WORLD BRIEFING: April 28, 2024
Hot weather kills 30 in Thailand as heat index hits ‘extremely dangerous’ level. The heat index in Bangkok was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius as officials urged elderly people to stay indoors. A wave of sweltering weather has blasted parts of the region, prompting schools in the Philippines to suspend classes - SCMP
Ukraine said Russia had launched a massive attack overnight targeting energy installations, while a Russian oil refinery said it had suspended operations following a drone strike. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, said its four thermal power stations had been hit. "The enemy again massively shelled the Ukrainian energy facilities," DTEK said in a statement. "The company's equipment was seriously damaged. At this very moment, energy workers are trying to eliminate the consequences of the attack."
The war in Gaza spurred large protests outside a glitzy roast with President Joe Biden, journalists, politicians and celebrities Saturday but went all but unmentioned by participants inside, with Biden instead using the annual White House correspondents' dinner to make both jokes and grim warnings about Republican rival Donald Trump's fight to reclaim the U.S. presidency. An evening normally devoted to presidents, journalists and comedians taking outrageous pokes at political scandals and each other often seemed this year to illustrate the difficulty of putting aside the coming presidential election and the troubles in the Middle East and elsewhere. - NPR
A three-ship flotilla planning to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid from Turkey was prevented from sailing by Guinea-Bissau authorities, which took down their country's flags from two ships, organizers said. Just before the flotilla was set to sail from Turkey to Gaza on Friday with 5,000 tons of aid, a surprise inspection by the Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry resulted in the removal of the flags from two of the Freedom Flotilla ships. A press release by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition described the cancellation of the vessels' registry as a "blatantly political move," adding, "Without a flag, we cannot sail."
Migrants are to start being detained within weeks in preparation for the first flights taking off to Rwanda, the Home Office has said. It comes after the Guardian reported people would start to be transferred to detention centres on Monday. In response, the Home Office said the government was "entering the final phase" of operationalising the policy. Glasgow-based human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar said he had been told detentions would begin on Monday. He said he expected to "see an explosion of the spirit of Kenmure Street across the UK" in the coming days - a reference to protests on a street in Glasgow in 2021 where hundreds of people blocked an immigration van to prevent asylum seekers being removed. - BBC
A Canadian province will recriminalise the use of hard drugs in public, partly rolling back a landmark policy meant to help tackle a deadly opioid crisis. British Columbia's decriminalisation project began in January 2023 as a three-year pilot programme. But it has faced pushback over concerns around public disorder and drug use. Police will soon have the power to again address drug use in all public places, including hospitals, restaurants, parks and beaches. “While we are caring and compassionate for those struggling with addiction, we do not accept street disorder that makes communities feel unsafe," provincial Premier David Eby said in a statement announcing the change on Friday.
