In the news today: A surge of wounded soldiers is straining a Ukrainian hospital; the Koreas armistice anniversaries emphasize rising tensions; and legacy admissions are under investigation at Harvard University. Also, Hunter Biden is in court today. |
A nurse prepares to treat Ukrainian servicemen at the ICU of Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) |
Ukrainian surgeons see wave of wounded soldiers since counteroffensive began |
Surgeons at the Mechnikov Hospital, one of Ukraine’s biggest, are busier now than perhaps at any other time since Russia invaded 17 months ago. The Associated Press was given rare access to the hospital, in a 12-hour visit to witness doctors and nurses care for soldiers rushed from the battlefield to the operating room. Read more.
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The surge of wounded soldiers coincides with the major counteroffensive Ukraine launched in June to try to recapture its land, nearly one-fifth of which is now under Russian control. Ukrainian soldiers are fighting in multiple combat zones along the 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) front line, but any initial momentum from the opening phase of Ukraine’s counteroffensive has given way to sluggish advances.
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In a war where casualty counts are treated as state secrets, the hospital serves as a measurement of distant battles. When they intensify, so does the doctors’ workload, which these days consists of 50 to 100 operations per night. Wounded soldiers are typically cared for in hospitals closer to the front line and then, once stabilized, they are brought to Mechnikov, a journey that can sometimes take half a day.
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Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in different ways that highlight rising tensions |
The truce that stopped the bloodshed in the Korean War turns 70 years old on Thursday and the two Koreas are marking the anniversary in starkly different ways, underscoring their deepening nuclear tensions. Read more. |
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Tensions between the rivals are at their highest point in years, as the pace of North Korean missile tests and U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises has intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle. The dueling military activities have been punctuated by verbal threats, including North Korean talk of preemptive nuclear strikes and U.S. vows to “end” Kim’s regime in the event of such an attack.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has invited delegations from China and Russia to join in their armistice celebrations, is pushing for deeper cooperation with the authoritarian allies as he aims to counter U.S. efforts to tighten trilateral security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative condemned by Pyongyang as a “traitor,” will likely use this week’s events to highlight the North’s growing threat and double down on his goals of strengthening the South’s defense and its alliance with the U.S.
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Education Department opens investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions |
Opening a new front in legal challenges over college admissions, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s policies on legacy admissions. Top colleges’ preferential treatment of children of alumni, who are often white, has faced mounting scrutiny since the Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action as a tool to boost the presence of students of color. Read more.
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A complaint was filed earlier this month on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston. The group argued that students with legacy ties are up to seven times more likely to be admitted to Harvard, can make up nearly a third of a class and that about 70% are white. For the Class of 2019, about 28% of the class were legacies with a parent or other relative who went to Harvard.
- Ending legacy preferences is “one of many steps that Harvard and other universities can take to increase access, diversity, and equity in admissions,” said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, which includes alumni, student and staff.
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On July 26, 1945: Winston Churchill resigned as Britain’s prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party; Clement Attlee succeeded him. In the above image, Churchill is seen at Storey’s Gate in London a day after resigning. (AP Photo) A look at what else happened in history on July 26 |
Visitors stand below the sitting Maravijaya Buddha statue. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo) |
Multicolored heirloom corn makes a comeback in Mexico, where white corn has long been king
Farmers in Mexico once struggling to preserve colorful native corn varieties are finding new hope in the market as heirloom corn rises in popularity. |
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