The World

For more than two weeks now, Belarusian citizens have been in the streets calling for President Alexander Lukashenko to step down. Different symbols have popped up as the protests have turned into a movement but the most important symbol has been the traditional red and white Belarusian flag. And, a new paper shows that some 60% of Antarctica's ice shelves are vulnerable to hydrofracture, or meltwater forcing its way into cracks in the ice and breaking them apart. Also, playing music in pubs and restaurants has been banned in Scotland, where authorities worry people shouting to be heard could help spread the coronavirus. Restaurateurs are fighting the idea, saying it's destroying ambiance.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued his tour of the Middle East and North Africa, arriving in Sudan on Tuesday to discuss "deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship” and the potential removal of Sudan from the US State Department’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list. And, 20 years ago, the US resettled thousands of the persecuted Somali Bantu minority group. Now, many are being deported back to Somalia, where they face torture, extortion and discrimination. Also, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Mumbai held a virtual convocation on Sunday where each student had an animated avatar they could watch "receiving" their degree on stage through an app.

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of blood plasma in treating COVID-19 patients. The plasma therapy joins just a handful of experimental treatments that have gotten such approval. And, Brazil has one of the highest rates of the coronavirus in the world with the Indigenous population hit especially hard. Also, a cat named Mittens has become a celebrity in New Zealand's capital city of Wellington. Now, the cat is in the running to win the prestigious New Zealander of the Year award.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been in a coma since Thursday, the result of a suspected poisoning. After previously blocking his transfer, Russian doctors are now allowing Navalny to be transported to a medical facility in Germany at the request of his family. And, ever since the controversial election in Belarus which incumbent Alexander Lukashenko claims he won, thousands of peaceful protesters and bystanders have been detained. Also, K-pop band BTS have released a new single called "Dynamite." It’s their first track entirely in English.

It's been almost two weeks since the controversial presidential election in Belarus that led to the reelection of the incumbent, Alexander Lukashenko. Since then thousands of protesters have come out to the streets and Belarusian authorities have responded with a heavy hand. And, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was hospitalized on Thursday after a suspected poisoning. Also, climate migration is often associated with crisis and catastrophe, but Sonia Shah, author of "The Next Great Migration," wants us to think differently about migration.

Why did the US Navy reinstate celestial navigation as part of its curriculum a few years ago? Well, you can’t hack a sextant. In the seventh episode of the third season of "Things That Go Boom," our partner podcast from PRX, host Laicie Heeley looks at some of the vulnerabilities that come with an overreliance on high-tech defense systems. Guests Peter Singer and August Cole are national security experts who have taken to writing futuristic techno-thrillers to sound a few alarms. Among their warnings: The opening battles of World War III won’t happen on a battlefield, and they will probably be silent.

Guests:

Peter Singer, strategist and senior fellow at New America

August Cole, non-resident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council

Additional reading:

Burn-In, Forbes.

Ghost Fleet, The Diplomat.

China Uses AI To Enhance Totalitarian Control, The Atlantic.

The risks of extreme heat are often overlooked. The newly formed Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance wants to develop a system for naming heat waves, like we name hurricanes, to bring more attention to the "silent killer." And, the US Senate Intelligence Committee’s final report on Russian interference in the 2016 election offers important lessons for what to watch out for in 2020 balloting. Also, two local soccer teams in Germany played a game on Sunday completely naked to promote authenticity and denounce the commercialization of soccer.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon delivered its verdict in the trial over the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Also, Germany has been the poster child in Western Europe in terms of how it handled the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters have been taking to the streets in German cities each weekend in opposition to government restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Will the demonstrators upset Germany's good record in dealing with the pandemic? A tiny mammal called the elephant shrew, or Somali sengi, which had not been documented by scientists for 50 years, has been rediscovered in Djibouti.

From The World and PRX, this is The Number in the News. Today’s number: 20,000.

Life under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus can be stressful. The destruction and uncertainty from the pandemic seen across the globe this year has left many people feeling scared and frustrated. Perhaps a good, long scream would help? People in Iceland think it's worth a shot. Some 20,000 people have sent in their recorded screams to be played aloud in an Icelandic landscape.

The Number in the News is a daily flash briefing for your smart speaker that we’re featuring as a special here in The World’s podcast feed. Listen to the Number in the News every morning to hear a shareable story in just two minutes. It’s one number you won’t forget, plus why it’s in the news today. Click here to add The Number in the News to your smart speaker News Briefing on an Amazon or Google smart speaker. Produced by The World’s Bianca Hillier.

Some of the first studies on COVID-19 immunity are coming out. Immunologist Marion Pepper explains what is known about immunity and what scientists still don't understand. And, getting school exam results this year during the coronavirus pandemic was never going to be straightforward. Teenagers in Britain and across Europe are discovering it's complicated, and they're not happy. And, protesters in Belarus want change, and they've turned to Soviet-era rock band Kino for a protest anthem.