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Iranian activist wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Iranian women’s rights campaigner Narges Mohammadi won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. Mohammadi, an engineer, came to prominence at university, writing articles for a student newspaper backing women’s rights. She was arrested 13 times between 1998 and 2015, sentenced to a total of 31 years and 154 lashes, and is still in prison. Iran has been racked with protests since the death last year of a young woman in police custody for wearing a headscarf improperly. A 16-year-old was apparently beaten into a coma this week for not wearing one. Mohammadi, though behind bars, has been vocal in support of the protests.

Russian strike kills 51 in Ukraine village

At least 51 people, including a six-year-old child, died when a Russian missile hit a cafe and shop during a wake in eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike, one of the deadliest to hit civilians since the invasion began, a “deliberate terrorist attack.” Zelenskyy is currently in Spain at a meeting of European leaders, asking for more support for the war, especially air defense systems: The political chaos in Washington has raised concerns that U.S. aid would dwindle. The EU’s chief diplomat said Europe could offer more, but “cannot fill the gap of the U.S.”

US preps for Biden-Xi talks

The White House is actively planning for a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month. The talks, on the sidelines of a summit in San Francisco, would be their first in-person discussions since a G20 summit last year. Washington and Beijing have long been laying the groundwork for such a meeting, which both countries hope can help reduce tensions, but there remains a gulf between rhetoric and reality: China has complained of unfair targeting by the U.S.’s broad tech sanctions, Washington argues Beijing is illegally expanding its maritime territory, and both sides accuse the other of spying and peddling misinformation.

Flu jab redesigned as strain goes extinct

A component targeting a particular strain of flu will be removed from annual U.S. flu vaccines because the strain it targeted was apparently driven extinct by COVID-19 lockdowns. U.S. regulators voted unanimously to remove the component “as soon as possible,” following a similar decision by the World Health Organization last week. The flu strain, “type B Yamagata lineage,” has not been detected anywhere in the world since March 2020. It’s taken three years to make the decision partly because scientists weren’t sure Yamagata was really extinct, but also because most U.S. vaccine makers are not licensed to remove a component, even if it’s useless, Ars Technica reported.

Exxon closes in on shale driller

The U.S. oil and gas giant ExxonMobil is reportedly nearing a mammoth deal to buy the shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources. The acquisition would be the biggest in any industry this year, and Exxon’s largest since the Mobil merger in 1999, reshaping the sector and making Exxon the dominant force in the southern U.S.’s oil-rich Permian Basin region. It would also cement the oil and gas major’s focus on fossil fuels, two years after it lost a shareholder battle with the hedge fund Engine No. 1, which pressed for a stronger environmental strategy, and amid persistent pressure from green groups for legacy energy companies to plow their massive cash piles into renewables and the energy transition.

US expands migration crackdown

The U.S. will expand construction of the Trump-era wall with Mexico and begin deporting Venezuelan migrants as it ramps up its crackdown on record cross-border flows. The decision to extend the wall is an about-face for President Joe Biden, who had referred to it as “not a serious policy solution.” But he has come under pressure from Republicans and Democrats alike to stem migration flows. Mexico’s president said the move was “a step backward” as it fails to “address the causes” behind soaring migration. Washington also reached an agreement with Caracas, with which it lacks formal diplomatic ties, to repatriate migrants in a bid to curb the record number of Venezuelans arriving in the United States.

Amazon challenges Starlink dominance

Amazon is launching its first satellites today in a bid to start competing with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. Project Kuiper will eventually form a mega-constellation of 3,200 satellites, 300 miles above the Earth. But for now, just two, KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2, will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida in a test. Starlink, part of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, already has 5,000 satellites and 2 million users — in order to challenge it, Amazon “essentially bought up all the spare launch capacity in the world on every available non-SpaceX rocket,” committing $10 billion to the project, New Scientist reported.

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Just one coal plant left in the UK

The U.K. is down to one remaining coal power plant. A facility in Northern Ireland stopped generating electricity from coal last weekend, two more closed in the spring, and the last one will shut next year. The country has been dependent on coal for power since the 18th century, but demand has been dropping precipitously — in 2022, less coal was used than in any year since 1757. Ironically, the U.K.’s historic coal use has made progress in cutting emissions easier: Emissions are 49% below 1990 levels, the usual benchmark, while France has managed only 24%, because France, with its huge nuclear fleet, had much lower emissions to begin with. France still has lower emissions per capita.

Moroccan light comes to London

A huge installation by a Moroccan artist will take over London’s Somerset House as the 1-54 African art fair opens. Illuminate the Light, a set of light-reflecting geometric shapes, is intended to undermine the idea of Africa as “the dark continent,” Amine El Gotaibi told the Financial Times. Africa is “always seen as without light. Africa has light inside.” El Gotaibi and his family were in Marrakech when the recent earthquake struck — “Thankfully, everyone was safe” — and he felt unsure whether to continue with his project, but decided his message remained vital: “Even in the face of disaster, we are not a helpless nation … We are able to rebuild.”

Scientists discover new flavor

A sixth basic flavor may have been discovered. The five established basic flavors are salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami, a Japanese word meaning “a pleasant savory taste.” They relate to simple chemicals: For instance, sweetness is produced by sugars; saltiness by metal ions such as those in table salt; sourness by acidity. Glutamate, an amino acid, creates umami. Now scientists at the University of Southern California think they have found that taste-bud receptors also respond to ammonium chloride, a chemical found in many waste products which could signal toxicity. That said, some humans may like it: Ammonium chloride is a key ingredient in salt licorice, a popular candy in Scandinavia.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts Uzbekistan counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev for talks in Moscow.
• The 24th annual New Yorker Festival opens.
• The Qatar Grand Prix begins.

The share of the world’s cholera deaths that occur in Africa. An outbreak in Zimbabwe that is suspected to have killed more than 100 people led the country’s government to impose restrictions, including suspending social gatherings and banning hand-shaking and food at funerals. Poor sanitation infrastructure, unstable water supplies, and mediocre waste management, especially in rapidly urbanizing regions, are largely to blame for outbreaks of the disease, the U.N. said. Although progress is being made, the 17 countries with the highest share of deaths due to poor sanitation are still all in Africa, data from the Institute For Health Metrics and Evaluation shows.

A dystopian satire about two women gladiators fighting for their freedom was shortlisted for the U.S.’s National Book Awards. The protagonists of Chain-Gang All-Stars, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, compete within a private prison system with clear parallels to incarceration in the United States today. The book, one of five shortlisted for the fiction category, is “both an impassioned critique of America’s broken justice system and a heart­rending queer love story,” a reviewer wrote in Locus magazine. “This is a novel that eschews didacticism and instead provokes discussion.”

• Staff for Kevin McCarthy are making calls for Jim Jordan’s speaker run.
• London is considering a shake-up of its electricity grid. The U.S.’s massive climate law is an unexpected factor.
• Can artificial intelligence turn every employee into a developer?