Australian government buys rights to nation’s aboriginal flag.

The copyright acquisition makes it free for the flag to be replicated by anyone without a fee or formal agreement. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Australian government buys rights to nation’s aboriginal flag. [The Australian aboriginal flag flies on a building in Sydney, Australia, Oct. 7, 2021.] Credit: Mark Baker/AP/File photo Australia The Australian government has paid more than $14 million to the original artist and other license holders of the copyright to the nation’s aboriginal flag. The country's Indigenous people have long claimed their own black, red and yellow flag, and the new acquisition makes it free for anyone to replicate the flag [without a fee or formal agreement](. Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas had created the banner as a symbol of protest [ahead of a demonstration]( in Adelaide in 1971. But after Thomas gave exclusive licensing rights to the non-Indigenous company Wam Clothing in 2018, it threatened to fine other companies in violation of the copyright, prompting a “free the flag” campaign by Indigenous communities. United States The US Coast Guard is searching for 38 people missing off the coast of Florida after a boat capsized in a storm, leaving only [one known survivor](. The rescued man — who is at the hospital for dehydration and sun exposure — said the boat was carrying migrants that set sail from the Bahamas in what’s believed to be a human smuggling operation, and that [no one was wearing life jackets](. Officials say that, so far, one body has been recovered, but hope is fading for locating other people. Migrants often use the islands of the Bahamas as a place from which to reach US shores. Egypt The Biden administration has approved $2.5 billion in military aid to Egypt, despite calls for cutting back funding in light of the country’s [poor human rights record](. The approval follows calls by congressional Democrats for the White House not to release a $130 million [security assistance package]( that was withheld last year. President Joe Biden had pledged to take a harder line with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi over rights issues, including the suppression of dissent and the treatment of political prisoners. Egypt is a key US ally in the Middle East and has been one of the largest recipients of US military aid. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Yemenis struggle to maintain contact with loved ones amid attacks, internet blackout]( [People inspect the rubble of a prison facility hit by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in a stronghold of Houthi rebels on the border with Saudi Arabia, in the northern Saada province of Yemen, Jan. 22, 2022.]( Credit: Hani Mohammed/AP The Saudi-led coalition that conducted airstrikes in Yemen last Friday hit two separate targets: a detention center, where migrants are held, and a telecommunications tower, [cutting off internet access]( for most of the country for four days. At least 60 people were killed in the attack, including three children. --------------------------------------------------------------- Double take Researchers in California have sparked a fusion reaction that was able to sustain itself for a fraction of a second, using 192 lasers and temperatures more than three times hotter than the center of the sun. Scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab are trying to generate power the way the sun generates heat, by compressing hydrogen atoms so they combine into helium and release a rush of energy. It's a push to find ways to produce nearly pollution-free fusion energy. [This illustration depicts a target pellet inside a hohlraum capsule with laser beams entering through openings on either end.] Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via AP --------------------------------------------------------------- [In case you missed it from The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.