Dr Mohammed Mustafa on why we need more than recognition to end the crisis in Gaza
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The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Three years after his death, cricketer Shane Warne's legacy lives on with heart health checks
Cricketer Shane Warne 's legacy lives on more than three years after the death of the great spin bowler from a heart attack at the age of 52. Warne died in March 2022 after suffering cardiac arrest while on holiday on the Thai island of Koh Samui. The cause of his sudden death led his business team and family to unite to honor his life and create Shane Warne Legacy. The charity set up free heart health checkup machines at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the past two Boxing Day tests. The results of the stadium checks along with 311 community pharmacy stations across Australia were analyzed as part of a Monash University-led study. A total of 76,085 people were screened across seven weeks from mid-December 2023 to the end of January 2024, including 7,740 at the MCG. The research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Friday showed almost seven out of 10 (68.9%) had at least one uncontrolled risk factor for heart disease. Factors were elevated blood pressure readings (37.2%), elevated body mass index (60.5%) and being a smoker (12.1%). Cricket spectators who did the free checks, mostly men aged 35 to 64, had higher rates of elevated blood pressure and body mass index than those screened at pharmacies. Warne revived and elevated the art of leg-spin bowling when he emerged on the international scene in the 1990s and was a central character in one of Australia's most successful eras in the sport. He also was one of cricket's larger-than-life showmen. Warne held the record for the most test wickets with 708 when he retired in 2007 after his 145th match. Only Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has passed him, with 800. 'Meeting people where they are, whether that's at their local pharmacy or the MCG, can make all the difference to health outcomes,' said Dr. Sean Tan, a cardiologist and researcher at the Victorian Heart Institute. Warne's long-time personal assistant Helen Nolan said the findings reinforced Shane Warne Legacy's mission to turn his death into a catalyst for change. The charity's chief executive described the results as 'bittersweet.' 'We're proud to have helped thousands take their heart health seriously but we know there's still work to do,' Nolan said. 'Shane would have wanted this to make a massive difference.' ___
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Israeli minister taunts imprisoned Palestinian leader not seen in years
Israel's national security minister visited a prominent Palestinian leader in jail and told him: 'You will not win,' footage shows. Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian Fatah party, has spent more than 20 years behind bars after being sentenced for his role in anti-Israeli attacks in the early 2000s. Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultra-nationalist minister, visited him in his cell and shared footage of the encounter on X. It is the first time Barghouti has been seen publicly in years. In the clip, the minister and two other individuals, including a prison guard, surround Barghouti in a corner of his cell. 'You will not defeat us. Whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women... we will erase them,' Mr Ben-Gvir says in Hebrew. Barghouti, known by his supporters as 'the Palestinian Mandela', tries to respond but is interrupted by Ben Gvir, who says: 'No, you know this. And it's been the case throughout history.' The video does not specify where Barghouti is currently being held. Sources told AFP the meeting took place 'by chance' at the Ganot prison in southern Israel during a ministerial visit. 'This morning I read that various 'senior officials' in the Palestinian Authority didn't quite like what I said to arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti – may his name be erased,' Mr Ben-Gvir said in the post accompanying the video on Friday morning. 'So I will repeat it again and again, without apology – whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders our children, whoever murders our women, we will wipe them out. With God's help.' Solitary confinement Barghouti, who is now in his 60s, was arrested by Israel in 2002 and sentenced to life on murder charges in 2004. Israel considers him a terrorist and convicted him over his role in the second intifada, or uprising, from 2000-2005. He often tops opinion polls of popular Palestinian leaders. Rights groups say Barghouti has been held in solitary confinement since Oct 7 2023, the day Hamas launched its deadly attacks on Israel. Palestinian supporters have accused guards of 'brutally assaulting' him, which the Israeli prison service has denied. Arab Barghouti, his son, told AFP he was shocked by the video, both at the state of his father, whom he had not seen in three years, and at what he called the 'blatantly arrogant' minister. 'He's lost a lot of weight, and he looks old,' he said of his father. 'They will not break his image in the eyes of the Palestinian people.' In a statement released by Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, the Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry denounced the confrontation as 'an unprecedented provocation'. Responding to the video in a post on X, the Palestinian mission to the United Nations said Barghouti was 'enduring extremely harsh humanitarian conditions in his solitary confinement cell'. It added that he had 'lost more than half his weight due to deliberate medical neglect and mistreatment'. 'At the same time, extremist Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir continues to directly threaten him in an attempt to break his will and resilience,' it said. It is understood Hamas have sought to exchange Barghouti for the remaining Israeli hostages it holds, but Israel is unlikely to free him.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
UN warns 1,760 Palestinians have died while seeking aid in Gaza since May - as Israel continues its bombardment of war-torn enclave
The UN today warned that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid in Gaza since late May - a jump of several hundred since its last published figure at the beginning of August. 'Since 27 May, and as of 13 August, we have recorded that at least 1,760 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid; 994 in the vicinity of GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) sites and 766 along the routes of supply convoys. 'Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,' the agency's office for the Palestinian territories said in a statement. That compares with a figure of 1,373 killed the office reported on August 1. The update came as Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 38 people were killed by Israeli fire on Friday, including 12 who were waiting for humanitarian aid. The Israeli military said its troops were working to 'dismantle Hamas military capabilities', adding its forces were taking precautions 'to mitigate civilian harm'. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and the Israeli military. On Wednesday, the chief of staff of the Israeli military said plans had been approved for a new offensive in Gaza, aimed at defeating Hamas and freeing all the remaining hostages. The military intends to take control of Gaza City and nearby refugee camps, some of the most densely populated parts of the territory, which has been devastated by more than 22 months of war. In recent days, Gaza City residents have told AFP of more frequent air strikes targeting residential areas, while earlier this week Hamas denounced 'aggressive' Israeli ground incursions in the area. On Friday, the Israeli military said its troops were conducting a range of operations on the outskirts of the city. The Israeli government's plans to expand the war have sparked an international outcry as well as domestic opposition. UN-backed experts have warned of widespread famine unfolding in the territory, where Israel has drastically curtailed the amount of humanitarian aid it allows in. But Israel insists that Gaza is not facing starvation and says Hamas is responsible for the looting of aid. Just days ago, distressing new photos of two skeletal-looking Palestinian children emerged amid the continued war of words. So far, 212 people, including 98 children, have reportedly died of malnutrition according to unconfirmed figures by the Hamas-run health ministry, with 11 more deaths reported last night. The latest harrowing images to come out of the Gaza strip appear to show a severely emaciated two-year-old crying out as he is treated in hospital. Little Sham Kadih, who appears to be suffering from malnutrition, was pictured weeping as he is tended to at Nasser Hospital on August 10. It comes amid an on-going shortage of baby formula and medicine, which has reportedly left scores of children on the brink of starvation. Another image purports to show three-year-old Palestinian boy Edhem Mohammed Abu Urmana being fed just water instead of baby formula. The youngster, who appears gaunt and thin, was forced to flee his home alongside his family amid the on-going bombing campaign by Israel. Now staying inside a tent at the Nuseirat refugee camp, Edhem is reportedly suffering from malnutrition. He was pictured curled into a ball as he sipped water from a bottle. Earlier this month Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff inspected a food distribution centre in war-torn Gaza. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, posted on X that he and Witkoff had gone to Gaza 'to learn the truth' about the private aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States. 'We received briefings from IDF (the Israeli military) and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!' Huckabee said. 'Hamas hates GHF because it gets food to people without it being looted by Hamas.' The foundation, on its own X account, posted that it had been a 'privilege and honor' to host Witkoff and Huckabee as the group delivered its 100-millionth meal in Gaza, fulfilling Trump's 'call to lead with strength, compassion and action'. Hamas's October 2023 attack which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,827 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
