Hunting by Kenyan lions impeded in ‘ecological chain reaction’ as big-headed ants fail to stop elephants stripping acacia trees – the cats’ ambush cover
When a lion decides to chase down a zebra it seems as though nothing can stop it. But now researchers have discovered these enormous predators are being thwarted by a tiny foe: ants.
Scientists have found the spread of big-headed ants in east Africa sets off a situation leading to lions making fewer zebra kills.
Continue reading...Behind bullish statements officials have been examining potential scenarios for impending decision in case brought by South Africa
Israeli officials are bracing for an expected interim ruling from the international court of justice on South Africa’s allegation that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide against Palestinians, an emergency measure that could expose Israel to international sanctions.
The UN’s top court, which settles disputes between states, said on Wednesday that it would hand down its landmark ruling on Friday. The Hague-based body could order Israel to stop its three-month campaign in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on 7 October. ICJ rulings are binding and cannot be appealed against, although the court has no power to enforce them.
Continue reading...The artist once known as Jenny from the block is spearheading an animated feature about a Latino construction worker voiced by Anthony Ramos
Move over Barbie: the latest Mattel property set for cultural domination has been unveiled as Bob the Builder, the chirpy construction worker who debuted 25 years ago on CBBC and is being belatedly brought to the big screen by booty-shaking multi-hyphenate Jennifer Lopez.
In something of a spin on the original series, the film’s plot will see Roberto (AKA Bob) travel to Puerto Rico for a major construction job, where he “takes on issues affecting the island and digs deeper into what it means to build”.
Continue reading...Former president’s exclusion from group likely to choose next supreme leader angers reformists
The Iranian regime has taken its crackdown on any internal opposition into a new phase by disqualifying the reformist former president Hassan Rouhani from seeking re-election to the assembly of experts, the body that chooses the country’s supreme leader.
Reformists reacted angrily on Thursday to the regime-controlled guardian council’s announcement. The 88 assembly members serve an eight-year term, and since the incumbent supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, is 84, it is highly likely that the next assembly will choose his successor.
Continue reading...Foreign minister draws comparison to similar claim in Canada and says India must be held to account
Pakistan has said it has credible evidence that Indian agents carried out two assassinations on Pakistani soil, and drawn comparisons to the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.
In a press briefing on Thursday, the foreign secretary, Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, said India was running a “sophisticated and sinister” campaign of “extraterritorial and extrajudicial killings” inside Pakistan.
Continue reading...Author and former US president in the courtroom as proceedings resume in New York court after Covid delay
Trump’s lead attorney, Alina Habba, began her cross of Robbie Myers by suggesting that she was biased.
“You didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2016, right?” Habba asked. “Or in 2020? You don’t plan on voting for him in 2024, do you?”
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the US border talks, you can read:
Shifting to federal court in Washington DC, the judge Amit Mehta is on the verge of sentencing the former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro for ignoring a subpoena from the January 6 committee, Politico reports.
He was convicted of contempt of Congress charges last September:
Continue reading...Suspect had told inquiry into Johannesburg apartment fire that he started blaze last year to burn a body
A man who confessed to starting a deadly fire at an apartment building in one of South Africa’s worst disasters has been charged with 76 counts of murder and 86 counts of attempted murder.
The suspect was also charged with arson and was ordered to be kept in police custody until a bail hearing next month. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison. South Africa has no death penalty.
Continue reading...At least four senior figures from Houthis subject to asset freezes and travel bans, say reports; Gaza-run health ministry says situation in Khan Younis hospital ‘extremely catastrophic’
The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, said the conflict in Gaza shows the UN and other world bodies have lost their effectiveness and called on Muslim countries and other nations to unite for a new “fair world order”, reports Al Jazeera.
Reporting from Ankara on Wednesday, where Raisi met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Al Jazeera journalist Sinem Köseoğlu said the main agenda of the meeting had been Israel’s war on Gaza.
Continue reading...UAE firm’s increased investment prompts Cabinet Office order for security panel at telecoms company
The stake in Vodafone held by a United Arab Emirates-backed telecoms group poses a national security risk to the UK, the government said.
The Cabinet Office issued a notice late on Wednesday warning that the 14.6% stake held in Vodafone by Emirates Telecoms, which is also known as e&, amounted to a security concern given Vodafone’s strategic role in the country’s telecommunications services.
Continue reading...Ulf Kristersson says dialogue between countries is needed amid frustrations following Budapest’s failure to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership. This live blog is closed
Two agriculture union chapters have called for a “blockade of Paris” tomorrow, Le Monde reports. They have asked their members to gather on main roads around the capital.
Populist battles are not the way to resolve the conflicts between farmers and environmental policy, the chair of the strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture group said today at the opening of the first meeting in Brussels.
Continue reading...Navarro, trade adviser during Trump presidency, convicted over refusal to comply with subpoena from January 6 committee
The former Trump adviser Peter Navarro faces sentencing on Thursday on two counts of contempt of Congress, arising from his refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on Congress.
The mandatory minimum sentence is two months in prison, one for each count. Prosecutors in the case, which saw Navarro convicted in federal court in Washington DC in September, asked for 12 months prison time and a $200,000 fine.
Continue reading...Despite signs of revival, the true costs of conflict are impossible to calculate because no one can say how long it will last
Cafe Merkaz is busy. A handful of patrons sit at its half dozen tables on Jerusalem’s Hanevi’im Street on a sunny lunchtime, while inside the coffee grinders grind and a pile of sandwiches on the counter shrinks hour by hour.
“A month or so ago, things looked pretty desperate. But we had twice as many people through the door this morning by 10am as we had in entire days back then. Now I think the year is just going to be tough, but we’ll hang on,” said Yaakov Saly, the 27-year-old owner.
Continue reading...Igor Girkin has been critical of war effort; Darya Trepova delivered bomb that killed pro-war blogger
Russian courts have jailed a prominent ultra-nationalist critic of Vladimir Putin and, separately, a woman convicted over a blast that killed a pro-war blogger.
In Moscow, a court sentenced Igor Girkin, a former battlefield commander of Russian proxy forces in east Ukraine who was convicted by a Dutch court over the shooting down of flight MH17, to four years in jail on extremism charges prompted by his criticism of the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Research finds 14 different types of PFAS chemicals commonly used in ski wax on slopes in Austrian ski resorts
Skiers are leaving “forever chemicals” in the snow on ski slopes, a study has found.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – a group of 10,000 or so human-made chemicals widely used in industrial processes, firefighting foams and consumer products – are colloquially known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment; they do not easily break down.
Continue reading...Police start to interview witnesses following Guardian reports on adoptions to the Netherlands nearly 50 years ago
Police in Bangladesh have launched an investigation into historical allegations that children were adopted abroad without their parents’ consent, after a Guardian investigation into adoptions to the Netherlands in the 1970s.
Bangladesh special branch in Dhaka confirmed it had opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the adoption of a number of children between 1976 and 1979.
Continue reading...Objects to go on show at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi as part of Asante king’s silver jubilee celebrations
Gold and silver treasure looted from west Africa by the British army in colonial wars are to be lent to Ghana in a three-year deal, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum have announced.
The precious regalia, which had belonged to the Asante royal court, is regarded as part of the “national soul” of Ghana. Under the deal, 17 objects from the V&A and 15 from the British Museum, will go on show later this year at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of Asante region. Many of the items have not been seen in Ghana for 150 years.
Continue reading...Doha ‘appalled’ at leaked remarks allegedly by Israeli PM in which he said Qatar’s role in talks was ‘problematic’
Qatar has harshly criticised Israel’s prime minister, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with Hamas for personal political gain.
Doha’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said on Wednesday night that his government was “appalled” by leaked remarks allegedly made by Netanyahu in which he criticised the country’s mediation efforts over the war in Gaza, adding that the Israeli leader’s comments were “irresponsible and destructive” but “not surprising”.
Continue reading...Shop will be open only to non-Muslim diplomats – but some fear it is first step to wider availability of alcohol in teetotal kingdom
The news that Saudi Arabia will allow its first alcohol shop has citizens and foreigners alike mulling one question: is this a minor policy tweak, or a major upheaval?
Sources familiar with preparations for the store disclosed details of the plan on Wednesday, as a document circulated indicating just how carefully leaders of the teetotal Gulf kingdom will manage its operations.
Continue reading...Japan media reported Shinji Aoba held a grudge against the studio when he doused the entrance in petrol and set it ablaze in 2019
A court in Japan has sentenced to death a man convicted of murdering 36 people in an arson attack on an animation studio in 2019.
The attack on Kyoto Animation, better known as KyoAni, sent shock waves through Japan, where violent crime is rare, and stunned fans of the studio’s output around the world.
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