First Thing: Israel still blocking aid to Gaza as top US official says famine under way

Aid workers say ‘very little’ change after Israeli promises to allow more aid into besieged strip. Plus, OJ Simpson’s death prompts varying reactions

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A promised increase of aid into Gaza has so far failed to materialise, say aid workers, as the US’s aid chief, Samantha Power, confirmed that famine was beginning to take hold in parts of the besieged coastal strip.

Last week Joe Biden began to increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to enhance aid to increasingly destitute Palestinians. However, while Israel claims trucks crossing into Gaza have increased, that conflicts with UN records.

“Very little has actually changed,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International, an aid advocacy organisation. One of Netanyahu’s pledges to Biden, to open the Ashdod port north of Gaza as a portal to seaborne humanitarian aid, has led to no apparent action, according to the Israel N12 channel.

Meanwhile, Power, the administrator of USAid, said in a congressional committee session on Wednesday that expert assessments from mid-March of imminent famine in Gaza were “credible”. Power was asked: “So famine is already occurring there?” She replied: “That is – yes.”

What is the latest with the Hamas-Israel ceasefire negotiations? Hamas has indicated it does not have 40 captives who are still alive who meet the “humanitarian” criteria for a proposed hostages-for-prisoners ceasefire agreement with Israel.

What about Iran’s potential retaliatory strike on Israel? The US is seeking to deter Iran from carrying out a strike against Israel, by reiterating US commitments to Israeli security. It comes after Israel’s bombing of an Iranian consular building in Damascus on 1 April, which killed an Islamic Revolutionary Guards general and six officers.

The death toll continues to rise: After Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 200 hostage on 7 October, Israeli military actions have killed about 33,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Reactions vary after OJ Simpson, ex-NFL star who was acquitted of double murder, dies aged 76

OJ Simpson, the former American football star, actor and notorious suspected double murderer, has died of cancer at 76, his family said on Thursday.

His 1995 trial, and controversial acquittal, for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman was one of the world’s most-watched popular culture events of the last century.

One of the most successful sports stars of his generation, Simpson’s career with the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills, as well as his post-retirement starring roles in Hollywood movies such as The Naked Gun, was ultimately overshadowed by the 1994 murders and their aftermath.

How did people react to his death on Thursday? The sports world reacted to OJ Simpson’s death with silence and derision, with the NFL using agency copy and former teams not mentioning Simpson on social media. Elsewhere, people used his passing to talk about domestic violence, race relations, the media and more.

Trump and Mike Johnson push for redundant ban on non-citizens voting

Donald Trump and the House speaker, Mike Johnson, plan to push for a bill to ban non-citizens from voting, the latest step by Republicans to falsely claim migrants are coming to the US and casting ballots.

Voting when a person is not eligible – if they lack US citizenship, for example – is already illegal under federal law. For the former president, the redundant issue is another way to focus on election security and to frustrate the Biden administration over the situation at the US-Mexico border, a key issue for likely Republican voters this November.

Trump is not the only one spreading this falsehood. It is part of a longstanding Republican line of attack on immigration and Democrats. Now the myth is also being pushed by Elon Musk, the owner of X, and the prominent Trump-aligned activist Cleta Mitchell.

Here are the facts about non-citizen voting: A large study by the Brennan Center of the 2016 election found that just 0.0001% of votes across 42 jurisdictions, out of 23.5m votes, were suspected to be non-citizens voting: just 30 incidents in total.

In other news …

Three fishers stranded on a remote Pacific island for more than a week were rescued on Tuesday after writing “help” in the sand using giant palm fronds.

Mexico demanded the United Nations expel Ecuador on Thursday, amid tensions after a police raid last week on the Mexican embassy in Ecuador’s capital, Quito.

Security laws imposed from mainland China are affecting civil society in Hong Kong, as NGOs and bookshops are closing, media organisations are leaving and democracy activists are on trial.

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, on Thursday called on Americans to overcome their “self-doubt” as he offered a paean to US global leadership before a bitterly divided Congress.

Human rights watchdogs have condemned the arrest of a journalist in Malawi after he wrote an article accusing a wealthy businessman of corruption.

Stat of the day: At least 8,000 people died on global migration routes in 2023

Nine people, including a baby, died after their boat capsized while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in stormy weather, Italy’s coastguard said on Thursday. Another 15 people are feared missing. In 2023, a record 8,000 people were confirmed dead on migration routes around the world, the deadliest year yet, according to data compiled by the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

Don’t miss this: ‘My newborn baby was kidnapped from hospital’

As I walked back into the bedroom after showering, a nurse was standing there, Elsje Pretorius says. We both looked into Nadine’s cot. It was empty. “Did you pick her up?” I asked. “No,” she replied. Instantly, I couldn’t breathe. It felt like ice-cold water had been poured over me. As the nurse called for security, I fell on my hands and knees and frantically searched the floor, thinking maybe she had fallen out of her cot and rolled away. That’s when the awful realisation hit me: someone had taken my baby.

… Or this: the Americans retiring to Mexico for a more affordable life

Nearly half of Americans say that the availability of affordable housing is a big problem in their communities, and even during a Covid-induced economic downturn, the price tag for a single-family home has soared over the last few years. Rents have soared, too. As a result, Americans are emigrating to Mexico to seek a more affordable life. Jym Varnadore, who moved to Rosarito Beach, Mexico, with his wife, doesn’t like to be called an expat. “We are immigrants. And I think it’s disingenuous to call us anything else,” Jym said, adding that in San Diego his salary would only pay for the couple’s groceries or condo mortgage – not both.

Last Thing: Australian farmer finds 7lb giant jackfruit

Peter Brighton watched amazed as the giant jackfruit grew on his farm in Queensland, Australia, writes Eden Gillespie. When it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy – at 99lb (45kg) – it needed two people to do the job. Jackfruit normally weigh 20-30kg on average. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” Brighton said.

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