World hunger could worsen due to Russia's war on Ukraine

Deer and COVID; Baghdad is getting hotter; smartphones and girls [View this email online]( [NPR]( Goats and Soda editor's note Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images I take my phone for granted, But when I think about the role the phone plays in my life, I'm pretty impressed. It connects me to my colleagues and office services for remote work. It lets me snap photos of everything from the sunsets I'm a sucker for to my cat's kindly efforts to groom me. It's the way I bank, catch snippets of SNL, FaceTime with faraway family members and play Wordle -- and if I'm in a particularly masochistic frame of mind, have a go at Quordle, where you have to figure out FOUR WORDS AT ONCE. It's easy to forget that for many people around the world, a phone is an unobtainable object of desire. That's the situation we cover in [a story this week about girls and tech in India.]( In many patriarchal communities, boys get priority for phones -- and the phone is seen as a gateway to inappropriate activities for girls. In our story, a teenager named Pinky is frustrated because she had no phone -- and couldn't take part in virtual learning during the long school lockdown in India. Her story has a happy ending -- but it is a reminder of the tech inequities that hamper the dreams of the world's phoneless young women. [Read the story here](. Marc Silver Editor, Goats and Soda --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- top story of the week Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images [Researcher finds 'stunning' rate of COVID among deer. Here's what it means for humans]( Studies on white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania and Ontario offer evidence that the mammals are a reservoir for the coronavirus. What are the implications for the course of SARS-CoV-2? russia's war in ukraine Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg via Getty Images [Russia's war is dire for world hunger. But there are solutions]( Both Russia and Ukraine are huge suppliers of grains and other essential foods. And with rising hunger and high food prices already, the war couldn't have come at a worse time. [Not every war gets the same coverage as Russia's invasion -- and that has consequences]( Ongoing wars in, say, Yemen and Ethiopia get minimal attention compared with the media focus on the fighting in Ukraine. And there are ramifications on the humanitarian front. in the news Diaa Hadid/NPR [Pakistan has a big idea: Send 13,000 teams led by women to vaccinate the hesitant]( The vaccinators are going door-to-door in what the government is calling an unprecedented effort, toting coolers with several types of COVID vaccine. [Why Baghdad will be one of the cities hardest hit by global warming]( Iraq's capital city is already seeing record heat — up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. A report predicts more 120-plus degree days to come. And the "urban heat island" effect will make things even worse. links we like - The Smithsonian is[sending its collection of Benin bronzes to their homeland in Nigeria]( -- a "groundbreaking move," reports The Washington Post. - The New Yorker tells the story of a ["pandemic tragedy" in Ecuador's largest city.]( - Reuters reports that [police in Turkey clashed with demonstrators marking International Women's Day]( who chanted in response, "We are not scared, we do not bow down." - An NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert showcases the soul-touching keyboard brilliance of [South African pianist and NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim.]( Nelson Mandela called him "our Mozart." --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [goatsandsoda@npr.org](mailto:goatsandsoda@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Health, Daily News, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Goats and Soda emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]