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A BABY in Iraq is the first in the world to be born with three penises, doctors claim.

The youngster has a rare condition called triphallia, which has never been reported before.

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Doctors in the Kurdistan Region detailed the case in the medical journal International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.

The unidentified boywas three months old when it was discovered he had three penises, MailOnline reported, and it's not clear why it hadn't been discovered at his birth.

His parents, from Duhok city, had brought him into hospital because he had swelling in his scrotum and two skin projections.

But to the doctors' shock, they discovered these protrusions were penises, 2cm and 1cm in length.

However, they did not perform like functioning organs - neither had a urethra to wee from and it is unclear from the report if they were connected to the reproductive system.

Only one of the extra penises had a head.

Doctors diagnosed supernumerary penises - an extremely rare condition first seen in 1609, in which a baby is born with more than one penis.

The condition affects one in every five to six million births and is never the same from one case to another, the report said.

Some 100 cases of babies born with two penises have been reported in medical literature, and in some cases both penises work.

Previously doctors in India claimed they had treated a two-year-old boy born with three penises and no anus, but it appears the story was never written up in a medical journal.

Sometimes it can be accompanied with other problems, such as a double bladder.

For example, one baby born with two penises in Russia also had a third leg and no anus.

The team in Iraq led by Dr Shakir Saleem Jabali said there was no evidence of any other health issues in the infant.

They looked into whether the baby had been exposed to alcohol or drugs during his pregnancy - which he had not.

They were stumped as to how the condition could have occurred.

But decided the best option was to carefully remove the two extra stubs while the baby was put under anaesthesia.

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A year later, the baby was healthy and had recovered well but will need check-ups as he goes through puberty and before marriage, the report said.

Dr Jabali wrote: Triphallia (three penises) is unreported condition in human until now.

Treatment is difficult because it poses medical, ethical, and cosmetic aspects.

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Baby boy born in Iraq is first to be born with three penises, doctors claim... - The Sun

Suited up in protective gear, a team of women fan out across the rugged fields of Basra.

Defying rigid gender norms in Iraq, they search with careful precision for dangerous explosives.

Hind Ali explains why she joined the all-female demining team.

"The main reason I joined the team is a humanitarian one. Vast areas of the province of Basra have a lot of mines, people have been prevented from living on those lands. Moreover, there is a lack of awareness among some people that has caused countless accidents in the province of Basra."

Ridding their province from landmines the 14 women were trained over the course of 40 days.

Equipping them with the tools and knowledge to find and safely clear different types of mines.

The difficulty and danger of the task however, was not their only obstacle.

But rejection from their community for women to take up such tasks has also proven difficult.

"Until now, no one has encouraged me in this field, because, well you know, families are worried. Just hearing the term 'demining' causes immense fear for many people, especially with parents and close relatives, even now, my family and close friends are completely against it."

Over the past years, mines have killed and injured dozens of Iraqis in the east and west of the city.

In Basra, there are thousands of kilometres still full of mines, as a result of the Iraq-Iran war and the Gulf war. With each piece of new ground cleared, these women are saving lives.

- Suited up in protective gear, a team of women fanned out across the rugged fields of Basra.

Defying rigid gender norms in Iraq, they searched with careful precision for dangerous explosives.

Hind Ali explains why she joined the all-female demining team.

HIND ALI: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

INTERPRETER: The main reason I joined the team as a humanitarian one. Vast areas of the province of Basra have a lot of mines. People have been prevented from living on these lands. Moreover, there's a lack of awareness among some people that has caused countless accidents in the province of Basra.

Story continues

- Ridding their province from landmines, the 14 women were trained over the course of 40 days-- equipping them with the tools and knowledge to find and safely clear different types of mines. The difficulty and danger of the task, however, was not their only obstacle. But rejection from their community for women to take up such tasks has also proven difficult.

INTERPETER: Until now, no one has encouraged me in this field because, well, you know, families are worried. Just hearing the term "demining" causes immense fear for many people, especially with parents and close relatives. Even now, my family and close friends are completely against it.

- Over the past years, mines have killed and injured dozens of Iraqis in the east and west of the city. In Basra, there are thousands of kilometers still full of mines, as a result of the Iraq-Iran war and the Gulf War. With each piece of new ground cleared, these women are saving lives.

The rest is here:
Meet the women braving Iraq's minefields in Basra - Yahoo News

When Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman met while waiting in the registration line on their first day of graduate school at Princeton University in 1963, computer science was still a strange new world.

Using a computer required a set of esoteric skills typically reserved for trained engineers and mathematicians. But today, thanks in part to the work of Dr. Aho and Dr. Ullman, practically anyone can use a computer and program it to perform new tasks.

On Wednesday, the Association for Computing Machinery, the worlds largest society of computing professionals, said Dr. Aho and Dr. Ullman would receive this years Turing Award for their work on the fundamental concepts that underpin computer programming languages. Given since 1966 and often called the Nobel Prize of computing, the Turing Award comes with a $1 million prize, which the two academics and longtime friends will split.

Dr. Aho and Dr. Ullman helped refine one of the key components of a computer: the compiler that takes in software programs written by humans and turns them into something computers can understand.

Over the past five decades, computer scientists have built increasingly intuitive programming languages, making it easier and easier for people to create software for desktops, laptops, smartphones, cars and even supercomputers. Compilers ensure that these languages are efficiently translated into the ones and zeros that computers understand.

Without their work, we would not be able to write an app for our phones, said Krysta Svore, a researcher at Microsoft who studied with Dr. Aho at Columbia University, where he was chairman of the computer science department. We would not have the cars we drive these days.

The researchers also wrote many textbooks and taught generations of students as they defined how computer software development was different from electrical engineering or mathematics.

Their fingerprints are all over the field, said Graydon Hoare, the creator of a programming language called Rust. He added that two of Dr. Ullmans books were sitting on the shelf beside him.

After leaving Princeton, both Dr. Aho, a Canadian by birth who is 79, and Dr. Ullman, a native New Yorker who is 78, joined the New Jersey headquarters of Bell Labs, which was then one of the worlds leading research labs.

Dr. Ullman, now professor emeritus at Stanford University, was also instrumental in developing the languages and concepts that drive databases, the software for storing and retrieving information that is essential to everything from the Google search engine to the applications used by office workers across the globe.

The ideas cultivated by Dr. Aho and Dr. Ullman are even a part of the computers of the future. At Microsoft, Dr. Svore is working on quantum computers, experimental machines that rely on the strange behavior exhibited by things like electrons or exotic metals cooled to several hundred degrees below zero.

Quantum computers rely on a completely different kind of physical behavior from traditional computers. But as they create programming languages for these machines, Dr. Svore and her colleagues are still drawing on the work of the latest Turing winners.

We are building on the same techniques, she said.

More:
Turing Award Goes to Creators of Computer Programming Building Blocks - The New York Times

President BidenJoe BidenThe Hill's Morning Report - GOP pounces on Biden's infrastructure plan Biden administration unveils network of community leaders to urge COVID-19 vaccinations Pompeo 'regrets' not making more progress with North Korea MORE is on a potential collision course with progressives like Sen. Bernie SandersBernie SandersThe Hill's Morning Report - GOP pounces on Biden's infrastructure plan Biden risks first major fight with progressives Biden sets off Capitol Hill scramble on spending, taxes MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenThe Hill's Morning Report - GOP pounces on Biden's infrastructure plan Biden risks first major fight with progressives Biden sets off Capitol Hill scramble on spending, taxes MORE (D-Mass.) over the size and scope of his newly unveiled infrastructure package.

While many progressives applauded Bidens $2.25 trillion proposal on Wednesday, they also cautioned it is only the starting point for negotiations.

Some of the more ambitious proposals favored by progressives, such as expanding Medicare, investing in free community college and universal prekindergarten, have been relegated to a second infrastructure package slated for introduction later this year.

Thats making progressive lawmakers and outside advocacy groups nervous. They worry some of their top priorities, such as more funding for child care and a permanent child tax credit, may lose momentum if the first package, which focuses on more traditional infrastructure priorities, becomes law.

They also question whether its realistic for the White House to expect any Republicans to vote for a narrower infrastructure package which seems to be the main reason for dividing Bidens infrastructure agenda into two bills.

One key moderate, Sen. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanThe Hill's Morning Report - GOP pounces on Biden's infrastructure plan Biden risks first major fight with progressives Biden sets off Capitol Hill scramble on spending, taxes MORE (R-Ohio), took a shot at Bidens plan Wednesday, calling the proposal to raise corporate tax rates the wrong approach, an early sign that attracting Republican votes will be difficult.

This might be the last opportunity we have to really do big things under reconciliation. We need to see more here, and I think thats the universal thought across the movement right now, said Yvette Simpson, the CEO of Democracy for America, a progressive advocacy group, referring to special budget rules that allow Democrats to pass bills through the Senate with simple-majority votes.

Senate Majority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerIntercept bureau chief on Democrats' efforts on minimum wage: 'Might as well go for it' Schumer kicks into reelection mode The disgrace that was the Biden press conference MORE (D-N.Y.) is making the argument to the Senate parliamentarian that Democrats should be allowed to move two more packages under those special budgetary rules.

Democrats are unlikely to pick up more than one or two Republicans on an infrastructure bill in the 50-50 Senate, if they get any GOP votes at all.

The big question is, Is this the last time were going to the well? We were told initially there were going to be two big reconciliation budgets. The first one was going to be around COVID and the second one was going to be everything else, said Simpson.

If Democrats arent able to move a third reconciliation package to enact reforms left out of Wednesdays infrastructure package, Simpson said, Bidens $2.25 trillion proposal isnt going to go far enough.

By putting the most politically popular infrastructure items in the first package, progressives worry itll be even harder to get support from moderates such as Sens. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinBiden risks first major fight with progressives Biden sets off Capitol Hill scramble on spending, taxes White House moves to reshape role of US capitalism MORE (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaBiden risks first major fight with progressives Five things to watch on Biden infrastructure plan The Hill's Morning Report - Biden to talk infrastructure amid border, voting controversies MORE (D-Ariz.) when the more people-focused infrastructure package lands in Congress.

You may as well put everything in the bill, get your caucus together on one big bill, because outside of Republicans we still have to worry about the Manchins and the Sinemas of the world who want their potholes [fixed] and they want it now, but they may not care as much about health care, Simpson said.

Warren last week raised concerns that focusing exclusively on popular priorities, such as fixing highways, rebuilding bridges and upgrading ports, could make it more difficult to pass legislation later on that addresses economic inequality.

I want to see the details of how theyre planning to make sure that the climate issues and the child care issues dont get left behind. We cant have the train leave the station and critical parts are left on the platform, she said.

On Wednesday, she tweeted that the#AmericanJobsPlan is a game-changer and full of ideas that progressives like me are fighting for to make long-overdue investments in Americas future.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezThe Hill's Morning Report - GOP pounces on Biden's infrastructure plan Biden risks first major fight with progressives On The Money: Breaking down Biden's infrastructure plan | Biden eyes tax hikes on corporations, households left alone MORE (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday said Bidens plan needs to be way bigger.

This is not nearly enough. The important context here is that its $2.25T spread out over 10 years. For context, the COVID package was $1.9T for this year *alone,* with some provision lasting 2 years, she tweeted.

Rep. Pramila JayapalPramila JayapalBiden risks first major fight with progressives Biden sets off Capitol Hill scramble on spending, taxes White House moves to reshape role of US capitalism MORE (D-Wash.), head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Tuesday the White House needs to go even bigger, lamenting that Biden's proposal is much smaller than what he championed on the campaign trail last year.

"The Biden infrastructure proposal on the campaign trail was significantly larger than what's been discussed so far with Build Back Better," Jayapal said on a call with reporters, citing estimates that put the cost of his campaign proposal between $6.5 trillion and $11 trillion over 10 years.

"So we really think that there's ample room to get the overall number up to somewhere in that range in order to really tackle the scale of investment that we need to make," she said.

Jayapal supports including tax hikes in the package but primarily as a way to bring more "fairness" to the tax code, rather than simply to offset the cost of infrastructure improvements.

"Democrats should not constrain ourselves or lower our ambitions because of manufactured concerns about the deficit," she said.

Among progressive activists, there are growing questions about whether Bidens infrastructure plan will do enough to tackle economic inequality in historically marginalized communities.

Theres a lot more that needs to be addressed, especially when we think about how equity has been reflected in climate justice work, said Joanne Prodin, an activist with Florida Rising. This is the time for us to get bolder.

She said the White House and Congress needs to make sure investment will be equitably spread across Black communities, brown communities, indigenous communities.

Given those concerns, progressive lawmakers and activists are rallying around another infrastructure proposal, the Thrive Act, unveiled on Monday. The measure would invest $1 trillion in the U.S. economy each year over the next decade with a goal of cutting climate pollution in half by 2030.

Its sponsors include Sen. Ed MarkeyEd MarkeyBiden risks first major fight with progressives Five takeaways on Biden's big infrastructure package Hillicon Valley: House lawmakers fired up for hearing with tech CEOs | Zuckerberg proposes conditional Section 230 reforms | Lawmakers reintroduce bill to secure internet-connected devices MORE (D-Mass.) and Reps. Debbie DingellDeborah (Debbie) Ann DingellBiden risks first major fight with progressives A year later, lawmakers long for hugs and Chuck E. Cheese FBI informant describes plot against Whitmer MORE (D-Mich.), Ro KhannaRohit (Ro) KhannaBiden risks first major fight with progressives Ocasio-Cortez endorses Turner in Ohio special election The Memo: How the COVID-19 year upended politics MORE (D-Calif.) and Yvette ClarkeYvette Diane ClarkeBiden risks first major fight with progressives Congressional proclamation prioritizes a critical societal issue: Lack of women of color in tech Democrats say increased recognition of climate change puts more pressure on GOP MORE (D-N.Y.).

Markey on Tuesday called the moment a historic opportunity to enact a bold plan.

With a Democratic White House and Senate and House of Representatives we have a chance to lift the gaze of our country to the constellation of possibilities in job creation and to finally rectify the historic racial injustices so many people of color have faced in this country, all while solving the climate crisis at the same time, he said in a video touting the legislation.

A progressive Senate aide called Bidens plan a good start, noting that raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent and other business tax changes will raise around $3 trillion over 15 years.

But the source said Senate liberals are going to push for more on the climate stuff, on child care and more progressive tax policy.

Advocates of a bolder approach argue the federal government will need to spend more money to achieve full employment.

Its a good step in the right direction in terms of the scope, the fact that its pretty expansive. However, as it relates to the scale, were going to need larger-scale investments in order to reach full employment in this country, said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party.

He estimated that the Thrive Act would create 15 million jobs over 10 years.

Were going to work with President Biden and the Senate and the House to expand the size and scope of Bidens infrastructure package, he said, calling Bidens $2.25 proposal a floor.

Some activists are already turning their attention to Democratic moderates like Manchin.

Over the next week, during the congressional recess, there are more than 130 actions taking place all over the country where activists and others are going to be engaging their congressional leaders, Mitchell said.

The actions range from congressional town halls, but theres all types of other actions that activists are doing on the ground. In West Virginia, in front of Joe Manchins three offices, there are going to be concerts.

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Biden risks first major fight with progressives | TheHill - The Hill

Less than three months before the New York City mayoral primary, the citys progressive left has declined to coalesce behind a single contender. Some of the most influential organizations, like the Working Families Party, havent endorsed yet, and some of the biggest individual players, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, might not endorse at all. But looking at the endorsements that have come so far, three candidates have emerged as progressive favorites: New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, former nonprofit leader Dianne Morales, and former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Maya Wiley. And movement leaders are putting their faith into ranked-choice voting, hoping the divided support actually becomes an asset.

Supporting multiple candidates, having them all do semi-well, take away votes from the ones you dont want to win I think is an actual strategy, said Linda Sarsour, a Brooklyn-based activist who is influential in the progressive movement. It may seem like its not a strategy, but I actually feel like people are being a lot more strategic than theyre getting credit for.

The progressive movement in New York can be loosely defined as the individuals and organizations that supported Cynthia Nixon over Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 primary. While labor unions are often allies to this movement, their role and influence in the mayoral race is a different question entirely, driven by different motivations than a typical ideologically driven political organization, like the New York City Democratic Socialists of America or New York Communities for Change.

Members of the movement largely agree that Stringer, Morales and Wiley are most aligned with the group on policies like defunding the police, increasing taxes on the wealthy and forgiving unpaid rent accrued during the coronavirus pandemic. But there are enough policy disagreements among them, as well as different approaches, that choosing who to support, and in what order, is a hot topic of debate.

Our membership were kind of evenly split between who their favorite progressive was, said George Albro, co-chair of the New York Progressive Action Network, or NYPAN, which was born of Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. And rather than be a divisive choice, we thought wed unify the progressives in the race by doing a dual endorsement, of Morales and Wiley. But one persons unity is anothers division, and Stringer was the one left out. Albro was spooked by recent polling that didnt show Stringer in the commanding position he hoped to be in at this point. But theres also issues of race and gender to consider. Im not into identity politics per se, but weve never had a woman mayor of New York City, and weve gone 28 straight years with a white male mayor, Albro said. Stringer is a white man, while Wiley is a Black woman and Morales is Afro-Latina.

As much as Stringers identity may have been an asset in life, it could be a liability when trying to win progressive support in 2021. Still, it hasnt seemed to hinder him too much he has many more endorsements than either Morales or Wiley, including from women of color like state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Diana Richardson, who have been outspoken advocates for Stringers campaign.

In politics, discussions of race and gender often become questions of electability. Look no further than President Joe Bidens victory in the historically diverse presidential primary field, where a central argument of his supporters was that he, a traditional white male candidate, had the best chance to beat Donald Trump. But RCV may provide progressive voters a way to support a candidate like Morales, even if they harbor doubts about her viability as a first-time candidate in a crowded field and her low polling. Morales is basically the candidate practical lefties would never choose in a FPTP (first-past-the-post voting, the previous style) election, but with ranked choice, why not?, Steve Fox, an NYC-DSA member who works for Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, recently tweeted. Ill be putting her as my number one and Stringer as my number two. Stringer is who Id vote for in a FPTP primary.

Morales in particular has been earning interest from the socialist corners of the wider progressive movement.

Dianne doesnt identify as a socialist, but a lot of socialists like her, said state Sen. Jabari Brisport, who recently endorsed Morales as his first choice and Stringer as his second. Brisport is an NYC-DSA member, and although the organization isnt planning to get formally involved in the mayoral race, Brisport expects individual members will be inspired to help Morales.

Wiley is getting much less attention from leftists, many of whom see the former cable news legal analyst as a sort of MSNBC liberal, who doesnt actually want radical change. Of course, theres also some skepticism of Stringer. He has an impressive track record of endorsing progressive insurgents and speaking up on the right issues, but some cant help but think the longtime political operator is an opportunist, riding the progressive wave.

Enthusiastic or not, Stringer has far more money in his account than Wiley and Morales, solid name recognition, and enough political experience to last two lifetimes. And some in the progressive movement would rather go all-in on Stringer than put too much faith in RCV.

Scott is the lone progressive in this race with the political strength and resources to mount a successful challenge to Andrew Yang and Eric Adams corporate candidates who will betray working-class and poor New Yorkers, said Jonathan Westin, executive director of New York Communities for Change in the organizations endorsement announcement. NYCC called on other groups on the left to rally around Stringer and help him stay competitive with Yang and Adams both of whom the movement views largely with disdain.

Stringer campaign spokesperson Tyrone Stevens insists that consolidation is already on track. Were building the progressive multiracial intergenerational coalition we need to win this race, he said. We have the most progressive support of any candidate for good reason and were proud of it. But many organizations and figures have yet to endorse. The Working Families Party is being closely watched, and an endorsement is said to be coming within the month. Jumaane Williams, another sought-after endorsement, hasnt formally backed a candidate yet, but is expected to. Same goes for his 2018 running mate Cynthia Nixon, and major groups like Make the Road Action. If they all back Stringer, it would be a strong case for consolidation, but if not, then the left will remain split in the mayoral race.

But with RCV throwing even more uncertainty into the mayoral race than usual, Sarsour doesnt think thats necessarily a bad thing.

The left is really being cautious about putting all their eggs in one basket, she said. Because with ranked-choice voting, you dont exactly know how its going to go.

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In the mayoral race, progressives place their trust in RCV - City & State