Newspaper ‘deeply troubled’ by revelation that records were secretly obtained over three months in 2017
The phone-call records of three reporters with the Washington Post were secretly obtained by officials with Donald Trump’s justice department over a period of three months in 2017, the newspaper reported.
Related: The sleazy, sordid Matt Gaetz scandal: are the walls now closing in on him?
Continue reading...For decades, scientists and economists have been making wagers about the outcome of human population growth. Now, more than ever, their speculations need to be taken seriously
In 2011, when the global population hit 7 billion, economist David Lam and demographer Stan Becker made a bet. Lam predicted food would get cheaper over the next decade, despite continuing population growth. Becker predicted that food prices would go up, because of the damage humans were doing to the planet, which meant that population growth would outstrip food supply. Becker won and, following his wishes, Lam has just written out a cheque for $194 to the Vermont-based nonprofit Population Media Center, which promotes population stabilisation internationally.
$194, about £140, equates to the amount by which a basket containing five food types – oils and fats, cereals, dairy, meat and sugar – and worth on average $1,000 in the decade to 2010, increased in price over the following decade, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index (FFPI) and allowing for inflation.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s adult children reportedly cost taxpayers $140,000 in Secret Service security in the month after the clan’s patriarch left the White House in January.
Related: The sleazy, sordid Matt Gaetz scandal: are the walls now closing in on him?
Continue reading...Gene-screening, as is used to detect some breast cancer risks, could save thousands of lives
Scientists have begun work to create a prostate cancer screening service for the UK. In a few years, middle-aged men could be tested to reveal their genetic susceptibility to the condition, with those deemed to be under significant threat of developing it being offered treatment or surgery.
The service would tackle a disease that has become the nation’s most commonly diagnosed cancer and would parallel Britain’s breast cancer screening programme. Every year, more than 47,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer: 129 a day on average. More than 11,500 deaths from the disease occur each year, with one in eight men being diagnosed with prostate cancer at some time in their lives.
Continue reading...County reports more than 400,000 new infections but experts suspect figures are gross underestimate
Covid-19 deaths surged past 4,000 for the first time in India on Saturday in one of the world’s worst outbreaks.
India reported a national record of 4,187 new deaths on Saturday.
Continue reading...Israeli police broke into the prayer room at the mosque in East Jerusalem as several hundred Palestinians stayed on after Friday prayers to protest against potential evictions of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.
At least 178 Palestinians and six officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem.
Israel’s supreme court will hold a hearing on the long-running eviction legal case in Sheikh Jarrah on Monday, as nightly clashes have continued during Ramadan
Continue reading...Police make two arrests in connection with explosion at Mohamed Nasheed’s family home in Malé
The former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed is conscious after life-saving surgery, his family said on Saturday, as police made two arrests in connection with an explosion they said was being treated as a terror attack.
Nasheed, the president of the ruling Maldivian Democratic party and the current parliament speaker, was critically injured after a bomb exploded as he left his family home in the capital Malé on Thursday.
Continue reading...Confrontations at holy site leave 17 Israeli police officers wounded, with international calls for calm
More than 205 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers were wounded during a night of intense clashes at a sacred Jerusalem site that holds the Dome of the Rock, medics and police said, a serious escalation in a weeks-long rise in violence.
Tensions in Jerusalem have soared recently, with Palestinians complaining of oppressive restrictions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. An upcoming Israeli court ruling on whether authorities can evict dozens of Palestinians – and give their homes to Jewish settlers – has further inflamed the situation.
Continue reading...A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Colombia to China
Continue reading...Save the Children’s analysis finds Britain will spend 80% less on nutrition abroad this year, as hunger levels rise around the world
Britain is set to spend 80% less on helping feed children in poorer nations than before the pandemic, according to a charity’s analysis.
Save the Children said the British government will spend less than £26m this year on vital nutrition services in developing countries, a drop of more than three-quarters from 2019. The estimate of aid cuts to nutrition comes after UN agencies called for urgent action to avert famine in 20 countries including Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria.
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Hello everyone, this is Julia Carrie Wong picking up the blog from the San Francisco bay area, where we’re bracing for unusually early fire weather amid another climate crisis-fueled drought.
Suffice it to say that it's very unusual that NorCal has seen Red Flag Warnings straight through calendar this year. Vegetation is very rarely dry enough to trigger in spring, even with strong winds, but vegetation remains at/near record dry levels in many places. #CAwx #CAfire https://t.co/97rlEVhytM
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Julia Carrie Wong, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Continue reading...After the alleged murder of Polikalepo Kefu, Pacific LGBTQI groups are calling for change, including revoking sodomy laws
The large hall of the basilica in the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa, hasn’t seen many crowds since Covid restrictions were introduced a year ago.
But on Thursday night, people from across all parts of society packed every inch of available space in the venue, clad mostly in black and the traditional woven ta’ovala dress.
Continue reading...Grant Shapps says countries added to mandatory hotel quarantine list; Chinese vaccine is fifth to be approved by World Health Organization
Here is a recap of the main Covid updates from around the world:
China’s Sinopharm state company has offered substantial support for the Covax programme to provide Covid vaccines mainly to poor countries, a World Health Organization official has said.
As Reuters reports, senior WHO adviser Bruce Aylward said it would be up to Sinopharm to say how many doses of its vaccine it can provide to the programme, but added:
They are looking at trying to provide substantial support, make substantial doses available while at the same time of course trying to serve China’s population.
Continue reading...Amnesty International has apologized to the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for stripping him of its “prisoner of conscience” status and said it would restore the designation.
Amnesty announced on 24 February that it would stop referring to Russia’s most prominent opposition activist as a prisoner of conscience on the grounds that in the past he had made comments that qualified as advocacy of hatred.
Continue reading...The government has revealed the destinations to which quarantine-free holidays will be allowed
The government has just announced its green list for quarantine-free international travel into England. The countries on it are Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Israel, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira.
Related: England’s traffic-light system for foreign travel: all you need to know
Continue reading...Destinations on green list include Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Brunei and Israel
Portugal and Israel are among a dozen countries which have been placed on England’s first ever “green list”, allowing people to go abroad from 17 May and return home without the need to quarantine.
Announcing the first easing of tight restrictions on foreign travel in months, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, said people would soon be able to book foreign holidays and make trips to see friends or relatives living overseas. He also announced plans to make digital vaccine passports available.
Continue reading...Mexico’s populist president has accused the United States of undue interference in the country’s internal affairs just before a virtual meeting with the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, which was expected to focus on slowing Central American migration.
Related: Amlo calls decision to disqualify candidates ‘a blow to democracy’
Continue reading...The pandemic overwhelming the big cities is reaching areas of Bihar where there is one doctor for 40,000 people
In the small rural village of Kathail, in the east of India’s poorest state, Bihar, access to healthcare has always been scarce. But when 34-year-old Umakant Singh fell sick with a cough and fever last week, his brother Mantu Singh did all he could to find help.
For four days Mantu rushed around, collecting the limited medicines he could find for his younger brother and nursing him at home. But he knew what these symptoms meant: Covid-19 had reached their village.
Continue reading...A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and murder, accusing them of violating the Black man’s constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air, according to indictments unsealed on Friday.
The three-count indictment on civil rights charges names Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao.
Continue reading...UN fears ceasefire talks have stalled after rebel leaders came close to accepting deal before rejecting it
The UN fears that hopes for a ceasefire in Yemen are effectively stalled until either the Houthi rebels choose to end their military offensive or decide the mounting death toll running into tens of thousands is unacceptable. The Houthis are currently driving towards the capture of the strategic and oil-rich governorate of Marib.
Extensive talks in April and May, including direct discussions between the Houthi leadership and Saudis in Oman, ended with the Houthis – also known as Ansar Allah – coming close to accepting a ceasefire deal before ultimately rejecting the offer.
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