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Iran nuclear program: UN watchdog unable to access data since February

International Atomic Energy Agency says it can provide only an estimate of Iran’s stockpile

The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency has said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Monday in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by the Associated Press that it has “not had access to the data from its online enrichment monitors and electronic seals, or had access to the measurement recordings registered by its installed measurement devices” since 23 February.

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Federal court rejects challenge to Australia’s outbound travel ban

Rightwing thinktank Libertyworks fails in bid to overturn the Covid restriction and must pay costs

The rightwing thinktank Libertyworks has lost its federal court challenge to Australia’s outbound travel ban.

On Tuesday the full federal court unanimously rejected Libertyworks’ bid to overturn the Covid-19 restriction, which had argued that the health minister, Greg Hunt, has no power to impose a blanket rule stopping citizens from leaving the country.

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Rise of armed civilian groups in Myanmar fuels fears of civil war

Dozens of grassroots people’s defence forces have emerged to take on brutal military

Myanmar is on the verge of a new civil war, a spokesperson for the country’s parallel government has warned, as communities increasingly take up arms to protect themselves from a relentless campaign of military violence.

Conflict has raged for decades in Myanmar’s borderlands, where myriad ethnic armed groups are fighting with the military for greater autonomy. Since February’s coup, however, dozens of new, grassroots people’s defence forces have emerged to oppose the junta, with battles occurring in areas of the country that were previously peaceful.

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School day to be extended in England, leaked ‘Covid catch-up’ plan suggests

Government mulls paying ‘recovery premium’ for 100 hours of extra teaching plus tutoring aimed at disadvantaged pupils

The government is considering paying teachers to add an extra 30 minutes to the school day in England under leaked proposals to help pupils overcome a year of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A plan drawn up by Sir Kevan Collins, the government’s education recovery commissioner, seeks to establish a minimum 35-hour week and add 100 hours of additional schooling compared with existing timetables in many state schools and colleges.

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Gavin MacLeod, The Love Boat’s Captain Stubing, dies aged 90

MacLeod, also known for the Mary Tyler Moore Show, died at his home in California

Gavin MacLeod, the actor who achieved fame as sardonic TV news writer Murray Slaughter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show and cheerful Captain Stubing on The Love Boat, has died aged 90.

MacLeod died early Saturday at his home in Palm Desert, California, said Stephanie Steele Zalin, his stepdaughter. She attributed his death to his age, saying he had been well until very recently.

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Kumbh Mela: how a superspreader festival seeded Covid across India

From across India, millions of Hindu pilgrims came to take a ritual dip in the Ganges, then returned home carrying Covid-19. Here are their stories

On 12 April, as India registered another 169,000 new Covid-19 cases to overtake Brazil as the second-worst hit country, three million people gathered on the shores of the Ganges.

They were there, in the ancient city of Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand, to take a ritual dip in the holy river. The bodies, squashed together in a pack of devotion and religious fervour, paid no visible heed to Covid protocols.

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