final version

Mmmh, thanks!

Hey, I use the Fusion ones, probably out of a lack of familiarity with other options. So good to have this thread.

pull along the blade

What does this mean?

I also started autogenerating automatic reports for topics of interest; last week's were pretty good and can be found here. I'll run the scripts tomorrow. Help welcome with creating lists for various topics of interest here; for now this is open but plz don't bankrupt me.

Some headlines I'm reading:

AI getting good at detecting bugs and vulnerabilities in curl

UN imposes 'snapback' sanctions on Iran

NATO boosts Baltic surveillance as drone threats rise in Europe

US Marines set to conduct joint exercises to gether with Panamanian security forces. This announcement comes at a precarious time, with fears escalating regarding a potential U.S. military action against Venezuela, which is situated approximately 925 kilometers east of Panama. Donald Trump has increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, dispatching eight warships, a nuclear submarine, and ten fighter jets to Puerto Rico, supposedly to combat drug trafficking but likely targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. This naval build-up marks the most substantial in the region since the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, an event that left hundreds of civilians dead.

Fears of disaster as Russian nuclear submarine reports major malfunction in Mediterranean | The Standard

Dozens dead from hunger and disease as devastation decimates North Darfur

Russia a ‘paper tiger’: How Trump changed his position on Ukraine, NATO Russia-Ukraine war News Al Jazeera

Tony Blair in discussions to run transitional Gaza authority

Putin Orders Highest Fall Conscription Target in 9 Years, 135K men

Widespread anti-Israel protests after it stops an aid/PR flotilla

Eurovision Song Contest: Organisers EBU to hold vote on Israel's participation

Trump gives Hamas ‘three or four days’ to respond to Gaza peace plan or face ‘a very sad end’

More kids with the flu are getting severely ill or dying as vaccine rates fall, CDC reports

CDC reports highlight 2024-25 flu season's deadly impact on US kids; highest since the H1N1 pandemic in 2009-10. Not significant shares of the population though.

Electronic Arts Sold to Saudi Arabia and Trump's Son-in-Law (Jared Kushner) for $55B

Peace in Democratic Republic of Congo Mostly a Promise, Mission Head Tells Security Council, Stressing That Reality Still Marred with Violence

Congo’s Former President Sentenced to Death in Absentia

India released some statistics for 2023. Dowry-related cases rose by 14%, with 6.1K women killed.

UN approves larger force to combat Haiti gang violence

I mean, yeah, in a full collapse. But it's tricky to know how likely that really is. Like, if I see papers like https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/adfa3b and https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39810-w, unclear whether these are dire warnings I really need to pay attention to, or trends that are exaggerated by ideologically captured scientists who have the incentive to overexaggerate the importance of their own research. Matters in real life decisions, too, as I'll soon be buying a house in Paraguay

It's the name of an organization that performs surveillance for all large-scale risks. I founded it and dedicate the majority of my time to it. We post stuff here[^1].

[^1]: Actually on blog.sentinel-team.org, but the redirection doesn't seem to be working, weird, looking into it.

Executive summary

Chikungunya is an exceptionally painful though rarely deadly mosquito-borne disease. Its prevalence is expanding as climate change spreads the range of the mosquitoes which carry it.

Disease basics

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV; see ECDC fact sheet, US CDC fact sheet, and WHO fact sheet). Symptoms of acute chikungunya include a rapid-onset high fever, severe joint pain, joint swelling, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. The incubation period is usually 3-7 days, with a range of 1-12 days, and symptoms typically last about 10 days. Approximately 15%20and%20joint%20pains.)-40% of CHIKV infections are asymptomatic. A recent study estimates a burden of disease of 17.8M cases annually, about a fifth of dengue’s.

Reports of people who have had the disease describe it as exceptionally painful. However, the case fatality rate (CFR) is ≤0.1%, similar to that for seasonal flu. Infants, especially newborns (age <30 days, CFR 3.8% in 2022-2023 in Paraguay), and, to a far lesser extent, elderly people with other health problems (CFR 0.6% among people aged ≥80 years in 2022-2023 in Paraguay) face the greatest risks of severe disease and death.

There is no specific antiviral treatment for acute chikungunya. According to the WHO, treatment “includes addressing fever and joint pain with anti-pyretics and optimal analgesics, drinking plenty of fluids and general rest. ... Paracetamol or acetaminophen are recommended for pain relief and reducing fever until dengue infections are ruled out, as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can increase the risk of bleeding.

In addition to acute disease, CHIKV infection often causes long-term health problems as well. About 30-40% of people who get chikungunya have recurrent joint pain, in some cases for years. Rarely, myocarditis, hepatitis and ocular and neurological disorders can develop.

Vaccines

Two vaccines are approved for use in populations at risk, but they aren’t widely available. And the license for one of them, Ixchiq, was just suspended in the US, after administration in adults age ≥60 was paused in May because of serious safety concerns; the US FDA states that “one death from encephalitis directly attributable to the vaccine” and over 20 serious cases of chikungunya-like illness have been reported for the live-attenuated vaccine. However, the vaccine manufacturer states that recent adverse vaccine effects are "consistent with those previously reported during clinical trials and post-marketing experience." After imposing a similar license restriction in May, the European Medicines Agency lifted its temporary restriction on July 25.

Both vaccines currently in use appear likely to be very effective against infection. Phase 3 clinical trial data show that the Ixchiq vaccine elicits protective levels of antibodies in 97.8% of study participants 28 days after vaccination, which persists in 96% of participants at 6 months after vaccination, and 95% of patients four years afterwards. The second vaccine, Vimkunya, a virus-like particle vaccine, elicited protective antibodies pro in 98% of clinical trial participants aged 12–64 years and in 87% of participants aged ≥65 years, 3 weeks after vaccination. The percentages of study participants with protective levels of antibodies fell to 85% and 76% for the two age groups, respectively, after 6 months.

Several other vaccine candidates are in varying stages of development.

Where and how does chikungunya spread?

Large outbreaks and sporadic cases of chikungunya currently occur in the Americas, Asia and Africa, and small outbreaks occasionally occur in Europe. CHIKV was first identified in Tanzania in 1952 and has since spread around the world. It has been detected in >110 countries to date.

Non-human primates in Africa, bitten by forest-dwelling Aedes mosquitoes, are the original, natural reservoirs of CHIKV. Now, humans are the largest reservoir of CHIKV.

Both Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus (“Asian tiger”) mosquitoes carry the virus and are responsible for most transmission. Local mosquito-borne transmission in humans has been seen in all regions of the world with established populations of these mosquitoes. Both species bite humans primarily during the daytime, and while both species bite outdoors, Ae. aegypti also bites indoors.

Chikungunya can also spread through blood transfusions or other interactions with infected blood. It can also be transmitted in pregnancy to a fetus, or at birth to a newborn. CHIKV has not been found in breast milk.

In China

Chikungunya saw an outbreak in China this year, developing from 478 cases by the 17th of July, 3K cases by the 24th of July, 10K cases by August 8th. Monthly data for September is not yet out.

Although larger, China is further apart culturally, and thus granular data on disease spread is harder for us to find. Initial English-language reporting seems to have stemmed from a warning from the CDC in Hong Kong. Because of better data availability we turn to looking at this years’ chikungunya outbreak in Europe:

In Europe

In the short term

Chikungunya continues to spread in Europe. As of August 27, 227 cases have been confirmed in Italy, and 63 cases in France in 2025. Many in Europe are wondering, how much is chikungunya going to spread, and when is it going to stop? In the short-term, this year, not much.

First, let’s look at previous outbreaks in Europe. Six outbreaks with local spread have been reported in Europe before the current outbreak, with the first outbreak occurring in 2006. All of these outbreaks were in Italy, France or Spain. In four of these outbreaks, fewer than 20 cases of local transmission were reported; another outbreak saw over 200 suspected cases, and the largest outbreak to date saw nearly 800 confirmed and suspected cases. All of these outbreaks ended.

The fundamental reason why these outbreaks ended, and why the current outbreak will likely end soon, is that Ae. aegypti is absent in nearly all of Europe, and while _Ae. albopictus _is established in much of southern Europe, _Ae. albopictus _adults generally die off in the fall in Europe. When the adult mosquitoes die, transmission stops, and outbreaks end.

(Sadly The Motte doesn't allow for images, so just giving the source) (Source: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/aedes-albopictus-current-known-distribution-june-2025 )

(Source: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/aedes-aegypti-current-known-distribution-june-2025 )

Currently, chikungunya case clusters are active in northern Italy (Bologna, Verona and Modena provinces), one unspecified province in Italy, and in over 20 departments throughout southern, western and northeastern France. Ae. albopictus adults are likely to die off in all of these regions over the coming weeks to months, as temperatures become inhospitably cold. And when the adult mosquitoes die, chikungunya will stop spreading in Europe.

Spatial distribution of locally acquired chikungunya virus disease cases in 2025 through 27 August 2025:

(Source: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-virus-disease/surveillance-and-updates/seasonal-surveillance )

And here is this same map as of the 2nd of October; it has spread a bit further:

Some Ae. albopictus populations in Europe are starting to become adapted to the cold, including some populations in Rome, Italy and the Region of Murcia, Spain. So it’s not impossible that some transmission could continue in southern France or perhaps in new, more southern areas of Europe.

Forecasters think there’s an x% chance (range, y% to z%) that the current outbreak in Europe will end this fall rather than continue through winter and into 2026.

In the United States?

Last week, authorities reported on a local case in New York, i.e., not associated with travel. The CDC page on Chikungunya in the US doesn’t yet confirm it, but it hopefully will be a good page to watch for an increasing number of cases—although recent cuts from the Trump administration might have left the CDC somewhat under-resourced.

The big picture: shifting climate patterns will change the distribution of diseases

At Sentinel, we have been tracking potentially worrisome diseases in our weekly brief over the last year. In general, we are seeing many diseases, particularly those originally tropical, expand and shift their geographic ranges as a result of climate change. Europe becoming more hospitable to mosquitoes leading to the spread of chikungunya is just one example. In the US, we saw the spread of the West Nile Virus, also a mosquito-borne disease.

Beyond mosquito-borne diseases, Spain and Greece faced alerts due to rising cases of Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), spread by ticks. In the US, cases of alpha-gal syndrome exploded, carried by ticks described as “a cross between a lentil and a velociraptor”. In general, we are seeing many diseases expand and shift their geographic ranges as a result of climate change.

Looking to the longer term, it looks very likely that chikungunya transmission will eventually occur year-round, as warmer conditions in Europe expected with climate change will likely allow Ae. albopictus adults to survive all year. Chikungunya will likely become established in Europe, as it is on other continents.

A big unknown is the impact of the changing Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), which normally warms Europe but which could slow down or collapse. If it does so, Europe would become colder, stopping the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.

Overall, Chikungunya in particular doesn’t seem like a COVID-level risk, but the shifting pattern of diseases as a whole seems [statement of severity]

Some possible forecasting questions my team might forecast on:

  • Forecasters think there’s an x% chance (range, y% to z%) that the current outbreak in Europe will end this fall rather than continue through winter and into 2026.
  • Chikungunya numbers in Europe will exceed X next year
  • Chikungunya will exceed 10 cases in the US next year?
  • A newly expanded tropical disease will kill over 1M people in any one year in any of the next ten?
  • What other operationalizations for the longer term thing?

I might also add a statement that my team may or may not trade on the above, in the style of Hindenburg research, because I think it's cool. But the play, if any, probably involves buying the stocks of the vaccine makers next year once it has faded from salience and before it fades into view again in Europe's/the US's summer.

Some headlines I'm reading, comments welcome:

Sanctions on Iran to automatically resume on September 28th. [to do: find link better than Daily Mail]

Qatar Seeks 'israeli' Apology to Restart Gaza Mediation: Report

Drone fired by Yemen's Houthis wounds 22 in southern Israel, in a rare breach of missile defenses

The WHO warns about rapid growth in cholera cases.

China continues to do military exercises & development

El-Fasher: Drone strike on Sudan mosque kills 78, medic tells BBC

France orders hospitals to be ready for war by next year as Germany warns it is on alert should Putin use forthcoming military drills to attack Europe (Daily Mail)

Russia may attack Nato in next four years, German defence chief warns

Germany plans for 1,000 wounded troops per day in case of conflict with Russia

Putin offers Trump one-year extension to nuclear weapons treaty

Drone activity confirmed at multiple Denmark airports

Jihadist groups create 'corridor of violence' targeting Christians in Sahel – Catholic World Report

Isis Kids Planned a Violent 'Caliphate Revival' on Discord back in 2022.

Trump warns Venezuela will pay 'incalculable' price if doesn't take back migrants

Trump warns Venezuela to take back prisoners or face 'incalculable' price

Hamas reportedly preparing for street-to-street fighting as Israeli forces near Gaza City centre

Gaza-bound flotilla says it was attacked by drones, as Italy and Spain send help

Gaza aid flotilla rejects Israel's demand to dock in Ashkelon, calls request part of blockade

10 killed, at least 2 decapitated, in Ecuador prison riot just days after deadly jailbreak

Estimated 16,500 climate change deaths during Europe summer

UK, Canada and Australia announce formal recognition of Palestine, with wave of Israel’s allies to follow | Palestinian territories

Keir Starmer's statement in full on the recognition of Palestine

Last pastor forced out of war-torn Sudanese city, el Fasher

Italy sends naval vessel to help Gaza aid flotilla

Secret Service takes down network that could have crippled New York cell service

Israel strikes Yemen's Sanaa after Houthi drone attack on Eilat

Russia is reportedly selling military equipment, technology, expertise, training to China in China's bid to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027.

The U.S. government announced new and modified contracts worth more than $100M to enhance biodefense preparedness, particularly through procurements from Emergent BioSolutions.

Spanish warship sets sail to support Gaza-bound aid flotilla

Various air force

trials and exercises in China

Senior Hamas official defends ‘high price’ of Oct 7 for Palestinians, saying attack created ‘golden moment’ | CNN

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for an additional six months Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland, effective October 1. This act grants the armed forces broad powers to maintain public order in areas they designate as disturbed

Old news a this point, my observe loops are at least a weekly cadence :)

Old news by this point.

Some headlines from this week:

Geopolitics

United States

Ex-Sailor Sentenced to 12 Years in Terror Plot Targeting Naval Station Great Lakes

The Rest of the Americas

Gangs kill over 40 in Haiti's Arcahaïe as local authorities call for reinforcements

Europe

Denmark to buy $9B air defense systems as tensions with Russia grow

Middle East

"A year after Israel's pager attacks in Lebanon, survivors rebuild". Just a really funny headline

Iran

Israel strikes Yemen's Hodeidah Port twelve times after Houthi attack on Israeli airport, claiming it was used by the Houthis for weapons transfers from Iran.

A former U.S. Navy sailor, Xuanyu Harry Pang, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for plotting a terrorist attack at Naval Station Great Lakes and attempting to assist the Iranian government in smuggling radioactive materials into the U.S. for a dirty bomb. Pang, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to destroy national defense premises, conducted surveillance on the base and sought maximum destructive locations in Chicago. The judge highlighted the profound betrayal by a service member against his fellow sailors, noting the potential catastrophic consequences of Pang's plans.

Gaza

Gaza hit by telecoms blackout as Israeli tanks and infantry advance

Israeli finance minister describes plans to turn Gaza into a 'real estate bonanza' as bombs hammer the enclave

More than 10% of Gaza’s population has been killed or injured, former Israeli military chief says

Yemen

Asia

SoftBank openai deal delayed

18 members of the Pakistani security forces were killed this week. Pakistan suspects Afghanistan-backed terrorists.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversees drone test, and approved a plan to further strengthen unmanned aerial vehicle

Kim Jong Un declares AI military drone development a ‘top priority’

Chinese Coast Guard: "Philippine boat deliberately collides with Chinese coast guard vessel despite warnings, responsibility for the collision lies entirely with the Philippines."

India/Pakistan

Pakistan hard hit this moonson

India's Modi calls for peace in Manipur, launches projects worth nearly $1 billion. Though the reception wasn't uniformly good though.

Africa

Sudan is currently experiencing the world's largest displacement crisis, with over 30.4 million people requiring assistance. The crisis has resulted in alarming rates of malnutrition

Libya: More Than 100 Sudanese Refugees Dead or Missing in Shipwrecks Off Libya

Sudan: Rebel drone strike kill dozens.

Biorisks

DR Congo begins vaccinating against new Ebola outbreak

Lol :).

But it's good news though. From an expanded brief I post on Mondays:

Tesla is aiming to produce its own (electrical) transformers. This could mitigate a possible bottleneck in the large-scale upgrade of the US electrical grid that would be needed to accommodate a large growth in demand due to AI datacenter buildout—but it might also increase resilience to large solar flares, a risk that we at Sentinel have been tracking in the background. However, we don’t see signs at this time that Tesla aims to produce any of the large power transformers (LPTs; or any newer designs, for that matter) that could fail in the event of a large solar event and are critical for grid operation; more than 80% of such transformers are imported, “with lead times of up to five years,” according to Siemens.

You can see a more organized version here

Because I cluster the topics semi-manually, and sometimes either the script makes a mistake, or I do.

Geopolitics

United States

Charlie Kirk killing

More Epstein emails

The Rest of the Americas

Europe

Israeli warplanes launch new airstrike on Yemeni capital

Europe has 'window of opportunity' to strengthen NATO against Russia, Swedish defense minister says

The Atlantic: The Beginning of the End of NATO. Both America and the EU are mostly defending themselves, rather than together.

Putin told White House he plans to seize Donbas by end of 2025, Zelensky says

Poland says up to four of 19 Russian drones shot down after entering airspace

Nato on high alert as Russia and Belarus start military drills on Polish border

Von der Leyen proposes suspension of EU payments and trade partnership with Israel

Middle East

Reporting is unclear about whether Qatari mediation will continue

Probably yes

At least six murdered in Jerusalem terror shooting, 21 wounded

Iran

Iran executed at least 169 people in August.

US, Israel failed to degrade Iran's nuclear, missile, air defense capabilities, says Iran Army chief

Gaza

US imposes sanctions on Palestinian groups seeking war crimes investigation against Israel

Maps: Israel has attacked six countries in the past 72 hours (Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Gaza and a flotilla in Tunisia)

Five Additional Malnutrition Deaths Confirmed in Gaza

Gaza death toll rises as six more die from starvation

Israel strikes Hamas in Qatar

'Months of Preparation' for attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar

Hamas ready to negotiate 'immediately' after Trump's 'last warning'

Israeli military issues evacuation order for residents in Gaza City; threatens 'mighty hurricane' unless Hamas returns hostages

Israeli military evacuation order triggers panic in Gaza City

Israel warns of 'mighty hurricane' in Gaza if Hamas does not surrender

EU suspends Israel payments over Gaza, proposing sanctions to ministers

Members of the far-right anti-Muslim Infidels Motorcycle Club were hired to staff US-backed aid centers in the Gaza Strip, managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Anti-Islamic biker gang members run security at deadly Gaza aid sites

Yemen

Asia

Afghanistan: Lifesaving services cut as Taliban bars women aid workers. Particularly bad since this is in the wake of a large earthquake at the end of August.

Nepal unrest

India/Pakistan

Bangladesh battles rising tide of dengue and chikungunya

Africa

South Sudan denies agreements to host displaced Palestinians

Autoformalization

South Sudan suspends first vice president over treason, murder charges

South Sudan's vice president charged with murder, treason

Paramilitary launches drone strikes on Sudan capital

Human Rights Watch on increasing number of ISIS attacks in Niger

Islamists 'summarily execute' nearly 130 people including 70 worshipping during prayers in Niger bloodbath

ISIS extremists hack 50 people to death with machetes at a funeral

Biorisks

Brain-eating amoeba: Kerala reports fifth amoebic meningoencephalitis death in a month

West Nile virus cases, warnings from health officials NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Home delivery meals linked to multistate Salmonella outbreak

Others

Musks's Tesla now doing transformers

Bellingcat: A Guide To Monitoring Conflict Amidst a Sea of Misinformation

Compared to other people in Paraguay: Extreme upper class, much more educated, top 0.1% wealthy, well connected. If I imagine myself spending the next 30 years there, my economic impact is probably pretty large, and I could shape this country, and be shaped by it, a huge deal.

Compared to people in my native Spain: Maybe upper class, but realistically well-to-do bourgeoisie. I do speak three languages and have a good, if incomplete education, but noble blood is now several generations behind me, and I'm not particularly well connected to the Spanish economic or cultural elite (though both the queen and the PM went to my highschool, XD). The term for this would be Indiano

If I compare myself against the average american, e.g. imagining I moved there: I'm doing ok, aspirational middle class. My class would really depend on my eventual wife; if she is equally well off we might end up in the upper middle class after a few decades of work, if she were more of an artsy type I'd fall down to middle middle class.

Thanks :)