Good morning. We’re covering an Israeli assessment of Iran’s nuclear program and the killing of a Ukrainian intelligence officer. Plus, toads with psychedelic powers.
Israel concluded that some Iranian uranium survived attacksSome of Iran’s underground stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium survived U.S. and Israeli attacks last month and may be accessible to Iran’s nuclear engineers, according to a senior Israeli official. The official, and other Israelis with access to the country’s intelligence findings, did not express concern about the remaining enriched uranium. They said that any attempts by Iran to recover it would almost certainly be detected and that there would be time to attack. President Trump and his administration have maintained that Iran’s nuclear program was “obliterated” by the joint strike. Israel began moving toward military action against Iran late last year after seeing what the senior official described as a race to build a bomb as part of a secret project. The official said that the intelligence was shared with the U.S. But in the months before the attack, U.S. officials said that they did not believe Iran had decided to build a weapon. Related: A report by a British parliamentary intelligence committee warned that Iran was targeting dissidents and gathering intelligence on Jewish and Israeli targets in Britain.
A Ukrainian spy was shot in a Kyiv parking lotUkrainian authorities said yesterday that an elite officer from the S.B.U., its domestic intelligence agency, was gunned down in Kyiv in broad daylight. The victim, identified as Col. Ivan Voronych, led a unit that played a crucial role in Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region last summer. Known as the Fifth Directorate, the unit received technical support from the C.I.A. and was also responsible for killing a senior Russian separatist commander known by his nom de guerre, Motorola, in 2016. Current Ukrainian officials would not speculate over Russia’s involvement. If Russia was behind the shooting, it would represent a rare covert success since it invaded Ukraine three years ago. Diplomacy: Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russia’s foreign minister in Malaysia and repeated Trump’s displeasure over the lack of progress in peace talks. Drones: Moscow launched another barrage of strikes on Kyiv, killing two people. The recent battlefield drone innovations have the Pentagon questioning its own vulnerability.
Britain and France agreed to a first-ever nuclear weapons pactPrime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain and President Emmanuel Macron of France yesterday announced a new defense relationship. For the first time, they pledged to have their countries’ nuclear arsenals work together in the event of an attack against an ally in Europe. Europe has long been reliant on the U.S. for nuclear protection, but Trump is increasingly talking about the need for Europe to defend itself against potential adversaries. The deal comes as the two countries attempt to shore up E.U. support for defending Ukraine against Russian aggression amid wavering U.S. support. Migration: The leaders also announced an agreement that could reduce the number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel in small boats from northern France.
The Sonoran Desert toad looks much like any other toad. But when threatened, it does something extraordinary: It secretes a powerful psychedelic from its skin. What makes the toad unappealing for predators has the opposite effect on human drug users, and scientists think that may be the reason the toad population has dropped. Read more. Lives lived: Henry Mount Charles staged concerts on the grounds of his Irish manor, drawing the likes of U2, Bob Dylan, Madonna and the Rolling Stones. He died at 74.
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Why is a common procedure such an ordeal for women?C-sections are the most frequently performed surgeries in the world. So why do so many patients feel severe pain during the procedure? That’s the question at the center of the second season of “The Retrievals,” a podcast hosted by Susan Burton. After the first season of the show, which explored how women’s pain is often minimized and dismissed, hundreds of listeners wrote to Susan to share their own stories. Some of the most shocking emails were from listeners who said they “felt everything” during their C-sections. Susan uncovered a story not only about a widespread problem but also about the people trying to solve it. Listen to the podcast. And for more: Watch Susan explain in the video above how she became interested in this story. She also shared some of the emails she received from women.
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