Friday briefing: How Gaza is becoming the deadliest conflict zone for journalists

In today’s newsletter: Media workers in Gaza and the West Bank have faced relentless danger, and attacks on press freedom on the rise across the world

Good morning.

More than 170 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 2023, with some estimates putting the toll as high as 206. It is the deadliest conflict for media workers in recent history. In a sobering report, Thaslima Begum gathered some of their stories. And attacks on journalists worldwide are on the rise, with deaths occurring everywhere from the Middle East to Europe.

UK economy | Lower-income households are on track to become £500 a year poorer by the end of the decade as a result of the UK chancellor’s spring statement, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation.

Monarchy | King Charles required hospital observation on Thursday after experiencing “temporary side-effects” as part of his medical treatment for cancer, Buckingham Palace said.

Canada | Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, has said the era of deep ties with the US “is over” as governments from Tokyo to Berlin and Paris sharply criticised Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on car imports, with some threatening retaliatory action.

Asia-Pacific | Japan has for the first time released plans to evacuate more than 100,000 civilians from some of its remote islands near Taiwan in the event of conflict amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

Environment | Supporters of the climate group Just Stop Oil have announced that after three years of disruptive protests they are ending their campaign of civil resistance. Hannah Hunt, whose speech on Valentine’s Day 2022 marked the beginning of the campaign, made the announcement outside Downing Street in London on Thursday.

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Pete Hegseth, dogged by scandal at home, pledges US support for Manila against China

Defence secretary’s Philippines visit, aimed at bolstering ties in Asia-Pacific, comes amid rising tensions with Beijing and calls for his resignation

The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has met with the Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos, in Manila saying the two countries must stand “shoulder to shoulder” in the face of the threat represented by China.

Hegseth’s meeting at the presidential palace comes as he opens a tour of Pacific allies that risks being overshadowed by a mounting scandal over leaked plans for military strikes.

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Former Australian police officer avoids prison after killing 95-year-old woman with a stun gun – The Associated Press

  1. Former Australian police officer avoids prison after killing 95-year-old woman with a stun gun  The Associated Press
  2. Officer spared jail over fatal Tasering of 95-year-old  BBC.com
  3. Former police officer spared jail over death of 95-year-old Tasered in a nursing home  CNN
  4. Former Australian officer who killed 95-year-old woman with Taser avoids prison  CBS News
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Why the weasel testicles? Cambridge show explains medieval medicine

Exhibition aims to help visitors get inside the minds that thought mercury and roasted apples would cure lice

Medieval treatments might make you question the sanity of the doctors of the day, but a new exhibition is set to take visitors inside the minds of such medics and reveal the method behind what can seem like madness.

Curious Cures, opening on Saturday at Cambridge University Library, is the culmination of a project to digitise and catalogue more than 180 manuscripts, mostly dating from the 14th or 15th centuries, that contain recipes for medical treatments, from compendiums of cures to alchemical texts and guides to healthy living.

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Houthis Weakened but Not Broken by First Round of Trump Strikes – The Wall Street Journal

  1. Houthis Weakened but Not Broken by First Round of Trump Strikes  The Wall Street Journal
  2. New US strikes against Houthi rebels kill at least 1 in Yemen  The Associated Press
  3. U.S. strikes home in on Houthi drone experts in Yemen  Axios
  4. Signal Leak Bared U.S. Aims in Yemen. But Defeating Houthis Won’t Be Easy.  The New York Times
  5. What we know — and don’t know — about the U.S. strikes in Yemen  PBS NewsHour
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Berkin Usta, 25-year-old Olympic skier, and father killed in fire at ski resort – New York Post

  1. Berkin Usta, 25-year-old Olympic skier, and father killed in fire at ski resort  New York Post
  2. Olympic skier Berkin Usta and father killed in fire at closed Turkish ski resort  Fox News
  3. Olympic skier from Turkey and his father die in a fire at a closed ski resort hotel  Deseret News
  4. Olympic Skier Berkin Usta Dies at 25 After Fire at Turkish Resort  Bleacher Report
  5. Fire at ski resort hotel in Turkey kills 1, injures 4  ABC News
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Bucking Hamas intimidation, Gazans hold 3rd straight day of rallies against terror group – The Times of Israel

  1. Bucking Hamas intimidation, Gazans hold 3rd straight day of rallies against terror group  The Times of Israel
  2. Gazans Demand End to 18 Years of Hamas Rule  The New York Times
  3. Voices from Gaza: Protests demand an end to war and suffering  Al Jazeera English
  4. Palestinians protest Hamas in a rare public show of dissent in Gaza  The Associated Press
  5. Why protesters in Gaza want Hamas out after more than a year of war  NBC News
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