Plus: China's Communist Party plays matchmaker, and a lion strolls through an Italian town
| | | | | | | Hello. After a weekend marked by pro-Palestinian demonstrations across various European countries, the situation at Gaza's biggest hospital has grown increasingly desperate as fighting rages in nearby streets. Graeme Baker looks into what we know has happened to Al-Shifa hospital. In Poland, Sarah Rainsford talks to LGBT students and activists about their hopes for the future, should a different government take office. Finally, we have footage of a lion called Kimba taking a stroll through the streets of a town near Rome, before police took him back to the zoo from which he had escaped. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Thousands trapped at Al-Shifa hospital | | | | Some patients who were brought from Gaza to East Jerusalem are now bound for the occupied West Bank, according to reports. Credit: Reuters/James Oatway |
| | An estimated 2,300 people have become trapped in Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital as fighting rages around the facility. The World Health Organization said on Sunday that Al-Shifa was "not functioning as a hospital anymore", with "constant gunfire and bombings in the area" worsening an already critical situation. Israel has promised it will help take the sick and the wounded, including more than 30 premature babies, to a safer location, but the evacuation has yet to happen. Over the weekend, Israeli President Isaac Herzog denied that the military was striking Al-Shifa, where they believe Hamas has a base underneath the building - a claim Hamas denies. Graeme Baker has a round up of what we know about the situation at the hospital and other key medical centres in northern Gaza. | | | | |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | US presidential race: Senator Tim Scott has withdrawn his bid for the 2024 Republican nomination. | | • | UK government: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has fired Home Secretary Suella Braverman in a cabinet reshuffle that also saw former UK leader David Cameron, who resigned after the Brexit referendum, appointed foreign secretary. | | • | Eruption alert: Earthquakes linked to volcanic activity in the area near Fagradalsfjall have weakened, even though they remain frequent and an eruption is still expected - see footage of a tremor rattling a house. | | • | Helicopter crash: Five US service members have died during training after the aircraft suffered a mishap during training in the eastern Mediterranean. | | • | On the run: A former police officer who was convicted over an infamous murder in Malaysia, but fled before his case concluded, has been released from Australian immigration detention and won't be extradited. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Warsaw, Poland | | Rainbow after the storm | | Poland has repeatedly ranked bottom in the EU in terms of protecting LGBT rights. But at last month's elections, the conservative ruling party Law and Justice, or PiS, lost its majority. The possibility of a different government coming into power has LGBT activists hoping for a change in both tone and policy. | | | | Sarah Rainsford, Eastern Europe correspondent |
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| | Sniadek school is something of an oasis in Poland. It hosts Rainbow Friday, an initiative meant to help young people understand diversity and feel accepted. In one of the corridors, students set up stands with photos of gay and lesbian celebrities and the stories of rights activists from around the world. "In my past school, one person always screamed 'faggot' at me. Now I'm living 200 kilometres [124 miles] from home just because this place is so tolerant," one of the students was eager to explain. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | A match made in Communist Party heaven | | | | China's singles population is mostly made up of urban women and rural men. Credit: Getty Images |
| | Falling fertility rates are a concern for the Chinese Communist Party, which is encouraging millions of young women and men to reverse the trend. Across the country, bureaucrats have been mobilised to act as matchmakers, incentivising young people to get married, and for couples to stay married and have children. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | About time | | Delve into the physics of time travel as part of this series honouring Doctor Who. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | A lion was filmed roaming the streets of a seaside town near Rome. The big cat appeared to have escape from a circus, but it was captured by the police and returned to its owners. Watch the footage and hear how one of the residents reacted to the sighting. |
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| | | | | | Future Earth Newsletter | | Essential climate news and hopeful developments, in your inbox every Tuesday. | | |
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– Sofia |
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