Mother of All Bombs, Assad Down the Rabbit Hole, A Shrimp that Screams

A new species of shrimp can kill fish by making a sound that reaches up to 210 decibels–louder than your typical rock concert. Yes, the Synalpheus pinkfloydi was named after Pink Floyd.

US Unleashes ‘Mother of All Bombs’ on ISIS in Afghanistan: Late Thursday night, the US unloaded the GBU-43/MOAB bomb on a tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan used by ISIS’ Afghanistan affiliate. MOAB stands for Massive Ordinance Air Blast, but is referred to by the US military as the “mother of all bombs,” a fitting epithet given that this bomb was the largest explosive ever used in combat since the atomic bombs that ended World War II. The bomb, which is designed to detonate in mid-air, caused an earthquake-like tremor below. A local on the ground described the blast: “I have grown up in the war, and I have heard different kinds of explosions through 30 years: suicide attacks, earthquakes different kinds of blasts. I have never heard anything like this.” The psychological effect on survivors or observers is considered an added impact of the weapon.

UP to 36 ISIS militants were killed in the attack. Army General John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, said that his command took “every precaution to avoid civilian casualties,” but did not elaborate on how civilian casualties were avoided or what the bomb’s impact was on Afghan civilians. There are widespread concerns that the US military’s escalating campaigns in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen are resulting in increased civilian deaths. A March strike in Mosul killed dozens of Iraqis, and on Thursday, the Pentagon revealed that a strike on April 11 killed 18 fighters belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, allies of the US. The Syrian Democratic Forces themselves requested the airstrike on a position mistakenly believed to be held by ISIS.

Assad Continues His Descent Down the Rabbit Hole: In an interview with the AFP new agency, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denies that chemical weapons were used in an attack last week, describing the allegations as “100 percent fabrication.” He suggested that photographs showing children who had died from the attack were staged. Even Assad’s strongest ally Russia admits that the deaths were caused by chemical weapons, offering the (refuted) explanation that Syrian government aircraft hit a chemical weapons facility. The UK Ministry of Defense and Turkish authorities have announced that tests carried out on samples prove that sarin gas or a similar substance was used during the attack.  

Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers in Haiti and Around the World: On Thursday, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley urged all countries that provide troops for UN peacekeeping missions to hold soldiers accountable for sexual abuse and exploitation in their host countries. Haley spoke after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to end the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti this coming October and described an Associated Press investigation into a child sex ring in Haiti involving Sri Lankan peacekeepers. The investigation detailed how 134 Sri Lankan peacekeepers exploited and sexually abused nine Haitian children between 2004 and 2007. The inquiry into the abuses in Haiti was part of the AP’s larger investigation into UN missions around the world. It found that over the past 12 years, an estimated 2,000 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation have been made against peacekeepers and UN personnel.

Haiti has a long and involved history with UN peacekeeping, which an American expert on Haiti and international organizations described as a “‘love-hate’ relationship.” Last August, the UN finally admitted after years of denial that UN peacekeepers from Nepal, dispatched after the devastating 2010 earthquake, were the cause of a cholera outbreak that killed over 10,000 Haitians.

High in Canada?: The Liberal Party of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced a bill to legalize marijuana in Canada. If the bill passes, Canada will be the second country in the world (besides Uruguay) to allow marijuana use for recreational purposes. The bill would allow Canadians to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana and grow up to four plants per household. However Canada, like the US, is part of international drug treaties that ban the legalization of marijuana at the federal level, which means that Canada will be in violation of international law if the bill passes.

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