Africa
CollapsingBanditsandTheirApplicationtoPublic HealthInterventions
Neither (i) nor (ii) are known for general RMABs. Therefore, to capture the scheduling problems addressed inthiswork,weintroduce anewsubclass ofRMABs,Collapsing Bandits, distinguished by the following feature: when an arm is played, the agent fully observes its state, "collapsing" any uncertainty, but when an arm is passive, no observation is made and uncertainty evolves.
Deadly drone attacks on civilians continue in Sudan's Kordofan, UN says
Deadly drone attacks on civilians continue in Sudan's Kordofan, UN says Fatal drone strikes on civilians persist in Sudan's Kordofan, as the central region has emerged as the latest front line in Sudan's nearly three-year conflict, the United Nations has said. Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk painted a grim picture of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has plunged the country into widespread bloodshed and humanitarian catastrophe. Turk also highlighted harrowing survivor testimonies from el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which fell to RSF forces in October following an 18-month siege. He described accounts of atrocity crimes committed by the paramilitary after it overran the city, including mass killings and other grave violations targeting civilians. "Responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies squarely with the [RSF] and their allies and supporters," he said As Sudan's devastating civil war expands beyond the western Darfur region into the central Kordofan areas, Turk cautioned that the shift in fighting is likely to bring even more severe violations against civilians, expressing deep concern over the potential for additional grave abuses, specifically highlighting the increasing use of "advanced drone weaponry systems" by both warring parties.