Six In The Morning Wednesday 19 May 2021

 

Biden dramatically scales up the pressure on Netanyahu as decades-long relationship faces its most consequential moment

By Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins, Natasha Bertrand and Jeremy Diamond, CNN

Updated 1501 GMT (2301 HKT) May 19, 2021

President Joe Biden on Wednesday dramatically escalated his public pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the fighting with Hamas that has stretched into a 10th day, as their decades-long relationship faces a stern test.

The White House said Biden told Netanyahu "that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire" in the raging violence with Hamas. The statement was a signal that Biden is losing patience with Netanyahu, a leader he has known for four decades.

The description of the call -- the fourth between President and Prime Minister over the past week -- reflected growing concern in the White House over the conflict. Previously, administration officials said their objective was to keep pressure on Israel limited to private conversations. But that appeared to shift after the White House revealed publicly that Biden had set a short deadline for de-escalating the violence.

Covid vaccines: India export delay deals blow to poorer countries

Efforts in Africa and elsewhere hit by decision not to export Serum’s AstraZeneca jab until end of year

Jason Burke in Johannesburg

Wed 19 May 2021 13.18 BST

Vaccine programmes across Africa and much of the developing world will suffer big delays after the world’s biggest producer said it would not be exporting the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine until the end of the year.

The decision is likely to leave the Covax global vaccine-sharing facility, which helps poor countries, facing a shortfall of hundreds of millions of doses.

“We continue to scale up manufacturing and prioritise India … We also hope to start delivering to Covax and other countries by the end of this year,” Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of the Serum Institute of India (SII), said in a statement on Tuesday.

Manhunt launched for heavily-armed soldier who threatened Belgian virologist

Jurgen Conings went missing after stealing a rocket launcher, sub-machine gun and pistol from his barracks

Samuel Osborne@SamuelOsborne93

Belgian police have launched a manhunt for a heavily armed soldier with links to the far-right who who threatened the country’s most famous coronavirus expert.

The 46-year-old, named in media as Jurgen Conings, went missing on Monday after stealing a rocket launcher, a sub-machine gun and a pistol, as well as a bulletproof vest, from his barracks.

The country’s justice minister, Vincent Van Quickenborne, described the man as an "acute threat" who is known for his extreme right sympathies.

Hot summers, intense burn seasons seed 'zombie' fires: study

"Zombie" fires that linger under the winter snow in the forests of the Northern Hemisphere tend to re-ignite after hotter summers, according to a study on Wednesday warning that climate change may make them more common.

Normally fires in Arctic regions are caused either by lightning strikes or humans but recent years have seen increasing reports of smouldering soil that sparks into flame in spring, with huge blazes in Siberia in 2020 partly attributed to this phenomenon.

Called "zombie" fires because they apparently "rise from the dead", these overwintering blazes can survive even when the temperature outside drops far below zero.

What is Hamas? Who supports Hamas? What you need to know

Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, repeatedly attacking Israel. It has a number of foreign allies. But where does the terror group get the money and supplies to do it?

In the past, many German media outlets have referred to Hamas as a radical Islamist organization. Most recently, however, as Israel-Gaza fighting flares up again, media have referred to Hamas as an Islamist terror group. A majority of Western governments, including the European Union and the United States, have classified it as a terror organization. Norway and Switzerland are notable exceptions. Both adopt a strictly neutral position and maintain diplomatic ties with the organization that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Restrictions reimposed as virus resurges in much of Asia

By HUIZHONG WU and ZEN SOO

Taxi drivers are starved for customers, weddings are suddenly canceled, schools are closed, and restaurant service is restricted across much of Asia as the coronavirus makes a resurgence in countries where it had seemed to be well under control.

Sparsely populated Mongolia has seen its death toll soar from 15 to 233, while Taiwan, considered a major success in battling the virus, has recorded more than 1,000 cases since last week and placed over 600,000 people in two-week medical isolation.

Hong Kong and Singapore have postponed a quarantine-free travel bubble for a second time after an outbreak in Singapore of uncertain origin. China, which has all but stamped out local infections, has seen new cases apparently linked to contact with people arriving from abroad.