MELBOURNE: A highly poisonous fungus, with toxins that can be absorbed through the skin, has been identified for the first time in the rain forest near the Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists said on Thursday.
The Fire Coral fungus, which is better known in South Korea and Japan as being among the world’s most poisonous mushrooms, was found near Cairns in the northern state of Queensland, scientists from James Cook University said.
“If found, the fungus should not be touched, and definitely not eaten,” said Matt Barrett, an expert on fungi at the university’s Australian Tropical Herbarium.
“Of the hundred or so toxic mushrooms that are known to researchers, this is the only one in which the toxins can be absorbed through the skin.”
If eaten, the distinctive red fungus causes a horrifying array of symptoms: stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and numbness are followed over hours or days by the skin peeling off the hands and feet, and the shrinking of the brain, he added.
It was most likely that the fungus occurred naturally in Cairns, although instances have also been reported from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Barrett said in a statement.
“The fact that we can find such a distinctive and medically important fungus like Poison Fire Coral right in our backyard shows we have much to learn about fungi in northern Australia,” he added.
Scientists find toxic fungus near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
Scientists find toxic fungus near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
- The Fire Coral fungus was found near Cairns in the northern state of Queensland
- “If found, the fungus should not be touched, and definitely not eaten,” an expert said
Pope Leo says he will make ‘every effort’ for world peace
- Pope Leo warned against the rise of simplistic narratives that divide the world into good and evil
- “Our neighbors are not first our enemies, but fellow human beings,” he said
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the global Catholic Church, pledged on Wednesday to make “every effort” for peace and offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war was “never inevitable.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke to the Pope soon after his election, welcomed the Pontiff’s offer and repeated that Kyiv backed all efforts to end his country’s war with Russia.
Leo, elected last week to succeed the late Pope Francis, has already made repeated calls for peace. His first words to crowds in St. Peter’s Square were “Peace be with all of you.”
He returned to the issue while addressing members of the Eastern Catholic Churches, some of which are based in conflict-ridden places such as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq and often face persecution as religious minorities.
“The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace,” Leo said.
“War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering,” he added.
Pope Leo warned against the rise of simplistic narratives that divide the world into good and evil. “Our neighbors are not first our enemies, but fellow human beings,” he said.
On Sunday, the pontiff called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine; a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all Israeli hostages held by militant group Hamas; and he also welcomed the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Zelensky, writing in English on the X social media platform, said he was grateful to Pope Leo “for his wise words about the Holy See’s willingness to play a mediatory role in restoring global peace.”
“We appreciate the Pontiff’s insightful statement and reiterate our commitment to advancing meaningful peace efforts, including a full ceasefire and a personal highest-level meeting with Russia.”
Later, in his nightly video address, Zelensky said: “The Vatican can help diplomacy. There is support for a direct meeting from leaders of the Global South. And this voice is being heard.”
First leader to speak to new pope
Leo spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday in his first known conversation with a foreign leader as pope. He offered to facilitate peace talks as world leaders come to his inauguration mass, the Ukrainian leader said.
Zelensky hopes to be present for the event in St. Peter’s Square on May 18 and is ready to hold meetings on the sidelines, the Ukrainian leader’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak told Reuters on Tuesday.
Mauritania ex-leader Aziz jailed on appeal for 15 years
- Aziz had appealed his original five-year sentence after his conviction two years ago of using his power to amass a fortune
- Aziz, 68, remained impassive when the decision was announced
NOUAKCHOTT: An appeals court sentenced Mauritania’s former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 15 years in prison on Wednesday for abuse of office and illicit enrichment.
Aziz, who came to power in a 2008 coup, had appealed his original five-year sentence after his conviction two years ago of using his power to amass a fortune.
The former leader, who has been in custody since his original trial began in January 2023, appeared alongside several former top officials and advisers also facing charges of abuse of office, illicit enrichment, influence peddling and money laundering.
The court in the capital Nouakchott also upheld the confiscation of Aziz’s assets and the stripping of his civic rights.
Aziz, 68, remained impassive when the decision was announced, an AFP journalist saw.
Investigators estimate that Aziz, who led the northwest African country of 4.5 million people for more than a decade, accumulated assets and capital worth $70 million during his presidency.
He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in jail in December 2023.
Aziz was excluded from the 2019 presidential election, won by his former right-hand man, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, who had been at his side for the coup and acted successively as his chief of staff then defense minister.
Aziz led the country linking the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa until 2019, returning to general stability a nation once prone to coups and jihadist activities.
He groomed Ghazouani as his successor and handed over to him after elections in 2019 in what was the first peaceful transition of power in a country that proclaimed independence from France in 1960 but then saw decades of political unrest.
At the time of his indictment investigators estimated that Aziz, the son of a merchant, had amassed wealth and capital of 67 million euros ($75 million) over his time in power.
Although not denying his wealth, Aziz has always strenuously contested the accusations against him, seeing a conspiracy to oust him from political life.
His successor has always denied any interference in the case. After remaining discreet about where he had obtained his wealth, Aziz surprised everyone toward the end of his trial by implicating his successor.
He claimed that, the day after the 2019 election, Ghazouani had handed him two suitcases filled with several million euros.
Neo-Nazis plotted terrorist attacks on UK mosques and synagogues
- Court in Britain convicts three far-right extremists who stockpiled more than 200 weapons
LONDON: Three far-right extremists were convicted in a UK court on Wednesday of planning terrorist attacks against mosques and synagogues.
The men were part of an online neo-Nazi group that had stockpiled more than 200 weapons and were close to finishing a 3-D printed semi-automatic gun.
Brogan Stewart, 25, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Christopher Ringrose, 34, were found guilty of multiple terrorism and firearms offenses, following a nine-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court. They will be sentenced in July.
The group were arrested in February last year after an investigation by counter terrorism police found that the men were intent on carrying out a violent attack.
“These extremists were plotting violent acts of terrorism against synagogues, mosques and Islamic education centers,” said Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division. “By their own admission, they were inspired by SS (Nazi) tactics and supremacist ideology.”
Counter terrorism police said that the men belonged to an online group that provided an echo chamber of extreme right-wing views. They shared horrific racial slurs, glorified mass murderers and encouraged violence.
The group, which idolized the Nazi Germany regime, prepared for what they claimed would be a “race war” by sourcing body armor and weapons including machetes, hunting knives, swords and crossbows.
“They were a group that espoused vile racist views and advocated for violence, all to support their extreme right-wing mindset,” said Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East. “All three took real-world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an attack on innocent citizens.”
Saudi crown prince hopes India-Pakistan ceasefire restores ‘calm’ between neighbors
- India and Pakistan exchanged missiles, drone attacks and artillery fire last week before agreeing to ceasefire
- Saudi Arabia was one of several countries that defused tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday hoped the recent ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan would contain escalation and “restore calm” between the two neighbors, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Pakistan has credited Saudi Arabia and several other nations for playing a constructive role in defusing its tensions with India last week after fighting erupted between the two. US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Washington had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, calming fears of an all-out war between the nuclear-armed states.
The Saudi crown prince welcomed the ceasefire during his opening address at the GCC-USA summit in Riyadh on Wednesday, which was held in Trump’s presence.
“We welcome the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and India and hope that it will contain escalation and restore calm between the two countries,” the crown prince said as per the SPA.
The Saudi crown prince said the Kingdom aimed to work with Trump and GCC countries to de-escalate tensions in the region, end the war in Gaza and seek a “lasting and comprehensive solution” to the Palestinian cause.
“Our objective is to ensure security and peace for the peoples of the region,” he said. “We reiterate our support for all endeavors aimed at resolving crises and halting conflicts through peaceful means.”
The fragile ceasefire has temporarily halted hostilities with India and Pakistan trading blame for the conflict.
Georgetown student released from immigration detention after federal judge’s ruling
- Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said she was releasing Khan Suri because she felt he had substantial constitutional claims against the Trump administration
- She also considered the needs of his family and said she didn’t believe he was a danger to the community
VIRGINIA, USA: A Georgetown scholar from India who was arrested in the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign college students was released from immigration detention Wednesday after a federal judge’s ruling.
Badar Khan Suri, who was being held in Texas, will go home to his family in Virginia while he awaits the outcome of his petition against the Trump administration for wrongful arrest and detention in violation of the First Amendment and other constitutional rights. He’s also facing deportation proceedings in an immigration court in Texas.
Immigration authorities have detained college students from across the country — many of whom participated in campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war — since the first days of the Trump administration.
Khan Suri is the latest to win release from custody, along with Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University student from Turkiye, and Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University.
Khan Suri was arrested by masked, plain-clothed officers on the evening of March 17 outside his apartment complex in Arlington, Virginia. He was then put on a plane to Louisiana and later to a detention center in Texas.
The Trump administration has said that it revoked Khan Suri’s visa because of his social media posts and his wife’s connection to Gaza as a Palestinian American. They accused him of supporting Hamas, which the US has designated as a terrorist organization.
Khan Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, have been targeted because Saleh’s father worked with the Hamas-backed Gazan government for more than a decade, but before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Khan Suri’s attorneys say.
According to the US government, Khan Suri has undisputed family ties to the terrorist organization, which he “euphemistically refers to as ‘the government of Gaza.’” But the American Civil Liberties Union has said that Khan Suri hardly knew the father, Ahmed Yousef.
US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria said she was releasing Khan Suri because she felt he had substantial constitutional claims against the Trump administration. She also considered the needs of his family and said she didn’t believe he was a danger to the community.
“Speech regarding the conflict there and opposing Israel’s military campaign is likely protected political speech,” Giles said. “And thus he was likely engaging in protected speech.”
The judge added: “The First Amendment does not distinguish between citizens and noncitizens.”
Giles acknowledged the Trump administration’s need to prioritize national security but said that “whatever deference may be appropriate, concerns of national security” do not supersede the judiciary.
David Byerley, a Justice Department attorney, had argued against Khan Suri’s release. He told the judge that Khan Suri’s First Amendment case is inextricably intertwined with the deportation case in Texas, so he should stay there. He also cited costs of redetaining Khan Suri as a reason to not grant him bail.
After the court hearing, Khan Suri’s lawyers declared victory and criticized the Trump administration for “disappearing” people over their ideas.
“He should have never had his First Amendment rights, which protect all of us regardless of citizenship, trampled on because ideas are not illegal,” said Sophia Gregg, an ACLU attorney. “Americans don’t want to live in a country where the federal government disappears people whose views it doesn’t like. If they can do this to Dr. Suri, they can do this to anyone.”
Khan Suri, an Indian citizen, came to the US in 2022 through a J-1 visa, working at Georgetown as a visiting scholar and postdoctoral fellow. He and his wife have three children: a 9-year-old son and 5-year-old twins.
Before his arrest, he taught a course on majority and minority human rights in South Asia, according to court records. The filings said he hoped to become a professor and embark on a career in academia.
