#post-war uws

[magicfor3st]

Dear Diary,

[pybytes]

my baby girl man wife named Brown

[certifiedunicornhater]

🌸💜

FLOR DAY FLOR DAY FLOR DAY!!! he is one year old today ^_^ also featuring my friends oc who was made today alongside him yaey!!!! it’s their day today!!!!

(art blog: @goat-chops)

[pnutsdotorg]

unfinished azulin portrait #1

azulin design belongs to @bearsfunky

[chucklenu5s]

A detail I added in my retelling of UW with my OC Asher is that no matter what she does, she literally cannot escape the past, no matter what. UW relies heavily on how the past effects the present, especially when it comes to sins a person has committed, and Asher has done plenty (ex; drug abuse, attempted murder, assault/not sexual/ and using others to get her way) but Asher, throughout her entire arc is trying to change for the better, but when it comes to war, there IS no better. You are forced to your wits end, and have to do unspeakable acts just to survive. Acts that Asher ended up not being strong enough to do

[cariciapadre]

out of the three generals Hocicos hated Mondo the most ( Otto hating him the least , up until the end ofc ) . Hocicos never got along with Mondo , and always had issues with him . This hate carries on to Dr Empala , as he is not fond of her either . The only part of that family Hocicos didn't hate was Blanca because she was nothing like Mondo !! however Empala is like . basically a carbon copy of him lol

[susartwork]

Underwizard alternative timelines:

Like 90% of these are angst timelines and the other 10% are self indulgent ones, sorry not sorry

Pacifist (the original one)

Future (the original but post barrier)

Genocide

Neutrals I don't think we need a list of all of them, do we?

UWU Infection Never add a U to UW. This is a post barrier timeline where a UwU virus spreads terrorizing Ebott's Town. Frisk, as the monster's ambassador, will have a lot of work to do to ensure everyone's safety from the cute virus.

REDress Previously known as the "Amalgamate" timeline, now it was completely rewritten. The families of the amalgamates took revenge on Sans and Alphys, injecting them too with Determination, melting them into amalgams as well...

War Rewind Flowey and Sans mess with the resets, mistakenly send themselves back to the time of the war between humans and monsters. Flowey dies, but Sans, adopting baby Chara to save them from their fate, allows Asriel to survive in the future and become king. Now all humans who fall underground will be treated as friends. This timeline was fairly inspired by Timetale! And also by my chats with @ask-dcf :3

Hopeless Timeline Flowey grows bored, and decides to torture Sans with Save Files and Resets to see how far that would go. The story then starts to take interesting turns as I RP it. This timeline is somewhat important so here's the latest ref sheets: [Hopeless UW!Sans] [Hopeless UW!Frisk] [Hopeless UW!Dwerby] Here's a chrono link to read right from the start! But pls note this.

Underground's Insanity Previously known as the "Hopeless Queen Alphys Timeline" (the name was too long). The genocide (?) version of the Hopeless Timeline. It begins as a Queen Alphys ending, to then take a Horrortale-like turn, with some angsty Salphys who has to face Frisk, the strongest hunter wizard to ever exist.

Playbackwizard Playbacktale x Underwizard Too spoilery to UW's story talk about it now 👀

Helioswizard Heliostale x Underwizard

Something Magical Something New (Killer!Sans) x Underwizard

"What if...? OC" My UTMV outcodes swap backstory with the UW crew: Basic - UW!Sans | Alphysis - UW!Alphys | Clone - UW!Frisk | Quasar - UW!Papyrus & Flowey | Kyria - UW!Undyne

° FANMADE ALTERNATIVE TIMELINES ♡ °

Disbelief UW!Papyrus Disbelief Papyrus x Underwizard

Horrorwizard Horrortale x Underwizard

Axewizard Axetale x Underwizard

Dustwizard Dusttale x Underwizard

All of these above were made by @alittlegreenghost!

Underwizard alternative versions:

Wizardfell Underwizard x Underfell (planned remake)

Wizardswap Underwizard x Underswap (planned remake)

Overbeast All the events of Underwizard but reversed...? Hunter wizards -> beasts (aka monsters with human souls)

UnderWoZArD The crappy version of Underẁ̶̙i̴͈̚z̸̼̾-̴̢̄-̷̨͗ ̶̹̂A̴̺͂L̵̥̽L̶̗͆ ̸̛̟H̶̝͛Ä̶͔Ḭ̷͗Ļ̸͝ ̵̛͈W̴̭̚O̴̺̍Z̷̺͝ ̷͕̊T̷̋͜Ḧ̵̨́Ẻ̷̠ ̶͉͑E̸͎͛M̸̮̕P̷͈̍Ḙ̷̎R̵̲̆Ŏ̴̯R̴͇̆

Inversowizard Inversotale x Underwizard

Tartaroswizard Tartarostale x Underwizard

Wizardchess Underwizard x Chesstale Frisk and Flowey are stuck in a endless chess battle to decide the fate of the underground.

Zombieverse A mix of many AUs characters, such as Underwizard, living in a zombie apocalypse

A L I V E x Underwizard Idk what to call it. It's basically the UW crew but with the backstory of the ALIVE crew. Sorta. ALIVE's story is difficult to apply to UW.

Wizardnovela Underwizard x Undernovela

° FANMADE ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS ♡ °

Planet Flash - by @yanair25 Fusion of a series whose name I forgot (sorry) and many other AUs, such as Underwizard

Hopeless UW!Sans x LN (Bucket) - @axmoth Hopeless in Little Nightmares

UW!Aine x LN (Breach) - @parniathedevil Aine in Little Nightmares

XWizard - by @parniathedevil Xtale x Underwizard

Edit: I have deleted some timelines/versions from this masterpost because I don't find them interesting or important.

[bychertryntheatyr]

Ich hab auf Bluesky einen Thread zu meinen gelesenen Büchern geschrieben und kopiere hier schamlos die einzelnen Posts als einen Beitrag rein.

Willkommen zum diesjährigen "Ich fange viel zu spät abends an, zu gucken was ich dieses Jahr gelesen habe und muss das jetzt zusammenfassen!" Thread. Ich schätze die Anzahl der Bücher auf 20. Gefühlt waren es nur fünf.

Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence - Rafal Kosik 7 Charaktere die in Nightcity das große Ding drehen wollen. Alle drei Zeilen wechselt die Perspektive. War cool mehr über Night City zu lesen. Gewonnen hat am Ende keiner.

Das Klugscheisserchen - Mark-Uwe Kling. Ein Kinderbuch. Ein blaues Wesen weiß alles besser. Papa bloßgestellt, Kinder glücklich. Das hab ich ja komplett vergessen. WILD!

Solitaire - Alice Oseman Peak 2010 Tumblr Vibes. Tori geht aus depressiver Phase in eine Freundschaft. Drama. Fantastisch. Liebs.

Heartstopper Band 5 - Alice Oseman Thats my Yaoi! They can finally fuck! Good for them! Wann Band 6? Hab ich da was verpasst?

Loveless - Alice Oseman Beim dritten lesen in der Schmuckausgabe. "In this little restaurant hidden away in the old streets of Durham, a bunch of queer people could all show up und just ~be~." Mehr muss ich dazu nicht sagen. Fühle Georgia sehr. Bitte lest es wenn ihr Acefriends habt. Like me!

Die drei gerechten Kammmacher - Gottfried Keller Teilen sich ein Sachse, ein Bayer und ein Schwabe ein Bette in der Schweiz. Alle wollen eigentlich nur Geld verdienen und misstrauen den anderen. Am Ende darf einer in unglücklicher Ehe sein.

The House in the Gerulean Sea - TJ Klune Mein Lesezeichen sagt ich hab bis knapp zur Hälfte durchgehalten, aber ich bin damit nicht warm geworden. Das ist bestimmt witzig, aber bis dahin passiert eigentlich wenig. Vielleicht gefällt mir das Englisch auch einfach nicht...

Macbeth - Shakespeare (Benda Translation) Mein Lieblingstheaterstück in Fraktur von 1830. Meine Reaktion darauf war mir ein Shirt mit eigenem Design zu machen, weil MacDuff und ich beide Kaiserschnitte sind. Du Ei! *stirbt*

Spiegel, Das Kätzchen - Gottfried Keller Eine Katze verarscht für Essen erst einen Zauberer und verheiratet ihn dann mit seine Erzfeindin der Hexe. Typisches Verhalten einer Katze.

Miss Merkel Band 3: Mord auf hoher See - David Safier Das Gimmik verdient keinen dritten Teil, (auch keinen vierten. Stay tuned.) Aber Herr Fitzek wird auf Autorenkreuzfahrt per Gijutine umgebracht. Bundesmutti verdächtig tatsächlich erst am Ende die richtige Person. Ganz Okay.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malina Lo Yuri in den 50ern, aber als Chinese American. Standard Lesbian Awakening. "Aber sie ist doch nur nett zu mir?" Ihr hattet Sex. Das ist mehr als nett sein!

Crow Kingdom - Tino Falke Das beste Buch was ich dieses Jahr gelesen hab! Ich will auch einen Freizeitpark in Schutt und Asche legen! Wenn ich dran denke muss ich ne Rezension dem Typen zukommen lassen. Auch wenn Coaster und Parks in echt nicht so funktionieren.

Ein Volksfeind - Henrik Ibsen Doktor Stockmann will das örtliche Heilbad wegen Bakterien schließen, aber sein Bruder/Bürgermeister ist dagegen weil Bakterien nicht real sind. Das ist eigentlich das ganze Buch. Naja.

Kleider machen Leute - Gottfried Keller (Vintage Fraktur Ausgabe) Aus Höflichkeit vom Bettelarmen Schneider zum Grafen werden. Am Ende aber dann doch aus Lüge Profit schlagen und ein ordentliches Leben mit Frau und Kind führen.

Woyzeck - Georg Büchner Ein armer Soldat wird von seinem Chef gedemütigt, frisst für die Wissenschaft Erbsen und bringt am Ende seine Freundin um. Eine wilde Reise durch Fragmente eines 20 Jährigen.

Tschik - Wolfgang Herrndorf Chaotischer Roadtrip von zwei Teenies im Lada. Musste erst warm damit werden. Fantastisches Buch! Zurecht moderne Schulliteratur, die Schülys nicht appreciaten werden.

La Traviata - Guiseppe Verdi Edelprostituierte verliebt sich innen Dude, sein Vater denkt das beschmutzt seinen Ruf. Am Ende stirbt sie an Tuberkulose.

Adas Raum - Sharon Dodua Otoo Ich hab das als Theateradaption nicht ganz verstanden und das Buch hab ich auch nur bis zur Hälfte gelesen. Irgendwie regeneriert Ada in verschiedenen Epochen als Mensch, aber auch als Gegenstand? Am Ende wird sie immer erschossen. I dont know.

Lenin auf Schalke - Gregor Sander Der letzte Urostberliner guckt sich Gelsenkirchen an. Dort ist tatsächliches alles mindestens so scheiße wie im Osten. Das Buch hat mir sehr gefallen. Top 3 des Jahres.

Spiritus Daemonis Folge 01 - Mary Cronos und Jan Grießmann Ein Exorzismus per Chatverlauf. Ja das Buch existiert. Muss noch die beiden weiteren Bücher lesen. Die Verkaufstaktik von Herrn Grießmann auf der LBM ist immer noch das Güteste daran.

Der Schmied seines Glückes - Gottfried Keller Ein Dude schreibt seinen Namen anders und will damit Geld machen. Seine Liebe ist dann aber doch nicht adelig und die fingierte Erbschaft platzt auch. Immer schön verhüten liebste Freunde.

Oha, 22 Bücher. Das fühlt sich nach so viel an? Aber ich hab seit Anfang November auch nichts mehr gelesen. Dennoch 5 weniger als letztes Jahr, und da hab ich 5 Monde nichts gelesen. (Hatte da auch genausolang keinen Job. Naja.)

Meine Top 3 des Jahres wären dann... Platz 3 Lenin auf Schalke Platz 2 Tschik und/oder Soltaire (plus McBee Ehrenhalber) Platz 1 Crow Kingdom

[they-hermes]

hi heres my opinion on several combiner members toys

first of all i hate all of blast offs toys i think they're all kinda uglyy especially combiner wars bc i think the jet mode is a special kinda ugly, it just looks so flimsy next to his shuttle toys. keep him a shuttle! but mainly i dont think the brown works well on the toys, and i love the g2 color scheme above for blast off its sooo pretty but he doesn't have a toy in that color in shuttle form and it makes me so sad. its so camp i love the purple and the white

next is blackjack and im obsessed with himm i dont mention him in my other stunticon posts bc hes really minor but i fuck with him heavily im sorry blackjack. the toy is soo pretty and smooth and i think it really works well with menasor i just really love it. i should really post more about him hes so cute. i think this is my favourite car mode it just works so well and the fact as menasors chest plate is just sideways is so funny.

next is rook and again i love his robot mode (ignore the swat and police text) its so cute. rook i love you i love his helm design

next is blades this was a toss up between this one and his unite warriors vers but i like the silver on this one more than just white it gives it more charm. i really like how white is on toys but for blades i like the silver. and i like his stupid boots its a detail i really like. my fav rescue helicopter with missiles <33

this dezarus fucks immensely. no other comment just look at that turquoise. absolutey beautiful. sorry leozack but you've been outshined

personally i love unite warriors alt mode that drill fucks but i love the colors on combiner wars and i wish the colours were swapped ughh. i think combiner wars alt mode is ugly and lazy retool of brawl, thats not a drill but the brown fucks. but uw has the better mold

legacy drag strip is so cute :) all the legacy stunticons are but especially drag strip. i think he pulls off the entirely piss yellow look

i hate the other vortex color schemes i think its gaudy and ugly. uw thank you for this its not my fav but the grey and blue i can get behind. but the badge placement its kinda awkward and dumb

i really like this mold but i think i like it more when hun grrs tail is on his back rather than his chest idk its more visually pleasing to me. and his alt mode is beautiful i love that king

[uwmadarchives]

50 Years Ago: APA Removes "Homosexuality" From DSM Diagnoses

Written by Bailey Watson, LGBTQ+ Archive Student Processing Assistant

12/18/2023

December 15, 1973 - By a vote of 5,854 to 3,810, the American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in the DSM-II Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Content advisory: This post discusses the history of homosexuality in Western psychiatry and may contain offensive language or topics.

Last Thursday marked 50 years since the APA (American Psychiatric Association) removed “homosexuality” from its list of mental disorders. This change was made to the DSM-II Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the current edition as of 2023 is the DSM-5-TR). The long history of homosexuality being included with physical and mental disorders dates back to the 19th century with Western European theorists working towards an understanding of same-sex attraction, leading to the coinage of the term “homosexuality” or “homosexual.” While these early theories positioned same-sex attraction or desires as unnatural, other theorists of the same decades aimed to prove that homosexuality was not abnormal but instead a natural variance of human sexuality.

Photo Dr. Franklin Kameny from David Carter papers, Collection no. uac 183,  Box 5, Folder 49. 

The conversation around homosexuality as a disorder took a turn during the post-WWII period in the United States, during a phenomenon referred to as the “lavender scare.” This period, parallel to the “red scare” was a reaction to the Cold War policies and politics, resulting in the massive purge of homosexuals or suspected homosexuals from the federal government, and even further down to local governments (see here for information on UW-Madison’s history with the gay purges). Similarly, communists and suspected communists were also barred or purged from public service and government-contracted sectors. 

In response to these purges, the early gay rights movement, then known as the homophile movement focused on organizing and protesting the conditions that made up the lavender scare. These conditions included the DSM’s classification of homosexuality as a diagnosable disorder. To the early homophile movement, as to some early theorists, homosexuality was perfectly natural, and therefore they could not pose a threat to national security. 

One aspect of activism from this period was addressing the DSM's use of homosexuality as a diagnosable disorder. The homophile movement argued that sexuality had no bearing on mental health, and by stigmatizing the gay community, the DSM and APA were adding to the problem. Furthermore, by diagnosing people as "homosexual" the APA created a way to dismiss those voices and placed a barrier on the conversation on who was fit to participate in society freely and who was not.

Finally, in 1973 after years of protest and activism, the influence of activism, including the voice of Dr. Franklin Kameny (pictured above) and internal changes led to a new definition of mental disorder within the APA and thus removed homosexuality from diagnoses. A win for the homophile movement and a change that brought lasting and positive impacts to many people's lives, even 50 years later.

References and for further consideration:

Drescher, Jack. 2015. "Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality" Behavioral Sciences 5, no. 4: 565-575. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs5040565 (open access)

For more on Kameny and the early homophile movement, explore the David Carter papers, uac 182, located in the Madison LGBTQ+ Archive (housed at the University Archives, Steenbock Library)

[pybytes]

this idiot haunts my brain something fierce

text post memes below

[certifiedunicornhater]

I don’t even KNOWW where to begin posting my art because I’ve been gone for so long, but in the meantime, have this reference sheet I made of my main Unicorn Wars OC!

(art blog: @goat-chops)

[felyas-stuff]

Decided to post my part of an art-trade with my good mutual Anastasia Sawkina! The last time we traded with each other I was drawing her FNAF OCs…and this time it’s her Unicorn Wars OC! This was the first time I’ve ever done something UW related and, gotta admit, it was a lot of fun! Haven’t watched the movie yet (though I have seen the good old Unicorn Blood), but I’m definitely planning to :3

[cactusismydisguise]

Searching for William - Woods of Birnam

Wow, was für eine Show!

"Uwe, hier kommt dann dein Sohn ins Spiel. So ungefähr 10 Meter über dem Wasser lasst ihr ihn dann fallen. Es wäre aber gut, wenn ihr das den Kindern vorher nicht erzählt. Dann ist ihre Reaktion natürlicher."

War toll, einige Songs aus Hamlet in einer ganz anderen Fassung zu erleben.

Wie macht er diese Geisterstimme? (Davon muss man doch heiser werden🤔)

Es war Morrrrd!!!

Ein Rock mit Hosenträgern!

Lange blonde Haare stehen Christian Friedel auch gut :)

"Hör auf, zu schleimen, Sabine!"

"Falls jemand Interesse an Sabine, unserer Übersetzerin, hat, hier ist ihre Nummer. Sie ist schon so lange Single und würde sich freuen, wenn sich jemand bei ihr meldet." 😂

"My precious" Die Fairy-Queen hat ein bisschen was von Gollum ;)

Langer Mantel bis zum Boden ist auch nice.

Ooh, mein Lieblingslied! (ich ungefähr bei jedem zweiten Lied)

"Der Text dieses Liebesgedichts war Shakespeare selbst zu kitschig. Deshalb hat er nach einer Strophe aufgehört. Aber wir haben daraus trotzdem einen 4-Minuten-Song gemacht."

An dieser Stelle mal danke an @dadthinksdoctorwhoisacrimeseries für deine Woods of Birnam Posts, ohne die ich nie auf diese Band aufmerksam geworden wäre!

[thatseventiesbitch]

Hii ther!!, first of all, i just wanna say that you are one of the best donna and eric accounts I know i really like your content and your fics and how you write it❤️❤️.

So my question for you is what do you think happened after the end of t7s or if you have any headcanons of what happened with donna and eric? (for example they raising a little leia in chicago and at the same time studying/working)

Once again, i absolutely adore your work, have a nice day <3

Thank you so much for those lovely words, anon! I love Eric & Donna so much, and spreading the ❤️ for them via my blog and writing. It makes me happy to see others enjoying them too!

So, I have a vision for a (quite long, complicated) story that bridges the two series - T70S and T90S. How did the characters get from December 31, 1979 to July 4, 1995? Eric & Donna navigating their unexpected pregnancy would be one of the main plots, so a lot of my headcanons developed there.

The story's a work-in-progress, but in the very early stages right now, so I might as well share a little (without giving away all the twists and turns I have planned. I do hope to post the full story one day)! 😊

Eric/Donna Post-Finale Headcanons

Eric went back to Africa after the finale - he had another 6 months to go. But he and Donna spent the night together on New Years Eve before he headed back to Africa and she headed to UW-Madison - and that's when Leia was accidentally conceived.

Completing college was a dealbreaker for Donna. It was incredibly important to her to finish her degree. She was a kickass student-mom and graduated in 3 years (she did all of her generals at Point Place Junior College, remember?)

Eric graduated a year or two later, and became a middle school math teacher (who runs the campus Star Wars club). He worked a lot, sometimes 2 jobs, to keep them on their feet when Leia was born.

The baby was the catalyst for Eric to finally grow up/mature/get his life together. Fatherhood really changed him for the better.

They got married at the courthouse shortly after Eric gets back from Africa. On their one year anniversary they have a small ceremony in Red & Kitty's backyard.

I think they stayed in Wisconsin for the early years, because they relied on Red & Kitty's help a lot. The move to Chicago came a little bit later, when Leia was school-aged. Leia had a tough time adjusting socially at her new school, and getting involved with the music program was what helped her finally make friends.

Leia was born premature, and Donna's water broke unexpectedly while she and Eric were at a showing of The Empire Strikes Back (again). It plays a role in Donna agreeing to the name.

I have a lot of others, but I'll stop there. 🤣

Thank you again for your kind words, and for reading/supporting my content! ❤️

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

It’s the prices (NYT) The United States spends an average of about $13,000 per person every year on health care. No other country comes close to spending so much. The runner-up, Germany, spends about $7,400 per person. What do Americans get for all this spending? Our health care system does tend to produce more innovation than many others. But much of the spending does little to improve people’s lives. Despite all our spending, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy of any high-income country, at 79.3 years. Twenty years ago, a group of researchers—Gerard Anderson, Uwe Reinhardt, Peter Hussey and Varduhi Petrosyan—published an academic paper that tried to solve the mystery. The title told the story: “It’s the prices, stupid.” The main reason that U.S. health spending is so high is not that Americans are sicker than people elsewhere or are heavier users of medical care (although both those factors play a role). The main reason is that almost every form of care in the U.S. costs more: doctor’s visits, hospital stays, drug prescriptions, surgeries and more. The American health care system maximizes the profits of health care companies at the expense of families’ budgets.

Nicaragua takes on Miss Universe (Washington Post) As Nicaragua has marched steadily toward dictatorship in recent years, its government has attacked opposition politicians, the Catholic Church, journalists and universities. Now it’s going after the beauty queens. Just when authorities appeared to have squelched all forms of dissent, a willowy 23-year-old Nicaraguan, Sheynnis Palacios, won the Miss Universe pageant on Nov. 18. People poured into the streets of the Central American country in jubilation. The government initially praised the victory—then photos emerged of Palacios taking part in mass anti-government protests in 2018, which were eventually crushed by security forces. The government struck back by attacking the country’s Miss Universe franchise, accusing the family that runs it of “conspiring against the nation.”

UK needs new plan to reverse hit to living standards, researchers say (Reuters) Britain needs a new economic strategy to reverse 15 years of falling living standards and worsening inequality, a leading think tank and an academic research centre said on Monday. British productivity growth has been half that of other rich economies, costing workers an average of 10,700 pounds ($13,577) a year in lost pay, the Resolution Foundation and the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance said.

Ukrainians in Germany Weigh Wrenching Choice: Stay or Go Home (NYT) Since fleeing Ukraine with her daughter, Iryna Khomich has made a home of a tiny space in a village of prefabricated units in southwestern Germany. A full tour of its single room takes only a few moments: an iron bunk bed and a wardrobe, shoes scattered near the door, clothes drying on radiators. On one recent afternoon, her cat, Dimka, walked in and out, while her daughter, Sofiia, 8, read a German textbook at a desk. But like other displaced Ukrainians who fled west to wait out the war against Russia, Ms. Khomich, 37, lives each day wrestling with an agonizing choice: Should she return home to Ukraine, where the fighting drags on interminably, or put down roots in Germany, effectively turning a temporary separation into something more lasting? It is a cruel dilemma faced by countless Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe as the war nears the end of its second year, one that pits a longing for family and a sense of shared duty to rebuild their shattered country against the realization that the death and destruction are unlikely to end anytime soon. And they are debating it in places like Freiburg, a city nestled on the edge of the Black Forest close to the French border that has offered open arms, an extensive social safety net and the attractive promise of a life without war. “The heart says go back,” Ms. Khomich said. “But I want the best future for my daughter.”

Temperatures in Siberia dip to minus 50 Celsius as record snow blankets Moscow (Reuters) Temperatures in parts of Siberia plummeted to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit) while blizzards blanketed Moscow in record snowfall and disrupted flights as winter weather swept across Russia. In the Sakha Republic, located in the northeastern part of Siberia and home to Yakutsk, one of the world’s coldest cities, temperatures fell below minus 50 C, according to the region’s weather stations. An abnormally early cold snap in Sakha pushed temperatures to even lower than minus 50 C in several areas of Sakha, a vast region just a little smaller than India.

India’s mission to clean the Ganges (Wired) The Ganges River in India supplies water to over 600 million people, and every inch of the waterway is sacred to the Hindu religion—so holy, in fact that many Hindus drink or bathe in its waters. Unfortunately, the Ganges is also one of the most polluted major rivers on our planet, playing host to tons of industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and too much human waste to quantify. India’s government has, of course, taken a variety of different measures to clean up the holy river. Between 2014 (when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power) and 2019, the government has provided Indians with 110 million toilets, providing sanitation services to over half a billion people nationwide. At the same time, the government has rolled out the Namami Gange (“Obeisance to the Ganges”), spending $3.77 billion to clean up the river by setting up over 170 new sanitation plants and 5,211 kilometers of sewage lines nationwide. However, experts say that all that government spending isn't making much of a dent in the Ganges’ grime. The river is still filled with islands of plastic waste, and parts of the Ganges contain over 20 times the government-recommended limits for fecal coliform and fecal streptococci bacteria.

China's military: US Navy ship 'illegally' entered territorial waters (Reuters) China's military on Monday said a U.S. Navy ship illegally entered waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed South China Sea atoll that has recently seen several maritime confrontations. "The U.S. seriously undermined regional peace and stability," a spokesperson for China's Southern Theater of Operations said in a statement, adding that the U.S. disrupted the South China Sea and violated China's sovereignty. The U.S. Navy said the USS Gabrielle Giffords, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, was conducting routine operations in international waters in the South China Sea, consistent with international law. The Second Thomas Shoal lies in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, according to an United Nations tribunal ruling in 2016. The Chinese military spokesperson said the U.S. ship was monitored and followed, and that China's "troops in the theater are on high alert at all times to resolutely defend national sovereignty".

Islamic State claims deadly blast at Catholic Mass in the Philippines (Washington Post) The Islamic State claimed responsibility Sunday for an explosion in the southern Philippines that killed at least four people, an attack President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had blamed on “foreign terrorists.” The blast targeted a Catholic Mass inside a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in the majority-Muslim city of Marawi, some 500 miles south of the capital, Manila. More than 40 others were wounded in the explosion, the Philippine Star newspaper reported. The Islamic State announced on Telegram that its members detonated the device that caused the explosion, news agencies reported. The island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, which includes a Muslim-majority autonomous region, has historically been racked by armed conflict, and insurgent groups remain active in some areas.

'Wounded child, no surviving family': The pain of Gaza’s orphans (BBC) Medics working in the Gaza Strip are using a specific phrase to describe a particular kind of war victim. “There’s an acronym that’s unique to the Gaza Strip, it’s WCNSF—wounded child, no surviving family—and it’s not used infrequently,” Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan who works with Doctors Without Borders told BBC News. The expression captures the horror of the situation for many Gazan children. Their lives change in a second—their parents, siblings and grandparents are killed, and nothing is the same ever again. Ahmed Shabat is one of those children who was described as a wounded child, with no surviving family, when he arrived injured and crying at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. The three-year-old survived an air strike on his home in Beit Hanoun, in mid-November. But his father, mother and older brother were killed. Miraculously, at the time he had only minor injuries. Later, an uncle was found, who decided to look after them, along with his own family. He initially took them to Sheikh Radwan city but said they left after “Ahmed was hit by glass fragments” from an explosion. They then went to Nuseirat camp to stay in a UN-affiliated school. But even in their new location, they were hit again. “I ran out of the school’s door and saw Ahmed in front of me on the ground, both legs gone. He was crawling towards me, opening his arms, seeking help.” “He wanted to be many things,” his uncle said sadly. “When we went out together to attend football matches, he said he wished to become a famous football player.”

Israel, Expanding Offensive, Tells More Gazans to Evacuate (NYT) Amid a barrage of airstrikes, Israel sharply expanded its evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in preparation for an expected ground invasion in the southern part of the territory. The new orders, coming three days after the collapse of a weeklong truce, sowed confusion and fear among Gaza residents, some of whom have already been displaced at least once before. Images from Gaza on Sunday showed plumes of dark smoke rising above a rubble-covered landscape and bloodied children wailing in dust-covered hospital wards. Mourners stood beside rows of bodies wrapped in white sheets. The Israeli military said over the weekend that it had approved plans for a larger ground invasion. Israeli forces have already taken control of large parts in and around Gaza City following a ground invasion from the north. The Times of Israel quoted Israeli officials saying on Sunday that the Israeli military had launched 10,000 airstrikes since the initial ground invasion began.

Who will run Gaza after the war? No good options (Washington Post) The Israelis say they don’t want the job. Arab nations are resisting. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas might volunteer, but the Palestinian people probably don’t want him. As the Biden administration begins to plan for “the day after” in Gaza—confronting problematic questions such as who runs the territory once the shooting stops, how it gets rebuilt and, potentially, how it eventually becomes a part of an independent Palestinian state—the stakeholders face a host of unattractive options. Following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Israel vowed to destroy the group as both a military and governing entity. But after more than 15 years in power in Gaza, Hamas and its supporters are deeply embedded in every sector of society—not only in the government ministries they run, but in charities, courts, mosques, sport teams, jails, municipalities and youth groups.

After Watching 10 Migrants Die at Sea, He Now Pleads: ‘Stay’ (NYT) Crowded together with 90 other migrants on a rickety fishing vessel bound for Spain, Moustapha Diouf watched 10 of them die, one by one, from heat and exhaustion. Five were friends. It was in that macabre moment 17 years ago, Mr. Diouf said, that he vowed to do everything in his power to stop others from making the choice he had and enduring the same fate: He would make it his mission to dissuade his fellow Senegalese from trying to reach Europe and drowning or dying in myriad other ways on the perilous journey. “If we don’t do anything, we become accomplices in their deaths,” said Mr. Diouf, 54. “I will fight every day to stop young people from leaving.” Mr. Diouf was among the lucky ones: He made it to the Canary Islands alive. But the whole experience was dreadful, he said. He was imprisoned and deported to Senegal. Upon his return, together with two other repatriates, he set up his nonprofit, known as AJRAP, or the Association of Young Repatriates, whose mission is persuading Senegal’s youth to stay. But he is painfully aware of his limitations. He does not have the capacity to offer anyone a job, and most choose to migrate anyway.