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An Israeli strike hit a humanitarian zone in Rafah; People are suffering a heatwave in Pakistan and India: the news this week

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A Palestinian woman holds the shrouded body of child as she sits in front of the corpse of an adult killed in an Israeli bombardment, at a health clinic in the area of Tel al-Sultan in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. Photo by Eyad BABA/AFP

WORLD

An Israeli strike hit a humanitarian zone in Rafah. On 27 May, at least 45 Palestinians were killed and many injured. The IDF began a ground offensive  in Eastern Rafah over three weeks ago even though Israel had declared the zone « safe ». Many horrific videos of the massacre were shared on social media. The Jewish state first said the operation was aimed at two Hamas fighters but Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later acknowledged a « tragic mistake ». The United Nations has ordered Israel to conduct  a « complete and transparent » investigation.  Demonstrations took place in many countries all around the world to protest  the attack. The international Criminal Court ordered Israel on 25 May to stop « immediately » its operation in the city. Mr Netanyahu gave an interview from Israel to french TV channel  to LCI on 30 May. « The war could stop in five minutes »  if Hamas gave up, he said. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested outside the channel building. Israel refused to sign a ceasefire with Hamas, on 6 May.

By Mourjane Raoux-Barkoudah and Victoire Renard-Dewynter/EPJT

Donald Trump is guilty. Judged on 30 May 2024 in Manhattan, the former US president was found guilty of all 34 charges in the hush money trial. He was accused of falsifying a bill from his lawyer in order to hide a $130,000 payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels. He paid her to keep her from speaking out of an affair they had before the 2016 elections. Donald Trump is the first ever former president to be found guilty of a felony, and might be the first president to be a convicted felon if elected in this year’s elections. After leaving the courtroom, Trump said that the trial « was rigged ». He claimed to be an « innocent man » and that the people will pass the real judgment on 5 November, the date of the presidential election. 

Podcast by Jules Rouiller/EPJT

Will Russian people be killed by western arms? Ukraine is putting pressure on the west to allow strikes in Russian territories with weapons supplied by the West. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri Peskov warned the countries that would allow this that they would be considered as responsible for attacks with their weapons. Some countries support the measure, like Poland, which has claimed that Ukraine « has the right to defend itself as it sees fit, » whereas Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that this is not « necessary ». On 30 May, Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with American weapons, but only in order to fight back the Russian offensive on Kharkiv. During a gathering of Nato foreign ministers in Prague on 30 May and 31 May 2024, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that « Ukraine has the right for self-defence, and that includes also the right to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia ».

Timeline by Emma Sikli/EPJT

A woman is expected to be elected president of Mexico for the first time. On June 2, 100 million Mexicans are choosing their future leader. Two women are leading the contest. They are former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena Coalition, the party of the incumbent president, and Xóchit Gálvez, a former senator running for the opposition with a coalition called Strength and Heart for Mexico. According to poll results, Sheinbaum seems to lead with 30 points. The winner will serve a six-year term. This election had the most violent campaign in Mexico’s history since 2018, with more than 20 candidates killed.

ENVIRONMENT

People are suffering a heatwave in Pakistan and India. Temperatures have risen above 52 degrees Celsius in the province of Sindh, in the South of Pakistan. This is the highest temperature of this summer, and close to the country’s record, 54 degrees, in 2017. In India, the Reuters news agency reporter a record high temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius in Delhi. If confirmed, this would break the 2016 record of 51°C. The first heat-related death of this year was reported on 30 May. Hundreds of people have also been treated for heat strokes in hospitals across Pakistan. UNICEF raises concerns about a million children at risk of dehydration. Residents have been asked to stay indoors, but some protested on 27 May after continuous power cuts for 36 hours in Karachi, the largest city.

 


Map by Arthur Charlier and Clara Duchêne/EPJT

Some 175 climate protesters were arrested in France, on the last weekend of May 2024. They had gathered outside the headquarters of French asset manager Amundi, one of the world’s biggest investment managers and a major TotalEnergies shareholder. Some of the activists forced their way into the fund manager’s tower block. They chose this day as the company held its annual general meeting. CEO Patrick Pouyanne had told shareholders that new oil fields needed to be developed to meet global demand. Also in May, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and local farmers managed to stop the cultivation and use of vitamin A-enhanced rice in the Philippines. They persuaded the country’s court of appeal to revoke commercial cultivation of the Golden Rice variety, a "monumental win," according to Greenpeace. 

 

Non-exhaustive list of pollutants in the Seine. By Clara Demajean/EPJT 

Will the Seine be clean enough for swimmers during the Olympics? France will use the event, which will take place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024, to try to consolidate its soft power. One of the sports is swimming. Where? In the Seine. The river will host two long-distance races and the swimming legs of the triathlon. The question is: will the Seine be clean enough? We know that swimming in the Seine was banned from 1923. The water is also known to be highly polluted. As a consequence, the French authorities set up a Swimming Plan with a budget of 1.4 billion euros. Thousands of new underground pipes, tanks and pumps have been designed to prevent damaging bacteria from flowing into the river. The major risk: storms. The main goal is to keep untreated water from being dumped into the Seine. Moreover, there is no alternative plan. Will the Seine be safe enough? Let’s have a look in the water…

The quality of the Seine water is critical. Trifluoroacetic acid, a persistent chemical from "eternal pollutants," is massively polluting the river. European waters are considerably affected by it. Despite all the efforts to ensure that the water will be clean enough, the 26 July deadline seems too close. The final decision will show if the international image of Paris or the health of Olympic swimmers is prioritized. 

Global warming increases turbulence in aircraft. On 21 May, a man died and a hundred people were injured on a Singapore Airlines flight due to turbulence. Carbon dioxide emissions used for airplanes participates in the acceleration of climate change, which disrupts air travel, according to non profit organization Climate Central. Hotter and shifting wind impacts travel routes and global warming intensifies severe storms. Turbulence experienced an increase of 55% from 1979 to 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The "Doomsday" Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica is melting quicker than expected. In the magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a study reveals that scientists have found leaks in the ice allowing water to progress under the surface on much larger distances than previously thought. This situation is greatly concerning as the glacier, which is as large as Florida, is contributing 4% of the annual sea level rise. Currently the glacier is held by an ice shelf preventing warm waters from the ocean to access the ice. But the cracks found by scientists raise alarm on a potential 65cm sea level rise if it had to collapse in the ocean. Such a rise of the sea level would have consequences on hundreds of millions of people in the world. The west coast of the American continent could be under water and cities such as Los Angeles, Vancouver or even the Caribbean archipelago could just disappear.

Video by Annabelle Boos, Edgar Ducreux and Samia El Achraki/EPJT

Climate: a US election issue? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be the greenest candidate - both among Democrats and Republicans - in the presidential elections, according to ABC. His programme relies on limiting logging, oil drilling and mining. He faces Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. Biden's presidency has been marked by the US reintegration into the Paris agreement and massive investments in green infrastructure and renewable energy. The other Democratic candidate, Marianne Williamson, says she wants to declare a "full scale climate emergency mobilization effort" like during WW2. On the Republican side, global warming is a minor concern. While Donald Trump claims that climate change is a "hoax," Nikki Haley blames other countries for their carbon footprint even if the US is the world's third-largest polluter behind China and India. Republican contender Vivek Ramaswamy relies on technologies to regulate global warming.

Experts believe this year will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, because of unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Niña. Podcast by : Samia El Achraki/EPJT

LEISURE

The Great British summer is upon us. A lot of big festivals rhythm the cultural season in the UK. The Hay Festival in Wales (23 May to 2 June) is going worldwide again this year. There will be editions of the literary festival in Kenya and mostly in hispanic countries: Spain, Mexico and Peru. Colombia will host three Hay festivals early next year. Known as "The Woodstock of the mind," the Hay Festival sold 185,000 tickets in 2023. Glastonbury (26-30 June), the largest green-field music and performing arts festival in the world, welcomes more than 200,000 people each year. In 2024, the big headlines will be Dua Lipa and Coldplay. In classical music, the BBC Proms (19 July-14 September) is the reference as one of the biggest in the world in its category. It invites the finest international artists and orchestras to the UK. Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2-6 August) is the most known arts festival in the world: visitors can see theater shows, stand-up and performing arts.

Empty stands at French Open frustrate tennis fans. The Roland Garros tournament started last week in Paris as the second Grand Slam of the year for tennis lovers after the Australian Open. Images go all around the world, a lot of seats are empty even for big games like Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka, for the first night session of the year. "A bad look for the tournament," Stuart Fraser, tennis correspondent for The Times, tweeted. For the past five years, many seats in the VIP section have been vacant, leaving fans feeling miserable. Lots of seats are bought by big companies and offered to clients, who just don’t care about tennis and do not attend games, or spend most of their time at the buffet drinking champagne. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo was quoted by Reuters as saying that a record number of people attended games last year. However, the people who attend were criticised by various players such as David Goffin or Iga Świątek. Their behavior during a point shouting or distracting the players were pointed out. Then it questions what is best for the tournament: empty seats or a distracting crowd.

By Thomas Langeard/EPJT

Bridgerton's new season is a hit on Netflix. The first part of season three of Bridgerton released on 16 May and two weeks later it is still the most-watched series on the platform. A staggering 45 million people watched the show the first week. In these four new episodes, viewers follow the relationship between Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton as the friends become lovers. Fans had been waiting for these new episodes since March 2022 and reactions have been mixed. Some critics described this latest season as "the best yet," while others say it is "losing its bite". Bridgerton’s fans only have a few days to wait until the second part of season three which will be released on 13 June.

Leinster, the great chokers of European rugby. That's the title they get for losing three finals in a row, and a fourth since their last triumph. Leinster were unable to shed their losing habit in Champions Cup finals after they were edged 31-22 by Toulouse with only extra time separating the rivals at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Poor handling, bad decision making, and some heroic Toulouse defence saw the French side triumph in extra time. This was only the third final to be decided in extra-time. Jacques Nienaber, senior coach of Leinster Rugby, thinks don't want to ear about mental scars: "My personal take is when the past comes knocking on the door don’t even open it because the past has nothing new to tell you anyway". Meanwhile, Toulouse players werre celebrating back home in front of more than 12,000 fans on sunday.

By Saskia Juigner Doubinsky/EPJT

Pink jersey for Tadej Pogacar. The 107th edition of the Giro Tour ended on 26 May. The Giro Tour is a bike race which takes place in Italy. The reward is a pink jersey. Tadej Pogacar won the race for the first time with a timer of  79:14:03.  Pogacar who ran for the UAE-Emirates team beat Daniel Martinez and Geraint Thomas who came second and third respectively. Tim Merlier succeeded at the last stage: the 21th step. A few days after Slovene's victory, rumours of doping started to spread. Indeed, Pogacar exceeded the Colombian Daniel Martinez from 9 min 56 s. It's the largest gap in 59 years. Moreover, Tadej Pogacar wore the pink jerseyfrom the second day of the competition for a total of six victories until the end of the race. That's why social networks users who cheered for Martinez reported the performances. Moreover, his nickname is Komenda's ogre. Indeed, while he is only 25 years old , he has successes to his credit: he did a dub during the France Tour, won six monuments and one chaplet.

By Juliette Huvet/EPJT

Mexico welcomes a football competition of a new kind. The Kings World Cup that started on 25 May is a new way of watching football. The competition is a 7 v. 7 match tournament with special rules that place it between sports and video games. Some of the teams involved come from the Kings League, the year round championship league. The others are "wild card" invited by the creator of the tournament, former Barcelona player Gerard Piqué. They bring together famous streamers and former iconic football players such as Francesco Totti, Rio Ferdinand or Eden Hazard. The event is set between sports and entertainment. "The idea is this World Cup will be very disruptive and for two weeks - before the Euros – there is no other football, so everyone will want to watch," said Gerard Piqué in an interview to the BBC. The final of the Kings World Cup will be on 8 June at the Estadio BBVA of Monterrey, Mexico.

By Lucas Gault/EPJT
Athletes have only a few days left to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games. Some of them already know that they will not be able to participate. Irish swimmer Nathan Wiffen beat his personal record by more than 14 seconds in the Irish Championship in Dublin, but was still less than 6 seconds away from the Olympic standard to qualify. Another cruel scenario ended Gabby Douglas’s hopes to see Paris in July. The 28-year-old American gymnast pulled out of U.S. championships and will not be able to compete for a fourth gold medal in the Olympics. It is not over for all athletes, yet there are only a few possibilities left. Each sport has different rules to ensure a qualification, but the last competitions to keep dreaming about an Olympic medal will be held in June.

The first 2024 episode of South Park, released earlier this week, is about obesity. In a 50-minute episode the US healthcare system is heavily criticized. Ozempic, a pseudo-solution, is opposed to a prescribed body-positive Lizzo. Ozempic is a medicine for diabetes patients, and one of its side effects is weight loss. "Rich people get Ozempic, poor people get body positivity," might be one of the most striking quotes of the show. The main character, Sharon, ends up with diabetes because the Lizzo medicine makes her indifferent to gaining weight. In a vicious circle, the characters are stuck between the two doomed possibilities. The irony of western society is played out in a well-crafted play.

By Noé Guibert/EPJT

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 could change the video games industry. The trailer of the new Activision Blizzard game was released on 28 May. It features different historical figures such as Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton or Saddam Hussein, the arch nemesis of the new edition. The program of the story is described by the slogan "The truth lies". The game is part of the fourth best-selling game series in history and will be available on the Xbox Game Pass. It means that for a monthly subscription, without paying for the game, Xbox players will be able to play the game. A revolution in the video game industry considering that newly released games are never available on this Game Pass. Microsoft wants to develop a "Netflix for games" investing in such an anticipated game. It might lead the way for a new way of consuming video games, not buying them but rather subscribing to play.

European Conference League final. Olympiakos became the first Greek football team to win the Europa Conference League on 28 May. The final took place in the AEK stadium in Athens. Olympiakos beat Italy's Fiorentina 1-0. Fiorentina dominated the game until half-time. Then, the match was close between the two teams with a lot of physical touch. Supporters had to wait for extra time to see Ayoub El Kaabi score his 11th goal in the 116th minute for the win. This victory is historic for the Greek team because the last one was twenty years ago during the 2004 Euro. Olympiakos is Greece's most titled club with 47 championships and 28 national cups. On 1st June, the Champions League final will feature Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid at Wembley.  Real Madrid holds the record with 14 victories whereas Dortmund only won the Champions League in 1997.

OFFBEAT

Ukraine war influences migratory paths of eagles. Scientists from the University of East Anglia (UK) have found that the raptors have been taking different routes to avoid the area's conflict. Among the 20 eagles observed by Charlie Russel and his colleagues, before the war 90% made a stop in Ukraine, while only 32% still do. "It is not like the birds are checking the news every morning to figure out where they should or shouldn't fly on their migrations,'' Russel told The Guardian. Thanks to GPS data, we know that eagles also reduced their breaks to reach their breeding grounds in South Belarus faster. This can lead to greater fatigue among the birds and cause a much delayed breeding, scientists say.

North Korea drops trash and excrement balloons in the South. Photographs have been widely shared on social media. On 29 May, Pyongyang launched hundreds of balloons carrying animal faeces and rubbish, labeling them "gifts of sincerity". This provocative act follows an ongoing propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the Republic of Korea. More than 260 balloons have been found in eight of the country's nine provinces. On the one hand, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, defended the move, criticizing Seoul's stance on freedom of expression. On the other hand, the South Korean military condemned the action as "base and dangerous". It has deployed units to manage the situation, urging citizens to avoid the white balloons and the plastic bags attached to them.

WIRE

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