The surgeon general of Florida, Dr Joseph Ladapo, said on Monday the state will formally recommend against Covid-19 vaccinations for healthy children.
Ladapo made the announcement at a roundtable event organized by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, that featured doctors who have criticized coronavirus lockdowns and mandate policies.
Continue reading...Animal activists criticise removal of bear known as Juan Carrito, taken to an enclosure for ‘problem’ animals
A rare brown bear who became famous after breaking into a bakery and feasting on the biscuits has been captured in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, sparking criticism from animal activists.
The marsican bear, affectionately known as Juan Carrito by residents in the mountain town of Roccaraso, has been taken to an enclosure for “problem” animals.
Continue reading...Three people were left critically injured after violence at Querétaro v Atlas. But many observers said the scenes could have been prevented
The scenes that shocked Mexico and horrified the world of soccer on Saturday were caught on shaky cell phone videos: men wearing the red and black jerseys of the Liga MX champions, Atlas, lay prone while others in the blue and black of Gallos del Querétaro beat and stripped them. Hundreds of raging fans descended on the pitch in Querétaro’s Corregidora Stadium, chasing their rivals, who sought refuge in the Atlas players’ locker room. Many Atlas fans ripped off their shirts to avoid being attacked.
The riot that broke out during the match between the two teams from central Mexico left 26 injured, three in a critical condition, the governor of the state of Querétaro, Mauricio Kuri, told reporters at a press conference on Sunday. Kuri also denied reports that there had been fatalities.
Continue reading...They claim to be honest brokers, but is that just a fig leaf to cover their moral bankruptcy?
How blessed are the peacemakers? After the first wave of intermediaries led by Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, a new group have beaten their way to Vladimir Putin’s long table since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or at least sought to intervene by phone.
The current crop includes Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE and now the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Continue reading...Expert says pigs are ‘worst invasive wild mammal on the planet’, carrying diseases, destroying crops and contaminating water
The Canadian city of Edmonton may soon be hogtied with a problem that it won’t be able to barbecue its way out of.
Wild pigs have been spreading across central Alberta’s prairies and if left unchecked, could soon find themselves in the river valley of Edmonton. According to Ryan Brook, a University of Saskatchewan professor studying the pigs, the creatures are an “ecological trainwreck” and would cause “absolute destruction” if they make their way to the river valley, which is abundant in water and forest cover.
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the international community on Monday to boycott Russian exports and to stop supplying products to Russia. Ukraine's president said: 'If they do not want to comply with civilised rules, they should not receive goods and services from civilisation either. Let the war feed them.' He also called on western allies to send aircraft for his air force
Continue reading...Violinist and teacher Vera Lytovchenko has traded a theatre for a basement and played her violin for fellow Kharkiv residents taking cover from Russian bombing.
Lytovchenko said she was inspired in seeing one of her students play in a makeshift bomb shelter at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
‘It was very difficult to play and think about something that wasn’t war. But I decided I must do something,’ Lytovchenko said. ‘We have become a family in this cellar and when I played they cried. They forget about the war for some moments and think about something else.’
Video of Lytovchenko playing Ніч яка місячна (The Night is So Moonlit) has gone viral on Twitter, but Lytovchenko said she is mainly interested about her friends’ and colleagues’ reactions on Facebook because that is how she knows they are still alive.
Lytovchenko said she would stay in Kharkiv to rebuild the city. ‘I won’t just play,’ she said. ‘This is my land. I want to help rebuild the city with my own hands.
‘I don’t need pity. I don’t need to complain. I just need the bombing to stop then we will rebuild. I need the war to end’
Continue reading...Aid agencies warn of ‘ripple effect’ as soaring wheat prices hit countries already facing inflation, food insecurity and conflict
Concerns are growing across the Middle East and north Africa that the war in Ukraine will send prices of staple foods soaring as wheat supplies are hit, potentially fuelling unrest. Russia and Ukraine supply a quarter of the world’s wheat exports, while Egypt is the world’s biggest importer of wheat.
In Tunisia, like many people queueing for bread in Tunis’s sprawling medina, or old town, Khmaes Ammani, a day labourer, said the rising cost of living was leaving him squeezed. “There’s never any money at the end of the month,” he said. “I even have to borrow some. Everything is getting more expensive.”
Continue reading...Ranald Crook, now back in Britain, was forbidden to fly home for his father’s funeral under travel ban
A 75-year-old British man was trapped in Qatar for more than seven years when he was refused permission to leave after a business dispute.
Ranald Crook, who is back in Gloucestershire, was even forbidden to fly home for his father’s funeral as a result of the travel ban, imposed after two influential Qatari brothers took legal action against him.
Continue reading...Move comes amid public alarm over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Moldova also applies to join bloc
In a surprise U-turn, the government of Georgia has applied for EU membership just days after declaring it would not accelerate its application, as fears grow among the Georgian public that the Russian invasion might not stop with Ukraine.
A day after Ukraine made its formal application for EU membership on Wednesday, Georgia responded to the pressure of overwhelming public protests and made its own request, along with Moldova.
Continue reading...The Ukrainian president has vowed to punish 'every bastard' who committed atrocities during the invasion of Ukraine amid outrage at Russia’s shelling of civilians as they tried to flee Irpin, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, after several people were killed.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on the 24 February, has triggered the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the second world war, according to the head of the UN’s refugee agency
Volunteers leading response to growing number of people fleeing Russian invasion, as country announces £1.3bn fund for refugees
More than 1 million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, the Polish border guard has said.
Poland, which shares a 310-mile border with Ukraine, has taken in the majority of the 1.7 million people who have left their homes since the war began, with aid efforts largely operated by volunteers, as well as NGOs and municipalities.
Continue reading...Critics compare Israeli military actions of Palestinian territories with Russian invasion of Ukraine but pro-Israel groups dismiss allegations as false parallels
The US and some of its European allies are facing accusations of double standards for supporting sanctions and international war crimes investigations against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while blocking them over Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.
But pro-Israel groups in the US have dismissed the allegations by accusing critics of exploiting Ukrainian suffering to draw false parallels.
Continue reading...Basil Matsika hopes his joyful murals of Mbare’s music and sports stars will inspire others to look beyond the area’s poverty and crime
Street artist Basil Matsika paints murals of local musicians and daily life in the streets of Mbare, one of Zimbabwe’s oldest townships, in the capital Harare. With his brush and paint jar, he says he communicates deep sentiments of hope amid the overwhelming landscape of poverty.
While many see Mbare as a crime-ridden neighbourhood, Matsika, 40, chooses to see beauty in the grimy, patched walls of the Matapi flats, which have become his canvas for his giant murals.
Continue reading...Bill would allow government to freeze assets and also prevent Russian yachts and aircraft from entering New Zealand
New Zealand will rush a bill through parliament this week that will significantly ramp up its sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs, in line with its western allies.
The Russia Sanctions Bill is the “first of its kind” in New Zealand, which has no legal framework for passing broader, unilateral sanctions and usually only does so when called on by the UN security council. As a permanent member of the body, Moscow has vetoed any action against it.
Continue reading...Literary and artistic movement enjoying another golden age, with international events and exhibitions
A century ago in the ateliers of Montparnasse in Paris, surrealism was born from the gloom of the first world war that had engulfed and devastated Europe.
The cultural movement led by the French writer and poet André Breton would give rise to artists of international renown including Max Ernst, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, and Salvador Dalí.
Continue reading...War has sharpened the split between Ukraine and Russia’s Orthodox churches, with some historic sites in Ukraine still loyal to Moscow
As war kicked off in Ukraine, soldiers at a military airstrip in the west of the country went hunting for the origin of a laser pointer they feared was marking out targets on their base.
They found it in a nearby church. Behind the thick walls of the building in Kolomyia, run by monks loyal to Moscow, they also discovered a large stockpile of food and alcohol, and three guns.
Continue reading...Those with a positive attitude to life may lower their anxiety levels by avoiding arguments
People who have a rosy outlook on the world may live healthier, longer lives because they have fewer stressful events to cope with, new research suggests.
Scientists found that while optimists reacted to, and recovered from, stressful situations in much the same way as pessimists, the optimists fared better emotionally because they had fewer stressful events in their daily lives.
Continue reading...The nuns, based in Italy, have heeded the advice of Pope Francis to get out more and avoid becoming ‘old maids’
The women huddled in the centre of the pitch, to briefly strategise, to pray for Ukraine. Then the whistle blew, and to cries of “Forza, sisters!” from their fans, they prepared for kick-off.
The youngest player is 27, the eldest 52, and they are among the 18 brought together from congregations across Italy to form the first national football team for nuns in the world.
Continue reading...On day 11 of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, long-term partners Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Filimonov married at a checkpoint in Kyiv on 6 March. The couple, both members of Ukraine's territorial defence unit, decided to forgo formal wear and don their uniforms instead
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