First Thing: Seven Gaza aid workers killed in Israeli strike, charity says
Good morning.
An Israeli airstrike has killed seven people working with World Food Kitchen, according to the frontline aid charity. Those killed were from the UK, Australia, Poland and Palestine, as well as a US-Canadian dual citizen.
The organization has said it will pause its efforts following the attack, in which two armoured vehicles branded with the charity’s logo were hit leaving a warehouse in central Gaza. The suspension comes as the threat of famine deepens – a US state department assessment found last week that famine was most likely already present in parts of Gaza.
“Despite coordinating movements with the [Israeli army], the convoy was hit as it was leaving the Deir al-Balah warehouse, where the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza on the maritime route,” the charity said.
It was not immediately possible to identify the source of the attack, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was investigating.
How could this affect food relief efforts? There are fears that an aid corridor from Cyprus could collapse.
Trump posts $175m bond in civil fraud case and escapes asset seizures
Donald Trump posted a $175m bond in his New York civil fraud case on Monday, avoiding state authorities seizing his assets.
The payment comes after Trump was found liable in February of fraudulently exaggerating his net worth to access more favorable loan and insurance terms. He was initially asked to post a $454m bond, but following an appeal, was allowed to post the smaller sum within 10 days.
The former president is also due to face a criminal trial in New York this month. Trump is accused of illegally concealing hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election, in the trial which is set to begin on 15 April. The judge in this trial on Monday expanded a gag order after Trump attacked his family on social media.
Trump also faces cases over trying to overturn his 2020 election and another over his handling of classified documents at the end of his term. He has pleaded not guilty in all.
When will these cases go to trial? The cases related to the 2020 election result and documents have been entangled in delays and may not go to trial before November’s election.
Robert F Kennedy Jr claims he qualifies for ballot in swing state North Carolina
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the independent US presidential candidate, claimed on Monday to have qualified for the ballot in the crucial battleground state of North Carolina.
The environmental lawyer turned vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist said he now has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in five states – North Carolina, Utah, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Nevada. So far, only Utah has confirmed Kennedy is on its ballot.
With polls largely showing Joe Biden and Donald Trump neck and neck, and Kennedy boasting double-digit support, he has the potential to upset the race.
Who has more to lose from Kennedy in swing states? It remains unclear – but given recent election results – in 2000 and 2016 – Democrats have reason to fear independents.
In other news …
A 12-year-old suspect has been arrested following a school shooting in a suburb of the Finnish capital of Helsinki that left three other 12-year-olds injured. The wounded children were taken to hospital.
The conditions on California’s Highway 1 road will only get riskier due to the climate crisis exacerbating rising tides and crumbling cliffs, experts have warned. A long stretch of the route is closed yet again after a large chunk of the road in Big Sur collapsed into the sea on Saturday.
Russia has reported drone attacks more than 621 miles from Ukraine, according to Agence France-Presse. It said that factories in Tatarstan, over 690 miles from Ukraine, had been hit with people wounded in the strikes.
Stat of the day: TB kills 1.5 million people every year
Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s deadliest infection, killing 1.5 million people every year. But as the world nears the year 2030 – the date by which the UN aims to have ended TB – the advancement of medical technology is delivering results. In the Philippines, portable X-ray machines and artificial intelligence are being used to speed up diagnosis and treat more people. Kat Lay reports from Manila.
Don’t miss this: why millennials are quitting the rat race
For many millennials and the generations after them, there is a growing feeling that hard work doesn’t pay, with many set to be unable to buy a home or retire at a reasonable age. Now, an online movement dubbed the “the soft life” has begun to take hold, prioritizing spending time and energy on the things that make you happy over careers. Leila Latif speaks to some of those who have quit the rat race.
Climate check: how salty water is putting Bangladesh’s pregnant women at risk
In Dacope, Bangladesh, natural water sources are being contaminated by cyclones and rising sea levels, raising their level of salinity. This is resulting in rising numbers of women with serious health problems, as doctor report an alarming number of pregnant women with pre-eclampsia, a condition that can lead to severe headaches, organ damage and death.
Last Thing: Everyone in Japan ‘will be called Sato by 2531’ unless marriage law changed
Many believed it must be an April fools’ joke when the story was reported in Japan on Monday. But not so: Prof Hiroshi Yoshida’s study projected that if the state continued to require married couples to choose one surname, every Japanese person would have the last name “Sato” by 2531. The proportion of people with the last name, which tops the list of Japanese names, increased 1.0083 times from 2022 to 2023, according to Yoshida.
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