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Experts: Northern Gaza spared famine, but ‘sustained risk’ remains
New York — The situation in the Gaza Strip remains catastrophic and there is a high and sustained risk of famine across all of Gaza as long as the Israel-Hamas war continues and humanitarian access is restricted, a United Nations-backed food security report concluded Tuesday.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, found that nearly a half-million Gazans are on the brink of famine, while 745,000 are facing emergency levels of hunger. Overall, the experts said about 96% of Gazans — some 2.15 million people — are currently facing high levels of acute food insecurity that will continue at least through the end of September.
Fears of a famine in northern Gaza, projected in the IPC analysis conducted in February, have been averted for now. The analysts said the quantity of food deliveries and nutrition services provided to the north have increased, temporarily alleviating the hunger situation. But the danger remains, with 225,000 people still in emergency or catastrophe levels of food insecurity.
In southern Gaza, especially in the Rafah governorate where more than 1 million Palestinians fled seeking safety in the spring, some 70,000 people are one step away from famine and another 70,000 are in emergency levels of food insecurity, the IPC said.
The latest IPC update is based on data collected remotely from May 27 to June 4 by more than 35 experts from 27 agencies, applying standard IPC protocols. The IPC does not declare famine but provides the evidence for an official declaration to be made.
“To truly turn the corner and prevent famine, adequate and sustained levels of humanitarian assistance must be provided, including: greater availability of fresh food and better nutritional diversity, clean water and sanitation, access to health care and the rebuilding of clinics and hospitals,” the World Food Program said in a statement following the report’s release. “A broad, multi-sectoral response is urgently needed.”
The IPC experts noted that after eight months of war and a poor diet and sanitary conditions, Gazans are more vulnerable, which can increase the probability of famine occurring.
The IPC — which comprises about 18 different U.N. and non-U.N. agencies — said only an end to the fighting and sustained humanitarian access can reduce the risk of famine from happening in Gaza.
Israel denies that it obstructs aid delivery into Gaza, saying it is the United Nations and aid agencies that are not delivering aid fast enough.
Under increased U.S. and international pressure, Israel has started allowing more aid to flow into Gaza, including the north. The Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, recently began daily tactical pauses of military activity along the road from the Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza so humanitarians could move aid convoys.
A breakdown in public law and order, however, has impeded aid workers’ ability to collect aid from Kerem Shalom. The U.N. says criminal activities and the risk of theft and robbery have prevented their collecting any aid from Kerem Shalom since June 18.
“As the latest IPC report makes alarmingly clear, humanitarian needs inside Gaza are catastrophic, and humanitarian assistance must be scaled up and reach all in need across all of Gaza,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday about the situation in the Middle East.
She said the Biden administration continues to press Israel to create better conditions to facilitate aid delivery inside Gaza, including to improve the mechanism that coordinates aid deliveries with the Israeli military to prevent attacks on aid convoys.
“The figures in this report are a shameful testament to the failure of world leaders to heed earlier warnings and hold Israel to account for its deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war,” said Sally Abi Khalil, international charity Oxfam’s regional director for the Middle East. “The slight improvement of conditions in the north shows that Israel can end human suffering when it chooses — but just as quickly those gains can vanish when access is again constrained, as the report warns it is now.”
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Joy in Afghanistan as national team makes cricket World Cup semifinal debut
ISLAMABAD — Thousands of people in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan took to the streets Tuesday to celebrate their national team’s first-ever entry into the cricket World Cup semifinals by beating Bangladesh.
Video from several cities, many bordering Pakistan, showed joyous rallies in the streets early in the morning, with reports of celebratory gunfire by fans in some areas, including the capital, Kabul.
The celebrations erupted shortly after the Afghan team completed a dramatic eight-run victory over the Bangladeshi side in a rain-affected, low-scoring match in St. Vincent in the West Indies late Monday.
“It’s something of a dream for us as a team…it’s unbelievable. I don’t have the words to describe my feelings,” Rashid Khan, the Afghan team captain, said after the match. “I’m sure it’s going to be a massive celebration back home. It’s a massive achievement for us. The country will be very proud.”
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul telephoned Khan and congratulated him on the landmark victory, his office said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Authorities in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar officially ordered residents to celebrate the cricket team’s success inside their homes and avoid taking to the streets and roads for security reasons.
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive supreme leader of the Taliban, lives and governs the country from Kandahar, issuing edicts based on his strict interpretation of Islamic law, which includes restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights and freedom of movement.
Afghanistan scored 115 runs in their allotted 20 overs, but weather conditions led Bangladesh to chase a revised target of 114 runs in 19 overs under relevant cricketing rules.
Khan and Afghan pacer Naveen ul Haq displayed a brilliant bowling performance, bagging four wickets each and dismissing the Bangladeshi team for 105 in 17.5 overs.
Afghanistan will now face South Africa in the first semi-final in Tarouba, West Indies. Its historic semifinal appearance came two days after it surprised the world by scoring its first-ever victory over Australia, the cricketing superpower, in the Twenty20 World Cup jointly hosted by the United States and West Indies.
The Afghan victory has eliminated Australia from the tournament. After losing its crucial match to India earlier on Monday, Australia needed Bangladesh to defeat Afghanistan to advance to the semifinals.
Cricket began to gain popularity in Afghanistan following the ouster of the Taliban in 2001 by a U.S.-led military invasion of the country. Afghans, who had been living in refugee camps in Pakistan, are credited with bringing the game to their impoverished South Asian nation.
Afghanistan joined the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2017. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the national team has mostly trained and played outside the country.
The international community has not formally recognized the Taliban government mainly for restricting Afghan women’s access to education, employment, sports, and public life at large. The curbs have prompted some countries to boycott bilateral cricket competitions with Afghanistan.
Australia has declined to play Afghanistan several times.
This past March, Australian cricketing officials canceled a three-match series due to take place in the United Arab Emirates in August. They referenced government advice that the situation for women and girls was deteriorating in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
The rare World Cup success of the national team and the resulting celebrations in Afghanistan contrast with the country’s deepening economic, humanitarian, and human rights crises caused by years of war and natural disasters.
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UNESCO wants to add Stonehenge to list of endangered heritage sites
Paris, France — The U.N.’s cultural organization said Monday it recommended adding Stonehenge, the renowned prehistoric site in England, to its world heritage list of sites in danger, in what would be seen as an embarrassment for London.
The site has been in the U.N. organization’s sights because of British government plans to construct a controversial road tunnel near the world heritage site in southwestern England.
In a written decision seen by AFP, the World Heritage Committee recommended that Stonehenge be added to the U.N. list of world heritage sites in danger “with a view to mobilising international support.”
The decision will have to be voted upon by the member states of the World Heritage Committee at a meeting in New Delhi in July.
One diplomat told AFP that the decision will likely be approved.
Stonehenge has had UNESCO world heritage status since 1986.
Placement on the U.N. body’s world heritage list of endangered sites is seen as a dishonor by some countries.
Last July the British government approved the construction of a controversial road tunnel near Stonehenge despite efforts by campaigners to halt the £1.7 billion ($2.2 billion) project.
The diplomat pointed out that London had decided to approve the project “despite repeated warnings from the World Heritage Committee since 2017.”
The planned tunnel is intended to ease congestion on an existing main road to southwest England that gets especially busy during the peak holiday periods.
Experts have warned of “permanent, irreversible harm” to the area.
Druids have held protests against the tunnel at a site they consider sacred and where they celebrate the summer and winter solstice — the longest and shortest days of the year.
Built in stages between around 3,000 and 2,300 B.C.E., Stonehenge is one of the world’s most important prehistoric megalithic monuments in terms of its size, sophisticated layout and architectural precision.
UNESCO runs a list of sites with World Heritage status around the world, a prestigious title that countries compete to bestow on their most famous natural and man-made locations.
A listing can help boost tourism — but it comes with obligations to protect the site.
The port city of Liverpool in northwest England lost its World Heritage status for its docks in 2021 after UNESCO experts concluded that new real estate developments in the city had taken too much of a toll on its historical fabric.
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Senegal tightens anti-COVID controls after Mecca deaths
Dakar, Senegal — Senegal said Monday it had implemented voluntary COVID-19 screening tests and reimposed the wearing of masks at Dakar’s international airport for returning pilgrims fearing the virus was linked to the deaths of some Mecca pilgrims.
Dakar suspects that a number of the some 1,300 deaths — according to a Saudi tally — are down to a respiratory syndrome ailment such as COVID-19, Health Minister Ibrahima Sy said on Sunday.
“Initially, we thought it was related to heatwaves because the temperature was excessively high, but we realized that there is a respiratory syndrome with the cases of death,” Sy said of the deaths during the hajj pilgrimage, which took place during intense heat.
“We told ourselves that, probably, there is a respiratory epidemic, and it was our duty to be able to monitor the pilgrims on their return by putting in place a screening system for everything COVID-19 related,” said Sy in remarks carried by Senegalese broadcasters.
The health ministry said it had “strengthened the health surveillance system” by deploying a team at the airport to provide voluntary screening tests and identify pilgrims suffering from flu-like illnesses.
The ministry also urged the population “to be vigilant, to show restraint and to be more serene to avoid an epidemic.”
Out of 124 rapid diagnostic tests, 78 proved positive for the COVID-19 virus, 36 of which were later confirmed by PCR tests, the ministry said.
Charles Bernard Sagna, chief medical officer for the airport, said the alert was raised when the Senegalese medical team based in Jeddah had reported “a significant number” of passengers with respiratory problems.
“There is no cause for alarm but there also has to be prevention,” the ministry said Sunday.
Senegalese daily L’Observateur reported that five of the dead at the hajj were Senegalese nationals.
They were among an around 12,000-strong officially registered Senegalese contingent.
Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency earlier reported 1,301 deaths at the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, where temperatures climbed as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the country’s national meteorological center.
More than 80 percent of pilgrims attending mainly outdoor rituals were “unauthorized” and walked long distances in direct sunlight, according to SPA.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that all Muslims with the means must complete at least once in their lives.
Saudi officials have said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, a similar number to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.
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Chinese hackers have stepped up attacks on Taiwanese organizations, cybersecurity firm says
Hong Kong — A suspected Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has stepped up its targeting of Taiwanese organizations, particularly those in sectors such as government, education, technology and diplomacy, according to cybersecurity intelligence company Recorded Future.
In recent years, relations between China and Taiwan, a self-governed island across the Taiwan Strait that Beijing claims as its territory, have deteriorated. The cyberattacks by the group known as RedJulliett were observed between November 2023 and April 2024, during the lead up to Taiwan’s presidential elections in January and the subsequent change in administration.
RedJuliett has targeted Taiwanese organizations in the past, but this is the first time that activity was seen at such a scale, a Recorded Future analyst said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns.
The report said RedJuliett attacked 24 organizations, including government agencies in places like Laos, Kenya and Rwanda, as well as Taiwan.
It also hacked into websites of religious organizations in Hong Kong and South Korea, a U.S university and a Djiboutian university. The report did not identify the organizations.
Recorded Future said RedJuliett accessed the servers of those places via a vulnerability in their SoftEther enterprise virtual private network, or VPN software, an open-source VPN that allows remote connections to an organization’s networks.
RedJuliett has been observed attempting to break into systems of more than 70 Taiwanese organizations including three universities, an optoelectronics company and a facial recognition company that has contracts with the government.
It was unclear if RedJuliett managed to break into those organizations: Recorded Future only said it observed the attempts to identify vulnerabilities in their networks.
RedJuliett’s hacking patterns match those of Chinese state-sponsored groups, according to Recorded Future.
It said that based on the geolocations of IP addresses, RedJulliett is likely based out of the city of Fuzhou, in China’s southern Fujian province, whose coast faces Taiwan.
“Given the close geographical proximity between Fuzhou and Taiwan, Chinese intelligence services operating in Fuzhou are likely tasked with intelligence collection against Taiwanese targets,” the report said.
“RedJuliett is likely targeting Taiwan to collect intelligence and support Beijing’s policy-making on cross-strait relations,” the Recorded Future report said.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately comment.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson dismissed the allegations.
“I don’t know the specifics of what you mentioned, but I can tell you that it’s not the first time the company you mentioned has fabricated disinformation on so-called Chinese hacking operations. There is absolutely no professionalism or credibility to speak of in what the company does,” the spokesperson, Mao Ning, said.
Microsoft reported in August last year that RedJuliett, which Microsoft tracks under the name Flax Typhoon, was targeting Taiwanese organizations.
China has in recent years stepped up military drills around Taiwan and imposed economic and diplomatic pressure on the island.
Relations between Taiwan and Beijing worsened further after the election in January of Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te, who China has deemed a “separatist,” after he said in his inauguration speech that Taiwan and China were not subordinate to each other. Like his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, Lai has said that there is no need to declare Taiwanese independence because it is already an independent sovereign state.
Like many other countries including the U.S., China has been known to engage in cyberespionage. Earlier this year, the U.S. and Britain accused China of a sweeping cyberespionage campaign that allegedly hit millions of people.
Beijing has consistently denied engaging in any form of state-sponsored hacking, instead saying that China itself is a major target of cyberattacks.
According to Recorded Future, Chinese state-sponsored groups will likely continue to target Taiwanese government agencies, universities and critical technology companies via “public-facing” devices such as open-source VPN software, which provide limited visibility and logging capabilities.
Companies and organizations can best protect themselves by prioritizing and patching vulnerabilities once they become known, Recorded Future’s threat intelligence analyst said.
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Apple’s App Store rules breach EU tech rules, EU regulators say
AMSTERDAM — Apple’s App Store rules breach EU tech rules because they prevent app developers from steering consumers to alternative offers, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday, a charge that could result in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker.
The European Commission, which also acts as the European Union’s antitrust and technology regulator, said it had sent its preliminary findings to Apple following an investigation launched in March.
The charge against Apple is the first by the Commission under its landmark Digital Markets Act which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech and ensure a level playing field for smaller rivals. It has until March next year to issue a final decision.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager cited issues with Apple’s new terms.
“As they stand, we think that these new terms do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their end users, and to conclude contracts with them,” she told a conference.
The Commission said under most of the business terms, Apple allows steering only through ‘link-outs’, meaning that app developers can include a link in their app that redirects the customer to a web page where the customer can conclude a contract.
It also criticised the fees charged by Apple for facilitating via the App Store the initial acquisition of a new customer by developers, saying they went beyond what was strictly necessary for such remuneration.
Apple said it had made a number of changes in the past several months to comply with the DMA after getting feedback from developers and the Commission.
“We are confident our plan complies with the law, and estimate more than 99% of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created,” the company said in an email.
The EU executive said it was also opening an investigation into the iPhone maker over its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores and whether these were necessary and proportionate.
DMA breaches can cost companies fines as much as 10% of their global annual turnover.
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Chicago’s iconic ‘Bean’ sculpture reopens to tourists after nearly a year of construction
Chicago — One of Chicago’s most popular tourist attractions known as “The Bean” reopened to the public Sunday after nearly a year of renovations and construction.
Construction started in August last year, and fencing around the iconic sculpture limited closeup access to visitors. The work on the plaza surrounding the sculpture included new stairs, accessible ramps and a waterproofing system, according to the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
The bean-shaped sculpture by artist Anish Kapoor is formally known as “Cloud Gate” and weighs 110 tons (99.8 metric tons).
It’s a busy tourist hub near Michigan Avenue, particularly for selfies with its reflective surface inspired by liquid mercury. Views of skyscrapers and crowds are reflected on the Millennium Park sculpture.
“Visitors can once again have full access to Chicago’s iconic Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor,” city officials said in a Sunday statement. “Come back and get your #selfie!”
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‘Inside Out 2’ scores $100M in its 2nd weekend, setting records
New York — Weekend number two was just as joyous for “Inside Out 2.”
The Pixar sequel collected $100 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, setting a record for an animated movie in its follow-up frame in theaters. The previous best second weekend for an animated title was the $92 million for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Only six movies ever have had better second weekends.
In just a week and a half, “Inside Out 2” has become 2024’s highest-grossing film to date with $724.4 million globally, including $355.2 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. That passes the $711.8 million worldwide total of “Dune: Part Two.” “Inside Out 2” will likely blow through the $1 billion mark in about a week, which would make it the first film since “Barbie” to do so.
The extent of the “Inside Out 2” success startled Hollywood, which had grown accustomed to lower expectations as the film industry watched ticket sales this year slump about 40% below pre-pandemic totals, according to data firm Comscore, before “Inside Out 2” came along.
The record haul for “Inside Out 2,” though, recalled past years when $1 billion grosses were more commonplace for the Walt Disney Co. It is also a much-needed blockbuster for Pixar, which after experimenting with direct-to-streaming releases, reconsidered its movie pipeline and approach to mass-audience appeal.
Now, “Inside Out 2,” which dipped a mere 35% from its $154 million domestic debut, is poised to challenge “The Incredibles 2” ($1.2 billion) for the all-time top grossing Pixar release. It could also steer the venerated animation factory toward more sequels. Among its upcoming films is “Toy Story 5,” due out in 2026.
For theater owners, “Inside Out 2” could hardly have been more needed. But it also reminded exhibitors of how feast-or-famine the movie business has become in recent years. Since the pandemic, movies like “Barbie,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Top Gun: Maverick” have pushed ticket sales to record heights, but fallow periods in between box-office sensations have grown longer. Ticket sales over Memorial Day last month were the worst in three decades.
Some of 2024’s downturn can be attributed to release-schedule juggling caused by last year’s writers and actors strikes. The biggest new release over the weekend was Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle gang drama “The Bikeriders,” a film originally slated to open in 2023 before the actors’ strike prompted its postponement.
“The Bikeriders,” starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, came in on the high side of expectations with $10 million from 2,642 venues in its opening weekend. “The Bikeriders,” which cost about $35 million to produce, was originally to be released by Disney before New Regency took it to Focus Features last fall.
The strong business for “Inside Out 2” appeared to raise ticket sales generally. Sony Pictures’ “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” held well in its third week of release, collecting $18.8 million. It remained in second place. The “Bad Boys” sequel, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, has grossed $146.9 million domestically thus far.
Next week, the sci-fi horror prequel “A Quiet Place: Day One” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1″ will hope some of the “Inside Out 2” success rubs off on them.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
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“Inside Out 2,” $100 million.
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“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $18.8 million.
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“The Bikeriders,” $10 million.
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“The Garfield Movie, $3.6 million.
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“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” $3.6 million.
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“If,” $2.8 million.
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“The Exorcism,” $2.4 million.
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“Thelma,” $2.2 million.
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“The Watchers,” $1.9 million.
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“Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now,” $1.5 million.
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Over 1,000 pilgrims died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, officials say
Cairo — More than 1,000 people died during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as the faithful faced extreme high temperatures at Islamic holy sites in the desert kingdom, officials said Sunday.
More than half of the fatalities were people from Egypt, according to two officials in Cairo. Egypt revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies that helped unauthorized pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia, authorities said.
Saudi Arabia has not commented on the deaths during the pilgrimage, which is required of every able Muslim once in their life.
The Egyptian government announced the death of 31 authorized pilgrims due to chronic diseases during this year’s Hajj, but didn’t offer an official tally for other pilgrims.
However, a Cabinet official said that at least 630 other Egyptians died during the pilgrimage, with most reported at the Emergency Complex in Mecca’s Al-Muaisem neighborhood. Confirming the tally, an Egyptian diplomat said most of the dead have been buried in Saudi Arabia.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.
Saudi authorities cracked down on unauthorized pilgrims, expelling tens of thousands of people. But many, mostly Egyptians, managed to reach holy sites in and around Mecca, some on foot. Unlike authorized pilgrims, they had no hotels to escape from the scorching heat.
In its statement, the government said the 16 travel agencies failed to provide adequate services for pilgrims. It said these agencies illegally facilitated the travel of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia using visas that don’t allow holders to travel to Mecca.
The government also said officials from the companies have been referred to the public prosecutor for investigations.
The fatalities also included 165 pilgrims from Indonesia, 98 from India and dozens more from Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Malaysia, according to an Associated Press tally. Two U.S. pilgrims were also reported dead.
The AP could not independently confirm the causes of death, but some countries like Jordan and Tunisia blamed the soaring heat.
Associated Press journalists saw pilgrims fainting from the scorching heat during the Hajj, especially on the second and third days. Some vomited and collapsed.
Deaths are not uncommon at the Hajj, which has seen at times over 2 million people travel to Saudi Arabia for a five-day pilgrimage. The pilgrimage’s history has also seen deadly stampedes and epidemics.
But this year’s tally was unusually high, suggesting exceptional circumstances.
A 2015 stampede in Mina during the Hajj killed over 2,400 pilgrims, the deadliest incident ever to strike the pilgrimage, according to an AP count. Saudi Arabia has never acknowledged the full toll of the stampede. A separate crane collapse at Mecca’s Grand Mosque earlier the same year killed 111.
The second-deadliest incident at the Hajj was a 1990 stampede that killed 1,426 people.
During this year’s Hajj period, daily high temperatures ranged between 46 degrees Celsius (117 degrees Fahrenheit) and 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in Mecca and sacred sites in and around the city, according to the Saudi National Center for Meteorology. Some people fainted while trying to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil.
The Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. More than 1.83 million Muslims performed the Hajj in 2024, including more than 1.6 million from 22 countries, and around 222,000 Saudi citizens and residents, according to the Saudi Hajj authorities.
Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars on crowd control and safety measures for those attending the annual five-day pilgrimage, but the sheer number of participants makes ensuring their safety difficult.
Climate change could make the risk even greater. A 2019 study by experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that even if the world succeeds in mitigating the worst effects of climate change, the Hajj would be held in temperatures exceeding an “extreme danger threshold” from 2047 to 2052, and from 2079 to 2086.
Islam follows a lunar calendar, so the Hajj comes around 11 days earlier each year. By 2029, the Hajj will occur in April, and for several years after that it will fall in the winter, when temperatures are milder.
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In South Africa, traditional healers join fight against HIV
BUSHBUCKRIDGE, South Africa — The walls of Shadrack Mashabane’s hut in the rural South African town of Bushbuckridge are covered with traditional fabrics, with a small window the only source of light. What stands out among the herbs and medicines in glass bottles is a white box containing an HIV testing kit.
Mashabane is one of at least 15 traditional healers in the town who, in a pilot study, have been trained by University of Witwatersrand researchers to conduct HIV testing and counseling in an effort to ensure as many South Africans as possible know their status.
It’s part of the largest known effort in the country to involve traditional healers in a public health goal and study the results. Later this year, at least 325 other healers will undergo the training and become certified HIV counselors. Researchers will compare rates of HIV testing by healers and clinics.
Most traditional healers were already knowledgeable about HIV — some from personal experience — and were eager to get involved, researchers said.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Stigma remains in many communities around the disease and its treatment — even though HIV antiretroviral medication and pre-exposure prophylaxis are free. Concern about privacy at clinics also keeps people from seeking help.
Many people in rural areas see traditional healers as their first point of contact for illnesses, and the project hopes they can help change attitudes.
South Africa’s large younger population is a special concern. A government study released in December showed that people living with HIV had fallen from 14% in 2017 to 12.7% in 2022, but HIV prevalence rose among girls between 15 and 19, a phenomenon largely attributed to older men sleeping with them.
Around 2,000 traditional healers operate in the Mpumalanga province town of Bushbuckridge, home to about 750,000 people, providing traditional and spiritual services.
Mashabane said patients at first found it difficult to believe he was offering HIV testing — a service they had long expected to be available only at health clinics.
“Many were not convinced. I had to show them my certificate to prove I was qualified to do this,” he said.
The process includes the signing of consent forms to be tested, along with a follow-up with Mashabane to ensure that patients who test positive receive their treatment from the local clinic.
He said breaking the news to a patient who has tested positive for HIV is not that difficult because the illness can be treated with readily available medication. But in many cases, he has to accompany the patient to the clinic “to make it easier for them.”
Florence Khoza is another traditional healer who has been trained to test for HIV. She said risky sexual behavior is common. She often dispenses traditional herbs and medication to treat gonorrhea, but now she goes further by advising patients to test for HIV.
“I tell them it is in their best interest,” she said.
Khoza said many patients fear going to the clinic or hospital and having other community members see them collecting HIV treatment.
“In many cases I collect the HIV medication on their behalf,” she said.
Ryan Wagner, a senior research fellow with the study, said testing and treating via traditional medicine practitioners could “ultimately lead to the end of new HIV cases in communities such as rural Mpumalanga, which has some of the largest HIV burden globally.”
Researchers hope their findings will inspire South Africa’s government to roll out such training across the country.
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Conservation efforts bring Iberian lynx back from brink of extinction
MADRID — Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx.
Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it’s no longer an endangered species.
Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, is now barely a vulnerable species, according to the latest version of the IUCN Red List.
In 2001, there were only 62 mature Iberian lynx — medium-sized, mottled brown cats with characteristic pointed ears and a pair of beard-like tufts of facial hair — on the Iberian Peninsula. The species’ disappearance was closely linked to that of its main prey, the European rabbit, as well as habitat degradation and human activity.
Alarms went off and breeding, reintroduction and protection projects were started, as well as efforts to restore habitats like dense woodland, Mediterranean scrublands and pastures. More than two decades later, in 2022, nature reserves in southern Spain and Portugal contained 648 adult specimens. The latest census, from last year, shows that there are more than 2,000 adults and juveniles, the IUCN said.
“It’s really a huge success, an exponential increase in the population size,” Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red list unit, told The Associated Press.
One of the keys to their recovery has been the attention given to the rabbit population, which had been affected by changes in agricultural production. Their recovery has led to a steady increase in the lynx population, Hilton-Taylor said.
“The greatest recovery of a cat species ever achieved through conservation (…) is the result of committed collaboration between public bodies, scientific institutions, NGOs, private companies, and community members including local landowners, farmers, gamekeepers and hunters,” Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, who coordinates the EU-funded LIFE Lynx-Connect project, said in a statement.
IUCN has also worked with local communities to raise awareness of the importance of the Iberian lynx in the ecosystem, which helped reduce animal deaths due poaching and roadkill. In addition, farmers receive compensation if the cats kill any of their livestock, Hilton-Taylor said.
Since 2010, more than 400 Iberian lynx have been reintroduced to parts of Portugal and Spain, and now they occupy at least 3,320 square kilometers, an increase from 449 square kilometers in 2005.
“We have to consider every single thing before releasing a lynx, and every four years or so we revise the protocols,” said Ramón Pérez de Ayala, the World Wildlife Fund’s Spain species project manager. WWF is one of the NGOs involved in the project.
While the latest Red List update offers hope for other species in the same situation, the lynx isn’t out of danger just yet, says Hilton-Taylor.
The biggest uncertainty is what will happens to rabbits, an animal vulnerable to virus outbreaks, as well as other diseases that could be transmitted by domestic animals.
“We also worried about issues with climate change, how the habitat will respond to climate change, especially the increasing impact of fires, as we’ve seen in the Mediterranean in the last year or two,” said Hilton-Taylor.
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India makes 196 and beats Bangladesh by 50 at Twenty20 World Cup
NORTH SOUND, Antigua — Hardik Pandya blasted Bangladesh with a 27-ball half-century and Kuldeep Yadav’s three wickets finished off India’s win at the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.
Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5.
Yadav then took 3-19 in four overs to limit Bangladesh to 146-8.
India moved to the top of Group 1 in the Super Eight with two wins from two matches. Afghanistan moved to two points after it beat Australia by 21 runs later Saturday, but stay behind Australia in third place on net run rate. Bangladesh remained winless.
Put into bat, India started quick as captain Rohit Sharma scored 23 off 11 balls. Virat Kohli added 37 off 28, hitting three sixes. The duo put on 39 off 22 balls for India’s best opening stand in the tournament.
Sharma was caught in the fourth over off Shakib al Hasan, while Kohli put on another 32 off 27 balls with Rishabh Pant for the second wicket.
Tanzim Hasan Sakib struck twice in the ninth over, getting Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav for 6 as India slumped to 77-3.
But Rishabh Pant anchored one end with 36 off 24, including four fours and two sixes, putting on 31 off 19 balls with Shivam Dube.
Despite Pant’s dismissal in the 12th over, Dube’s prowess against spin came in handy — he hit three sixes, scoring 34 off 24 balls.
But it was Pandya who took charge in the death overs. India scored 62 runs in the last five overs.
Pandya was named player of the match.
“We have played some really good cricket (to win five straight games),” he said. “We have executed our plans well, but as a group we can still improve. We sometimes lose wickets in a bunch, but apart from that things are looking good.”
Bangladesh’s reply made a steady start. Openers Litton Das (13) and Tanzid Hasan (29) added 35 off 27 until Pandya got the breakthrough in the fifth over.
The Tigers were at 66-2 in the 10th over and scoring slower. The chase unravelled when Yadav came on to bowl. He trapped Hasan lbw, and dismissed Towhid Hridoy for 4 and claimed the big wicket of Shakib for 11.
Bangladesh lost three wickets for 32 runs across 24 balls and didn’t recover.
Pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (2-13) and Arshdeep Singh (2-30) helped to seal India’s fifth win over Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup.
Afghanistan stuns Australia
Afghanistan kept its Twenty20 World Cup semifinal hopes alive by stunning previously unbeaten Australia by 21 runs in a thrilling encounter at St. Vincent later on Saturday.
Despite a second successive hat-trick by Australian bowler Pat Cummins, Afghanistan posted 148-6 after being asked to bat first on a tricky pitch at the Arnos Vale Ground.
Afghanistan pair Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on 118 for the highest opening partnership against Australia in a T20 match before Australia’s bowlers rallied late, including Cummins’ second career hat-trick — just two days after his first.
Australia then stumbled with the bat and were all out for 127, with only Glenn Maxwell (59 off 41 balls) coming to grips with the superb Afghanistan bowling attack and the deteriorating wicket.
Man of the match Guldabin Naib took four wickets in an inspired spell in the middle overs to stall Australia’s chase before Azmatullah Omarzai had final wicket Adam Zampa caught in the deep in the final over to complete a stunning win amid jubilant celebrations among the Afghan players and team management.
The victory moves Afghanistan to two points in Group 1 and level with Australia, but behind on net run rate. India leads the group on four points, with Bangladesh bottom on zero points but still with a chance of qualifying for the semifinals.
The final group standings will be decided on Monday when Afghanistan plays Bangladesh at St. Vincent and Australia play India Monday at St. Lucia.
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Germany assures China that doors still open to discuss EU surcharges
Shanghai, China — The German vice-chancellor assured China on Saturday that the “doors” remained “open” to discuss EU surcharges on Chinese electric vehicles, without reassuring Beijing which promised to “firmly defend” its manufacturers.
Also, the Minister of Economy and Climate, Robert Habeck is making a visit that seems like a last chance to avoid a trade war between the Old Continent and the second world power, an important economic partner of Germany.
A task further complicated by the political context, the German leader reproached China on Saturday for its economic support for Russia against a backdrop of the invasion of Ukraine, stressing it was “harming” relations between Beijing and Brussels.
China regularly denounces these upcoming surcharges on electric vehicles as being “purely protectionist.”
“These are not punitive customs duties,” Habeck assured Zheng Shanjie, director of the Chinese Economic Planning Agency (NDRC) Saturday, according to a recording sent to AFP by the Chinese Embassy in Germany.
“This is not a punishment,” he insisted.
Up to 28% increase
Without compromise by July 4, the European Commission will impose up to 28% increase in customs duties on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, accusing Beijing of having, according to it, distorted competition by massively subsidizing this sector.
These surcharges would become definitive from November.
“For Europe, I can say that the doors are open and the invitation or offer for discussion has been made several times. Now it must be accepted,” Habeck said at a news conference in Shanghai.
From Brussels, Olof Gill, the EU spokesperson, assured that European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao “had a frank and constructive call on Saturday regarding the anti-subsidy investigation of the EU on electric cars produced in China.”
“Both sides will continue to engage at all levels in the coming weeks,” he added.
China vows to defend ‘rights’
Earlier Saturday, the tone had been firm on the Chinese side.
“If the EU shows sincerity, China wants to start negotiations as soon as possible” on the surcharges, Trade Minister Wang told him, according to the English-speaking state television CGTN.
“But if the EU persists in this course, we will take all necessary measures to defend our interests. This will include lodging a complaint with the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO). We will firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.”
Beijing had already announced Monday that it had launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of pork and pork products from the European Union.
German and European manufacturers are strongly affected by cheaper Chinese competition. Imports of Chinese electric vehicles into Germany increased tenfold between 2020 and 2023.
China argues that the success of its electricity sector is due to innovation and efficient supply chains, not subsidies.
“(EU) protectionism will not protect (its manufacturers’) competitiveness and will only slow down the global fight against climate change and the promotion of a green transition,” Zheng told Habeck.
“We expect Germany to show leadership within the EU and take the right measures,” implying the cancellation of surcharges, he insisted, according to the New China agency.
Habeck blames Beijing
Such an epilogue seems improbable, with Habeck again blaming Beijing on Saturday for the surge in its trade with Moscow.
“The Russian war of aggression and Chinese support for the Russian government are already harming trade and economic relations between Europe and China,” he said he told his Chinese interlocutors.
China has pledged not to supply weapons to Russia and calls for respect for the territorial integrity of all countries — including Ukraine. But China has never condemned Moscow for its invasion.
Habeck assured Saturday that many “dual-use” goods (both civil and military) were used by Russia after passing through “third countries” — implying China.
“We therefore cannot accept” that the Russian invasion is supported with these products, insisted the German vice-chancellor, calling on Beijing to ban their export to its Russian neighbor.
German car manufacturers still fear a major trade conflict with Beijing, which would undermine their activity in this crucial market. For Mercedes, Volkswagen or BMW, China represents up to 36% of sales volumes.
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Iran’s top court overturns rapper Salehi’s death sentence, lawyer says
Tehran, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence against popular rapper Toomaj Salehi, who was jailed for backing nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death, his lawyer said Saturday.
“Salehi’s death sentence was overturned,” the rapper’s lawyer, Amir Raisian, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding that the Islamic republic’s top court had ordered a retrial.
In April, an Iranian court sentenced Salehi to death for the capital offence of “corruption on earth,” Raisian said at the time.
The rapper was also found guilty of “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the state and calling for riots,” the lawyer said.
Salehi, 33, was arrested in October 2022 after publicly backing demonstrations that had erupted a month earlier, triggered by Amini’s death in police custody. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was detained by the morality police in Tehran over an alleged breach of the Islamic republic’s strict dress rules for women.
“The Supreme Court prevented an irreparable judicial error,” Raisian said, adding that the court also ruled that Salehi’s “previous sentence (six years and three months) was also without compliance with the rules of a multiplicity of crimes.”
The monthslong protests sparked by Amini’s death saw hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel.
Thousands were arrested as authorities moved to quell what they branded foreign-instigated “riots.”
In January, Mehdi Yarrahi, another singer who criticized the headscarf requirement for women, was sentenced to a total of two years and eight months in prison on multiple charges, which would have been served concurrently. The court later changed Yarrahi’s sentence to home confinement due to his health issues.
Nine men have been executed in protest-related cases involving killings and other violence against security forces.
Covering the neck and head has been compulsory for women in Iran since 1983, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Since the protests, women have been increasingly flouting the strict dress code, but Iranian police have in recent months toughened controls on women who ignore the rules.
Iranian media has in recent weeks reported that police in the capital have launched a campaign codenamed “Noor,” the Persian word for “light,” in their efforts to double down on those who break the dress code.
In an effort to tackle those breaking hijab laws, the authorities have also shut down cafes and restaurants where the wearing of the hijab was not respected.
The country’s parliament has also approved a draft “Chastity and Hijab” law that seeks to toughen penalties on women not adhering to the dress rules.
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China, France launch satellite to better understand universe
Xichang, China — A French-Chinese satellite blasted off Saturday on a hunt for the mightiest explosions in the universe, in a notable example of cooperation between a Western power and the Asian giant.
Developed by engineers from both countries, the Space Variable Objects Monitor, or SVOM, will seek out gamma-ray bursts, the light from which has traveled billions of light years to reach Earth.
The 930-kilogram (2,050-pound) satellite carrying four instruments — two French, two Chinese — took off around 3 p.m. aboard a Chinese Long March 2-C rocket from a space base in Xichang, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, AFP journalists witnessed.
Gamma-ray bursts generally occur after the explosion of huge stars — those more than 20 times as big as the sun — or the fusion of compact stars.
The extremely bright cosmic beams can give off a blast of energy equivalent to over a billion billion suns.
Observing them is like “looking back in time, as the light from these objects takes a long time to reach us,” Ore Gottlieb, an astrophysicist at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Astrophysics in New York, told AFP.
“Several mysteries”
The rays carry traces of the gas clouds and galaxies they pass through on their journey through space — valuable data for better understanding the history and evolution of the universe.
“SVOM has the potential to unravel several mysteries in the field of [gamma-ray bursts], including detecting the most distant GRBs in the universe, which correspond to the earliest GRBs,” Gottlieb said.
The most distant bursts identified to date were produced just 630 million years after the Big Bang — when the universe was in its infancy.
“We are … interested in gamma-ray bursts for their own sake, because they are very extreme cosmic explosions which allow us to better understand the death of certain stars,” said Frederic Daigne, an astrophysicist at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris.
“All of this data makes it possible to test the laws of physics with phenomena that are impossible to reproduce in the laboratory on Earth,” he said.
Once analyzed, the data could help to better understand the composition of space, the dynamics of gas clouds or other galaxies.
The project stems from a partnership between the French and Chinese space agencies, as well as other scientific and technical groups from both nations.
Space cooperation at this level between the West and China is uncommon, especially since the United States banned all collaboration between NASA and Beijing in 2011.
Race against time
“U.S. concerns on technology transfer have inhibited U.S. allies from collaborating with the Chinese very much, but it does happen occasionally,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the United States.
In 2018, China and France jointly launched CFOSAT, an oceanographic satellite mainly used in marine meteorology.
And several European countries have taken part in China’s Chang’e lunar exploration program.
So, while SVOM is “by no means unique,” it remains “significant” in the context of space collaboration between China and the West, said McDowell.
Once in orbit 625 kilometers (388 miles) above the Earth, the satellite will send its data back to observatories.
The main challenge is that gamma-ray bursts are extremely brief, leaving scientists in a race against time to gather information.
Once it detects a burst, SVOM will send an alert to a team on duty around the clock.
Within five minutes, they will have to rev up a network of telescopes on the ground that will align precisely with the axis of the burst’s source to make more detailed observations.
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