A "Winnie-the-Pooh" horror film has been pulled from cinemas in Hong Kong, probably because the chubby bear looks like China's portly president, Xi Jinping.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a cut version of the low-budget viral hit had passed Hong Kong’s censors and was scheduled to run in 30 movie theaters this weekend.

The film's distributor, VII Pillars Entertainment, said Tuesday on social media that it was cancelling the film in Hong Kong and Macau. The post said: "It is with great regret to announce the scheduled release of Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey in Hong Kong and Macau on March 23 has been cancelled. We are sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience."

Winnie the Pooh has faced bans in China after the internet noted the Disney character’s strong resemblance to Chinese president Xi Jinping. The cartoon bear later became a symbol of resistance to China in Hong Kong.

Beijing has worked to destroy Hong Kong’s liberal institutions after promising to allow the city to maintain its economic and governing systems for 50 years, until 2047. The city’s censorship rules were amended in 2021 so films could be banned on “national security” grounds.

HOSTOMEL, UKRAINE — The battle of Hostomel’s airport, also called Antonov Airport, started on the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The airport is situated on the northwestern side of Kyiv, and it is clear that the Russian military saw it as a very strategic asset — a platform it could use to airlift thousands of troops and equipment. From Hostomel, these airlifted forces would be within a stone’s throw of Ukraine’s capital.

First-hand accounts of what happened on that day now explain why Russia could never make use of the airport, and why Russian forces had to retreat from the area after weeks of fighting.

SOURCES: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times
https://www.wsj.com/articles/putin-thought-ukraine-would-fall-quickly-an-airport-battle-proved-him-wrong-11646343121
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/world/europe/ukraine-maps.html

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Researchers from MIT developed “Gastrointestinal tape” as an alternative to avoid complications caused by sutures and sealants, according to MIT News.

Gastrointestinal tape comes in squares that are sticky on one side, so that nearby tissues won’t get stuck together. Each square consists of two layers that match gastrointestinal tissue properties and provide stability for healing. The study’s co-lead author Hyunwoo Yuk explained to MIT News that the two layers are combined into one, with the sticky layer pre-stretched to prevent closed wounds from bursting open.

To meet the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials, the tape had to go through several mechanical tests to evaluate its adhesive properties. Study results show that the tape had a superior adhesion performance when compared to commercially available gut sealants.

The research team wanted to see how human cells would respond to the tape and in comparison to the existing gut sealant outside the human body first.

As it turns out, the duct tape is more compatible with the human body than the bluish glue, which can cause inflammation.

Researchers tested the tape on rats and pigs that had defects in their colon and stomachs. Application of the tape was timed to mimic a clinical setting and compared to a control group that utilized sutures. The tape established a fluid-tight sealing in less than 10 seconds without preparation, while sutures took several minutes.

Several weeks after the procedures, the injuries treated with the tape showed no signs of inflammation, while the sutured defects showed inflammation and fibrosis.

The study concluded that the tape is a quicker and more robust solution compared to sutures and sealants. It can be applied without preparation, induces only minimal inflammation and provides wounds with a more stable environment for healing.

SOURCES: New Scientist, MIT News, Biorxiv, Science Translational Medicine, Quick Medical
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2306925-medical-dressing-works-like-duct-tape-to-seal-internal-wounds/#ixzz7JqY4nEkw
https://news.mit.edu/2022/surgical-tape-bioadhesive-sutures-0202
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abh2857
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.12.435203v1.full.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRILBtcuK0k

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force tested Lockheed Martin’s Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept in March, but kept it secret to avoid increasing tensions with Russia.

A DARPA press release said the missile was initially accelerated up to high speeds by a booster stage.

It then engaged its air-breathing scramjet engine, which propelled it to a speed faster than Mach 5.

The hypersonic missile maintained that speed for an extended period of time, flying higher than 65,000 feet, and traveling more than 300 nautical miles.

Launched from a B-52H bomber, the missile can conduct short or no-notice strikes against time-sensitive and other critical targets.

As with other hypersonic missiles, it can maneuver within the atmosphere, meaning it can fly more unpredictably than ballistic missiles.

The initial secrecy around the launch comes in contrast to Russian claims of using hypersonic missiles against targets in Ukraine, but both gestures point toward a wider hypersonic arms race already ongoing.

On Tuesday, it was announced that the U.S. would work with Britain and Australia in developing nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons, according to The Guardian, and this is seen as a response to developments in the area by Russia and China.


SOURCES: The Drive, Defense News
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/45075/americas-latest-hypersonic-cruise-missile-made-a-secret-test-flight
https://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-kept-hypersonic-test-quiet-152411321.html

SOURCES: CBS News, CNN, BBC, The Financial Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, CNN, CNN, WeChat press release, South China Morning Post, Defence Blog, Asia Times, Xinhua Net
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/06/c_137370948.htm
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/cbs-news-exclusive-senior-us-general-on-chinas-military-buildup/#x
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/17/politics/john-hyten-china-hypersonic-weapons-test/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59001850
https://www.ft.com/content/4a317b8c-d433-4f74-91d9-0be47fc0f04a
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2021/11/04/china-hypersonic-missile-sputnik-moment-icbm-mach-5-weapon/8581971002/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/10/28/its-not-sputnik-moment-we-should-not-feed-cold-war-paranoia/
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/27/politics/general-hyten-hypersonic-weapon-threat/index.htmlhttps://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/07/china/china-hypersonic-aircraft-intl/index.html?no-st=1533692596
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?subscene=23&__biz=MzI3MDA2NDI2MQ==&mid=2650740091&idx=1&sn=8c2545c20c672d7f52d97fd560abe48c&chksm=f2dd7a91c5aaf38700ba3d259a68661b738e8303f0e4f36b6bee01f770c7e95ceb31ff1b050e&scene=7#rd
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2158524/chinas-hypersonic-aircraft-starry-sky-2-could-be-used#comments
https://defence-blog.com/aviation/china-successfully-test-fire-hypersonic-aircraft.html
http://www.atimes.com/article/china-tests-its-hypersonic-wave-rider-aircraft/

Russia’s surprising struggles in Ukraine present various lessons for the world in dealing with a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, according to the War on the Rocks site.

Firstly, Russia’s military buildup outside Ukraine demonstrates that any Chinese attack would likely be preceded by an equivalent buildup, and thus surveillance can prevent surprises.

The second lesson is that a strong national identity could play a factor in creating stronger resistance than anticipated, with asymmetric guerilla tactics harnessed in a similar way.

The third lesson is that while of course warfare plays out militarily, it’s also conducted economically.

The fourth lesson is that refugees may well become a major consideration in any future conflict.

And then, finally, the last lesson offered by War on the Rocks is that wars come with unintended consequences.

SOURCES: War on the Rocks
https://warontherocks.com/2022/03/ukraines-lessons-for-taiwan/

VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Humans are consuming about five grams of plastic, the equivalent to a credit card’s worth, every week, according to a new review in the Health and Exposure journal.

Gut News explains that both microplastics, between 0.001 and 5 millimeters in size, and nanoplastics, less than 0.001 millimeters, enter our food chain after starting out as waste packaging.

These particles can enter the body through seafood, with fish known to mistake them for food or accidentally consume them alongside other food, but they can also enter the body when we drink from plastic bottles, with people who drink 1.5 to 2 liters of water a day from these bottles taking in 90,000 plastic particles per year, while tap water drinkers take in around 40,000.

The particles can trigger local inflammation and immune response, and nanoplastics in particular have been found to trigger chemical pathways involved in the formation of cancer.

The presence of both types of particles in the gastrointestinal tract has also been found to change the gut microbiome composition, linking it to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and chronic liver disease.


SOURCES: Exposure and Health journal, Gut News
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12403-022-00470-8
https://www.gutnews.com/microplastics-food-gut-health/

Scientific Reports, Hakai Magazine
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep46173#discussion
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/theres-probably-plastic-your-sea-salt

Inhabitat, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Ecologist, Plastic Health Coalition
https://inhabitat.com/microplastics-accelerate-cell-death-at-3-times-the-normal-rate-study-says/
https://www.umcutrecht.nl/nl/Nieuws/Wat-doen-microplastics-met-onze-afweer
https://theecologist.org/2019/oct/03/microplastics-may-harm-human-health
https://www.plastichealthcoalition.org/press/what-health-risks-do-micro-and-nanoplastics-pose-to-the-human-body-the-plastic-health-summit-brings-scientists-influencers-and-industry-from-all-over-the-world-together-and-presents-the-preliminary/

Reuters, IUCN.org, ZME Science, Ocean Conservancy
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-asean-summit-environment-idUSKCN1TM0J5
https://www.zmescience.com/science/the-mediterranean-sea-is-packed-with-plastic-waste-and-it-could-get-worse-soon/
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2020-030-En.pdf
https://act.oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/full-report-stemming-the.pdf

NY Times, Science Advances, Inhabitat
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/climate/plastic-pollution-oceans.html
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/44/eabd0288
https://inhabitat.com/u-s-contributes-5-times-more-ocean-plastic-than-previous-estimates/

BERDYANSK, UKRAINE — Ukraine says it used a relatively inaccurate ballistic missile with a big warhead to hit a Russian ship while it was unloading ammunition in a Ukrainian port that had been taken over by Russian forces.

The Ukrainian military also claimed that it knew when and where to strike because it is getting information from double agents within the Russian military.

The Ukrainian military says it used a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile to destroy a Russian military cargo ship on Thursday March 24. Footage shared on social media

showed the Russian ship burning and exploding at its berth in the Ukranian port of Berdyansk. Russia’s RT news reported a few days earlier that such a rocket had been shot

down near the ship. The Tochka-U missile system was an upgrade that entered service in Russia in 1989. The Tochka-U increased its predecessor’s range to 120 kilometers

and improved its accuracy to a 50% probability of hitting within 90 meters of its target, by using a combination of a GPS system and a terminal guidance radar. Each missile has

its own dedicated launch vehicle that can travel at up to 60 kilometers per hour on roads, while being able to traverse rough terrain and cruise on water. Deploying a Tochka

for launch takes 15 minutes, while reloading takes 20 minutes. The system usually travels with a Zil-131 truck that tows additional missiles and a missile-loading system.

The military analysis website Shephard News says there is no independent confirmation that it was a Ukrainian missile that was responsible for the explosions.

It says that, based on visual evidence of an initial fire and secondary explosions, an alternative theory could be that the explosions started after a munitions-handling failure by Russian troops.

Unlike the majority of ballistic missiles, which never see use, the Tochka-U has caused a lot of destruction around the world.

The first operational use of the Tochka-U was during the 1994 Yemen civil war, where the northern forces fired them at the Saudi-backed southern side — often hitting military bases and causing many casualties.

SOURCES: BBC, Deutsche Welle
https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-claims-to-have-sunk-russian-warship-orsk/a-61252595
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60859337

KYIV, UKRAINE — Roman Abramovich poisoned: explainer.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian negotiators were allegedly poisoned after eating chocolates and drinking water during informal peace talks last month.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Abramovich, Ukrainian lawmaker Rustem Umerov and another negotiator developed symptoms after a March 3 meeting in Kyiv. These included peeling skin on their faces and hands, red eyes and constant, painful watering.

According to a source cited by The Guardian, Abramovich also lost his sight for several hours after the incident.

The poison may have consisted of organophosphates, the base chemical in nerve agents, according to one former chemical weapons colonel cited by Marca, though investigative outlet Bellingcat said the poisoning occurred through an “undefined” chemical weapon, adding that initial symptoms abated the next morning.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is also known to have met with Abramovich, but was not affected, according to Bellingcat, and all of those involved have since recovered.

As to the motivation behind the attack, allies of the poisoned men blamed ‘hardliners’ in Moscow, who allegedly ‘wanted to sabotage talks to end the war,’ according to The Guardian.


SOURCES: Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Marca, The Independent, BBC
https://www.wsj.com/articles/roman-abramovich-and-ukrainian-peace-negotiators-suffer-symptoms-of-suspected-poisoning-11648480493
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/28/abramovich-and-ukrainian-mp-may-have-been-poisoned-this-month
https://www.marca.com/en/football/chelsea/2022/03/29/6242fc0c46163fe1968b45a2.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-abramovich-poisoning-peace-b2045780.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60904676

KYIV, UKRAINE — Russia’s new “Terminator” machines have been spotted near the Ukraine border.

The Drive reports that some of Russia’s brand new BMPT-72 armored fighting vehicles have been spotted near the Ukrainian border at the start of the Russian invasion.

Nicknamed the Terminator 2, the BMPT-72 is designed to support tanks, not carry troops. For this purpose it features four anti-tank missiles and two automatic cannons.

One of the cannons fires high-explosive rounds that have a wider kill zone, while the other fires armor-piercing rounds that can penetrate thin armor and walls.

The original model also featured two frontal grenade launchers, which can unleash a deadly storm of shrapnel against infantry at any range.

Most of the new models do not have such launchers, although some new models have been photographed with them.

The BMPT-72 is designed to protect heavy tanks in urban terrain.

Its fast-moving turret can lift its machine guns at high angles to hit targets high up in buildings.

The idea is that the BMPT-72 would suppress infantry targets like Javelin missile teams, while the tanks use their big guns to blow away walls and engage other tanks.

The number of BMPT-72s in the Russian arsenal is a tightly guarded secret, but some analysts think Russia currently only has around a dozen of them. This would explain why none have been spotted inside Ukraine, so far.

The war in Ukraine has been very costly for Russia, with a lot of Russian APCs and tanks having been destroyed, abandoned or left behind after getting stuck in thick mud.

On Thursday, March 24, a Russian landing ship blew up, damaging two other Russian vessels in the occupied Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk.

The Ukrainian military posted footage of the ship blowing up and said the ship had been hit by its forces.

Details of what caused the explosion and fire on board the ship are unclear.

SOURCES: The Drive, Janes Defense News
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44389/russia-sends-its-terminator-advanced-urban-fighting-vehicles-towards-ukraine
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/russias-central-military-district-receives-new-equipment-including-bmpt-terminator

CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE — Chernobyl dust kicked up during Russian capture of the site a 'suicidal' decision for soldiers involved. Explainer.

Russian soldiers who drove their vehicles through Chernobyl’s toxic ‘red forest’ kicked up clouds of radioactive dust on their way to capturing the nuclear site in the opening days of Russia’s invasion, according to plant workers cited by Reuters, with a sensor near waste storage facilities recording the absorbed dose of radiation as seven times higher than normal, according to the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management.

Without radiation protection, this was ‘suicidal’ for the soldiers, according to one Chernobyl worker, as the radioactive dust is likely to cause internal radiation in their bodies.

However, it is not the main nuclear threat to Ukraine right now, according to nuclear expert Vadim Chumak, cited by MIT Technology Review.

Rather, the main threat comes through spent fuel. There are about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies stored at the Chernobyl site, and they contain a huge amount of fission products, such as cesium and strontium, which are very radioactive. If Russia was ‘crazy enough’ to demolish these storage sites, Chumak said, it would “pose a problem.”

The scale of that problem at Chernobyl is mitigated by the fact that the material has already decayed over time. However, elsewhere, at Zaporizhzhia, the second Ukrainian nuclear plant the Russians have captured, any damage to the spent fuel assemblies could “result in an enormous radiological emergency, comparable to what happened [originally] in Chernobyl,” according to Chumak.

This possibility is of particular concern because while reactor buildings are extremely difficult to destroy, spent fuel assembly storage was never designed to be attacked by tanks or missiles, and “definitely could not resist a strike by modern weapons.”

What’s more, the vulnerability of these bundles of used fuel rods was demonstrated in Fukushima, according to Chumak. There, the developers ‘put countermeasures for a tsunami in place to protect the equipment. But the tsunami was one or two meters higher than predicted for the worst-case scenario,’ he said. In that instance, rising temperatures in spent fuel rods along with explosions and a fire contributed to the release of higher levels of radiation from the plant.


SOURCES: Reuters, MIT Technology Review
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-chernobyl-radioactive-dust-b2046066.html
https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/25/1048297/nuclear-risk-in-ukraine-a-radiation-expert-speaks-from-kyiv/