Reuters

At least 44 people died and dozens more were injured after a massive stampede at a religious festival in northern Israel on Thursday night. Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had gathered for the holiday of Lag b’Omer, taking part in the biggest event since the coronavirus pandemic began.

But within an instant, the religious celebration turned into a scene of absolute horror.

“I had just sat down to eat when I heard the screams. We rushed to help, and then we saw the bodies. At the start it was about 10. Now, there’s many more,” a witness, Avi, told Haaretz.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Daily death tolls have dropped, but experts are wary of another surge. President Jair Bolsonaro, amid a Senate probe into the country's pandemic response, continues to attack health measures.

(Image credit: Michael Dantas/AFP via Getty Images)

Constitutional questions have dominated the Scottish election campaign. As voters go to the polls next week, Libby Brooks assesses whether they will give the SNP a majority and a mandate for a new independence referendum

Nicola Sturgeon has said that next week’s election in Scotland is the most important in the country’s history. The SNP is once again promising to hold a referendum on independence if it wins a majority in the Scottish parliament.

The Guardian’s Scotland correspondent, Libby Brooks, tells Rachel Humphreys that the pandemic has cast a long shadow over the campaign, with very little door-knocking or in-person campaigning.

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Fox News

Appearing on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight for his first television interview since the dramatic FBI raid of his home and office, Rudy Giuliani claimed on Thursday that the search warrant to seize his electronic devices was “completely illegal” because everything was already “on the iCloud.”

That was hardly the only eyebrow-raising remark the former Trump attorney made in the off-the-wall conversation with host Tucker Carlson.

Despite the New York Times reporting that one of the warrants served by feds sought evidence related to Giuliani’s role in the ouster of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, the ex-New York City mayor downplayed any potential criminal exposure he now finds himself in.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

During a more than 10-minute back and forth with Erin Burnett on CNN on Thursday evening, Andrew Giuliani would not entirely rule out the “theoretical” possibility that his father, Rudy Giuliani, might turn on former President Donald Trump amidst a federal investigation into his dealings with Ukraine.

At one point, Burnett asked the younger Giuliani, who trended on Twitter earlier in the week after viewers noticed a resemblance to some of Will Ferrell’s more belligerent characters, to respond to comments from Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen.

“I think Donald understands that Rudy will provide whatever information that he has to the [Southern District of New York],” Cohen said, “because Rudy has no interest in going to prison and spending the golden years of his life behind bars. That I’m certain of.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photos via Getty

A confession letter written by Joel Greenberg in the final months of the Trump presidency claims that he and close associate Rep. Matt Gaetz paid for sex with multiple women—as well as a girl who was 17 at the time.

“On more than one occasion, this individual was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, the congressman from Florida’s 1st Congressional District and myself,” Greenberg wrote in reference to the 17-year-old.

“From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Tens of thousands of people had gathered at the foot of Mount Meron to celebrate Lag BaOmer, a Jewish holiday honoring Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic who is buried there.

A nurse at the forefront of the battle against India's deadly second Covid wave shares her story.

A coalition is calling for action from governments as victims describe crippling cyber-attacks.

The 16-year-old's albinism led to her being abandoned as a baby but she is now a successful model.

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.

Photos of England's popular coastal communities seen from the air during the 20th Century.

The BBC talks to the volunteers running free workshops to help consumers fix broken gadgets.

A teacher returns to a village in St Vincent's restricted, volcano-damaged 'red zone'.

Australians in India are the latest group to feel abandoned by their government amid virus fears.

Local residents tested out the 500m walkway, which spans a gorge in Portugal's Arouca Geopark.

Germany's top court rejected some of the activists' arguments but agreed that the country's climate act violates their fundamental rights by not specifying emissions reduction targets after 2030.

(Image credit: Christoph Schmidt/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images)

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Guatemalan ambassador to the United States Alfonso Quiñónez about the announcement this week of U.S. aid to help control migration and meet humanitarian needs.

Many Indians are dying without COVID-19 tests or medical care. Crematoriums are overwhelmed, and scientists say India's real death toll may be many times higher than the official government count.

U.N. efforts to start talks over the divided island of Cyprus failed for now — leaving the long standoff between Greeks and Turks in place.