The Vatican has issued a strong warning against “gender theory” and said that any gender-affirming surgery risks threatening “the unique dignity” of a person, in a new document signed off and approved by Pope Francis.

Titled “Dignitas Inifinita” (Infinite Dignity) the declaration focuses on what it describes as a range of threats to human dignity, including poverty, the death penalty, war, assisted dying, abortion, sexual abuse and the abuse of women.

The text, published by the Vatican doctrine office on Monday, states that attempts to obscure “the sexual difference between man and woman” should be rejected. “It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” it adds.

The document is largely a re-stating of Catholic teaching on these topics but does not seek to isolate one issue – such as abortion – but says it emphasizes the equal dignity of all people, regardless of their circumstances. On abortion, it strongly reiterates what the pontiff has said in the past, that the “defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human right.”

The document also addresses surrogacy, which it says “violates” both the dignity of the child and the woman, who “becomes a mere means subservient to the arbitrary gain or desire of others.” Pope Francis has recently called for the practice of surrogacy to be banned.

The pope has spoken out strongly against gender ideology in the past, describing it as “ugly” for erasing what he says are distinctions between men and women. The latest Vatican document quotes Francis by describing it as a form of “ideological colonization.”

It states that gender theory “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference” which it says is “the most beautiful and most powerful of them.” Gender-affirming surgery, it adds, is to be avoided because “the body serves as the living context in which the interiority of the soul unfolds and manifests itself” but the document says medical intervention is permitted for those with “genital abnormalities.”

While Francis has been critical of gender theory, he also provided pastoral support for transgender Catholics. The pontiff has met a group of transgender Catholics from Torvaianica, south of Rome, meeting them regularly, inviting them to a lunch in the Vatican along with 1,200 marginalized and homeless people and giving them front-row seats at one of this audiences.

The Vatican’s doctrine office – now led by a close ally of Francis, Argentinian Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández – has also recently allowed for transgender people to act as godparents at baptisms and witnesses to marriages, a change to a ruling in 2015 when the Vatican said transgender people could not act as godparents.

Not all Catholics have agreed with the Vatican criticisms of gender theory. One Catholic LGBTQ+ group described a 2019 document from the Vatican’s education office on gender identity as a “harmful tool” while a deacon (a member of the clergy who can be married), the father of a transgender daughter, expressed his concern.

The latest Vatican document identifies various “violations” to human dignity, including in the digital world, pointing to the trends where people’s personal lives are laid bare and “combed over” anonymously. “Such tendencies represent a dark side of digital progress,” it adds.

It also cites the death penalty, which Francis has repeatedly condemned, and which it says “violates the inalienable dignity of every person.” The pope has changed Catholic teaching to make the death penalty “inadmissible”  although this has seen him criticized by some conservative Catholics.

This story has been updated.

“As we are witnessing Russia’s Ukraine aggression, the continuing situation over the Middle East, as well as the situation in East Asia, we are faced with a historic turning point,” Kishida said during an interview at his private residence in Tokyo.

“That is why Japan has made a decision to fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities and we have greatly changed Japan’s security policy on these fronts,” he said.

In the face of mounting security challenges, the prime minister stressed, the Japan-United States alliance is becoming “ever more important,” a view he said he hoped would garner bipartisan support in Washington.

Kishida made the remarks days ahead of his Wednesday meeting with Biden in Washington, where he will also address a joint session of Congress and participate in the very first trilateral summit between Japan, the United States and the Philippines.

The Kishida-Biden summit has been characterized by Washington as a historic opportunity for the two countries to modernize their alliance as both eye regional threats from North Korea’s weapons testing and burgeoning relations with Russia to China’s aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan.

Partnership with Japan has long been central to US strategy in the Indo-Pacific, but the defense relationship has expanded under Kishida, who has raised Japan’s profile in global and regional security.

Moving away from pacifist past

Since coming to office in 2021, the prime minister has overseen a sweeping shift in Tokyo’s defense posture, veering away from the pacifist constitution imposed on it by the United States in the aftermath of World War II, to boost defense spending to about 2% of its GDP by 2027 and acquire counterstrike capabilities.

That move is not without controversy, especially in China and other parts of Asia that suffered hugely under Japan’s World War II era militarism.

When asked about that shift, Kishida pointed to the “severe and complex” security environment surrounding his East Asian nation, the world’s fourth-largest economy.

“In our neighborhood, there are countries that are developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, and others that are building up their defense capabilities in an opaque way. Also, there is a unilateral attempt to change the status quo, by force, in both the East China Sea and South China Sea,” he said, in an apparent reference to Chinese maritime aggression related to territorial disputes with both the Philippines and Japan.

Building Japan’s deterrence and response capability is also “essential” for the alliance with the United States, he argued.

“I hope the US will understand this, and that we can work together to improve the region’s peace and stability. I think it’s important to show the rest of the world that the US and Japan will further evolve our collaboration, through my visit,” Kishida said.

Next week’s events will also be a platform for deepening expansion between Japan and another key US regional partner and mutual defense treaty ally, the Philippines.

It comes less than a year after a ground-breaking meeting between the US, Japan and South Korea – with both summits underscoring the centrality of Japan in America’s Indo-Pacific security strategy and the push for increasing coordination with allies and partners amid rising regional tensions.

‘Stronger than ever’

Kishida’s visit with Biden next week also comes as both leaders face uncertain circumstances at home.

The Japanese prime minister grapples with dismal approval ratings, primarily following scandals involving his party, and the looming US elections raise the potential of a policy shake up if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House next year.

Both during his administration and in more recent years Trump has repeatedly poured cold water on Washington’s defense and security treaties, something that has rattled allies in both Asia and Europe alike.

Kishida declined to comment on if he was concerned about a return of the former president. Instead, he expressed belief that the importance of the US-Japan alliance was widely recognized “regardless of party affiliation.”

“The relationship between Japan and the United States has become stronger than ever before … Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, I think it is important to make sure that the American people recognize the importance of the Japan-US relationship,” he said.

Since taking office, Kishida has also positioned Japan as a partner to the US not only in Asia, but more globally.

He has championed a view that security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inextricably linked, while emerging as a staunch backer of Ukraine and closely aligning with G7 countries in its position on Russia.

Those linkages have been close to home for Japan, as Russian and Chinese militaries conduct joint drills in the region and North Korea has now been accused by G7 nations of supplying Moscow with arms for use in its war in Ukraine – raising global concerns about an emerging axis between the three countries who all have tense relations with the United States.

Kishida also noted his government was making “high-level approaches” to secure a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resolve “outstanding issues” and promote stable relations between the two countries.

Japan, alongside South Korea, is on the frontlines of North Korea’s aggressive weapons testing program, with its test missiles regularly falling into regional waters. The issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea more than decades ago has also remained an especially emotional point of contention.

Kishida said his government was monitoring exchanges of equipment between Pyongyang and Moscow and pointed to joint China and Russia military drills, describing such cooperation as “concerning, with respect to international order and stability.”

“At the same time, it is important to convey a firm message to North Korea and China that it is important for the peace, stability, and prosperity of the international community to maintain a free and open international order based on the rule of law,” Kishida said.

“We must also cooperate with them to promote a strong international community, not one of division and confrontation,” he added. “I believe that it is important to cooperate with the United States and our allies to create an atmosphere of cooperation, not of division and confrontation, to advance the international community.”

Life changed in Israel on October 7 last year. The unexpected and overwhelming assault by at least 1,500 Hamas fighters, pouring into Israel by land, sea and even paragliders, killed about 1,200 people, Israeli authorities said. More than 250 people were taken hostage and moved to Hamas’ Gaza stronghold.

Much has happened in the six months since. The massacres at a music festival in the desert and kibbutz communities prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas, leading to air and ground attacks that have devastated Gaza and the lives of the more than two million people for whom it is home.

October 7: Hamas launches deadly surprise attacks 

The piercing shrieks of air-raid sirens were the first hint of trouble for many Israelis at about 6:30 a.m. on October 7. But for Maya Regev at the all-night Nova music festival, it was the sudden absence of noise that jolted her. The teenager was with her younger brother Itay, one of her best friends Omer Shem-Tov and others, dancing and enjoying themselves.

“We were all together and I just told Omer that it’s the most fun I had, for a lot of time,” she said. “And then it was the moment that the music shut down and they told us that there are rockets.  We look up and we see the rockets just fly above our heads.”

Then the shooting began, and Maya, Itay and Omer ran to look for shelter before they connected with a friend and got in their car. That car was fired on by gunmen in a truck, Maya said, and she was hit in both legs. Her brother was wounded too. They were taken from the car and put in a pickup truck, all the while being filmed. That video became public on Saturday night, when Omer’s parents were desperately trying to find him.

“We saw Omer kidnapped,” said his mother, Shelly Shem-Tov. “I saw on the video that Omer is in the floor of a pickup truck with handcuffs on his hands.”

Other parents learned the fate of their children the same way. Ayelet Levy Shachar’s daughter Naama was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where she was staying. Amid the chaos of the day, Ayelet thought maybe Naama was just unable to reach her. Then she learned through a relative there was a video showing her daughter.

“She’s being dragged out of the trunk of a jeep and then dragged by her hair and shoved into the backseat. It’s a very, very violent video,” she said. “She’s handcuffed with her hands behind her back. And I saw that her face is injured and that she’s barefoot. And there’s a lot of bloodstains. Her pants are stained. You can almost not recognize her because it’s such a mess.”

The hostages were driven through broken barriers to Gaza. Maya said: “When we drove inside, they did, like, a little trip in the roads and screamed Allahu Akbar (God is great.) And they just wanted to show what they caught. I was with my head down, and one of them grabbed my hair and pulled it back so everyone will see my face. And everyone was so happy on the street. And I was so scared.”

October 9: Israel orders a “complete siege” of Gaza

“I think for a week and a half, we just kept quiet and still,” said Ayelet of the immediate aftermath of the attacks. “It’s hard for me to recall what went on in these days. What did we do? What happened? It’s a blur.”

Hadas Kalderon was away from her children when their kibbutz was attacked. She could get no information about son Erez, 11, her daughter Sahar 12, or their father Ofer. They had called to tell her they were hiding in a bush but after that, nothing. Hamas’s propaganda videos of the raids unexpectedly gave her hope that they too were kidnapped not murdered. And when she did see images of Erez being taken on a motorbike, she thought “it was a miracle.” Relocated with the rest of the kibbutz to a hotel, she decided: “We start to work. From the first day we start to work,” she said. What could they do to get their families home.

October 20: Hamas releases two US women on humanitarian grounds. Three days later, two elderly women are also freed from Gaza

In Gaza, the hostages were learning the rules of captivity. Maya’s leg had been shattered by the gunfire. She says she was first taken into the tunnels and then to a hospital. “You have to suffer quietly. It’s something that also came home with me, unfortunately. I’m still learning how to say that I’m in pain to the doctors because I got used to just not saying that I’m in pain and be quiet.”

October 27: Israel Defense Forces say they are “expanding ground operations” in Gaza

In Israel, Hadas was adrift. “From the beginning, I felt all alone. I felt like I’m fighting by myself. Nobody came to tell me what to do.” She finds purpose by giving media interviews to highlight the plight of her children and all the other hostages. It’s the same for Shelly and her husband Malki, who began the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with other relatives of the taken within hours of the events.

In Gaza, Omer Shem-Tov and Itay Regev kept track of time by noting the sunrises and the Muslim call to prayers. Each Friday at sundown, they say the kiddush blessing to usher in the Jewish Sabbath, sometimes with a little grape juice standing in for wine.

October 30: The Israeli military says it has rescued Pvt. Ori Megidish from Gaza 

Megidish would later tell Naama Levy’s family she was with their daughter for the first four days. It was the first news they had of her in Gaza.

A day later, on October 31, Omer turned 21. “On his birthday a lot of friends of Omer came over here,” Omer’s father Malki Shem-Tov said. “We couldn’t celebrate it of course, but they came with 200 yellow balloons … We just say, ‘We send the prayer to Omer,’ and we let go all the balloons.”

His parents learn afterwards that this is the first day that Omer cried since he was taken. “He was crying because he thought about us,” his mother Shelly said.

November 15: Israel raids Al-Shifa hospital in search of Hamas militants, after a siege of several days 

After her leg was operated on, Maya was held by herself, guarded by a woman and a man. She tried to befriend them. “45 days, it’s a lot of time to be alone. I will just go insane. So I started talking to her,” she said of her ever-present guard. “I asked her about her life. What is she doing? Why is she here? I told her what happened to me. I tried to make her feel sorry for me so she will treat me well. And it worked.” Maya said she was able to get some news from her captors, including of a pending ceasefire.

November 24: Truce begins. 24 hostages – including 10 Thai citizens – are released 

The news brought mixed emotions to those desperately waiting for their loved ones to come home. Ayelet said, “I was happy for any hostage being released, but I couldn’t watch others being released and not my daughter.”

November 25: 17 hostages released, including Maya Regev 

The temporary ceasefire brought some mixed emotions to Gaza too. Maya said: “It’s the first time that you can really sleep in peace because there is no bombing. But you can’t because you’re so excited. Maybe this is your day. Maybe now you’re going home.”

November 26: Another 17 hostages are freed 

November 27: Eleven hostages released, including Erez and Sahar Kalderon

“Sahar was in the tunnels,” her mother Hadas said. “She talked about there is no sun and no good air. You can’t really breathe. And there is not much food …  You don’t know if it’s day or night. You can’t really sleep because you’re afraid to fall asleep because somebody with a gun is just near to you. How can you sleep like that?”

Erez, who turned 12 in Gaza, was held alone for much of his captivity. Since getting her children back, Hadas has tried to offer a haven for them, but that’s impossible with their father still in Gaza. “I’m trying to give them a warm house and normal life and to get back to routine. But there is no routine. It’s a lie. There is no routine because there’s no end to this situation. We are all still in the 7th of October.”

November 28: Twelve hostages freed

November 29: A further 16 hostages are released, including Itay Regev and Yarden Roman-Gat

Yarden Roman-Gat’s cause had been relentlessly pushed by her brothers Gili and Liri and her sister Roni, with support from other family members and friends. Yarden, along with her husband Alon and their three-year-old daughter Geffen, had escaped from a kidnapper’s car as it approached Gaza and they ran for safety. Yarden passed her girl to Alon, knowing that he was a stronger runner. She was recaptured, they were not.

November 30: Eight hostages are freed

Some hostages told Ayelet they had seen Naama before they were released. This was the last time she had any news of her daughter.

December 1: The truce collapses

Alon was reunited with his wife Yarden after her release but the end of the deal between Hamas and Israel meant his sister Carmel was left behind. “We were sure that Carmel is going to be released the next day or the day after – maximum. And then the deal collapsed.”

The freed hostages were checked into the hospital and slowly started reconnecting with family and friends. For some, like Maya and Itay, it was important to reach out to the relatives of those who were their fellow captives.

Itay said he and Omer became as close as brothers while they were held together. “We just talked about everything. He told me about his family, he told me about his friends. He told me about his whole life, and I did the same,” Itay said. “He became the person who knows everything about me … and knows more about me than any other person I’ve been around all these years.”

December 4 – Israel moves into Khan Younis and southern Gaza 

The remaining hostages began to enter their third month of captivity. Yarden described what it was like to be held. “You have no choice of anything in general. You cannot speak out. You cannot breathe deeply. You cannot be under the sky. There is no certainty,” she said. “It’s very deep aspects of humanity that are taken away.”

December 15 – Israeli soldiers kill three hostages in an operation in northern Gaza

The IDF said the three men, Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer Talalka, were wrongly identified as threats.

January 15 – Hamas releases a video, apparently showing two dead hostages

Whether or not the hostage families knew Itai Svirsky or Yossi Sharabi, they grieve all the same.

“When we hear that someone is murdered, we don’t know him, but we know his family, that became our family. And it’s like to lose somebody you know,” Shelly said.

As the length of the war on Hamas, and the hostages’ captivity, ticked to 100 days, some of the former captives have been free longer than they were held. But Maya said her mind was always with those still held.  “I think about them all the time and with every single thing I do, in my day – every time I eat cake, I drink coffee, I brush my teeth – I think about them, that they don’t have these things.”

February 7 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu derides Hamas demands for another ceasefire as “delusional”

It’s another setback for relatives waiting for loved ones. Alon, who ran to safety with his toddler daughter and had his wife returned, is still missing his sister Carmel.

“This was a traumatic experience, and it still is,” he explained. “I’m still in the event. I’m still waiting for Carmel to come back.” Alon and Carmel’s mother was murdered on October 7. He has not yet been able to grieve for her. “There’s so many other things to do that I don’t have the time in the mind for that. It will come, but not now.”

February 12 – Two Israeli-Argentinian men held by Hamas since October 7 were rescued in an overnight raid by the IDF in Rafah

But the world’s attention has increasingly focused on the utter devastation in Gaza, the number of innocent Palestinians killed and mistakes, or worse, by the IDF resulting in yet more deaths. With aid supplies blocked and aid agencies pulling resources because their staff aren’t safe, no one in Gaza has enough to eat, a UN-backed report says. More than half of the Palestinians there are on the brink of starvation.

Hostage families are having tense exchanges with Netanyahu, demanding more action.

April 3 – Families of Israeli hostages storm the Knesset public gallery

Pressure continues to grow on Netanyahu from inside and outside Israel to stop the civilian deaths and deprivation in Gaza and to bring the hostages home.

There remain 129 hostages in Gaza who were abducted on October 7, and about 95 are thought to be still alive. Each has people desperate to see them again.

“(Omer) is my life,” said his father Malki. “I miss him. I miss him very much … We are in the mission of our life now. This is our mission to bring Omer back home.” He added, “We are doing everything to bring him back home. Everything. Everything. Everything.”

His wife Shelly summed up the last six months: “Our life stopped at October 7th. Stopped. And it’s a long, long, long nightmare.”

It’s a similar sentiment for Ayelet, whose daughter Naama is still missing. “For me, every morning I wake up, thankful that I could get some sleep even, that’s not to be taken lightly. But I wake up and I think and I’m feeling like it’s the same day. Same day for me. Same pain.”

Sky-gazers across North America are in for a treat on April 8 when a total solar eclipse will pass over Mexico, the United States and Canada.

The event will be visible to millions — including 32 million people in the US alone — who live along the route the moon’s shadow will travel during the eclipse, known as the path of totality. For those in the areas experiencing totality, the moon will appear to completely cover the sun. Those along the very center line of the path will see an eclipse that lasts between 3½ and 4 minutes, according to NASA.

The next total solar eclipse won’t be visible across the contiguous United States again until August 2044. (It’s been nearly seven years since the “Great American Eclipse” of 2017.) And an annular eclipse won’t appear across this part of the world again until 2046.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming eclipse.

What is a total solar eclipse?

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, completely blocking the sun’s face.

Those within the path of totality will see a total solar eclipse. People outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse, where the moon only blocks part of the sun’s face.

During a total solar eclipse, the sky will darken as it would at dawn or dusk, and there are several phases for sky-gazers to anticipate.

The moon doesn’t suddenly appear between Earth and the sun — the event begins with a partial eclipse in which it looks like the moon is taking a “bite” out of the sun, causing the sun to resemble a crescent. Depending on your location, the partial eclipse can last between 70 and 80 minutes, according to NASA.

When the moon begins to cross in front of the sun, the star’s rays will shine around valleys on the moon’s horizon, creating glowing drops of light around the moon in a phenomenon called Baily’s beads.

As totality nears, Baily’s beads will quickly disappear until a single point of light remains, resembling a glistening giant diamond ring.

The diamond ring will disappear when totality arrives, and there is no longer any sign of direct sunlight. Bright stars or planets like Venus may shine in the dark sky, and the air temperature will drop as the sun disappears. The sudden darkness causes animals to grow quiet.

The chromosphere, or part of the sun’s atmosphere, may glow in a thin pink circle around the moon during totality, while the sun’s hot outer atmosphere, or corona, will appear as white light.

As the moon continues its trek across the sun’s face, the diamond ring and Baily’s beads and the partial solar eclipse will appear on the opposite side of the moon until the sun fully reappears.

Where can I see the eclipse?

The total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Mexico, Canada and more than 10 US states, while a crescent-shaped partial solar eclipse is expected to appear in 49 states — weather permitting.

The eclipse will first appear over the South Pacific Ocean and begin its journey across North America. Mexico’s Pacific coast is the first point of totality on the path, expected at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET).

The pathway will continue across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Then, it will cross over Canada in southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, ending on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5:16 p.m. (3:46 p.m. ET).

Use our interactive map to determine what the eclipse will look like from your viewing location.

How do I safely view the eclipse?

The only time it’s safe to view the sun without eye protection is during the “totality” of a total solar eclipse, or the brief moments when the moon completely blocks the light of the sun and no sunlight is visible, according to NASA.

Otherwise, wear certified ISO 12312-2 compliant eclipse glasses or use a handheld solar viewer before and after totality, and at all times during a partial eclipse.
Separately, you can observe the sun with a telescope, binoculars or camera that has a special solar filter on the front, which acts the same way eclipse glasses would.

Directly staring at the sun can result in blindness or disrupted vision. During the 2017 total solar eclipse, a young woman was diagnosed with solar retinopathy, retinal damage from exposure to solar radiation, in both eyes after viewing the eclipse with what doctors believed were eclipse glasses not held to the safety standard. There is no treatment for solar retinopathy. It can improve or worsen, but it is a permanent condition.

Sunglasses won’t work in place of eclipse glasses or solar viewers, which are 100,000 times darker and held to an international safety standard.

The lenses of solar eclipse glasses are made of black polymer, or resin infused with carbon particles, which blocks nearly all visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, according to The Planetary Society. Sunglasses don’t block infrared radiation.

For safe manufacturers and resellers of eclipse glasses and filters for optical devices, including cameras and smartphones, check out the list curated by the American Astronomical Society.

Worried that you might have bought fake eclipse glasses? Test them out indoors first to make sure they’re safe to use while looking at the sun.

Put on your eclipse glasses before looking up and remember to turn away from the sun before you remove them again. Always keep an eye on any children wearing eclipse glasses to make sure they don’t remove them while looking at the sun.

If you normally wear eyeglasses, keep them on and put eclipse glasses over them or hold a handheld viewer in front of them, according to the American Astronomical Society.

Don’t look at the sun through any unfiltered optical devices — camera lenses, telescopes, binoculars — while wearing eclipse glasses or using a handheld solar viewer, according to NASA.

Solar rays can still burn through the filter on the glasses or viewer, given how concentrated they can be through an optical device, and can cause severe eye damage.

What can we learn from eclipses

Eclipses afford scientists the opportunity to study the sun and how it interacts with Earth in unique ways, and NASA has selected several projects to fund during the total solar eclipse.

“Scientists have long used solar eclipses to make scientific discoveries,” said Kelly Korreck, program scientist at NASA, in a statement. “They have helped us make the first detection of helium, have given us evidence for the theory of general relativity, and allowed us to better understand the Sun’s influence on Earth’s upper atmosphere.”

One project will rely on NASA’s high-altitude research planes to take images of the eclipse from 50,000 feet (15,240 meters) above Earth’s surface to capture previously unseen details in the sun’s corona. The images could also help scientists search for asteroids that orbit near the sun.

Amateur radio operators will try an experiment to see how these phenomena change the way radio waves travel. Operators in different locations will record the strength of their signals and how far they go. Scientists are interested in tracking this distance because the sun directly influences Earth’s upper atmosphere, or ionosphere, which allows radio communications to travel farther. But when the moon blocks the sun, that can change. (Researchers also conducted this experiment during the October 2023 annular eclipse, when the moon didn’t completely block the sun’s light, and the data is still being analyzed.)

Scientists and citizen scientists using the Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope are planning to observe the sun’s most active regions as the moon passes over them during both eclipses.

The sun is currently approaching solar maximum later this year, and scientists are eager to capture this peak of activity through a variety of observations that can only occur during eclipses.

Don’t miss out on upcoming eclipse and space stories! Follow the Astronomy topic to see the latest stories in your personalized feed with your free account.

Slovak nationalist-left government candidate Peter Pellegrini emerged victorious in the country’s presidential election on Saturday, solidifying the influence of pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico over Slovakia.

Pellegrini, aged 48, emphasized that his win signifies support for the government’s agenda and a rejection of an “opportunistic opposition power center,” a reference to outgoing liberal president Zuzana Caputova.

Fico, who began his fourth term last October, has shifted Slovakia’s foreign policy towards pro-Russian positions and initiated reforms in criminal law and media regulations, raising concerns about the erosion of the rule of law.

Pellegrini secured 53.26% of the vote, while pro-Western opposition candidate Ivan Korcok garnered 46.73%, according to results from 99.66% of voting districts.

Although Slovak presidents wield limited executive powers, they can veto laws or challenge them in the constitutional court. They also nominate constitutional court judges, potentially shaping political conflicts over Fico’s reforms, which aim to reduce penalties for corruption.

Fico’s coalition, which includes a party led by Pellegrini, halted Slovakia’s official arms shipments to Ukraine.

Fico has criticized what he perceives as Western interference in the conflict, cautioning against Slavic nations engaging in hostilities with each other.

Pellegrini portrayed Korcok as a warmonger due to his support for arming Ukraine and suggested that Korcok might involve Slovak troops in the neighboring country’s conflict, a claim Korcok refuted.

The courtyard of Um Ihab’s family home in Jabalya, northern Gaza, once bloomed with citrus trees.

On most weekends, dozens of relatives would gather for a birthday party or a university graduation. The Palestinian grandmother would decorate the house with gold streamers and multi-colored balloons, as white confetti poured from the ceiling.

But when an Israeli airstrike demolished the house last winter, at least 30 members of the Ihab family were forced to flee the neighborhood where three generations had lived. Now, they are staying in a cramped tent in the yard of a displacement shelter in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, Um Ihab said.

Over six months of war in Gaza, Israel’s military offensive has decimated neighborhoods, drained essential supplies and caused severe hunger and thirst. Many Palestinians have been forced to seek refuge in outdoor tent camps, where they struggle to find enough food or water.

For elderly Gazans whose lifetimes have been punctuated by war, the latest fighting has compounded years of suffering under partial blockade. These days, many find themselves marking death instead of celebrating life. Some, like Um Ihab, are desperately trying to hold their families together. But their age and poor health make daily survival even more of a struggle.

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza on October 7 after the militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, killed at least 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 others.

As Israel’s offensive in Gaza hits the six-month mark, international bodies and human rights advocates have called for an urgent and immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Human Rights Watch and Oxfam last month accused Israel of carrying out “indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in violation of international law” and imposing collective punishments on the civilian population.

Approximately 111,500 older Gazans are among those most at risk of hunger, dehydration, illness, injury and death, HelpAge International reported in February.

“We used to live a dignified life. Everything was available,” said Um Ihab. “But everything is gone now. No trees, no house. My son lost his house. I lost my house. My daughters lost their houses. Nothing remains.”

‘Water is very scarce’

Um Ihab plays with her grandchildren on the floor of their tent, where a toddler carries an empty milk bottle. They sing a song about stolen childhood in Arabic.

“We are not asking for much, we are asking for the bare minimum.”

Israel’s offensive has forcibly displaced at least 1.7 million people in Gaza, according to the UN. Palestinians who lived in traditional extended family homes before the war say they are crammed with dozens of relatives inside improvised shelters with no privacy. Makeshift tents constructed with large wooden poles covered in plastic sheeting are too flimsy to withstand winter weather. Grandparents beg on the streets because they cannot find enough food, water or infant formula for their families. Young children stay inside so they do not get lost in the chaos of the displacement camps.

“If he was at my house… he would have been walking in my garden,” Um Ihab said of one of the youngest grandchildren. “These are the children of the future. What did he do wrong so he would be deprived from all the essential foods that he needs?”

Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza have exposed the entire population of more than 2.2 million to the risk of famine, according to a UN-backed report. Virtually all households are skipping meals every day, the report said, adding that one in three children aged under two are “acutely malnourished.”

In March, UN rights chief Volker Türk warned Israel’s sustained restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza “may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.” Israel insists there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, but its inspection regime means relief is barely trickling in. The Israeli bombardment has also severely damaged Gaza’s critical infrastructure.

“Water is very scarce… It’s a big struggle, beyond what you can imagine,” said Um Ihab. “We are hardly managing to feed the children… If I needed a loaf of bread, I would be begging for it because I need to feed my grandchildren. What else can I do?”

Lentil soup is often all the family can afford in Deir al-Balah, where market supplies are thin and food prices have rocketed. On most days, Um Ihab says, the family cannot afford dinner.

Elderly Palestinians less likely to survive privations

Um Ihab’s husband spent his final days hungry, sleep-deprived, in pain and physically exhausted.

About 12 years ago, he suffered a stroke that left him needing physical care. Um Ihab said she nursed her husband back to health by feeding him pureed food and taking walks in the sunshine.

But after Israel’s bombardment forced them to flee south to the displacement shelter, his lack of mobility severely worsened, leaving him bedbound, according to Um Ihab. He developed pressure sores, which led to sepsis. He eventually died inside the tent from severe malnutrition, she says.

His story is part of a broader picture of suffering for his generation. Displacement shelters in Gaza are not equipped to support elderly Palestinians who require specialized care. And women of all ages face an increased risk of violence, exploitation and abuse, HelpAge International said.

They have “less physiological reserve” than younger members of the population, making them less able to tolerate dire living conditions and more prone to infection, said Rebecca Inglis, an intensive care doctor in Britain who regularly visits Gaza to teach medical students.

For older Palestinians, grueling displacement journeys on foot can compound the daily stress of trying to survive the war. Elderly Palestinians who struggle with mobility may be “unwilling or unable” to move from their homes, reported HelpAge International.

If hit by airstrikes, those who survive may be unable to pull themselves out of the rubble, she added.

Years of trauma

In the weeks since her husband passed away in Deir al-Balah, Um Ihab says she has been haunted by the indignity of his death.

“Everyone came, young and old, from Jabalya and outside Jabalya. They all participated in his funeral, despite the circumstances and suffering,” she said. “We were forced to bury him here.

“I wish he had died a normal death in his house with honor. His death was such a pain in my heart.”

As Israel’s military campaign pushes Gaza residents out of their homes, those inside the enclave fear they will meet the same fate as their ancestors.

Um Ihab says her mother fled historic Palestine during al-Nakba, or “the catastrophe,” of 1948. At least 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly expelled from their homes following the 1948/49 war, in what is now Israel. They and their descendants say they have never known a life without the constant threat of Israeli invasion. Others are paralyzed by the grief of seeing their children’s futures being taken away from them.

“My tears dried up from crying over my husband, crying over my kids,” said Um Ihab. “I feel like I will lose my mind… We try our best to make it easier for them and cheer them up. If they were at home, they would have their own toys.”

Even before the war, Israel’s partial blockade of Gaza made it harder for elderly Palestinians to access health and social services. At least 97% of older Gazans had at least one health condition and 86% had at least one disability, according to data from El-Wedad Society for Community Rehabilitation and HelpAge International in 2021. At least 78% reported that they felt anxious all, or most, of the time – and almost 27% of older Palestinians lived in poverty.

The Palestinian grandmother says she finds some respite along the beaches of central Gaza, where blue water licks the sandy shores. She tries to call relatives to let them know she is still alive.

“Every time I come, I complain to the sea, hoping that God responds to my fate and take us out from this pain,” she reflected.

“Our life was good and comfortable. We used to come to the sea to have fun and have good time, now we come to the sea to complain about our worries.”

Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from their homes after an embankment dam broke in the southern region of Orenburg, near Kazakhstan, authorities said.

The dam in the city of Orsk could not contain the flow of water of the Ural river and broke in two places, local authorities told TASS.

At least three people have died as a result of the flooding, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Authorities have reported that 4,208 people in the region have been evacuated, including 1,019 children, and 495 temporary accommodation centers for 82,200 people are being prepared, according to TASS.

As of Saturday morning, the level of the Ural river was nearly double the level the dam was designed to handle, according to regional authorities.

The dam failure occurred because the hydraulic structure was not properly maintained, and a criminal investigation has been opened, the regional prosecutor’s office said.

The dam was protecting the city from the waters of the Ural river. By Saturday morning, the water had reached several districts of the city, flooding nearly 2,400 residential buildings, TASS reported.

“A state of emergency is in effect in Orenburg,” the head of the Orenburg region Sergey Salmin said in a Telegram post Saturday.

“This situation leaves us no choice; overnight the [river] level may reach a critical level. I demand that everyone immediately leave their houses in the flood zone.”

“Those who refuse to leave the danger zone voluntarily will be evacuated forcibly, with the participation of police officers,” he added.

Orsk, a city of 230,000, lies near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described the flooding as one of Kazakhstan’s largest natural disasters in 80 years, according to Reuters.

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has declared a national emergency on substance abuse following calls on his government to crack down on the rising use of a cheap and sometimes deadly synthetic drug known as kush.

The highly addictive mix of marijuana, tentanyl and tramadol has caused hundreds of deaths and psychiatrically damaged scores of users since it first appeared in Sierra Leone around four years ago, according to the government. There are no official figures on the exact number of deaths.

Bio announced the national emergency in a late night address on Thursday, deploring what he said were “the destructive consequences of kush on our country’s very foundation: our young people.”

He said a national task force on substance abuse – involving all sectors of society and supervised by a presidential advisory team – would be set up to implement a five-step strategy for what he called a drug-free future.

Kush’s low price makes it accessible to disillusioned, unemployed youth in Sierra Leone, where around a quarter of the population lives in poverty. The drug is also found in the neighboring West African nation of Liberia.

Local communities have called on the government to tackle the scourge and help them deal with drug users.

The head of Sierra Leone’s only psychiatric hospital, Abdul Jalloh, welcomed Bio’s declaration as a crucial step towards addressing drug use.

People across the United States will be looking to the sky on Monday to witness a total solar eclipse. Others will be listening to it.

And to Harvard University astronomers working to transform the rare sight into sound, the eclipse should create a symphony.

“We mapped the bright light of the sun to a flute sound,” said Allyson Bieryla, an astronomer at Harvard. “Then it goes to a midrange, which is a clarinet, and then during totality, it kind of goes down to a low clicking sound, and that clicking even slows down during totality.”

The scientists designed a boxy device — a bit larger than a cell phone — that converts light into audible tones in a process called sonification. The sounds change based on the intensity of the light, allowing people with blindness or low vision to follow the progress of the eclipse.

The device is called a LightSound, and hundreds of them will be at eclipse-viewing events on Monday.

“That image of totality is breathtaking and so it is visual, but that doesn’t mean that’s the only way you can interpret things or experience them,” said Bieryla, who runs the LightSound Project. “And for someone without sight, they need a different sense to experience it.”

Converting light into sound

The idea for LightSound was born during the last total eclipse in the United States in 2017. Bieryla started the project with astronomer Wanda Díaz-Merced, who experiences blindness and relies on similar technology to do her research. They created three prototypes — one in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and two in Kentucky.

The current version of LightSound is the result of some tweaks and fine-tuning since those prototypes, but sonification has always been at the heart of it. The device uses a light sensor to take in data — in the case of an eclipse the data is light intensity, Bieryla said. Those numbers, the light intensity values, are then assigned an instrument sound using a MIDI synthesizer board in the device, she said. This allows the tones to change as the moon blocks the sun and Earth gets dark, so people with blindness can interact with the eclipse in ways they couldn’t previously.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the project has grown. Changes after the 2019 and 2020 total solar eclipses in South America, such as primarily using a printed circuit board instead of wires, made the device easier to build. With the help of local communities, the project was quickly able to scale up production, Bieryla said. The LightSound team hosts workshops in which anyone can learn to assemble a device.

“Instead of producing 20 in a day, we were producing 200 in a day, so it was a huge, huge improvement,” Bieryla said, emphasizing that the community element is “what made this project successful.”

She said they built and distributed about 900 devices for the 2024 eclipse, which went to sites in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Of those hundreds scattered across the United States, 29 devices were sent to Ohio state parks and wildlife areas that are in the path of totality. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources partnered with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, or OOD, to provide LightSound to dozens of eclipse-watch parties.

Bernadetta King, program manager at the OOD’s Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired, said people are excited to be fully included at eclipse events — not in a separate place but immersed with everyone else as event organizers will plug the device into speakers.   

“Sometimes when you make something better for people with disabilities, you inadvertently make it better for everybody, so why don’t we just think that way to begin with?” King said. “Even the people that would be viewing the eclipse through glasses are hearing about this and say, ‘Oh, this is cool.’”

King, who also experiences blindness, said she feels people with vision-related disabilities are not often top of mind. Devices such as the LightSound could also be an opportunity to keep pushing sonification technology in other ways, she said.

“This is kind of a foot in the door to open an area that has traditionally not been considered when you think about people who have blindness and vision impairment,” King said, mentioning previous applications of sonification in weather, space and other science fields.

Other inclusive eclipse efforts

If you are not near an eclipse event that has a LightSound, the American Council of the Blind is hosting a virtual stream of the sound of various devices along the path of totality.

The Eclipse Soundscapes app is another resource for those who are visually impaired. The project, part of NASA’s Citizen Science initiative, will collect multisensory observations and recordings from people around the country.

In the app, there is a tool that uses vibrations and audio tones to convey each stage of the eclipse in addition to narrated descriptions. The project said the tool is “designed for you to hear and feel astronomical phenomena.”

Additionally, NASA partnered with the National Park Service and Earth to Sky on activities, including a webinar series to prepare interpreters for the event. National parks involved in the partnership will have elements for “the blind and low vision, neurodivergent children, the physically impaired, and those with hearing impairments” at watch parties across the country, the space agency said.

As for Bieryla and her team, there’s always another eclipse somewhere. Once this one is over, they will ship LightSounds to the next location. Because her small team can’t build devices for the whole world, the next goal is to teach people across the globe how to hold workshops. She said she hopes initiatives such as LightSound inspire young scientists.

“I’m hoping that there is a blind child that maybe experiences this device and says, ‘I want to do astronomy,’” Bieryla said, “and we need to have those resources in place for that student to be successful.”

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When an Australian judge made the unusual decision to reopen a blockbuster defamation trial brought by an alleged rapist against a media company, he declared, “Let sunlight be the best disinfectant.”

That’s how claims later described by Justice Michael Lee as “sordid” found their way into the public sphere, giving a startling insight into the way producers from a major television network allegedly secured an interview with the former government staffer with illicit drugs, sex workers, a golf trip and expensive meals.

The defamation case enthralled the Australian public when the main parties took the stand last year, and anticipation was high for a ruling on Thursday. But the arrival of a new witness saw thousands tune in to watch the reopened case as it was broadcast live on YouTube.

The origins of the story date back to 2019, when government staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in Parliament House after a night of drinking in Canberra. The man she accused of the crime, Bruce Lehrmann, vehemently denied any sexual activity took place, and in court he pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent.

But the trial was abandoned in 2022 due to juror misconduct. Rather than requesting a retrial, prosecutors dropped the charges, saying more court action would pose an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins’ health.

That left Lehrmann with no means to disprove the allegations, so he took defamation action against media companies for their initial reporting of the case.

Two outlets settled the claim by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs. But Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson chose to fight it using a truth defense – essentially tasking their lawyers to prove on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann did rape Higgins.

The alleged rape

Two years after the night in question, Higgins went public in 2021 with the allegation that she’d been raped in Parliament House.

In an exclusive interview with Ten’s Lisa Wilkinson for “The Project,” Higgins recalled having drinks with co-workers in March 2019, and catching an Uber with a man to Parliament House, where he allegedly raped her on a minister’s couch.

The story sent tremors through Australian politics and prompted an apology from then Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who promised to investigate the culture within the legislature.

“The Project” story didn’t name Lehrmann. But he claimed it included enough information to identify him as the alleged rapist. Lehrmann couldn’t pursue the defamation charge while his criminal trial was underway, so he sought permission from the court to extend the period to bring a claim, which is why it took so long to reach court.

Evidence in the defamation trial was presented in late 2023, grabbing headlines as Lehrmann and Higgins accused each other in court of lying about what had happened.

It was the first time Lehrmann had given court testimony – during his criminal trial, he exercised his right not to take the stand.

However, the first time the Australian public heard his side of the story – in his own words, on camera – was a few months before on Seven’s “Spotlight” program.

“Let’s light some fires,” Lehrmann said, in an episode that aired in June, 2023.

That interview – and the months that led up to it – was the focus of the new evidence in court this week, as former “Spotlight” producer Taylor Auerbach revealed stunning claims about how the production team negotiated the interview with Lehrmann.

Network Ten’s barrister Matthew Collins KC had argued that Auerbach’s testimony was important as it spoke to Lehrmann’s credibility, which could impact the size of any payout, should he win the defamation case.

The producer’s allegations

Sitting in a dark suit and tie, Auerbach took frequent sips of water as he sat in court to answer questions about his role in setting up the Lehrmann interview.

He said he’d been assigned to be Lehrmann’s “babysitter,” which he took to mean establishing a rapport with him to convince him to give them the sought-after exclusive.

After one dinner in January 2023, Auerbach said he and Lehrmann went to a hotel room, allegedly paid for by Seven, where he said Lehrmann produced a bag of cocaine.

“He pulled that out and started to put it on a plate and then started talking to me about a prospective ‘Spotlight’ story and his desire to order prostitutes to the Meriton that night and began Googling a series of websites to try and make that happen,” Auerbach told the court.

The new material submitted to court included a long text message Auerbach said he sent to a senior “Spotlight” producer after meeting with Lehrmann’s media advisor.

In the message, Auerbach said a potential payment of around 200,000 Australian dollars ($132,000) had been suggested for the interview. The advisor had told him that Lehrmann was also planning to do interviews with Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan, after the Australian exclusive, Auerbach said in the text.

The former television producer made other allegations in his affidavits, including that he put 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,500) on a company credit card for Thai massages for himself and Lehrmann. He said he submitted his resignation the next day, out of guilt, but instead of being reprimanded he received a promotion and a pay raise the following week.

In a statement, the Seven Network said it didn’t offer Auerbach a promotion or a higher salary, nor reimburse Lehrmann for “expenditure that has allegedly been used to pay for illegal drugs or prostitutes.”

“Seven has acted appropriately at all times,” it said.

Before they were aired in court, the claims about money spent on massages made headlines in Australian media, prompting Lehrmann to issue a statement saying the story was “untrue and rather bizarre.”

Auerbach countered his denials with threats of defamation action. And during the pursuit of that case, he came into contact with Wilkinson’s lawyers.

Cross-examination

In his testimony, Auerbach also alleged that Lehrmann gave the Seven Network evidence from his rape trial, including extensive records of text messages and taped audio calls.

Under an important legal convention, documents provided to a party for the purposes of specific proceedings cannot be used for any other purpose.

Previously Lehrmann’s lawyers denied that their client was the source of the material, raising the potential issue of contempt of court.

However, Lehrmann’s barrister, Matthew Richardson SC, played down the value of the material, saying most of the information was in the public domain anyway, and it wasn’t used for any purpose.

During questioning, Richardson suggested Auerbach was a disgruntled former employee who was angry about losing his job at Seven and his subsequent role with Sky News.

“I want to suggest to you, Mr. Auerbach that you are here today to do as much damage to your former employer and former colleagues, as you possibly can?” Richardson said Thursday.

“Strongly disagree,” Auerbach replied.

“And you’re prepared to lie in that endeavor,” said Richardson.

“No, sir.”

To support his line of questioning, Richardson played a three-minute video to the court that showed Auerbach snapping the golf clubs of a former friend and Seven co-worker.

It was posted with the words, “Merry Christmas, sue me,” the court heard.

Auerbach conceded he hated his former colleague and held him partly to blame for Seven’s refusal to extend his contract.

In his affidavit, Auerbach said he had come across evidence that he believed was relevant to the case and submitted his statement to the trial at the request of Network Ten.

Questions for the media industry

The defamation trial is between Network Ten and Lehrmann, but the evidence heard in the last two days is being scrutinized for what it says about the state of Australia’s media industry.

“Here Network Ten is the defendant but this week it’s felt like Seven is on trial for its journalistic practices,” said Sacha Molitorisz, senior lecturer in law at the Center for Media Transition at the University of Technology Sydney.

Molitorisz, a former journalist, said checkbook journalism has its place, but the allegations aired go far beyond that and show the need for a coherent code of ethics that all Australian journalists follow.

“But you don’t need a code of ethics to know that what the Seven journalists did crossed the line,” he added.

Margaret Simons, Honorary Principal Fellow at the Center for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne, said reviews of the industry had repeatedly called for more regulation and repercussions for reporters who trample on journalistic ethics.

“The whole saga you know, I think has been devastating for journalism in many ways,” Simons said.

“In the era of fake news, if we want people to trust journalism, we need to behave a hell of a lot better than it seems Channel Seven have done.”

In its statement, Seven said it was “appalled by the allegations made in recent days. We do not condone the behaviors described in these allegations. They do not reflect the culture of Seven.”

During the trial, Justice Lee noted that none of the producers involved in the “Spotlight” program were members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), Australia’s main union for journalists.

The MEAA has a 12-point code of ethics that only applies to members. After a discussion about the code and its interpretation, Justice Lee said, “I don’t think reporting honestly is that complicated…. is it? It’s a bit like it’s not complicated not shoplifting from Woolworths.”

Justice Lee retired Friday to consider the evidence, with a date still to be set for his findings.