NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 South Sudan hunger: Famine is at risk of spreading to a third county in South Sudan in the absence of food aid, a report from a U.S.-backed monitoring group says, with the United Nations warning Sunday that hundreds of thousands of children could die without assistance. The report from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network says starvation is likely to occur in Koch county in the absence of humanitarian aid. In February, the U.N. and South Sudan’s government officially declared a famine in Leer and Mayendit counties, with a million people at risk. The U.N. and others say the famine is man-made, a result of a three-year civil war that has turned the country into one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.
2 Arabic downgrade: An Israeli Cabinet committee advanced a bill Sunday that downgrades Arabic as an official language of the country. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted to present the controversial “nation-state bill” that declares “the right to realize self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.” Critics charge that, if the bill becomes law, it could undermine Israel’s balance of being both a Jewish and democratic state by harming the rights of the country’s minorities. Currently, both Hebrew and Arabic are Israel’s national languages. The bill states that Hebrew would be the lone national language and downgrades Arabic to “a special status” whose “speakers have the right to language-accessible state services.”
3 Canada floods: Flooding caused by unusually persistent rainfall has driven almost 1,900 people from their homes in 126 municipalities in the province of Quebec. National Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told CTV Sunday that 450 troops are on the ground across the province to help relief efforts. Ontario also is seeing flooding. One of the hardest-hit towns is Rigaud, west of Montreal. Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr. said the evacuation was mandatory in some areas and firefighters were going door to door to make sure people leave their homes. Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said three dikes gave way in the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough. Homes have been evacuated there as well as on the two nearby islands, Ile-Bizard and Ile-Mercier.
4 Bombs uncovered: German authorities evacuated around 50,000 people Sunday from their homes in the city of Hanover while five suspected aerial bombs from World War II were defused. Two bombs were found at a construction site and three more nearby. Leaflets in German, Polish, Turkish, English and Russian were delivered door to door to make sure everyone evacuated.
5 Everest death: Family and supporters on Sunday honored the 85-year-old climber who died attempting to regain his title as the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, while Nepali officials stressed the need to limit the age for such a daunting physical challenge. The death of Min Bahadur Sherchan has renewed concerns about allowing elderly people to attempt to scale mountain peaks. Under Nepali law, climbers have to be at least 16 years old to scale Everest, but there’s no upper limit. The Nepal Mountaineering Association is planning to push the government to limit the age of climbers to at least 76, said Ang Tshering, head of the group. Sherchan died Saturday at the Everest base camp. Sherchan had first scaled Everest in May 2008 when he was 76 — at the time becoming the oldest climber to reach the summit. His record was broken in 2013 by 80-year-old Yuichiro Miura.
Chronicle News Services