Palestinians poured on to the streets after Israel and Palestinian militants agreed to a ceasefire. The truce comes after an 11-day conflict that killed more than 230 people in Gaza and 12 in Israel. Cars packed the streets of Gaza, with flags waving from the windows while mosque loudspeakers hailed a 'victory'
Animal park that featured in 2020 Netflix series investigated in possible violation of Endangered Species Act
US authorities have seized 68 big cats from an Oklahoma animal park that featured in the 2020 Netflix series Tiger King, the Department of Justice has said.
In an affidavit of more than 50 pages, prosecutors said they believed a jaguar, seven lions, 46 tigers and 15 lion-tiger hybrids owned by Jeffrey Lowe and his wife, Lauren Lowe, had been sold, purchased or transported, which would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Continue reading...More than a thousand women in Bargny, and many more in the other villages dotting Senegal’s sandy coast, process fish – performing a crucial role in one of the country’s largest exports
Since her birth on Senegal’s coast, the ocean has always given Ndeye Yacine Dieng life. Her grandfather was a fisher, and her grandmother and mother processed fish. Like generations of women, she now helps support her family in the small community of Bargny by drying, smoking, salting and fermenting the catch brought home by male villagers. They were baptised by fish, these women say.
But when the pandemic struck, boats that once took as many as 50 men out to sea carried only a few. Many residents were too terrified to leave their houses, let alone fish, for fear of catching the virus. When the local women did manage to get their hands on fish to process, they lacked the usual buyers, as markets shut down and neighbouring landlocked countries closed their borders. Without savings, many families went from three meals a day to one or two.
Continue reading...A wave of anti-government protests entered their fourth week on Wednesday as unions, student groups and others demand social change amid intermittent talks between the government and strike organisers
Continue reading...A conductor, who was not qualified to drive the train, sat in the driver’s seat during his three-minute absence, in breach of the rules
A driver on one of Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains is facing disciplinary measures after he abandoned his cab to go to the toilet while the train was carrying passengers and travelling at 150km/h.
The 36-year-old driver, who has not been named, reportedly had a stomachache and asked a conductor to take his place while he went to the toilet.
Continue reading...Children in overcrowded Cox’s Bazar settlement likely to suffer most from reduced humanitarian spending, say campaigners
The government has been accused of abandoning Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh after cutting aid to the humanitarian response by more than 40%.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) pledged £27.6m to the humanitarian sector’s joint response plan launched this week, compared with £47.5m last year.
Continue reading...Work culture of presenteeism sees some staff told to switch on GPS location tracking by distrustful managers
When Amanda asked a colleague to bring her laptop home from their tech-company office, anticipating that Taipei was about to join the ranks of global cities suddenly working remotely, managers refused to release it. She told him to grab it anyway, and soon enough the Taiwanese capital was placed under restrictions amid a shock coronavirus outbreak. Her company soon sent an office-wide email saying that 50% of staff would be staying home.
“But it still had reminders that working from home means you are working at home and your equipment must be connected at all times, and you’re expected to work eight hours and this is not a holiday,” she says.
Continue reading...Joe Biden hails ‘genuine opportunity to make progress’ as Palestinians in Gaza celebrate in the streets
World leaders have hailed a ceasefire that took hold in the early hours of Friday morning, and vowed to help rebuild Gaza after an Israeli bombing campaign that killed more than 230 people and Palestinian rocket attacks that killed 12 in Israel.
The United Nations secretary general urged Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers to observe the ceasefire and called on global leaders to develop a reconstruction package “that supports the Palestinian people and strengthens their institutions”.
Continue reading...Freistadt Clinic apologises for ‘tragic mistake’ which local media said the patient did not initially recognise because of his illness
An Austrian hospital amputated the wrong leg of a patient, it said on Thursday, blaming human error for what it called a “tragic mistake”.
The elderly patient was suffering from many illnesses, the Freistadt Clinic, in a town of the same name near the Czech border, said in a statement. Previous sicknesses have affected his legs, to the point that his left leg required amputation.
Continue reading...Instead of just bringing in Pacific Islanders to pick fruit, the government should focus on tertiary education
In a budget filled with winners, there were a few notable losers.
There was our university sector. Already languishing, the government dealt our unis the twin blows of a sustained “fortress Australia” – prohibiting a revival of the international student market – and a reduction in funding.
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In his remarks before signing the anti-Asian American hate crimes bill, Joe Biden denounced racism as an “ugly poison” that has tarnished the country.
“I believe with every fiber of my being that there are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans,” the president said of the bill.
President Biden: "I believe with every fiber of my being that there are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans. One of them is standing together against hate, against racism — the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation." pic.twitter.com/DB1gsTNoen
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell applauded Joe Biden for signing the anti-Asian American hate crimes bill into law moments ago.
“Recent increases in anti-Asian hate crimes are alarming,” the Republican leader said on Twitter. “I’m proud the Senate took bipartisan action — and, as the proud husband of a remarkable Asian-American woman, I am especially glad this effort is now law.”
I applaud @POTUS for signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. Recent increases in anti-Asian hate crimes are alarming. I’m proud the Senate took bipartisan action — and, as the proud husband of a remarkable Asian-American woman, I am especially glad this effort is now law.
Continue reading...Covid certificates designed to open up tourism across bloc; two doses of AstraZeneca jab 85% to 90% effective against symptomatic disease
Leaders of the world’s largest economies will adopt on Friday a declaration recommending voluntary actions to boost Covid-19 vaccine production, snubbing a push from the US and other nations on patent waivers, the final text shows.
Several G20 leaders will speak at the summit, one of this year’s major events to coordinate global actions against the pandemic. The US president Joe Biden is not listed among the speakers, with vice-president Kamala Harris representing at the meeting, an EU Commission spokesman said. The White House did not immediately comment.
Good evening from London. I’m Lucy Campbell, I’ll be bringing you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic for the next few hours. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
US White House says it believes Israel is in a position to wind down operations
Israel’s security cabinet has met amid reports that the government was considering halting its bombardment of Gaza, as international pressure to end the bloodshed gathered momentum.
The country’s public broadcaster, Kan, reported that the cabinet, headed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would vote on a proposed “unilateral ceasefire” to go into effect within 24 hours. Israeli officials did not immediately confirm the report.
Continue reading...Sixty-six people who’ve spent up to seven years in detention on PNG and Nauru and 78 onshore, plus their family members, passed initial approval
Almost 150 refugees held within Australia’s offshore processing system in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, or in onshore detention, are in the last stages of approval for resettlement in Canada.
The non-profit migrant and refugee settlement service Mosaic, based in Vancouver, said it had successfully submitted applications on behalf of 66 people in PNG and Nauru, a further 78 in onshore detention, and 98 family members in third countries.
Continue reading...Tit-for-tat sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of Uyghurs puts halt on investment agreement
The European parliament has voted overwhelmingly to “freeze” any consideration of a massive investment deal with China, following recent tit-for-tat sanctions over Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur population in Xinjiang province.
According to the resolution, the parliament, which must ratify the deal, “demands that China lift the sanctions before parliament can deal with the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)”. Some MEPs warned that the lifting of the sanctions would not in itself ensure the deal’s ratification.
Continue reading...Analysis: flare-up regarded by some as example of domestic politics driving violent escalation
As a ceasefire begins between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza, the longtime foes are poised to turn their attention away from military action and on to constructing competing narratives of victory.
Already, the groundwork is being laid. Unnamed Israeli defence officials are being quoted in local media as saying they are satisfied with the damage inflicted. And a militant source in Gaza said: “For us, the battle achieved its goals.”
Continue reading...Prison agency officials didn’t notify reporters, marking first time in at least 40 years that press wasn’t present at an execution
Texas inmate Quintin Jones was executed by lethal injection on Wednesday without media witnesses present.
The press could not witness the death of the 41-year-old because prison agency officials neglected to notify reporters it was time to carry out the punishment, according to the Associated Press. It was the first time in at least 40 years that media was not present at an execution.
Continue reading...Luna Reyes targeted by far-right supporters after footage of gesture goes viral
The image captured the raw humanity of the moment: a Red Cross volunteer tenderly consoling a Senegalese man moments after he stepped foot in Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta.
Hours after the footage went viral, however, Luna Reyes set her social media accounts to private after she was targeted by a torrent of abuse from supporters of Spain’s far-right Vox party and others incensed by the unprecedented arrival of 8,000 migrants in Ceuta.
Continue reading...Case in Paris was brought by 2,700 women over implants made by French company and certified as safe by German firm
Thousands of victims of the PIP breast implant scandal, including 540 British women, will receive compensation after a Paris appeals court ruling.
The case in Paris was brought by 2,700 women who said they had suffered long-term health effects after receiving implants manufactured by a French firm which were filled with cheap, industrial-grade silicone not cleared for human use.
Continue reading...Abubakar Shekau dead or seriously wounded after clashes in forest, Nigerian authorities say
Intelligence officials in Nigeria have claimed the leader of Boko Haram is dead or seriously wounded after trying to kill himself to avoid capture during clashes with a rival extremist faction.
There is no confirmation of the claims, and Nigeria’s intelligence services and military have reported Abubakar Shekau’s death many times before.
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