Solar Storm, Ukraine, and a Marathon-Running Duck

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Russia attacks Ukraine's Kharkiv region, opening up new front.

Russian forces on Friday launched a ground operation in the second-largest city in Ukraine and targeted the northeastern area with shelling and aerial strikes. Ukraine said its forces had repelled Russia's attacks and deployed reserve units along the front, where fighting is ongoing. Until now, fighting was primarily centered in Ukraine's southern and eastern regions. See war updates here. 

UN General Assembly backs bid for Palestinian membership. 

The 193-member body voted 143-9, with 25 abstentions, to approve a resolution recognizing Palestine as qualified to join the United Nations. The resolution does not grant full membership and is largely symbolic. Under UN rules, the more exclusive UN Security Council (see overview) would need to back new membership for final approval. The US, which is part of the UN Security Council, was among the nine UN General Assembly members to vote against the resolution (see why).  

Appeals court upholds Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction.

Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison in 2022 but had been allowed to remain free until the appeals process concluded. He was convicted of contempt of Congress for ignoring a deposition request and for refusing to hand over documents related to former President Donald Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Bannon is one of two former Trump advisers convicted of contempt of Congress; Peter Navarro began serving his four-month sentence in March. 

Novavax shares double on Sanofi deal to commercialize COVID-19 vaccine. 

Biotechnology firm Novavax announced Friday it has struck a $1.2B licensing deal with French drugmaker Sanofi. Under the deal, Sanofi will have a nearly 5% stake in Novavax and would be able to use Novavax's COVID-19 shot and vaccine technology to develop a combined vaccine that targets both the flu and COVID-19. Shares of Novavax closed up 98% Friday.

UK exits technical recession as economy grows faster than expected.

Britain's gross domestic product—the total value of goods and services produced—rose 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024, according to latest government data. The figure marks the strongest growth since a 1.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2021 (see chart). The UK economy had shrunk in the previous two quarters in 2023, signaling a technical recession.  

World's largest carbon capture facility begins operating in Iceland.

Swiss startup Climeworks opened a carbon capture and storage facility, dubbed "mammoth," this week. The facility, situated on a dormant volcano in Hellisheidi, Iceland, aims to remove 36,000 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere annually. Mammoth works similarly to an air filter, using fans to pull carbon dioxide from the air. The carbon dioxide is eventually dissolved in water and pumped into the ground. See an overview on carbon capture here.