Israel lodges proposal with UN for dismantling of Palestinian relief agency

Exclusive: Aid officials warn that transferring Unrwa’s functions to other bodies with famine looming would be disastrous

Israel has given the UN a proposal to dismantle Unrwa, its relief agency in the Palestinian territories, and transfer its staff to a replacement agency to make large-scale food deliveries into Gaza, according to UN sources.

The proposal was presented late last week by the Israeli chief of the general staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, to UN officials in Israel, who forwarded it to the organisation’s secretary general, António Guterres, on Saturday, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Continue reading...

India’s opposition protest against Modi’s ‘match-fixing’ before election

Parties unite at New Dehli rally to accuse PM of ‘tax terrorism’ and rigging the vote, after arrest of prominent leader

Indian opposition parties united on Sunday to protest against the arrest of a prominent leader weeks before a national election, accusing the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his party of rigging the vote and harassing them with large tax demands.

“Narendra Modi is trying match-fixing in this election,” the leader of the opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, told a rally in New Delhi, as the crowd chanted “shame”.

Continue reading...

At least two people killed in Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy network

Lviv governor says more people may be under rubble after cruise missile attack as Moscow ratchets up targeting of infrastructure

Russia has carried out another round of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine’s much-depleted energy network, killing at least two people.

One man died in a cruise missile attack on infrastructure in the western Lviv region, and another was killed after a projectile hit a petrol station in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, officials said on Sunday.

Continue reading...

Nile crocodiles and Burmese python among rare species seized in Spain

Other endangered animals rescued in 2023 included a burrowing parrot, an African spurred tortoise and a blood-eared parakeet

Specialist wildlife police in eastern Spain have rescued an exotic list of endangered animals over the past year, including a pair of Nile crocodiles, an African spurred tortoise weighing 25kg and a 2-metre Burmese python.

The Seprona division of the Guardia Civil said in a statement on Sunday that its officers recovered “numerous examples” of species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora during 2023.

Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Gaza ceasefire talks to resume, reports say; 75 Palestinians killed overnight by Israeli attacks – health ministry

Truce talks to begin again in Cairo on Sunday; most victims of overnight attacks were women and children, Gaza health ministry says

Talks aimed at brokering a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will reportedly resume in Cairo today, days after Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave the green light for fresh negotiations. “An Egyptian security source confirmed to Al-Qahera news the resumption of negotiations on a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Egyptian capital Cairo tomorrow,” an anchor for the channel, which is close to country’s intelligence services, said in a broadcast. Egypt, Qatar and the US have mediated previous rounds of negotiations, but a workable agreement has remained elusive.

The Gaza health ministry said 107 patients remained inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, including 30 people with disabilities, and that the Israeli army had stopped attempts to evacuate them. Israeli military operations were also ongoing at two hospitals in the southern city of Khan Yunis – at Nasser hospital, according to the Hamas government press office, and at al-Amal hospital, according to the Red Crescent.

A bomb exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces on Sunday morning, killing eight people and injuring more than 20 others, a war monitor said. At least “eight people were killed and 23 others wounded” when “a car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market” in Aleppo province’s Azaz, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. It is unclear who carried out the attack in the town which is run by pro-Turkish militias fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Rather than provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US should ensure it is subjected to atomic bombing the way that “Nagasaki and Hiroshima” were at the end of the second world war, Tim Walberg, a Republican congressman, said in shocking remarks that by all indications were recorded recently at a gathering with a relatively small group of his constituents.

Rather than provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US should ensure it is subjected to atomic bombing the way that “Nagasaki and Hiroshima” were at the end of the second world war, a Republican congressman said in shocking remarks that by all indications were recorded recently at a gathering with a relatively small group of his constituents.

Continue reading...

British Museum investigated over Ethiopian artefacts hidden from view for 150 years

Watchdog examining claims key details have not been disclosed about altar tablets it is facing calls to return

The British Museum is being investigated by the information watchdog over claims it has been overly secretive about some of the most sensitive items in its collection – a group of sacred Ethiopian altar tablets that have been hidden from view at the museum for more than 150 years.

The 11 wood and stone tabots, which the museum acknowledges were looted by British soldiers after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868, have never been on public display and are considered to be so sacred that even the institution’s own curators and trustees are forbidden from examining them.

Continue reading...

Eight killed by car bomb in northern Syria, war monitor says

More than 20 reportedly injured after blast in shopping area in city of Azaz, which is held by pro-Turkish forces

A bomb has exploded in a shopping area in a northern Syrian city held by pro-Turkish forces, killing eight people and wounding more than 20 others, a war monitor said.

At least “eight people were killed and 23 others wounded” when “a car bomb exploded in the middle of a popular market” in Azaz, Aleppo province, early on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Continue reading...

Easter egg prices soar as cocoa crops are hit by climate crisis and exploitation

Experts say the global shortage of the main ingredient of chocolate is linked to poor conditions for farmers supplying large companies

Every Easter, UK consumers collectively spend more than £1bn on food, drink, gifts, entertainment and about 80m chocolate eggs, racking up an average bill exceeding £50 each. But shoppers this year are paying more than usual: since last Easter, chocolate prices have increased by more than 12.6%, more than double the rise in supermarket food and drink prices.

The cost of cocoa, chocolate’s main ingredient, has been increasing all year, hitting a record high just before Valentine’s Day and again this week, when it was priced at more than $10,000 a tonne – meaning it is currently more valuable than several precious metals, and growing in value more quickly than bitcoin.

Continue reading...

Tehran denies involvement in London attack on TV presenter

Met police say investigation into stabbing of Iranian journalist near home in Wimbledon is being led by counter-terrorism officers

Iran’s most senior diplomat in Britain has denied claims that the Iranian government was behind a knife attack on a TV presenter in London amid growing fears over threats to dissidents.

The country’s charge d’affaires, Mehdi Hosseini Matin, said Iran “denies any link” to the stabbing of Pouria Zeraati, 36, a presenter at Iran International, outside his home in Wimbledon on Friday. He is in a stable condition and was looking forward to being discharged from hospital soon.

Continue reading...

Skins and feathers are as cruel as fur, the fashion industry is told

Copenhagen fashion week is hailed for raising the bar on animal rights. But will the organisers of other fashion weeks follow?

Copenhagen fashion week has just announced that it will ban exotic skins and feathers from its catwalks next year, becoming the biggest industry event yet to do so.

Skål to Copenhagen fashion week for raising the bar for other events,” says the vice-president of corporate projects at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), Yvonne Taylor. “Now all eyes are on other fashion week organisers, who must follow suit.”

Continue reading...

Two men in Haiti suspected of buying weapons for gangs lynched by mob

Killings underscore how outnumbered police are in Haiti after months of attacks and kidnappings by gangs

Two men in Haiti were hacked to death by a mob who thought they were buying weapons for gangs, police said Saturday.

Police confirmed the crowd snatched the men from police custody after they were found with about $20,000 (£16,000) and the equivalent of about $43,000 in Haitian cash in their car, along with two pistols and a box of ammunition.

Continue reading...

Pope presides over Easter Vigil service after skipping Good Friday procession

Appearance comes a day after last-minute decision to miss previous service to ‘conserve his health’

Pope Francis presided over the Vatican’s somber Easter Vigil service on Saturday night, a day after making the last-minute decision to skip his participation in the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum as a health precaution.

Francis entered the darkened, silent St Peter’s Basilica in his wheelchair, took his place in a chair and offered an opening prayer, sounding somewhat congested and out of breath.

Continue reading...

Starvation in Gaza likely key to UK legal advice on war crimes

Accusations that Israel is committing war crimes mostly centre on failure to protect civilians or meet their basic needs

• UK government lawyers say Israel is breaking international law – leaked recording

Israel has faced questions about whether its war on Hamas inside Gaza broke international law ever since the first few days of the ­campaign, when it cut off all food, water and fuel shipments to the enclave.

As the scale of death, ­destruction and human suffering escalated, ­concerns hardened into warnings that Israel risked committing war crimes, including from key allies. In January, the UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, said he was “worried” Israel may have breached international law.

Continue reading...

UK government lawyers say Israel is breaking international law, claims top Tory in leaked recording

Chair of foreign affairs select committee Alicia Kearns said at a Tory fundraiser that legal advice would mean the UK has to cease all arms sales to Israel without delay

Analysis: scale of suffering will make war crimes harder to deny

The British government has received advice from its own lawyers stating that Israel has breached international humanitarian law in Gaza but has failed to make it public, according to a leaked recording obtained by the Observer.

The comments, made by the Conservative chair of the House of Commons select committee on foreign affairs, Alicia Kearns, at a Tory fundraising event on 13 March are at odds with repeated ministerial denials and evasion on the issue.

Continue reading...

Slovakia’s brain drain picks up pace under populist leader Robert Fico

Tens of thousands of young Slovaks who see little future in an increasingly intolerant society are leaving for Prague

Although Marek Mikič spent a few years studying and working abroad, he never expected to leave his native Slovakia permanently. He had a group of close friends and a music festival to run in the eastern town of Košice.

But he changed his mind last September after the re-election of Robert Fico, a populist who promised he would stop military aid to Ukraine, promote conservative family values, and muzzle the courts that have been investigating high-level corruption cases tied to his allies.

Continue reading...

Home of Peru’s president raided in search of luxury watches

The government criticised the move, with the country’s prime minister calling it ‘disproportionate and unconstitutional’

Peru’s government on Saturday criticised the raid on the home of its president, Dina Boluarte, as part of inquiries into possible illicit enrichment and failure to declare ownership of luxury watches as “disproportionate and unconstitutional”.

Police broke down the door of Boluarte’s residence early on Saturday morning, television images showed, apparently after calls by officials to allow them access to search for evidence went unanswered.

Continue reading...

Niagara region declares emergency to prepare for eclipse viewers

Total solar eclipse on 8 April will be first to touch province since 1979, and Niagara Falls is declared one of the best places to view

The region of Canada surrounding the city that contains a side of – and shares a name with – Niagara Falls has declared a state of emergency as it prepares to welcome up to a million visitors for the solar eclipse in early April.

The total solar eclipse on 8 April will be the first to touch the province since 1979, and Niagara Falls was declared by National Geographic to be one of the best places to see it.

Continue reading...

Wall-to-wall bouzouki? Greece plans quota of local music to be played in hotel lobbies and other public spaces

Tourist and creative industries react angrily to ‘curb on freedom of expression’

Greek music in hotel lobbies, Greek tunes in lifts, Greek melodies in casinos, shopping malls, airport lounges and ports.

If the Athens culture ministry has its way, tourists from around the world should prepare for a holiday soundtrack that is decidedly Hellenic in tone.

Continue reading...

‘Death at any moment’: fights break out as Gazans compete over airdropped aid

Armed gangs take food and water from desperate locals, as critics say airdrops are dangerous and merely designed to divert public anger

Airdrops of humanitarian aid are leading to fatal fights in Gaza as the desperate and hungry battle to reach parachuted food and essentials, amid fears that little of the much-needed assistance is reaching those most threatened by a looming famine.

Eyewitness accounts, images and interviews with aid workers in Gaza suggest the high-profile airdrop operations are of limited help, and have contributed to growing anarchy there.

Continue reading...

Iran International targeted by Tehran, says channel after London stabbing

Spokesperson tells Today programme that UK-based broadcaster has been under ‘heavy threat for last 18 months’

Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards have been targeting the broadcaster Iran International, a spokesperson for the channel said after a leading journalist was stabbed in London.

The Persian-language news television channel that employed Pouria Zeraati, who was attacked outside his London home, had received an increased level of threats beforehand, Adam Baillie told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on Saturday.

Continue reading...