Six In The Morning Monday 17 May 2021

 Calls for ceasefire after Gaza's deadliest day

Edited by Matthew Davis

France and Egypt are the latest nations to call for an end to the violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, said they “share a deep worry about the ongoing escalation of violence and deplore the many civilian victims”, the Élysée Palace said in a statement.

They also agreed to co-ordinate efforts towards brokering “a rapid ceasefire”, with officials from Egypt, Qatar, the US and the UN working to end the crisis.

‘Catastrophic’: Sierra Leone sells rainforest for Chinese harbour

Controversial deal with China would be ‘disastrous’ for fishing and protected rainforest, say opponents

Karen McVeigh and Kabba Kargbo in Freetown

@karenmcveigh1

Mon 17 May 2021 06.00 BST

A $55m (£39m) deal struck by the government of Sierra Leone with China to build an industrial fishing harbour on 100 hectares (250 acres) of beach and protected rainforest has been criticised as “a catastrophic human and ecological disaster” by conservationists, landowners and rights groups.

The gold and black sands of Black Johnson beach fringe the African nation’s Western Area Peninsula national park, home to endangered species including the duiker antelope and pangolins. The waters are rich in sardines, barracuda and grouper, caught by local fishermen who produce 70% of the fish for the domestic market.

After reports of a Chinese-backed fishmeal plant began circulating on social media, A statement that appeared to be from the Sierra Leonean fisheries ministry confirmed the deal, but denied the planned construction was a “fish mill”. The facility would be a harbour for tuna and “other bigger fishing” vessels exporting to international markets, it said. It would include a “waste-management component” to “recycle marine and other wastes into useful products”.

With summer vacation looming, educators worry about lasting fallout of pandemic schooling

'Not only teachers, the students are just emotionally, physically, mentally exhausted,' B.C. teacher says

Jessica Wong · CBC News · Posted: May 17, 2021

With just weeks to go before summer vacation, many Canadian educators say they are behind on their teaching and worried about longer-term impacts on student learning after an unpredictable and anxious first full school year under the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBC News sent a questionnaire to the public email addresses of more than 50,000 education workers in nearly 200 school districts across eight provinces. The goal was to find out how educators and students are adjusting to all the changes caused by the pandemic, from mask-wearing and other public health rules to condensed high school schedules and sudden shifts to remote learning.

Nearly 9,500 responded, including teachers, support staff, principals and other school workers serving elementary and secondary students. They provided feedback on a range of topics from students meeting learning objectives to absenteeism to mandatory vaccinations.

Taiwan braces for worst yet Covid-19 outbreak

Island was seen as a global role model for containing the disease but a new spike in cases is now spreading far and wide

By FRANK CHENMAY 17, 2021

A sudden Covid-19 resurgence in Taiwan threatens to spiral into a crisis, catching the self-ruled island off guard at a time post-pandemic optimism and complacency had taken hold.

Until now the island had been hailed as a Covid containment model after it largely eradicated the disease with nearly no community spread about one year ago.

Taiwan logged a new daily high of 333 local infections on today (May 17), a rise from Sunday’s tally of 206. The uptrend is stirring trepidation as only 29 cases were recorded on Friday.

Central Vista: India’s Modi blasted for $2.8bn project amid COVID

Modi pushes forward with building new parliament and other structures, with critics accusing him of misplaced priorities amid a raging pandemic.

By Suchitra

17 May 2021

Almost the entire Indian capital, ravaged by a ferocious second wave of the coronavirus and forced to go under a lockdown, has come to a standstill – except for a “vanity project” undertaken by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering widespread criticism.

The $2.8bn Central Vista Redevelopment Project, currently under way in the heart of New Delhi, includes the construction of a new triangular-shaped parliament building, a new residential complex to house the prime minister and the vice president, and the refurbishment and construction of important bureaucratic and security office buildings for the federal government.

European leaders seized more power during the pandemic. Few have 'exit plans' to hand it back

Analysis by Luke McGee and Saskya Vandoorne, CNN

Updated 0757 GMT (1557 HKT) May 17, 2021

Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives across Europe due to Covid-19, and many more have suffered long-term ill health after contracting the disease. They're not the only casualties of the pandemic.

Democratic norms have also been seriously dented by a year of restrictions, and experts now fear power-hungry politicians could be reluctant to give up their near-total authority once the crisis is over.

In France, for instance, parliament approved a bill earlier this week that extends the country's state of emergency until late September. The bill allows President Emmanuel Macron to introduce a health pass, showing whether someone has been vaccinated against Covid-19 or not, as well as curfews across the nation.