theworldmail.co.uk – Page 80 – International News

China’s Yuan Longping dies; rice research helped feed world

JUSTIN MARK May 23, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 23, 2021 @ 1400 GMT** | In this Oct. 15, 2017 photo, Yuan Longping, center, stands in a field of hybrid rice in Handan in northern China’s Hebei Province. Yuan, a scientist who developed higher-yield varieties of rice that helped feed people around the world, died Saturday May 22, 2021, at a hospital in the city of Changsha, Xinhua News agency reported. (Chinatopix via AP)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Yuan Longping, a Chinese scientist who developed higher-yield rice varieties that helped feed people around the world, died Saturday at a hospital in the southern city of Changsha, the Xinhua News agency reported. He was 90.

Yuan spent his life researching rice and was a household name in China, known by the nickname “Father of Hybrid Rice.” Worldwide, a fifth of all rice now comes from species created by hybrid rice following Yuan’s breakthrough discoveries, according to the website of the World Food Prize, which he won in 2004.

Continue reading →

Palestinians claim victory as Gaza truce faces early test

JUSTIN MARK May 21, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 21, 2021 @ 1100 GMT** | Palestinians dance as they wave green Hamas and their national flags while celebrating the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza City, early Friday, May 21, 2021. **(AP Photo)**

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians rallied by the thousands early Friday after a cease-fire took effect in the latest Gaza war, with many viewing it as costly but clear victory for the Islamic militant group Hamas over a far more powerful Israel.

The 11-day war left more than 200 dead — the vast majority Palestinians — and brought widespread devastation to the already impoverished Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. But the rocket barrages that brought life to a standstill in much of Israel were seen by many Palestinians as a bold response to perceived Israeli abuses in Jerusalem, the emotional heart of the conflict.

Continue reading →

Israel unleashes strikes as expectations for truce rise

JUSTIN MARK May 20, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 20, 2021 @ 1800 GMT** | An Israeli artillery unit fires shells towards targets in Gaza Strip, at the Israeli Gaza border, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. **(AP Photo)**

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel unleashed another wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several, and Hamas fired more rockets, even as expectations rose that a cease-fire could be coming.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from the U.S. to wind down the Gaza offensive, appearing determined to inflict maximum damage on Hamas in a war that could help save his political career. Still, officials close to the negotiations say they expect a truce to be announced in the next 24 hours.

Continue reading →

The Latest: France seeks UN Security Council resolution

JUSTIN MARK May 19, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 19, 2021 @ 1500 GMT** | A Palestinian youth wears a Guy Fawkes mask at an anti-Israel demonstration during a general strike, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Palestinians across Israel and the occupied territories are on strike in a rare collective action against Israel’s policies, as the war, now in its second week, showed no signs of abating. (AP Photo)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China’s U.N. ambassador says France is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants who control Gaza.

Zhang Jun, the current council president, confirmed that France’s U.N. Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere informed the council during the third round of closed consultations Tuesday on the conflict that a resolution was being prepared.

Continue reading →

China urges US to play constructive role in Gaza diplomacy

JUSTIN MARK May 17, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 17, 2021 @ 1700 GMT | FILE** – In this Feb. 24, 2020, file photo, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian gestures as he speaks during a daily briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Beijing. China on Monday, May 17, 2021 renewed calls for the U.S. to play a constructive role in ending the conflict in Gaza and stop blocking efforts at the United Nations to demand an end to the bloodshed. Zhao said China, as rotating head of the Security Council, has urged a cease-fire and the provision of humanitarian assistance, among other proposals, but that obstruction by “one country” has prevented the council from speaking with one voice. (AP File Photo)

BEIJING, China (AP) — China on Monday renewed calls for the U.S. to play a constructive role in ending the conflict in Gaza and stop blocking efforts at the United Nations to demand an end to the bloodshed.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China, as rotating head of the Security Council, has urged a cease-fire and the provision of humanitarian assistance, among other proposals, but that obstruction by “one country” has prevented the council from speaking with one voice.

Continue reading →

China lands on Mars in major advance for its space ambitions

JUSTIN MARK May 15, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 15, 2021 @ 1800 GMT** | In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, members at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center celebrate after China’s Tianwen-1 probe successfully landed on Mars, at the center in Beijing, Saturday, May 15, 2021. China landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time on Saturday, a technically challenging feat more difficult than a moon landing, in the latest advance for its ambitious goals in space. **(Xinhua via AP)**

BEIJING, China (AP) — China landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time on Saturday, a technically challenging feat more difficult than a moon landing, in the latest step forward for its ambitious goals in space.

Plans call for a rover to stay in the lander for a few days of diagnostic tests before rolling down a ramp to explore an area of Mars known as Utopia Planitia. It will join an American rover that arrived at the red planet in February.

Continue reading →

Israel threatens Gaza ground invasion despite truce efforts

JUSTIN MARK May 14, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 14, 2021 @ 1845 GMT** | Smoke rises following Israeli missile strikes on Gaza City, Thursday, May 13, 2021. The four-day burst of violence has pushed Israel into uncharted territory — dealing with the most intense fighting it has ever had with Hamas while simultaneously coping with the worst Jewish-Arab violence inside Israel in decades. **(AP Photo)**

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Thursday said it was massing troops along the Gaza frontier and calling up 9,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled territory, as the two bitter enemies plunged closer to all-out war. Egyptian mediators rushed to Israel for cease-fire efforts but showed no signs of progress.

The stepped-up fighting came as communal violence in Israel erupted for a fourth night, with Jewish and Arab mobs clashing in the flashpoint town of Lod. The fighting took place despite a bolstered police presence ordered by the nation’s leaders.

Continue reading →

Russian admiral frets over ‘provocative’ NATO drills

JUSTIN MARK May 13, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 13, 2021 @ 1900 GMT** | Russian sailors stand guard at the Northern Fleet’s flagship, the Pyotr Veilikiy (Peter the Great) missile cruiser, at its Arctic base of Severomorsk, Russia, Thursday, May 13, 2021. Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, the commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet griped Thursday about increased NATO’s military activities near the country’s borders, describing them as a threat to regional security. **(AP Photo)**

SEVEROMORSK, Russia (AP) — A top Russian admiral complained Thursday about increased NATO military activities near the country’s borders, describing them as a threat to regional security.

Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, the commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet, said that NATO navy ships’ presence in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea have reached levels unseen since World War II.

Continue reading →

School shooting in Russia kills 9 people; suspect arrested

JUSTIN MARK May 12, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 12, 2021 @ 1700 GMT** | People place lit candles on the ground to form the number 175 after a shooting at school No.175 in Kazan, Russia, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Russian officials say a gunman attacked a school in the city of Kazan and Russian officials say several people have been killed. Officials said the dead in Tuesday’s shooting include students, a teacher and a school worker. Authorities also say over 20 others have been hospitalized with wounds. **(AP Photo)**

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) — A gunman launched an attack on a school in the Russian city of Kazan that left at least nine people dead Tuesday — including seven youngsters — and sent students hiding under their desks or running out of the building.

Continue reading →

World Food Prize goes to nutrition expert for fish research

JUSTIN MARK May 11, 2021 No Comments

**MAY 11, 2021 @ 1700 GMT** | This photo provided by World Food Prize shows Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted. On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, Thilsted was named this year’s recipient of the $250,000 World Food Prize, which was created by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug in 1986 to recognize researchers who have improved the quality and availability of food. **(World Food Prize via AP)**

IOWA, United States (AP) — A nutrition expert who pioneered innovative ways of raising fish rich in micronutrients and fatty acids and incorporating them into diets in developing countries was named the recipient of the World Food Prize on Tuesday.

Continue reading →