World news in brief
John Wayne exhibit to be removed following student protests
An exhibition dedicated to classic film star John Wayne will be removed following student protests over the actor’s history of racist remarks. The exhibit, at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, featured photos and memorabilia from Wayne’s film career, but has been dogged by controversy since it was installed in 2012. Wayne, who attended the school in the 1920s and died in 1979, made racist remarks in an interview with Playboy Magazine in 1971. Quotes from the interview resurfaced in 2019, and led to a number of campus protests against the exhibit. “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility,” Wayne was quoted as saying. The Wayne exhibit will be replaced by a new one that incorporates “elements of Indigenous filmmaking, feminism and critical race theory through interactive displays”, said campus newspaper The Daily Trojan.
Wuhan lab that researches Covid-19 will not be visited by WHO
A coronavirus research lab in Wuhan, the Chinese city where Covid-19 first emerged, will not be visited by World Health Organisation (WHO) investigators looking into the origins of the pandemic. WHO is sending a mission to Wuhan, in Hubei province, but has said investigators will be there only to “advance the understanding of animal hosts for Covid-19 and ascertain how the disease jumped between animals and humans”. The statement appears to rule out a visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and suggests the body has already discounted the possibility the virus may have been cooked up or modified in the lab. Bosses at WHO have also declined to provide details of places its investigators will inspect or the people they will meet – however, it is understood Chinese authorities will monitor and limit all movements. It had previously emerged the lab had held a coronavirus sample that was 96.2 per cent the same as Covid-19 for almost a decade. This prompted speculation about the origin of the virus, despite scientists overwhelmingly believing the genetic code of the virus suggests it mutated naturally.
Japan furious after US Marines diagnosed with coronavirus
Dozens of US Marines stationed at two military bases in Japan have been diagnosed with coronavirus in a massive outbreak that has caused fury among local officials. More than 60 of the specialist troops located on the southern island of Okinawa have become infected since 7 July, reports say. The two bases – Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen – have now been placed into lockdown. But the outbreak has sparked considerable anger in Japan which, despite having an elderly population and tightly packed cities, has so far managed to largely contain the infection. In an unusual rebuke, the island’s governor Denny Tamaki said: “Okinawans are shocked by what we were told – we now have strong doubts that the US military has taken adequate disease prevention measures.” Concerns have been particularly raised because several American personnel arriving in Japan had stayed at an off-base hotel before being transferred to the two camps last week. The Marines said in a statement on Friday that troops were now taking additional protective measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus and were restricting off-base activities.
Dentist who slaughtered Cecil the lion ‘hunts and kills protected wild ram’ just four years later
The American dentist who killed Cecil the lion is reported to have hunted another endangered wild animal. Walter Palmer is said to have slaughtered a protected ram in Mongolia, paying up to £80,000 for the kill. The hunter, who prompted a worldwide outpouring of fury when he targeted Cecil five years ago, was identified as one of two men in a photo with the dead Altai argali – the largest wild sheep in the world. The image posted on social media shows the pair posing with their kill during a trip to Asia, although their faces are cropped from sight. According to WWF, the argali is legally protected by Mongolian law, and hunting it is banned. Internationally, the species is officially classed as near-threatened. The dentist travelled to Mongolia last August from his Minnesota home, the Daily Mirror reported, identifying the two men as Mr Palmer and his friend Brent Sinclair. It said they tracked their prey in the mountains with the help of local guides. The newspaper said the two men have travelled the world together to kill animals for fun. It’s thought the ram, a “much older male”, was killed with an arrow.