Both the US and UK were forced to address Israel’s military actions after an air strike killed seven aid workers last Monday including three British citizens and a dual American-Canadian national.
The news of the deaths came days after Joe Biden’s administration authorised the transfer of billions of dollars’ worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel. Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” about the aid workers, but has faced protests and criticism over his support for Israel’s offensive.
Over in the UK, Rishi Sunak also faced increasing pressure to end arms sales to Israel. More than 600 legal experts, including three former Supreme Court judges, signed a letter claiming the UK was breaching international law by selling weapons to the country.
But the prime minister indicated that complying with international law might not be his highest priority. In an interview last Wednesday, Sunak said that he would be willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights if his Rwanda plan is blocked.
In non-political news, a Boston man who became the first person to receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig was declared healthy enough to leave hospital. The surgery was the most recent in the relatively new field of xenotransplantation – animal-to-human organ transplants – and has been the most successful so far.
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the news and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.
1. British broadcaster Jonathan Ross triggered a debate about hygiene by revealing that he does what only once a week?
Changes his underwearFlosses his teethShowersWashes his dirty dishes
2. Texas health officials revealed that a dairy worker had contracted which disease from infected cows?
LeptospirosisTuberculosisBird fluQ fever
3. The BBC fell for an April Fool’s prank by staff at which palace?
Lambeth PalaceBlenheim PalaceAddington PalaceHampton Court Palace
4. Which US state’s Supreme Court approved a six-week abortion ban?
FloridaMissouriTexasOklahoma
5. The US federal government asked Nasa to develop a time zone for which celestial body?
EuropaMarsPolarisThe Moon
6. A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck which East Asian country last Wednesday?
JapanTaiwanSouth KoreaSingapore
7. A new investigation implicated which country in the mysterious health condition known as Havana Syndrome?
ChinaVenezuelaRussiaCuba
8. Which US state approved a law that recriminalises the possession of drugs?
MinnesotaOregonKansasNew York
9. Amazon announced that which of its grocery store innovations is being scrapped?
Robot shoppers that collect items for usersAn AI that allows shoppers to leave the store without payingConveyer belts that shuttle shoppers around the storeSelf-checkout stations that automatically scan items
10. The leader of which nation suffered heavy defeats in local elections on Sunday 31 March?
IranTurkeyUkraineSouth Korea
(Image credit: The Week)
1. Showers
Critics described Ross’s washing habits as “stomach churning”, but others applauded his stance. To find out more, listen to The Week Unwrapped.
2. Bird flu
The unnamed dairy worker was treated with an antiviral drug after testing positive for H5N1 avian influenza and experiencing eye inflammation as the only symptom. The Texas patient is only the second person known to have contracted this strain in the US, and the first anywhere infected through mammals.
3. Blenheim Palace
Staff at the country house in the Oxfordshire town of Woodstock claimed that newly found evidence indicated a Woodstock festival had taken place there exactly 200 years before the famed US event of the same name. For more stories from the stranger side of life, sign up to The Week’s Tall Tales newsletter.
4. Florida
The six-week abortion ban will take effect from May, after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the Florida constitution’s right to privacy does not prohibit limits on abortion. But the court also ruled that a ballot measure banning restrictions on abortion until about 24 weeks can go before voters in November.
5. The Moon
The US federal government has asked Nasa to develop a time zone for the Moon, to be called “coordinated lunar time” (LTC), before embarking on new missions to the lunar surface. Relative to the Earth, time moves more quickly on the Moon – 58.7 microseconds faster each day – so an agreed time zone will help with the “extreme precision” needed for such operations.
6. Taiwan
The earthquake was the country’s strongest tremor since a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 1999, which killed more than 2,000 people.
7. Russia
Staff at the US embassy in Cuba first reported symptoms including headaches, earache and dizziness in 2016. Officials initially said they did not suspect foreign interference, but a new report indicated that a specialised unit of Russia’s foreign intelligence service may be to blame.
8. Oregon
After four years of experimenting with drug decriminalisation, the state has approved a new law that recriminalises the possession of small amounts of “hard drugs”, but also “expands funding for substance abuse treatment”.
9. An AI that allows shoppers to leave the store without paying
The technology, known as “Just Walk Out“, was powered by more than 100 cameras that observed what items shoppers were collecting in order to charge them after they left the store. In reality, thousands of people in India were manually reviewing the footage and training the AI.
10. Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rule as both prime minister and president has lasted more than 20 years, but he and his ruling AK Party suffered heavy losses in mayoral elections across the country. Some pundits have blamed his “unorthodox” economic policy and rapid inflation.