Weakened

• Several U.S. jurisdictions have reduced the legal authority of public health officials following backlash over COVID-19 mandates, including lockdowns, school closures, and vaccine requirements. • These legislative changes limit the ability of state and local health departments to implement restrictive measures during future health crises. • Experts warn that weakened powers increase the risk of uncontrolled outbreaks as concerns grow over diseases such as hantavirus and Ebola.

Coordinated attack by JNIM and the Tuareg minority inflicted significant casualties on government forces and Russian auxiliariesWhen al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic militants launched a series of attacks on military bases and raids into major towns in Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso last summer, observers suggested they had been inspired by their counterparts in Syria, who had overthrown the regime of Bashar al-Assad and taken power six months or so earlier.Despite the tactical successes that earned them the fearful title of the “Ghost Army”, seizing swathes of territory and denying cities and the military of fuel and other essentials, the chances of Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) definitively defeating Mali’s military regime and the thousand or so Russian mercenaries hired to defend it looked poor. Continue reading...

Liberal frontbencher says the country’s ‘sovereign capabilities’ have been eroded. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCyber criminals have hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry’s computer system and siphoned off US$2.5 million, Agence France Presse reports.It is the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in the debt-saddled country, which is recovering from a crippling economic crisis in 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its US$46 billion external debt.To put it bluntly, if ANZUS is going to continue for another 75 years, we need to invest in our industrial base and our defence force. Continue reading...