Ending Impunity

The International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to pursue an arrest warrant for Myanmar's military leader General Min Aung Hlaing is a crucial step against impunity for crimes against humanity.

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India's maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1, has achieved a remarkable milestone by capturing vital data on coronal mass ejections (CMEs), opening new frontiers in space weather prediction.

This scientific breakthrough is not just a testament to India's growing prowess in space exploration but also a significant contribution to global efforts in safeguarding critical infrastructure from solar disruptions.

The Sun, our life-sustaining star, is also a formidable force capable of unleashing immense energy bursts.

CMEs, massive eruptions from the Sun's outer corona, travel at blistering speeds of up to 3,000 km/s, carrying charged particles that can disrupt satellites, knock out power grids, and interfere with communication networks.

With the global economy increasingly dependent on space-based systems, understanding and predicting these phenomena have become an urgent necessity.

Aditya-L1's key instrument, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (Velc), has set a new benchmark by observing the precise genesis of a CME.

Unlike other solar missions, Velc's ability to monitor the Sun's outer corona uninterruptedly offers unparalleled insights into CME trajectories.

This breakthrough allows scientists to predict whether these solar storms pose a threat to Earth, enabling timely countermeasures to protect vulnerable systems.

The potential implications are transformative.

Solar storms have a history of causing widespread disruptions, from the 1859 Carrington Event that crippled global telegraph systems to a 1989 CME that left millions in Quebec without power.

In our hyper-connected world, such events could trigger chaos on a much larger scale, affecting communication satellites, navigation systems, and power grids.

By providing early warnings, Aditya-L1's observations empower governments and industries to minimize these risks, ensuring the resilience of critical infrastructure.