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Geopolitics

Boston Bombing: What We Know (And Don't Know) About The Investigation

BOSTON GLOBE, BOSTON HERALD, CNN (USA), REUTERS

Worldcrunch

BOSTON – Amidst conflicting reports, the around-the-clock investigation continues three days after bombs killed three people and wounded more than 180 during the Boston Marathon.

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to fly to Boston on Thursday to lead an interfaith service for the victims of the bombing, amid conflicting reports that may hamper the search for a suspect, Reuters reports.

Here is what we know...

-No arrests have been made.In a statement published Wednesday on its website, the F.B.I. scolded news outlets for mistakenly reporting that an arrest had been made: "Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting."

-Investigators are making good progress and have spotted two men of "high interest" sifting through CCTV footage, the Boston Herald reports. The clear video shows one of the two potential suspects dropping a bag near the finish line and leaving the scene.

- The pieces of evidence recovered so far have helped experts determine that at least one bomb was fashioned from a six-liter pressure cooker stuffed with explosives laced with nails and ball-bearings, the Boston Globe reports.

[rebelmouse-image 27086687 alt="""" original_size="600x429" expand=1]

Fragment of a pressure cooker believed to be part of one of the bombs - Photo: FBI

-The FBI said there was "no indication of a connection" between the Boston bomb attacks and the letters containing the deadly poison ricin sent to Obama and two other officials on Wednesday.

- Obama declared an emergency in Massachusetts and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts, CNN reports.

... and (as of Thursday a.m.) what we still don't know:

-Foreign terrorists or inside job? Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft told Reuters there were no "clear indications" to support one theory over the other.

-One or many? While Obama described the bombings as an act of terrorism, it is still not known whether they were the work of a group or "a malevolent individual."

-Motive? The fact that the marathon bombings in April, a month particularly pregnant with violent events in U.S. history, makes it difficult to pinpoint a motive for the attack.

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Green

Environmental Degradation, The  Dirty Secret Ahead Of Turkey’s Election

Election day is approaching in Turkey. Unemployment, runaway inflation and eroding rule of law are top of mind for many. But one subject isn't getting the attention it deserves: the environment.

Photo of a man in a burnt forest in Turkey.

Post-fire rehabilitation of the forests in the Icmeler region of Marmaris, Mugla in Turkey, which burned down in the big wildfire in 2021.

Tolga Ildun/Zuma
İrfan Donat

ISTANBUL — A recent report from the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion (TEMA) paints a grim picture of the country's environmental situation, which is getting worse across the board.

Soil is extremely fragile in Turkey, with 78.7% of the country at risk of severe to moderate desertification, mostly due to erosion, which costs Turkey 642 million tons of fertile soil annually. Erosion effects 39% of agricultural land and 54% of pasture land. Erosion of the most fertile top layers pushes farmers to use more fertilizer, TEMA says, which can in turn threaten food safety.

Nearly all of Turkey's food is grown in the country, but agricultural areas have shrunk to 23.1 million hectares in 2022, down from 27.5 in 1992 — a loss of almost 20%.

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