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Deutsche Welle;EU agrees to delay deforestation law but won't water it down;https://www.dw.com/en/eu-agrees-to-delay-deforestation-law-but-won-t-water-it-down/a-70728269?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | The European Union has agreed to delay but not dilute a landmark deforestation regulation. Environmental NGOs and politicians have warned that the slowdown threatens forests and the climate. |
Deutsche Welle;How the brain learns: Science-based tips for exam revision;https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-brain-learns-science-based-tips-for-exam-revision/a-70663331?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | What's the best way to boost your brain's capacity for learning? Neuroscientists say novelty and stories are great ways to learn. Sleep and exercise are also key for reducing stress and retaining information. |
Deutsche Welle;What’s at stake for the US as China blocks mineral exports?;https://www.dw.com/en/what-s-at-stake-for-the-us-as-china-blocks-mineral-exports/a-70961836?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | China has banned rare mineral exports like gallium and germanium to the US, intensifying trade tensions. The move threatens US tech and defense industries reliant on these materials. |
Deutsche Welle;OECD slashes growth forecasts for Germany, France;https://www.dw.com/en/oecd-slashes-growth-forecasts-for-germany-france/a-70958408?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | Political crises and weakening global demand have hit the growth prospects of the European Union's top two economies, according to the OECD. It warned that growing trade tensions could disrupt the world economy. |
Deutsche Welle;Turner Prize goes to Jasleen Kaur;https://www.dw.com/en/turner-prize-goes-to-jasleen-kaur/a-70956219?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | The Glasgow-born artist, who refers to her Sikh roots in her work, has earned the prestigious British award. Amid pro-Palestinian protests, she calls on Tate museums to cut ties with Israel. |
Deutsche Welle;Notre Dame: Is it too early to reopen the Paris cathedral?;https://www.dw.com/en/notre-dame-is-it-too-early-to-reopen-the-paris-cathedral/a-70881966?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | After five years of speedy reconstruction work, Notre Dame will soon reopen. But the architect formerly in charge of Cologne Cathedral in neighboring Germany fears things are moving too fast. |
Deutsche Welle;German island to end ritual of spanking women with cow horn;https://www.dw.com/en/german-island-to-end-ritual-of-spanking-women-with-cow-horn/a-70940053?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | A centuries-old tradition in Germany's Borkum in which young men hit women on the buttocks with a cow horn during the Klaasohm festival will be discontinued. |
Deutsche Welle;Norway suspends deep-sea mining plans in the Arctic;https://www.dw.com/en/norway-suspends-deep-sea-mining-plans-in-the-arctic/a-70857614?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | Norway has temporarily halted the licensing process to permit Arctic seabed mining for critical metals. Meanwhile the WWF's court case against the state continues. Critics fear harm to fragile marine ecosystems. |
Deutsche Welle;What will it take to slow plastic production?;https://www.dw.com/en/what-will-it-take-to-slow-plastic-production/a-70884906?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | California is suing oil and gas major ExxonMobil. The case has highlighted the connection between fossil fuel companies and plastic waste, as well as the need for a cap on plastic production. |
Deutsche Welle;World's top court starts landmark climate hearings;https://www.dw.com/en/world-s-top-court-starts-landmark-climate-hearings/a-70934899?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | In the largest case in its history, the ICJ will hear almost 100 countries deliver testimonies on climate change. Campaigners hope it will help underline the obligations of states on global warming. |
Deutsche Welle;Humans are addicted to love — here's how we know;https://www.dw.com/en/humans-are-addicted-to-love-here-s-how-we-know/a-70858166?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | Brain imaging studies show love is like a drug addiction. Scientists can even predict who you love, or whether you have a pet, based on your brain activity. |
Deutsche Welle;Where are the video games from Africa?;https://www.dw.com/en/where-are-the-video-games-from-africa/a-70907990?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | Afrobeat is successful worldwide, and Africa's film industry is booming. The only thing missing now is video games. Why is the industry struggling despite creative and committed developers and studio founders? |
Deutsche Welle;Plastic pollution ban fails, time needed says chair;https://www.dw.com/en/plastic-pollution-ban-fails-time-needed-says-chair/a-70932374?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | Negotiators failed to sign a treaty curbing plastic waste after two years of discussions, as representatives from nearly 200 nations gathered in South Korea. |
Deutsche Welle;Why people love (and hate) 'Last Christmas';https://www.dw.com/en/why-people-love-and-hate-last-christmas/a-67711782?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | It's hard to imagine the holiday season without the Wham! pop classic, which turns 40 this year. But at the core of "Last Christmas" lies melancholy, a broken heart, and ... Easter?! |
Deutsche Welle;HIV prophylactic lenacapavir — very safe and very expensive;https://www.dw.com/en/hiv-prophylactic-lenacapavir-very-safe-and-very-expensive/a-70920492?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf;2024-12-28 02:00:05 | Health experts say lenacapavir could reduce the number of global HIV infections significantly. It can protect against HIV with only two injections per year. But it needs to be cheaper to be effective. |
TASS;Putin approves possibility of suspending ban on organization listed terrorist;https://tass.com/defense/1894719;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:35:13 +0300 | The suspension is possible if there is verified evidence that the organization, following its inclusion in the list of terrorist organizations, has ceased carrying out activities aimed at the propaganda, justification, and support of terrorism or committing relevant crimes described in the Criminal Code |
TASS;Russia’s US-born boxer Kevin Johnson eyes several bouts next year;https://tass.com/sports/1894715;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:24:37 +0300 | On January 9, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting Russian citizenship to Kevin Johnson |
TASS;Russian government allows sale of 3 mln tons of grain from state fund next year;https://tass.com/economy/1894707;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:17:00 +0300 | As the Cabinet notes, the decision on commodity interventions is intended to help the government maintain a stable situation on the domestic food market |
TASS;Mother of US citizen convicted in Russia plans to contact Trump on her son's case soon;https://tass.com/society/1894705;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:00:25 +0300 | "It was a quick conversation just before the shots rang out, but he [Trump] did tell me that he would remember his name and that he would try to get him out if he was elected," the mother stressed |
TASS;Family pushing for Fogel’s inclusion into next prisoner swap between US, Russia — lawyer;https://tass.com/society/1894701;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:55:05 +0300 | According to her, the family of Fogel, 63, plans "to double its efforts" with the US Government so that he can safely return home |
TASS;Kiev loses nearly 32,000 troops at Lugansk region borders in December —military expert;https://tass.com/politics/1894699;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:47:14 +0300 | In December, Russian forces also destroyed 48 Ukrainian tanks, 2 Croatian-made RAK-SA-12 multiple rocket launchers, 31 electronic warfare and counterbattery radar stations, 49 field ammunition depots, 317 field artillery guns and more than 700 enemy combat vehicles, Andrey Marochko specified |
TASS;EAEU emerges as key player in international relations — Russian Foreign Ministry;https://tass.com/politics/1894693;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:40:24 +0300 | Throughout its existence, the EAEU's member states – Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan – have achieved notable results, the Russian Foreign Ministry highlighted |
TASS;Over 340 military officials’ cars set on fire in Ukraine over year;https://tass.com/world/1894691;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:37:29 +0300 | According to the report, the majority of these crimes occurred between Spring and Summer this year |
TASS;Roscosmos achieved significant progress in several major projects in 2024 — CEO;https://tass.com/science/1894689;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:34:58 +0300 | Yury Borisov announced that throughout next year, Roscosmos will continue working on the development of projects such as creating multi-satellite clusters, new launch vehicles, and Russia’s future orbital station |
TASS;Russian forces repulse 25 Ukrainian counterattacks at LPR borders over week;https://tass.com/politics/1894687;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:34:09 +0300 | The Ukrainian army also lost 14 tanks, 100 field artillery guns, 16 electronic warfare and counterbattery radar stations, 21 ammunition depots and almost 200 various combat vehicles in that frontline area over the past week, Andrey Marochko specified |
TASS;Russia’s FSB foils assassination attempts on defense officer, military blogger;https://tass.com/defense/1894679;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:11:48 +0300 | The plotter allegedly contacted an employee of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate via Telegram messenger |
TASS;Four people injured in Ukrainian drone attack on Novaya Kakhovka in Kherson Region;https://tass.com/politics/1894681;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:10:53 +0300 | All the injured persons have bene taken to the central hospitals of Novaya Kakhovka and Kakhovka, Vitaly Gura specified |
TASS;US, UK special services plotting terror attacks on Russia’s bases in Syria — intel agency;https://tass.com/politics/1894677;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 11:05:44 +0300 | "Washington and London presume that in such conditions they will be able to achieve more quickly their geopolitical goal of ensuring their long-term dominance in the region on the basis of a repulsive concept of the rules-based order," the statement reads |
TASS;Work on opening Russian center for science, culture in Mali underway — envoy;https://tass.com/society/1894675;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 10:49:46 +0300 | Igor Gromyko recalled that today there are three partner Russian Houses operating in Bamako and Niamey, the capital of Niger, which are engaged in promoting Russian culture, science and education, reinforcing the position of the Russian language, supporting compatriots and implementing some other projects |
TASS;MOEX, RTS indices rise by 0.22% at the opening of trading session;https://tass.com/economy/1894673;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 10:44:03 +0300 | The yuan to ruble exchange rate at the opening of Moscow Exchange trading fell by 5.8 kopecks to 13.392 rubles |
TASS;Work on opening Russian embassy in Niger underway — envoy;https://tass.com/politics/1894667;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 10:08:51 +0300 | "The exact launch date for the embassy in Niamey has not been announced yet," Igor Gromyko noted |
TASS;Mali's army able to improve military potential owing to Russia — envoy;https://tass.com/politics/1894645;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 09:33:01 +0300 | "We will continue to effectively assist Bamako in stabilizing the internal situation, including addressing the existing socio-economic challenges," Igor Gromyko emphasized |
TASS;Russian Guardsmen destroy Ukrainian UAV team in Chernigov Region;https://tass.com/politics/1894637;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 09:22:16 +0300 | The Guard’s press office said that images transmitted live from a drone confirmed the destruction of the enemy team |
TASS;Ukraine opens second front in Africa — envoy;https://tass.com/world/1894631;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 09:11:42 +0300 | Igor Gromyko noted that in August, Mali's transitional government announced the termination of diplomatic relations with Ukraine |
TASS;Taiwan records approach of seven Chinese PLA warplanes, five vessels;https://tass.com/world/1894625;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 08:43:00 +0300 | According to the statement, one of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern ADIZ air defense identification zone |
TASS;Kazan airport in Russia’s Tatarstan suspends service — regulator;https://tass.com/economy/1894623;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 08:26:25 +0300 | "The air harbor is temporarily not accepting or sending flights," the statement reads |
TASS;Train service resumes in Voronezh Region after attack by Ukrainian drones;https://tass.com/economy/1894621;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 08:14:57 +0300 | Governor Alexander Gusev said earlier that the UAV wreckage had broken down the railway catenary system in one of the districts of the Voronezh Region, with trains delayed until elimination of the consequences |
TASS;Almost 37,000 tons of contaminated soil removed from Black Sea beaches;https://tass.com/emergencies/1894609;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:20:54 +0300 | "Almost 8,000 people were employed in this work today," according to a statement by the region’s crisis center |
TASS;Turkish transport ministry’s experts to join AZAL plane crash investigation;https://tass.com/world/1894607;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:19:11 +0300 | "Our delegation will be working in coordination with Azerbaijan’s authorities <...> to explore all aspects of the incident within their competence," Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said |
TASS;US debt to reach limit in mid-January, authorities to take extraordinary measures — Yellen;https://tass.com/economy/1894605;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:13:42 +0300 | The national debt of the US currently stands at around $36.2 trillion |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Three homes destroyed as massive bushfire continues to burn;https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/three-homes-destroyed-as-massive-bushfire-continues-to-burn-20241228-p5l0zz.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:45:49 +1100 | Authorities are warning property loss numbers are expected to increase as assessments continue. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Kyrgios slams ‘cheat’: Australian on comeback trail hits out at world No.1;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/kyrgios-slams-cheat-australian-on-comeback-trail-hits-out-at-world-no-1-20241227-p5l0v1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:26:15 +1100 | Returning from injury ahead of the Australian Open, Nick Kyrgios has doubled down on his criticism of Jannik Sinner in spectacular style. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup LIVE: De Minaur comes out firing to claim first set in 28 minutes, Gadecki falls to Podoroska;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-live-australia-v-argentina-in-sydney-20241228-p5l0yb.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:21:13 +1100 | Alex de Minaur fights to keep Australia in the fight against Tomas Martin Etcheverry after Olivia Gadecki lost to Nadia Podoroska. Follow all the action |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Demon's brilliance seals set;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/demons-brilliance-seals-set-20241228-p5l10x.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:10:55 +1100 | Alex de Minaur wraps up the first set against Tomas Etcheverry in under half an hour. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Test hopeful skittles Warner;https://www.smh.com.au/national/test-hopeful-skittles-warner-20241228-p5l10y.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:10:44 +1100 | Beau Webster rattles the stumps of David Warner to claim the Stars' first wicket. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Police investigate suspected double arson attack in Brisbane;https://www.smh.com.au/national/police-investigate-suspected-double-arson-attack-in-brisbane-20241228-p5l10s.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:06:17 +1100 | Police are investigating a suspected double arson attack in Brisbane's south-west that destroyed a home and damaged another. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Woman dies in holiday road tragedy in South Australia;https://www.smh.com.au/national/woman-dies-in-holiday-road-tragedy-in-south-australia-20241228-p5l10o.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:06:11 +1100 | A woman has died and another is fighting for her life after a holiday road tragedy in South Australia. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;A lounge filled with joeys: Wildlife rescuers brace for influx of animals injured in Grampians blaze;https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/a-lounge-filled-with-joeys-wildlife-rescuers-brace-for-influx-of-animals-injured-in-grampians-blaze-20241228-p5l0z6.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:02:30 +1100 | Twenty joeys found refuge from the Boxing Day fire conditions inside the home of a shelter operator. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Reddy and raring: The partnership that could change everything this series;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/reddy-and-raring-the-partnership-that-could-change-everything-this-series-20241228-p5l106.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:59:19 +1100 | As Nitish Kumar Reddy went down on one knee, then rose again to make his salute, all at the MCG gave him his due – the crowd thunderously, the Australian players with outstretched hands, and his father on the fence with a grin. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Kyrgios' 'miracle' admission over injury;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/kyrgios-miracle-admission-over-injury-20241228-p5l10v.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:45:20 +1100 | Nick Kyrgios discusses his comeback from injury for the Brisbane International. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Queensland family loses entire house deposit after a sophisticated scam;https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland-family-loses-entire-house-deposit-after-a-sophisticated-scam-20241228-p5l10u.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:44:55 +1100 | A Queensland family has lost their entire house deposit and new home, after unknowingly falling victim to a sophisticated mortgage scam. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Emotional ton keeps India alive;https://www.smh.com.au/national/emotional-ton-keeps-india-alive-20241228-p5l10w.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:43:47 +1100 | Nitish Kumar Reddy hit his maiden century with his father shedding tears in the crowd. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup Highlights: Fernandez & Auger-Aliassime (CAN) v Ciric Bagaric & Dodig (CRO);https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-highlights-fernandez-and-auger-aliassime-can-v-ciric-bagaric-and-dodig-cro-20241228-p5l10t.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:43:03 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Fernandez & Auger-Aliassime (CAN) & Ciric Bagaric & Dodig (CRO) on Day 2 of the 2025 United Cup Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;As it happened: Second Sam Konstas show delayed by rain as Reddy makes memorable day three ton;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/boxing-day-test-live-updates-series-on-the-line-as-aussies-chase-wickets-as-day-three-against-india-20241227-p5l0vo.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:34:40 +1100 | Australia’s road to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has taken a wicked turn, and it will take heroic effort from a tiring attack to navigate a path to victory. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Police release images of two men in relation to murder of Caboolture woman;https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/police-release-images-of-two-men-in-relation-to-murder-of-caboolture-woman-20241228-p5l10h.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:31:11 +1100 | Chloe Jade Mason, 23, was allegedly assaulted, chased and gunned down on a suburban street three days before Christmas. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;This hospital will cost $700 million. There’ll be nowhere to have a baby;https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/this-hospital-will-cost-700-million-there-ll-be-nowhere-to-have-a-baby-20241121-p5kse8.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:30:00 +1100 | Locals in the Hills Shire were furious to discover that, when their new hospital eventually opens, it won’t have a birthing suite. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;India fighting back after Day 3 of Boxing Day Test;https://www.smh.com.au/national/india-fighting-back-after-day-3-of-boxing-day-test-20241228-p5l10r.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:28:35 +1100 | A century from Nitish Kumar Reddy has put India back in a good position in the Boxing Day Test. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;United Cup Highlights: Olivia Gadecki (AUS) v Nadia Podoroska (ARG);https://www.smh.com.au/sport/tennis/united-cup-highlights-olivia-gadecki-aus-v-nadia-podoroska-arg-20241228-p5l10p.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:28:17 +1100 | Watch the match highlights between Olivia Gadecki (AUS) & Nadia Podoroska (ARG) on Day 2 of the 2025 United Cup Tennis. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;Road train driver charged after allegedly smashing through posts, parked cars;https://www.smh.com.au/national/road-train-driver-charged-after-allegedly-smashing-through-posts-parked-cars-20241228-p5l10q.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:28:02 +1100 | A road train driver has been charged after allegedly crashing into several cars and street posts in South Australia. |
The Sydney Morning Herald;The moment the Boxing Day Test took a turn for the worse for Australia;https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/the-moment-the-boxing-day-test-took-a-turn-for-the-worse-for-australia-20241228-p5l104.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 19:24:00 +1100 | Mitchell Starc is sore, the MCG track is flat and time is becoming of the essence against an India side eyeing off back-to-back miracles Down Under. |
ABC News;Jordan Thompson calls Max Purcell's anti-doping ban "a joke";https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/sport-jordan-thompson-calls-max-purcell-ban-a-joke/104768396;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 09:53:40 +0000 | Australian Jordan Thompson has criticised the ban handed to his grand slam-winning doubles partner Max Purcell, describing the ruling as "a bit of a joke". |
ABC News;Yoon authorised 'shooting' during martial law bid, South Korean prosecutors say;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/s-korean-prosecutors-say-yoon-authorised-shooting-during-martial/104768368;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 09:09:29 +0000 | South Korea's suspended president authorised the military to fire their weapons to enter parliament during his failed martial law attempt, according to a prosecutors' report. |
ABC News;Police release photos of two men following Caboolture shooting murder;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/qld-police-release-photos-caboolture-shooting/104768194;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 08:14:54 +0000 | Detectives have released images of two men who they believe may be able to assist with the fatal shooting of Chloe Jade Mason in Brisbane's north. |
ABC News;Man dies after shark attack off Central Queensland coast;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/man-attacked-by-shark-off-central-queensland-coast/104768354;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 08:03:26 +0000 | The 40-year-old was fishing with family members when he was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries. |
ABC News;Australia's hopes of MCG victory worn down by fighting spirit of India's youth;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/australia-india-fourth-test-day-three-nitish-kumar-reddy/104767986;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 07:10:22 +0000 | Day three was supposed to be a batting day for Australia, and one where the hosts set themselves up for a crucial MCG victory. But in its way was Nitish Kumar Reddy, and the dogged determination of India's generation next. |
ABC News;Magnus Carlsen quits chess tournament after being told to change out of jeans;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/world-rapid-chess-championship-magnus-carlsen-fined-jeans-quits/104768200;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 07:08:18 +0000 | After being told he had to change immediately or he would forfeit a round, the world's top-ranked player chose to quit the tournament instead, saying it had become a "matter of principle" to him. |
ABC News;Woman charged with murder after body found in burnt out car;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/woman-charged-with-murder-of-man-in-burnt-out-car-in-boddington/104767914;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 06:11:28 +0000 | Janine Louise Denny has been remanded in custody after she appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Saturday. The 45-year-old has been charged with murder and attempted murder of a 53-year-old man. |
ABC News;Live: De Minaur opponent 'a victim of excellence' as Demon dominates to claim win;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/live-updates-summer-of-tennis-united-cup-day-two/104768120;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 05:06:05 +0000 | Alex de Minaur dominates Tomás Etcheverry 6-1, 6-4 to level United Cup tie against Argentina at Sydney's Ken Rosewall Arena. Follow live. |
ABC News;Trump asks Supreme Court to delay decision on potential TikTok ban;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/donald-trump-tiktok-ban-supreme-court-meeting-joe-biden/104768038;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:59:34 +0000 | The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued it should strike down a law that would ban the platform in the United States by January 19. |
ABC News;Why observers say South Korea's latest impeachment puts country at risk;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/han-duck-soo-impeached-republic-korea-explainer/104767790;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 03:31:54 +0000 | The successive impeachments are unprecedented, and mean the top two officials in Asia's fourth-largest economy are currently suspended from their duties. Here's why some observers are increasingly concerned. |
ABC News;Scottie Scheffler to miss PGA Tour opener after Christmas accident;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/world-number-one-scottie-scheffler-to-miss-pga-tour-opener-after/104767822;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 02:14:25 +0000 | Scottie Scheffler's Christmas dinner preparations leave him with broken glass shards in his hand, leading to surgery which will force golf's world number one to miss the start of the new season. |
ABC News;'Are your ear drums OK?' India legend tees off after wild dismissal;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/rishabh-pant-blasted-for-stupid-shot-in-mcg-test/104767810;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 01:24:04 +0000 | India great Sunil Gavaskar is apoplectic after Rishabh Pant's clumsy dismissal in India's first innings of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. |
ABC News;Truck wrecks front of SA MP's electorate office, police arrest driver;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/driver-arrested-after-truck-hits-office-of-tony-piccolo/104767658;Sat, 28 Dec 2024 01:20:04 +0000 | A road train driver from Western Australia will face court over a crash at the electorate office of SA state MP Tony Piccolo, where a truck ripped down the verandah and ploughed into parked cars. |
ABC News;Woman charged with murder after fatal stabbing of man near Ballarat;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/mount-helen-ballarat-stabbing-man-dead-woman-arrested/104767708;Fri, 27 Dec 2024 23:56:29 +0000 | A woman has been charged with one count of murder after a fatal stabbing in the Ballarat suburb of Mount Helen on Saturday. |
ABC News;India youngster's first Test century brings father to tears at MCG;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/australia-india-boxing-day-test-mcg-live-blog/104765454;Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:47:43 +0000 | Nitish Kumar Reddy comes of age at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on day three, scoring a maiden Test century to drag India back into the Boxing Day Test. |
ABC News;A ride on a 'monster' changed the life of former shark hunter Ben Cropp;https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-28/ben-cropp-underwater-film-pioneer-and-original-shark-hunter/104446600;Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:26:28 +0000 | Ben Cropp is not proud of the way he rose to fame. The 88-year-old sea dog tells about the pivotal moment that made him stop killing sharks and why his next adventure might be his biggest yet. |
The Guardian;South Korea plane crash: air traffic controllers warned about bird strike minutes before accident feared to have killed 179;https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/29/south-korea-plane-crash-casualties-reported-after-jeju-air-flight-veers-off-runway-at-muan-airport-live-updates;2024-12-29T09:57:26Z | Raphael Rashid is reporting for the Guardian from Seoul A bird strike has emerged as a possible factor in Sunday’s crash, after officials revealed that air traffic controllers warned the aircraft about bird strike risks minutes before the accident and one of the surviving crew members reportedly mentioned a bird strike after being rescued. While the exact cause remains under investigation, the incident has drawn attention to Muan International Airport’s history with such incidents, reports Yonhap News. The airport has recorded the highest rate of bird strikes among South Korea’s 14 regional airports, with 10 incidents reported between 2019 and August this year, according to data submitted to parliament by the Korea Airports Corporation. Though the absolute number is small, making it difficult to generalise into meaningful statistics, the strike rate of 0.09% of flights is significantly higher than other major airports like Gimpo (0.018%) and Jeju (0.013%). Aviation experts say bird strikes can be catastrophic - a single mallard duck weighing 900g hitting an aircraft travelling at 370km/h can reportedly generate an impact force of 4.8 tonnes. The risk is particularly high at Muan due to its location near fields and coastal areas. Nationwide bird strike incidents have been steadily increasing, from 108 in 2019 to 152 last year. Some suggest this rise could be linked to climate change, with migratory birds becoming permanent residents and shifts occurring in both the timing and species of birds appearing at airports. Airports employ various countermeasures including sound deterrents and monitoring systems, while some are now exploring AI and radar technology to track bird movements. All flights arriving at South Korea’s Muan international airport have been cancelled on Sunday, the Korea Airports Corporation said this morning. Hours after the crash (the plane was attempting to land shortly after 9am local time/00.00 GMT)), family members gathered in the airport’s arrival area. They could be heard screaming and crying as medics announced the names of 22 victims so far identified by their fingerprints, according to Reuters. Papers were circulated for families to write down their contact details. Two flight staff (one male and one female) were found alive and transported to hospital, the fire agency said. The rest of the 181 people aboard are presumed to have died. As we have mentioned in previous posts, fire authorities have reportedly said all but two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 that veered off a runway and hit a wall at South Korea’s Muan international airport are presumed to have died. More than 1,500 emergency personnel have been deployed for the huge recovery effort, including 490 fire employees and 455 police officers, according to the BBC. Emergency rescue workers are trying to locate the remains of those who remain unaccounted for, while the bodies of those recovered so far are being housed in a temporary mortuary close to the crash site, the Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper is reporting. Authorities are searching nearby areas for bodies possibly thrown from the plane, Muan fire chief Lee Jung-hyun has told journalists in a media briefing. “Only the tail part retains a little bit of shape, and the rest of (the plane) looks almost impossible to recognise,” he said. As a reminder, no cause for the plane crash has been officially confirmed yet, but the fire service has suggested it could have been because of a collision with birds and poor weather conditions (see post at 07.00 for more details). Transport ministry officials have said their early assessment of communication records show the airport control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in a different area. The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the plane went past the runway and skidded across a buffer zone before hitting the wall, the officials said. Senior transport ministry official Joo Jong-wan said workers have retrieved the flight data recorder from the plane’s black box and are still looking for the cockpit voice recording device. He said government investigators arrived at the site to investigate the cause of the crash and fire. South Korea’s rival political parties have each launched separate initiatives to respond to the disaster, apparently shifting focus from their ongoing political animosity. The opposition Democratic party leader, Lee Jae-myung, has departed for Muan where he plans to remain indefinitely to support rescue efforts, reports Hankyoreh, though he plans to stay at the party’s provincial office rather than visit the crash site while recovery operations continue. The party has established an emergency response committee led by Joo Cheol-hyeon, who chairs their South Jeolla provincial chapter. Meanwhile, the ruling People Power party has formed a task force focused on investigating the crash and supporting victims’ families. The party’s acting leader, Kweon Seong-dong, announced he would visit Muan on Monday with task force members to “review accident response measures and prevention strategies” and meet with bereaved families. Both party initiatives come amid unprecedented political turmoil in South Korea. The country’s president was suspended earlier this month after declaring martial law, and his acting replacement was then impeached by the opposition-controlled parliament last week, leaving the finance minister as the current acting president. The rapid-fire impeachments reflect the bitter political battle between the ruling and opposition parties that has paralysed much of the country’s governance. A Jeju Air flight from Bangkok carrying 181 passengers and crew crashed shortly after 9am local time (00:00 GMT) while attempting a landing at Muan international airport in south-western South Korea on Sunday morning. All but two of the people onboard Flight 7C2216 are presumed dead, according to local fire authorities. Two survivors, both reportedly crew members, were pulled from the tail section and are receiving treatment for “moderate to severe” injuries at a nearby hospital. Rescue workers have retrieved 120 bodies; a further 59 are missing. Among the 175 passengers aboard the flight, 173 were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals, officials have said. The Boeing 737-800 attempted a belly landing at about 9.03am local time after its landing gear reportedly failed to deploy. The aircraft was seen skidding along the runway before hitting the airport’s perimeter wall, breaking into two pieces at the front and tail sections and bursting into flames. The cause of the crash is yet to be confirmed, though a bird strike and weather conditions have been pointed to as possibilities. Local broadcaster MBC aired footage that appears to show a bird strike incident as the plane was descending, and one of the two survivors reportedly told rescue workers that the aircraft had experienced a bird strike. Witnesses reported hearing loud “bang” noises before the aircraft struck the wall. Officials have also said weather conditions may have played a role. Investigators have recovered the flight data recorder, while the cockpit voice recorder is still being sought. If the death toll is confirmed, it would be South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster and marks the first major casualty incident involving a low-cost carrier in the country’s history. South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has arrived at the scene approximately 300km south-west of Seoul and has ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operations at the airport. ‘“No words of consolation will be enough for the families who have suffered such a tragedy,” he said at the scene. Jeju Air chief executive, Kim E-bae, has issued official apology saying: “Above all, we express our deepest condolences and apologies to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in this accident. At present, the cause of the accident is difficult to determine, and we must await the official investigation results from the relevant government agencies. Regardless of the cause, as CEO, I feel profound responsibility for this incident.” A spokesperson for Boeing told the Guardian: “We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew.” Kerati Kijmanawat, president of Airports of Thailand, the country’s main airport operator, said in a statement he expressed deepest condolences for this incident. He said there were no reports of any abnormal conditions, either in relation to the aircraft and the runway, when the flight departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. At that time, relevant agencies made no reports of bird strikes or obstacles on the runway, he said. "AOT places the highest importance on the safety of its aircraft and passengers by continuously inspecting the runway, lighting systems, bird repellent systems, and maintaining them, while complying with international safety standards,” said Kerati. Heartbreaking scenes unfolded at Muan International Airport as more than 100 family members gathered in a meeting room to receive updates about their loved ones, reports Yonhap News. When Lee Jeong-hyeon, the chief of Muan fire station, told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room erupted in wails of grief. “Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” one family member asked, to which the fire chief could only bow his head and reply, “I’m so sorry, but that’s what it’s looking like”. Some families expressed anger at what they saw as delayed responses from authorities and the airline. They had pleaded to be allowed near the crash site since this morning, but were denied access due to the restricted nature of the airport zone. When the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, visited the airport, families reportedly surrounded him demanding real-time updates and pleading: “Please think of the families first”. Choi could only bow repeatedly while saying, “I understand”. Transport ministry officials have revealed a critical six-minute sequence before the crash, reports Yonhap News. At 08:57, air traffic controllers warned the approaching aircraft about bird strike risks. One minute later, at 08:58, the pilot declared a “mayday”. The plane attempted to land at 09:00 and crashed at 09:03. One of the two surviving crew members has reportedly corroborated initial theories about the cause, telling rescue workers immediately after being pulled from the wreckage that the aircraft had experienced a bird strike, according to fire officials. The transport ministry has confirmed that investigators have recovered the flight data recorder, while the cockpit voice recorder is still being sought. The National Police Agency has deployed 169 forensic investigators to help identify victims. Separately, 579 officers have been deployed to assist with search operations and escort emergency vehicles at the crash site. Witnesses who have spoken to Yonhap News have described seeing flames in the jet’s engine and hearing explosions before the crash. Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was staying near to the airport, said he saw a spark on the plane’s right wing before the incident. “I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion,” Yoo said. One witness said he saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when he noticed “a flash of light”. “Then there was a loud bang followed by smoke in the air, and then I heard a series of explosions,” he said. Another witness, Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane failed to land in the first attempt and had circled back for another attempt. Kim said he heard the sound of “metallic scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash. He saw the plane rising after failing to make a landing, before he heard a “loud explosion” and saw “black smoke billowing into the sky.” Fire authorities have recovered 120 bodies from the Jeju Air crash site at Muan International Airport, with 59 people still missing, according to South Korea’s national fire agency. Officials say the death toll so far includes 54 men, 57 women, and nine victims whose gender could not be immediately determined. Rescue teams have divided the crash site into three zones as they continue to search for the remaining victims. However, fire officials told families at a briefing in the airport terminal that survival chances for the missing passengers are “virtually none” due to the severity of the crash and subsequent fire. Only two people have reportedly survived the crash after being rescued from the aircraft’s tail section. They were rushed to a nearby hospital with “moderate to severe” injuries. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 operating as flight 7C2216 from Bangkok, was attempting what officials described as a “belly landing” after experiencing landing gear problems. The plane struck airport perimeter structures and broke apart, with most of the fuselage being consumed by fire. According to local media reports, many of the passengers were families returning from Christmas package holidays in Thailand. The flight was carrying 175 passengers (173 South Koreans and two Thai nationals), along with six crew members. Ambassadors from around the world have offered messages of condolence. Philip Goldberg, the US ambassador to South Korea, said on social media: “I was heartbroken to hear about the tragedy at Muan Airport this morning. My sincerest condolences go out to the victims and their loved ones, and my thoughts are with the people of Korea during this difficult time.” German ambassador to South Korea Georg Schmidt also offered condolences, writing: “Very best wishes for the injured and all involved in the rescue efforts. Our thoughts and prayers are with South Korea.” British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks wrote: “Deepest condolences to the families of those who perished in this morning’s dreadful air accident at Muan.” Acting president Choi Sang-mok has designated Muan as a special disaster zone, reports Yonhap News. This declaration triggers a range of emergency relief measures and special administrative, fiscal, and financial support from the government to assist regions and residents affected by large-scale natural or man-made disasters. South Korea’s national rail operator has announced a special train service to help families reach Muan, reports News1. A KTX bullet train will depart Seoul Station at 3pm local time and arrive at Mokpo. The railway company says bereaved families can use these services free of charge and additional trains will be arranged if needed. Mokpo station is the closest rail terminal to Muan International Airport. South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at Muan International Airport at 12:55 PM local time to oversee the response to the disaster. Choi said at the crash site: No words of consolation will be enough for the families who have suffered such a tragedy He promised full government support for bereaved families. Choi, who became acting president just days ago amid South Korea’s ongoing political crisis, activated the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters earlier in the day. His visit to the crash site marks the government’s highest-level response to what is becoming one of South Korea’s worst aviation disasters, and the worst to have occurred on South Korean soil. The aircraft involved in the crash was a Boeing 737-800, operated by Jeju Air. A spokesperson for Boeing told the Guardian: We are in contact with Jeju Air regarding flight 2216 and stand ready to support them. We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew. Jeju Air chief executive, Kim E-bae, has issued official apology (unofficial translation): First, we bow our heads in apology to everyone who has trusted Jeju Air. At approximately 9:03 AM on 29 December, flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan caught fire while landing at Muan International Airport. Above all, we express our deepest condolences and apologies to the families of the passengers who lost their lives in this accident. At present, the cause of the accident is difficult to determine, and we must await the official investigation results from the relevant government agencies. Regardless of the cause, as CEO, I feel profound responsibility for this incident. Jeju Air will do everything possible to promtly manage this accident and support the families of those aboard. We will also do our utmost to determine the cause of the accident in cooperation with the government. Once again, we pray for those who lost their lives in this accident and offer our deepest apologies to their bereaved families. Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra has expressed her condolences to the families of the deceased and injured on social media platform, x. Shinawatra has asked the ministry of foreign affairs to investigate whether there were any Thai passengers on this plane and what the current situation is, according to the post. Earlier reports from Yonhap news agency indicated two passengers onboard the Jeju Air flight were Thai nationals. According to Newsis, the Jeju Air aircraft was carrying many holidaymakers returning from a five-day Christmas package tour to Bangkok. The Muan-Bangkok route has only been operating four times per week since 8 December, as part of a seasonal schedule set to run until 23 March next year. Authorities are working to confirm the identities of victims by cross-referencing the passenger manifest with seating positions on the aircraft. Fire officials have now shifted from rescue operations to recovery, saying the aircraft’s fuselage is damaged beyond recognition except for the tail section, reports News1. Some victims were reportedly ejected from the aircraft during impact. Jeju Air has updated the message on the landing page of its website: Jeju Air deeply bows in apology to all those affected by the Muan Airport accident. Our first priority is to do everything possible to manage this incident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern. Fire authorities say that among the 181 people aboard the Jeju Air flight from Bangkok, all but two are presumed dead after the aircraft crashed during an emergency landing at Muan International Airport in South Korea on Sunday morning, according to Yonhap News. Rescue teams continue to search the wreckage where more bodies remain inside the fuselage. Two survivors, one passenger and one crew member, were pulled from the tail section and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. The Boeing 737-800 attempted a belly landing at around 9:03am local time after its landing gear reportedly failed to deploy. Witnesses reported hearing loud “bang” noises before the aircraft struck the airport’s perimeter wall, breaking into two pieces and bursting into flames. Local broadcaster MBC aired footage that appears to show a bird strike incident as the plane was descending. An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing. If the death toll is confirmed, this would be South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster and marks the first major casualty incident involving a low-cost carrier in the country’s history, reports the JoongAng Ilbo. Previous major accidents on Korean soil include the 1993 Asiana Airlines crash in Mokpo that killed 68 people, and a 2002 Air China crash near Gimhae Airport that killed 129 of 166 passengers. South Korea’s land, infrastructure and transport ministry has issued a statement on social media site, X, which said (unofficial translation): The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is dedicating all efforts to managing the Jeju Air flight 2216 incident. At approximately 09:03 on Sunday, 29 December, Jeju Air Flight 2216 (Bangkok-Muan) was involved in an accident during landing at Muan International Airport. The Ministry has activated its Central Accident Management Headquarters (09:30) and is concentrating all efforts on managing the aircraft accident at Muan Airport. The aircraft was carrying 175 passengers (including 2 Thai nationals) and 6 crew members. The exact number of casualties is currently being determined. Investigators from the Aviation Accident Investigation Committee arrived (10:10) and are currently investigating the cause. Safety operation directives have been issued to all airlines and airports. The Ministry’s Central Accident Management Headquarters remains operational and plans to respond with full organisational capacity to minimise loss of life. Transport Minister Park Sang-woo has urged all parties to do their utmost in rescue operations and accident management. Jeju Air has switched its website to a minimalist, black background layout in response to the crash. In its official notice, the airline confirmed flight 7C2216 from Bangkok to Muan was carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members when it collided with structures at the end of the runway. The company says it has “activated company-wide emergency protocols” and established a dedicated team to support bereaved families. The website provides emergency contact numbers and states: “Jeju Air will do everything possible regarding this accident. We deeply apologise for causing concern”. A least 62 people have died after an airliner carrying 175 passengers and six crew veered off a runway and smashed into a wall at an airport in South Korea. Footage of the incident showed the Boeing 737-800 skid along the runway on Sunday morning before striking what appeared to be a concrete barrier at high speed and bursting into flames as parts of the fuselage flew into the air. The accident occurred at around 9am local time, shortly after the plane, Jeju Air flight 7C2216, landed at Muan international airport about 300km south-west of Seoul, at the end of a flight from Bangkok, the Yonhap news agency reported. Read more on this story from our reporters Justin McCurry and Raphael Rashid: Fire authorities have identified 62 deaths from the Muan airport crash, according to Yonhap news agency and News1, with officials warning the death toll could rise as bodies remain inside the aircraft’s fuselage. Two survivors, one passenger and one crew member, have reportedly been rescued and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. The crash occurred when the Jeju Air flight from Bangkok, carrying 181 passengers and crew, attempted an emergency landing at around 9:03 am local time after reporting problems with its landing gear. Rescue teams continue to search the wreckage. Fire authorities have identified 47 deaths from the Muan airport crash as of 11:40am local time, according to Newsis and Yonhap news agency, with officials warning the death toll could rise as bodies remain inside the aircraft’s fuselage. Two survivors, one passenger and one crew member, have reportedly been rescued and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. The crash occurred when the Jeju Air flight from Bangkok, carrying 181 passengers and crew, attempted an emergency landing at around 9:03 am local time after reporting problems with its landing gear. Rescue teams continue to search the wreckage. Further images from Muan airport show firefighters and rescue workers responding. The Muan-Bangkok route was part of the airport’s first international services in 17 years, launched just three weeks ago on 8 December. The expansion was part of a broader revival that would see the regional airport operate routes to 18 international destinations across nine countries this winter season, according to Yonhap News. According to Newsis, witnesses reported hearing loud “bang” sounds during the failed landing attempts, with the aircraft’s landing gear reportedly failing to deploy properly. The plane then veered off the runway and struck the airport’s perimeter wall, breaking into two pieces at the front and tail sections and bursting into flames. Emergency services have set up a temporary morgue at the site. Yonhap News reports that three people have been rescued so far, with the search underway for additional casualties, while News1 reports that among those rescued are one passenger and one crew member. Local authorities say they are coordinating with major hospitals in Gwangju to handle potential casualties. The crash presents the first major test for the acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who assumed office on Friday after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach the previous acting president, Han Duck-soo. Han had been serving as interim leader following the impeachment of then president Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month over his controversial martial law declaration. The short-lived declaration has roiled the country, with mass protests on Saturday calling for Yoon’s removal. Among the 175 passengers aboard the flight from Bangkok, officials say 173 were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals. There were six crew members. The National Fire Agency sayst the initial fire was brought under control at 9.46am, 43 minutes after the first emergency call was received at 9.03am. Dozens are feared dead after a plane skidded off the runway while attempting a landing without landing gear at Muan international airport in South Korea on Sunday morning The exact casualty figures have not yet been tallied, though authorities are provisionally reporting that 28 people are believed to have died, according to news agency Newsis. Fire officials have warned that given the severe damage to the aircraft, the number of casualties could rise. Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok to Muan was carrying 181 people – 175 passengers and six crew – when it came down, skidded along the runway and hit fencing and a wall around the perimeter before catching fire. Rescues are underway, with two people brought out of the wreckage so far. Emergency services are continuing their search operation. The Boeing 737-800 may have suffered a bird strike that caused the landing gear to fail, according news agency Yonhap. The flight had reportedly attempted one landing before being forced to “go-around” when the landing gear failed to lower normally. South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operations at Muan international airport in the country’s south-west and is heading to the crash site, about 300km from the capital, Seoul. The pilot of Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok appeared to be attempting a belly landing after the plane’s landing gear failed to deploy properly, Yonhap is reporting. During the emergency landing attempt, the plane was unable to reduce its speed sufficiently as it approached the end of the runway, according to officials at the scene. The aircraft then struck airport structures at the runway’s end, resulting in severe damage to the fuselage and triggering a fire. The Jeju Air flight had reportedly attempted one landing before being forced to “go-around” when the landing gear failed to lower normally. A go-around is a standard aviation manoeuvre where pilots abort a landing attempt and circle around for another try. A bird strike is suspected to have caused the landing gear malfunction, though this remains under investigation. The plane came down at Muan international airport, in south-western South Korea: Some images are now coming in from the site at Muan international airport, where a Boeing 737 has crashed on landing. The acting president, Choi Sang-mok, arrived at the Central Disaster Management Headquarters in Seoul at 9.50am and ordered all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised for rescue operations, reports Yonhap. Choi, who is also finance minister and deputy prime minister, emphasised the need to ensure the safety of firefighters during rescue operations. After issuing the orders, Choi departed for the crash site at the airport in south-west of the country, approximately 300km from the capital, Seoul. Local fire authorities say they have brought the initial fire under control, and rescue operations are focusing on passengers in the tail section of the aircraft. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene after the Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok crashed at 9.03am. Fire officials warned that given the severe damage to the aircraft, the number of casualties could rise. South Korean news agency Yonhap is reporting that a bird strike may have affected the plane’s landing gear. Footage circulating online appears to show a Jeju Air plane attempting to land without its landing gear down. The footage has not yet been verified. Rescue authorities are now evacuating passengers from the rear section of the jet, Yonhap said, citing the fire department. A photo showed the tail section of the jet engulfed in flames on what appeared to be the side of the runway, with firefighters and emergency vehicles nearby. The acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for rescue operations at Muan international airport. South Korean news agency News1 reports that approximately 28 people are feared dead in the crash, according to fire authorities. Two people have been rescued, with emergency services continuing their search operations. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members when it struck a perimeter wall during landing, breaking apart and catching fire. Fire services have issued their highest level-3 emergency response. Casualties are being reported after an aircraft carrying 175 passengers and six flight attendants veered off the runway and crashed into a fence in South Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday. The agency said 23 casualties had been reported so far and that rescues were under way from Jeju Air flight 2216 from Bangkok. Large plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky in early unverified images emerging on social media. Emergency services received the call at Muan international airport in South Jeolla province at around 9am. We will bring you more news as it emerges. |
The Guardian;‘The church must speak out’: Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin on racism, sexual abuse and asylum seekers;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/29/gaza-abuse-racism-church-must-speak-out-says-bishop-rose-hudson-wilkin;2024-12-29T09:00:04Z | She is about as far from the stereotype of a Church of England bishop as you can get: black, female, fearless. She was born and raised in poverty in Jamaica, deprived of parental love, beaten and abused as a youngster, yet Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin radiates warmth and joy as she opens a pile of Christmas cards in her office at Canterbury cathedral. The card she sent this year depicted a black Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in a refugee tent on a hillside. It is a message that came straight from her heart. As bishop of Dover, the issue of migration – whether it is people fleeing war, persecution or economic hardship – is always near the top of her in-tray. “It is of great importance to me how we treat those who are most vulnerable,” she says. “That includes refugees, people seeking asylum. We need to be asking why people are leaving the places they come from. I see an obsession about stopping the small boats, and I understand the need to prevent people dying on the water, of course, but we need to ask: why are they leaving their places of origin?” With a smile, she adds: “Nobody in their right mind leaves a warm country to come to a freezing cold Europe. So something is going on.” Hudson-Wilkin’s own journey from the sunshine of the Caribbean to the winter chill of Kent is the subject of a new memoir, The Girl From Montego Bay, which is published next month. In it, she describes the challenges of her childhood, her growing faith and call to ministry, and the sexism and racism she encountered. “Caring adults were not always much of a reality in my life,” she writes, with some understatement. Her mother and father were absent for much of her childhood. “There were no kisses or hugs; no ‘well done’s.” Hudson-Wilkin was regularly beaten for mild transgressions. She felt “hurt and abused … lost and alone” but “I knew that God’s hand was on my life and my pain would not be in vain”. Her faith saved her, she tells the Observer. “In the midst of feeling unloved and uncared for, faith took a hold of me and gave me an expression of life.” By the age of 14, Hudson-Wilkin knew she would be a priest, but she didn’t know how it would come about. She had been a “cradle Anglican”, baptised at three months old and attending church throughout her childhood. But women were banned from ministry. It took another two decades for her to be finally ordained in 1994, within weeks of the Church of England admitting women into the clergy. “God had journeyed with me through the darkness of rejection,” she writes. Today, there are still some in the C of E who do not accept the legitimacy of female priests, with the church providing special arrangements to accommodate them. “This hurts, even now,” she says. “The message is that you’re not quite the real deal. It is painful to be in a church where there is a particular kind of theology that rejects you being in this role.” Hudson-Wilkin has faced a double whammy of prejudice and discrimination, repeatedly coming face to face with racism in a church whose long history in this area includes financial benefit from the transatlantic slave trade and the outright rejection of black Anglicans who came to the UK during the Windrush years. “It’s changing, without doubt,” she says. “But we must not think that because we now have some black bishops, it’s all fixed. Racism still exists. You have to ask, why doesn’t this institution reflect the people that I’ve just travelled on the bus with?” Hudson-Wilkin has been outspoken on these issues, which has not endeared her to some of the more conservative elements of the C of E. But, while she says the church’s principal job is to spread a message of compassion, forgiveness and peace, she staunchly defends the need to speak up on matters of injustice and inequality. “Absolutely the church must have a political voice. Jesus had compassion and intervened on behalf of people; so the church must also speak out about political issues that have an impact on ordinary people,” she says. Acknowledging that not everyone agrees with the C of E’s interventions, she adds with a broad smile: “I don’t mind being criticised. We will not be quiet, and I will not be quiet.” In a swift illustration of this, she launches into a short and unprompted speech about the war in Gaza. “What Hamas did [on 7 October 2023] was barbaric, let’s make no mistake about that. But I don’t understand why Israel has continued to destroy human life for over a year. War has never resolved anything, it just creates more pain. And when young people see their homes and families destroyed before their very eyes, I think, my God, we are creating an unsafe world and the cycle of violence will continue. “Israel has the right to defend itself, I believe that firmly. But it does not have a right to refuse medicine and water and food to civilians. That’s not right. And we in the west did not speak clearly enough on that.” We turn to the seismic crisis engulfing the C of E in recent weeks, rooted in the abuse of children and vulnerable adults and the church’s failures in this area, including cover-ups, collusion and prioritising its own reputation over justice for victims. The church’s failures led to the unprecedented resignation of the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, last month, and calls for the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, to follow suit. Hudson-Wilkin has first-hand experience of the impact of abuse. In her memoir, she discloses that she was raped and sexually abused from a young age. “Two of my older cousins’ boyfriends were involved, but it did not stop there: there was also abuse associated with the church by so-called religious men. I have never spoken about this before, probably due to a determination not to be defined by what happened to me. I was not going to become anyone’s victim.” Her abuse is “part of a much larger story that tells of a world in which men exercise their dominance by subjugating those deemed to be the weaker sex,” she says. “My experience was not unusual – this is not just about me. Many girls and young women of my acquaintance were similarly exploited.” She says: “My heart goes out to all those affected by abuse of any kind.” But, she adds, the C of E is putting in place measures to improve safety, deal with abusers and address the grievances of survivors. The vast majority of those measures have been introduced over the past decade while Welby has been archbishop of Canterbury, she says. She warns against a “lynch mob effect” in the calls for the removal of senior leaders: “Calling for resignations doesn’t resolve the issues. We need proper processes to ensure that we never see collusion or cases of abuse not handled properly. I have confidence in the safeguarding measures that are in place at parish level, but there is also fear – people are afraid of not getting it right, of being blamed. We need to stop a lynch-mob environment. It’s in the media, on social media and in parts of the church where flames are being fanned.” At almost 64 years old, Hudson-Wilkin has six years to go before reaching the C of E’s compulsory retirement age for bishops. “I used to think I’d go back to Jamaica, but the lives of my children and grandchildren are here, so this is where I will be,” she says. It’s hard to imagine the C of E’s first black female bishop giving up her battles over justice and equality in favour of a quiet retirement. “I’ve carried the cross of rejection by those who do not accept me all my life,” she says. “But I know God is with me.” |
The Guardian;Jeju Air crash: almost all presumed dead after South Korean aircraft veers off runway and hits wall;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/29/south-korea-plane-casualties-reported-181-onboard-jeju-air;2024-12-29T07:42:25Z | All but two of the 181 people aboard a plane that veered off a runway and hit a wall at an airport in South Korea are presumed to have died, fire authorities have said, according to Yonhap news agency. If confirmed, it would make it South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster. Footage of the incident showed the Boeing 737-800 skid along the runway at Muan international airport on Sunday morning before striking what appeared to be a concrete barrier at high speed and bursting into flames as parts of the fuselage flew into the air. A local fire official said the crash had likely been caused by a bird strike and weather conditions. The strike may have caused the landing gear to fail, Yonhap said. The flight had reportedly attempted one landing before being forced to “go around” when the landing gear failed to lower normally. “The cause of the accident is presumed to be a bird strike combined with adverse weather conditions,” Lee Jeong-hyun, the chief of Muan fire station, told a media briefing. “However, the exact cause will be announced following a joint investigation.” With rescuers yet to recover all bodies from the crash site, there were heartbreaking scenes at the airport as more than 100 family members gathered in a meeting room to receive updates about their loved ones. When Lee told families that most passengers were presumed dead, the room erupted in wails of grief. “Is there absolutely no chance of survival?” one family member asked, to which the fire chief could only bow his head and reply, “I’m so sorry, but that’s what it’s looking like”. Some families expressed anger at what they saw as delayed responses from authorities and the airline. They had pleaded to be allowed near the crash site since this morning, but were denied access due to the restricted nature of the airport zone. The accident occurred at about 9am local time, shortly after the plane, Jeju Air flight 7C2216, landed at the airport about 300km south-west of Seoul, at the end of a flight from Bangkok, the Yonhap news agency reported. Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky after the crash. Some photos showed fire engulfing parts of the aircraft. Yoo Jae-yong, 41, who was staying near to the airport, told Yonhap he saw a spark on the plane’s right wing before the incident. “I was telling my family there was a problem with the plane when I heard a loud explosion,” Yoo said. Another witness, Kim Yong-cheol, 70, said the plane failed to land in the first attempt and had circled back for another attempt. Kim said he heard the sound of “metallic scraping” twice about five minutes before the crash. He saw the plane rising after failing to make a landing, before he heard a “loud explosion” and saw “black smoke billowing into the sky”. Jeju Air, a low-cost carrier, switched its website to a minimalist, black background layout in response to the crash. In a statement it said: “Jeju Air deeply bows in apology to all those affected by the Muan airport accident. Our first priority is to do everything possible to manage this incident. We sincerely apologise for causing concern.” A company official told Yonhap that the aircraft involved in Sunday’s crash had been in operation for 15 years and had no history of accidents. Two crew members – a man and a woman – were rescued from the tail of the aircraft and had suffered “mid to severe” injuries, authorities said. The fire agency said it had mobilised 32 fire engines and scores of firefighters. Local authorities said they were coordinating with major hospitals in the nearby city of Gwangju to handle the casualties. Officials said 173 of the passengers were Korean nationals and two were Thai nationals. The Muan-Bangkok international route was launched just three weeks ago, on 8 December, as part of a broader revival that would see the regional airport operate routes to 18 international destinations across nine countries this winter season, according to Yonhap News. The national fire agency said the initial fire in the wreckage of the plane was brought under control at 9.46am, 43 minutes after the first emergency call was received at 9.03am. South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, ordered “all available equipment and personnel to be mobilised” for the rescue operation and was heading to the scene of the crash. The incident is the first major test for Choi, who assumed office on Friday after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach the previous acting president, Han Duck-soo. Philip Goldberg, the US ambassador to South Korea, said on social media: “I was heartbroken to hear about the tragedy at Muan Airport this morning.” The UK ambassador, Colin Crooks, wrote: “Deepest condolences to the families of those who perished in this morning’s dreadful air accident at Muan.” Experts said South Korea’s aviation industry has a solid track record for safety, and this was the first fatal accident Jeju Air, one of South Korea’s largest low-cost carriers, had experienced since it was launched in 2005. Previous major accidents on Korean soil include the 1993 Asiana Airlines crash in Mokpo that killed 68 people and a 2002 Air China crash near Gimhae airport that killed 129 of 166 passengers. On 12 August 2007, a Bombardier Q400 operated by Jeju Air carrying 74 passengers came off the runway due to strong winds at the southern Busan-Gimhae airport, resulting in a dozen injuries. South Korean airlines have been involved in large-scale air disasters abroad. In 1997, a Korean Airline plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board. Sunday’s crash came almost a year after a Japan Airlines plane struck a coastguard aircraft and burst into flames as it landed at Haneda airport in Tokyo. All 379 passengers and 12 crew managed to exit the aircraft before it was engulfed in flames. Five crew members of the coastguard plane died in the accident. |
The Guardian;‘Authoritarian and heavy-handed’: call for investigation into vetting of experts by UK civil servants;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/29/authoritarian-and-heavy-handed-call-for-investigation-into-vetting-of-experts-by-uk-civil-servants;2024-12-29T07:00:02Z | The information watchdog has been asked to investigate “authoritarian” government vetting that caused speakers to be banned from official events for criticising ministers. Two experts, who discovered that civil servants had combed through years of social media posts to judge them “unsuitable” to address conferences, believe the practice was covert and unlawful. After legal action by chemical-weapons expert Dan Kaszeta, who was disinvited from a Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation conference in 2023, the Cabinet Office withdrew its guidance pending official review, but no outcome has been announced. Lawyers acting for Kaszeta and education consultant Ruth Swailes, who says she was censored at a Department for Education (DfE) -linked event, have written to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) calling for a probe into the checks and alleging that they were unlawful under data protection laws. The letter said an official document published in February 2023 called for “due diligence checks on any individual or external organisation [that cross-government networks] are working with to ensure they are not engaged in political or campaigning activities”, adding that “overt criticism of government could compromise our impartiality as civil servants”. While the guidance only applied to specific civil service networks that span different government areas, the letter said it appeared to “have been shared widely and adopted” by individual departments. Freedom-of-information requests revealed that versions of the “due diligence” policy were drawn up by departments including the Treasury, Ministry of Justice, Department of Health and Social Care, Ministry of Defence, Department for Transport, and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Several departments ordered online searches for any material linked to potential speakers showing “criticism of government/prime minister” or “criticism of government officials or policy”. The instructions mandated reviews of a “minimum of five to 10 pages of search page results” and a “period of three to five years” across both professional and personal social media “including but not limited to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn”. Swailes said she did not know how many people had been subjected to the checks or whether they were still ongoing. She said: “I’d like to see some transparency. I would like them to admit what they’ve done is wrong.” Swailes, an expert in early years education, had been approached to speak at an event in March 2023 launching a government-funded hub to improve the education of under-fives in Manchester. Two days before she was due to travel, she was told the DfE had deemed her and a colleague “unsuitable”; that, as a result, they could speak only by video link and had to remove parts of a PowerPoint presentation. “I was just going to talk about child development – it was bonkers,” Swailes said. “We didn’t know what we were being accused of – we felt our personal reputations were being tarnished.” A subject access request (SAR) revealed DfE officials had sifted through her social media. “I’d put a photo of my daughter’s prom on Twitter and said how proud I was of her, and that was on the SAR,” Swailes said. “It was very weird – they were going through everything. I saw [it] and I thought: ‘This is not OK.’” Swailes said she had criticised aspects of the government response to Covid over its impact on children but “there was nothing controversial” to find. “I think you’d find very few people who haven’t criticised a government in five years. It seems very heavy-handed”. Kaszeta, an author and defence consultant, said that while he received an apology when the Cabinet Office guidance was withdrawn in July 2023, he had received no update on the promised review. “If it is still happening, how does somebody affected know?” he said. “I only know it happened to me because someone emailed Kaszeta had been asked to speak at the Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation conference in May 2023 but was later disinvited because a check on his social media found criticism of the government. “I don’t actually know what triggered it,” he said, adding that he had voiced support for the Liberal Democrats and criticised then-ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries on X. “What does that have to do with me talking about international chemical weapons conventions?” Kaszeta said. “I would like to see a public record saying this is wrong, not just that there’s going to be a review.” Josh Munt, an associate solicitor at Leigh Day, called the checks “invasive and covert” and said they had caused censorship of “challenging opinions”. “Our clients hope the information commissioner will now take action and confirm that the government’s vetting of external experts’ political views is unlawful,” he added. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “This guidance was withdrawn over a year ago under the previous government. There is no cross-government guidance on vetting speakers for departmental events.” A spokesperson for the ICO said: “We can confirm we have received a complaint and are assessing the information provided.” |
The Guardian;Defiant and unwavering: Georgia’s president Salome Zourabichvili is focus for hope;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/29/georgias-departing-leader-salome-zourabichvili-is-focus-for-hope;2024-12-29T05:00:03Z | In Georgia’s turbulent political standoff, President Salome Zourabichvili has emerged as a defiant figure. Zourabichvili’s role in Georgia is ceremonial, but far from fading into irrelevance in the twilight of her presidency, she has become a rallying figure for those opposed to the erosion of democracy and the abandonment of Georgia’s European aspirations. On Sunday, she is supposed to step down and hand the Orbeliani Palace to her successor, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player backed by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, but she has said she will refuse. Zourabichvili’s presidency, initially seen as a compromise, has morphed into an extraordinary counterpoint to Georgian Dream’s authoritarian position. Her unwavering rhetoric and incisive critiques have galvanised public sentiment, particularly among Georgia’s youth, who have been a force in anti-government protests and who talk about her affectionately (“Slay Queen!”) on social media. In a recent interview, the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, asked Zourabichvili: “But what if Georgian Dream ignores this, ignores you?” She answered: “What if we ignore them?” Zourabichvili’s transformation has taken place in a political climate created by an increasingly audacious ruling party. Under the de facto leadership of oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream has systematically undermined the country’s institutions. The recent election of Kavelashvili as president epitomises this. Lacking qualifications and public support, Kavelashvili is a figurehead whose loyalty to Ivanishvili is his primary credential. His selection reveals Ivanishvili’s disdain for the presidency as an institution and his broader goal of consolidating power while dismantling the already weak democratic checks and balances in Georgia. The election in October – which Georgian Dream won but which many Georgians believe was rigged – deepened the crisis. The ruling party violated constitutional norms, manipulated the electoral process, and dismissed domestic and international concerns. The government’s isolationist agenda has also alienated Georgia from the EU, which once saw the nation as a promising candidate for membership. Predictably, the response from the Georgian public has been fierce. For months, protests have swept the country, the most recent being unprecedented in their scale and persistence. The government’s crackdowns, including the use of force and torture, have only strengthened the protesters’ resolve. With the streets of Tbilisi alive, protesters’ hopes of victory grow stronger by the day. For many of us, joining the marches has become a daily ritual. It feels like stepping into a colourful festival of unity and solidarity. Among the sea of protesters, even without spotting a familiar face, there is an unspoken bond, a shared purpose that makes everyone feel like family. Like most people here, I no longer frequent restaurants or linger in shops – every ounce of energy, outside work, is dedicated to the protest and following updates from Zourabichvili. Zourabichvili’s presence at protests, often accompanied by friends and bodyguards, is a stark contrast to Kavelashvili and the ruling elite’s isolation. She engages openly with civil society, opposition parties and western leaders. There is no denying her symbolic importance in a nation yearning for accountability and change. Kavelashvili, by contrast, is a study in mediocrity he has been thrust into a role for which he is manifestly unprepared. His rise to the presidency is a testament to Ivanishvili’s desire for absolute control of the presidential institution. The symbolism of Kavelashvili’s inauguration, scheduled for Sunday, is hard to ignore. Held within the parliament building, away from public scrutiny, it underscores the regime’s fear of the people. Zourabichvili is the latest in a line of presidents who have fallen out of favour with the oligarch. Her predecessor, Giorgi Margvelashvili, also ended his term in a bitter confrontation with Ivanishvili, while former president Mikheil Saakashvili remains imprisoned, his health deteriorating after years of hunger strikes. Yet Zourabichvili’s defiance represents a rejection of the autocratic vision that Georgian Dream seeks to impose. By aligning herself with the protests and engaging with international partners, she has highlighted the stakes: the preservation of Georgia’s democratic identity and its place within the European community. Questions remain about the future as the country braces for the transfer of power. Will the protests force a change of course? What role will Zourabichvili play from Sunday? “Can you ignore them [Georgian Dream]?” Rosenberg finally asked Zourabichvili in their interview. “Sure,” she answered, with a persuasive smile – a rallying cry for those who refuse to surrender to despair. |
The Guardian;Putin apologises over Azerbaijan plane crash; Russia’s Gazprom announces it will halt gas supplies to Moldova – as it happened;https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/28/russia-ukraine-war-live-updates-latest-putin-zelenskyy;2024-12-28T20:00:26Z | Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president’s website said Saturday. The announcement came amid persistent oppression in the runup to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko’s decades-long rule. Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.” The Kremlin added that “civilian and military specialists” were being questioned. In the conversation with Putin, Aliyev “emphasised that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control”. Zelenskyy says Russia “must provide clear explanations” for the plane crash. Posting on X, he said: “The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation.” The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker. Germany said the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week was a “wake-up call” that demanded new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Agence France-Presse reports. Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation. Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy corporation has announced that it will halt gas supplies to Moldova from 1 January due to a debt dispute during a state of emergency over energy security in the tiny country. The move comes as several eastern European countries brace for an end to Russian gas supplies, Agence France-Presse reports. North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”. The United States is expected to announce on Monday that it will send $1.25bn (£994m) in further military assistance to Ukraine. The Biden administration is pushing to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before the US president, Joe Biden, leaves office on 20 January and is succeeded by the Republican president-elect Donald Trump, who appears to be resistant to such spending to help Ukraine. Russia’s foreign ministry said it had responded to a new package of EU sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia. Italian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry. Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier. Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day. The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”. Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.” In case you missed it earlier, Vladimir Putin has apologised for a “tragic incident” in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on Christmas Day, but stopped short of admitting Russia was responsible. The Kremlin said in an official statement that Putin had spoken to Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday by phone in his first comments since the crash, which killed 38 of the 67 people onboard. “Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the statement said. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he had expressed condolences to President Aliyev and called on Russia for a clearer explanation of the crash. Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 20 more people that rights activists describe as political prisoners, a statement on the president’s website said Saturday. The announcement came amid persistent oppression in the runup to presidential elections next month that are likely to extend Lukashenko’s decades-long rule. Belarusian officials did not provide the names of those released, but the statement posted on the president’s website said all of them had been convicted of “crimes of an extremist nature.” The statement said the group included 11 women and 14 of those pardoned suffered from chronic illnesses. “All of those released repented for their actions and appealed to the head of state to be pardoned,” the presidential administration said in a statement, using wording familiar from a series of previous group pardons in the past six months. Saturday’s announcement marks the eighth such pardon by Lukashenko since the summer. In all, 207 political prisoners have been freed, according to Belarus’ oldest and most established human rights group, Viasna. The United States is expected to announce on Monday that it will send $1.25bn (£994m) in further military assistance to Ukraine. The Biden administration is pushing to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before the US president, Joe Biden, leaves office on 20 January and is succeeded by the Republican president-elect Donald Trump, who appears to be resistant to such spending to help Ukraine. The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defence system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155 mm- and 105 mm artillery rounds, officials said and Reuters reported. The officials, who said on Friday that they expect the announcement to be made on Monday, spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. Earlier this month, senior US defence officials acknowledged that that the Defence Department may not be able to send all of the remaining $5.6bn in Pentagon weapons and equipment stocks passed by Congress for Ukraine before Trump is sworn in. Russia’s state-owned Gazprom energy corporation has announced that it will halt gas supplies to Moldova from 1 January due to a debt dispute during a state of emergency over energy security in the tiny country. The move comes as several eastern European countries brace for an end to Russian gas supplies, Agence France-Presse reports. Kyiv will block the flow of Russian gas via Ukraine in several days. Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine’s south-western border and Romania’s east, earlier this month introduced a 60-day state of emergency before the expected cut. Gazprom will introduce a restriction on natural gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova to zero cubic meters per day from 0500 GMT [Greenwich Mean Time] on January 1, 2025,” the Russian company said in a statement, accusing Chisinau [the Moldovan capital] of failing to settle debts. Gazprom accused Chisinau of not fulfilling its side of contracts and said it “reserved the right” for further action, including terminating a gas supply contract with Moldova. Russia supplies Moldova with gas piped to the separatist region of Transnistria. Moldova gets most of its electricity from a power station based in Transnistria that uses Russian gas. Vladimir Putin has phoned Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, his counterpart in Kazakhstan, to express his condolences over the loss of life in the plane crash that occurred on 25 December in Kazakhstan, the Kremlin said. The Russian president made the call on Saturday, Reuters reports. Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to the Chechen capital Grozny, crashed on Wednesday near Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed. Some survivors were pulled from the wreckage. The Kremlin said that the two presidents had agreed to stay in constant contact over the investigation into the crash. Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.” The Kremlin added that “civilian and military specialists” were being questioned. In the conversation with Putin, Aliyev “emphasised that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control”. Zelenskyy says Russia “must provide clear explanations” for the plane crash. Posting on X, he said: “The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened. Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation.” The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker. Germany said the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week was a “wake-up call” that demanded new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Agence France-Presse reports. Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation. Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine. North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”. Russia’s foreign ministry said it had responded to a new package of EU sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia. Italian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry. Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier. Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day. The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”. Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.” Here are some images coming to us over the wires: The European Union’s top diplomat on Saturday called for a “swift, independent” probe into the Azerbaijan Airlines crash, after the US suggested the incident may have been caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief posted on X: Reports that Russian fire could have caused the Azerbaijan Airlines plane are a stark reminder of #MH17. I call for a swift, independent international investigation. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims. I wish for a speedy recovery to the injured. Here is the response from Azerbaijan. Regarding the phone call with Putin, Baku’s presidency said in a statement: President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane encountered external physical and technical interference while in Russian airspace, resulting in a complete loss of control. It added Aliyev: …highlighted that the multiple holes in the aircraft’s fuselage, injuries sustained by passengers and crew due to foreign particles penetrating the cabin mid-flight, and testimonies from surviving flight attendants and passengers confirm evidence of external physical and technical interference. Russia’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it had responded to a new package of European Union sanctions by significantly expanding a list of EU and EU member state officials banned from entering Russia, Reuters reports. On Monday, the European Union imposed a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including tougher measures against Chinese entities and more vessels from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet. Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement it had responded by adding more unnamed “representatives of security agencies, state and commercial organisations of EU countries, and citizens of EU member states responsible for providing military aid to Kyiv” to its stop list. Just as a reminder, the White House said yesterday that the US had seen early indications that the jet was possibly brought down by Russian air defence systems, echoing claims by Ukrainian officials and sources in Azerbaijan. The Embraer EMBR3.SA passenger jet had flown from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku to Grozny, in Russia’s southern Chechnya region, before veering off hundreds of miles across the Caspian Sea. Summary Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijan Airlines plane. The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker. Germany said the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week was a “wake-up call” that demanded new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Agence France-Presse reports. Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation. Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine. North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”. Italian police said Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry. Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier. Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day. The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”. Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.” We are getting more from Reuters on the conversation between Putin and Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan. In a statement, the Kremlin said: (President) Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was travelling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks. Aliyev told Putin the passenger plane was subjected to extraneous physical and technical intereference in Russian airspace, completely lost control and was diverted to Aktau, Reuters adds. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for what the Kremlin said was a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan on 25 December. The Kremlin said as the aircraft attempted to land in Grozny, Ukrainian drones were attacking Russia and Russian air defence forces repelled the attacks. “During this time, Grozny, (the town of) Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defence was repelling these attacks,” the Kremlin said Putin told Aliyev, without saying that Russian air defence hit the plane. Italian police said on Saturday that they were investigating cyberattacks claimed by a pro-Russian group targeting several websites including Milan’s airports and the foreign ministry. The websites of the ministry, Malpensa and Milan-Linate airport, and the transport systems in Siena and Turin were hit, according to national cybersecurity police spokesman Marco Valerio Cervellini, Reuters reports. The pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the attacks in a Telegram post, Cervellini said on LinkedIn. The group is known for targeting public institutions and strategic sectors in Nato countries that have supported Ukraine in its struggle against the Russian invasion. We have more from Reuters on the Eagle S boat (see 10.56 GMT post) Finnish authorities said on Saturday they are moving the vessel closer to port. The Cook Islands-registered ship was boarded on Thursday by a Finnish coast guard crew that took command and sailed the vessel to Finnish waters, a coast guard official said. “The police begin an operation to transfer the Eagle S tanker from the Gulf of Finland to Svartbeck, an inner anchorage near the port of Kilpilahti,” the Helsinki police department said in a statement on Saturday. This would be a better place to carry out investigations, it added. Ukraine said on Saturday it had struck a storage and maintenance depot for long-range Shahed drones in Russia’s Oryol region, adding that this had “significantly reduced” Russia’s ability to launch mass drone attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine military’s general staff said in a statement on Telegram the attack took place on Thursday and was conducted by Ukraine’s air force. The statement said: As a result of the strike, a depot for storage, maintenance and repair of Shahed kamikaze drones, made of several protected concrete structures, was destroyed. This military operation has significantly reduced the enemy’s potential in terms of conducting air raids of strike drones on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. Moscow has not made any comment on the attack. Ukraine’s air force said earlier on Saturday it had downed 15 out of 16 drones launched by Russia overnight, with the other one disappearing from radars. Regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow are to be suspended for a month from 30 December after an Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed in Kazakhstan, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Saturday citing Turkmenistan’s national air carrier. A passenger jet operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, which had been due to land in Russia, crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday killing 38 people. The plane was flying from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to the Russian city of Grozny in Chechnya when it crashed in a field near Aktau, hundreds of miles off its planned route. Twenty-nine people survived. Germany said on Saturday the suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia this week was a “wake-up call” that demanded new EU sanctions against Russia’s “shadow fleet”, Agence France-Presse reports. The Estlink 2 cable that carries electricity from Finland to Estonia was disconnected from the grid on Wednesday, just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic. In a statement to the Funke media group, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said: Almost every month, ships are damaging major undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. Crews are leaving anchors in the water, dragging them for kilometres along the seafloor for no apparent reason, and then losing them when pulling them up. It’s more than difficult to still believe in coincidences. This is an urgent wake-up call for all of us. Baerbock urged “new European sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet”, ships that transport Russian crude and oil products despite embargoes imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The fleet is “a major threat to our environment and security” that is used by Russia “to finance its war of aggression in Ukraine”, she said. Finnish authorities said on Thursday they were investigating the oil tanker, Eagle S, that sailed from a Russian port, as part of a probe into “aggravated sabotage” of the Estlink cable. Nato will bolster its military presence in the Baltic Sea in response, the Western alliance’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, said on Friday. Can Europe switch to a ‘wartime mindset’? Take it from us in Ukraine: here is what that means Day 1,024 of the invasion. Kyiv, 7am. Friday the 13th. In a former life, someone would have observed that this is a day that portends bad luck. But in a country where shelling is a daily occurrence, it has become irrelevant. I wake up to the sound of an app on my phone warning me of an increased missile threat. While my partner and I are hiding in the corridor, I read the news that the Nato chief, Mark Rutte, has called on members of the US-led transatlantic alliance to “shift to a wartime mindset”. With the first bang of the air defence system, a thought strikes me: for those who have not already been living with it for nearly three years, how would you explain this mindset? What is this wartime thinking? Let’s start with the basics. Try to accept the thesis that Russia is your enemy. Everything Russian is your enemy. I know this is complicated. But Russia has been using literally everything as an instrument of hybrid warfare: sports, ballet, classical music, literature, art – these are all platforms for promoting its narratives. Even your neatest Russian Orthodox church could conceal Russian intelligence officers, just waiting for the command to put down their incense burners and take up arms. Don’t forget that for advocates of the political doctrine known as “the Russian world”, this world is potentially limitless; it exists wherever the Russian language is spoken and monuments to Pushkin have been plonked down. Read the full report here. Here are some images coming to us over the wires from Ukraine: Russia has lost 784,200 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported. This number includes 1,690 Russian casualties over the past day. Russia has also lost: 9,651 tanks 19,970 armored fighting vehicles 21,408 artillery systems 32,328 vehicles and fuel tanks 1,256 multiple launch rocket systems 1032 air defence systems 369 aircraft 329 helicopters 21,013 drones 28 ships and boats 1 submarine On 8 March 2023, International Women’s Day, Russian soldiers were handing out tulips and boughs of mimosa to women and girls in the city of Melitopol, southern Ukraine – a move designed to promote friendly relations between the occupiers and the inhabitants. But the night before, someone had been discreetly sticking posters to walls and lamp-posts. They bore the image of a young Ukrainian woman, dressed in a traditional embroidered shirt, smashing a bouquet over a Russian soldier’s head. “I don’t want flowers,” read the slogan. “I want my Ukraine.” This was one of the earliest acts of a women’s resistance movement in Russian-occupied Ukraine that claims hundreds of members, from Crimea in the south to the Luhansk region in the east. The movement is called Zla Mavka, which, when roughly translated, means “wicked forest spirit”. The mavky of Ukrainian mythology are female supernatural beings who tempt men to their doom. Read the full report here. Hello and welcome to the Ukraine live blog. We start with news that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker. According to the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, a Russian citizen had established contact with an officer from Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency through the Telegram messaging app. On the Ukrainian intelligence officer’s instructions the Russian had then retrieved a bomb from a hiding place in Moscow, the FSB claimed. The bomb, equivalent to 1 1/2 kg of TNT and packed with ball bearings, was concealed in the portable music speaker, the FSB said. The FSB did not name the officer or the blogger who was the target. Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency could not be immediately reached for comment. Ukraine says Russia’s war against it poses an existential threat to the Ukrainian state and has made clear it regards targeted killings - intended to weaken morale and punish those Kyiv regards guilty of war crimes - as legitimate. Russia has said they amount to illegal “acts of terrorism”. In other news: Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service accused American and British spies of trying to provoke attacks against Russian military bases in Syria in a bid to force the evacuation of the bases, the state-run RIA news agency said on Saturday. The SVR gave no evidence for its allegation. North Korean troops deployed in Russia’s Kursk region are suffering heavy losses and being left unprotected by the Russian forces they are fighting alongside, according to Ukraine, while the US says Russian and North Korean generals see the soldiers as “expendable”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that said Russian troops were sending the North Koreans into battle with minimal protection and that the North Koreans were taking extreme measures to avoid being taken prisoner. “Their losses are significant, very significant,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address. The Biden administration pledged to approve fresh military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence systems. John Kirby, the US national security communications adviser, said the promised US security assistance package was expected to be announced “in the next couple of days”, though it was unclear how much it will include. Slovakia has confirmed its readiness to host any peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, despite Kyiv’s accusation that it is playing into the hands of Vladimir Putin. The Russian president on Thursday called it “acceptable” for the country to become a “platform” for dialogue over the conflict. The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said on Facebook late on Friday: “If someone wants to organise peace talks in Slovakia, we will be ready and hospitable.” Ukraine has received its first batch of liquefied natural gas from the US, a deal that Kyiv says will boost Ukrainian and European energy security as a major gas transit deal with Russia ends. “Dtek, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, has today taken delivery of its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States,” the company said on Friday. The consignment was of about 100m cubic metres of gas, it told Agence France-Presse. A Russian court has sentenced a singer who burned his passport in protest against Moscow’s Ukraine war to five-and-a-half years in prison. Eduard Sharlot, 26, was found guilty of “publicly insulting” the religious feelings of believers and “rehabilitating nazism” by a court in the Volga city of Samara in a case over videos he published online, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported. |
The Guardian;Beaches, beer and a rare suspended lake … why can’t Nigeria attract more tourists?;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/beaches-beer-and-a-rare-suspended-lake-why-cant-nigeria-attract-more-tourists;2024-12-28T18:55:58Z | At the top of the Ado-Awaye hills lies a lake suspended 433 metres above sea level. Local people say the lake is named Iyake (Yoruba for “crying woman”) after a weeping, barren woman who fell in the water hundreds of years ago, conferring on it powers of fertility. This belief in the divine is evident in the foothills, where a huge boulder is emblazoned with the words, written in golden letters: “Here we come: African Jerusalem.” Ado-Awaye, a tourist site as sleepy as the community it shares a name with in the south-western Nigerian state of Ogun, gets a modest 3,000 or so visitors annually. Most of these are religious worshippers who climb the 369-step path to the top, where they camp or visit the lake, which is reportedly one of only two natural suspended lakes in the world. Others are hikers or visitors to an annual festival held every November. But as Nigeria experiences its worst cost of living crisis in decades, tourism is on the back burner. Even Detty December, the country’s month-long potpourri of festivities, has been affected. And in Ado-Awaye, divine pilgrimages have slowed down. “[Just] over 2,400 came this year because of current economic challenges,” said Niyi Okunade, a prince of the community who organises site tours. On paper, Nigeria is a tourist haven. In the north, there is the colourful Kano Durbar festival, the sand dunes of Yobe and the country’s most popular game reserve in Bauchi. In the Middle Belt, teas, strawberries and apples grow in towns around the Mambilla and Jos plateaus, with some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. Down south, there are waterfalls, museums, colonial-era relics and carnivals, as well as dozens of beaches along the seven states that border the Gulf of Guinea where small resorts are tucked away in endless tranquillity. There are also spots where visitors can enjoy an array of street food and those seeking the coldest of drinks can request “mortuary standard” beers. On the streets, huge speakers keep the mood electric, blasting Afrobeats and other genres from Owerri bongo to Fuji music. Billionaires reportedly go whale-watching on a couple of small islands outside Lagos that connect to the Atlantic. The River Osun still draws thousands every year, despite record levels of pollution from gold mining. This year, Nigeria’s multitude of stars were joined by foreign celebrities from Chloe Bailey and Saweetie to Tyla and Gunna in Lagos for Detty December. The multipurpose 12,000-seater Lagos Arena is being built to allow events to be hosted all year round. But according to the tourism ministry, there were only 1.2 million visitors to Nigeria in 2023, 20% more than in the preceding year. The figure was on par with Ghana (1.1 million) but pales in comparison to those of South Africa (8.48 million) and Kenya (1.95 million). Ikemesit Effiong, head of research at Lagos-based geopolitical research consultancy SBM Intelligence, blames an infrastructure deficit and an undercurrent of insecurity in a few areas choking tourism. “[There is] a dearth of world-class hotels, especially in secondary and tertiary cities … a siloed hospitality culture which doesn’t integrate events, logistics and catering into a coherent whole – for example with travel packages – and a lack of customer awareness of promising locations, festivals and even the country’s tourism potential,” he said. “Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and even Ghana do a much better job of selling their countries domestically and overseas than Nigeria.” Okunade says that Ado-Awaye is lacking “modern hotel accommodation for the visiting tourists” as well as a lift or cable car system to elevate the site to world-class standards. “Government should invest more,” he believes. In the 60s and 70s, Nigeria attracted medical tourists from across the world but many of its hospitals are now shadows of their former selves. In the absence of tourists, rampaging bandits and terrorists have set up bases in remote areas; the feared Sambisa forest, where Boko Haram reportedly kept the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, was an abandoned game reserve. The Obudu mountaintop cattle ranch, a project in the biodiversity-rich Cross River state, and its international marathon have lost their shine since the tourism-loving, saxophone-playing governor who initiated them left office. The annual Calabar Carnival, where the singer Akon dramatically rolled about in a white balloon while headlining in 2012, has declined in status too. Many museums are semi-open, with barely any upgrades in decades. Nigeria has a wide network of underused airports and airfields and an improving rail system. But on one night this month, every conveyor belt at the new Lagos international airport terminal went out of service, leaving passengers waiting for their luggage for more than two hours. Henry Erikowa, founder of Falcorp Mangrove Park, an ecotourism resort in the former oil capital of Warri, said young people were not as interested in preserving their heritage, or working in tourism, as in the past and should be incentivised to do so. “They are all interested in oil money now,” said Erikowa, who has been looking for trainee zookeepers for years. In 2009, one of Nigeria’s most distinguished public servants launched Good People, Great Nation, a rebranding campaign for Nigeria’s image abroad. But Dora Akunyili, the information minister who made her name working to combat counterfeit medicines, failed to get a buy-in from the government she served or from the wider population. Some say a similar but better-run effort, backed by the government at the highest levels, is needed to drive the change required to make Nigeria a true tourism powerhouse. “You have to create a culture of serving people, not just have people in service roles … A lot of that work has to be top-down driven, with policymakers at the federal and state levels,” said Effiong. “Many potential Nigerian tourist hotspots are left on their own to figure this out and it makes for a hodge-podge of experiences.” |
The Guardian;WHO ‘appalled’ by Israel attack on northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/who-appalled-by-israel-attack-on-northern-gazas-last-functioning-major-hospital;2024-12-28T18:37:30Z | The World Health Organization says it is “appalled” by an Israeli raid which it said had shut down and partly destroyed the last major hospital still functioning in northern Gaza. Israel’s “systematic dismantling of the health system” combined with a siege of the population in the north of the coastal strip over the past 80 days “puts the lives of the 75,000 Palestinians remaining in the area at risk”, the WHO said. It cited initial reports that some departments of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia “were burnt and severely damaged during the raid, including the laboratory, surgical unit, engineering and maintenance department, operations theatre, and the medical store”. Local sources in Beit Lahia said that most of the medics and nurses detained in Friday’s raid had been released but the hospital’s director, Hussam Abu Safiya, was still unaccounted for. The Israel Defense Forces claimed the hospital was a “Hamas terrorist stronghold”, and that patients were moved for their own safety. In a joint statement with the Israel Security Agency, the IDF said: “The IDF and ISA completed a targeted operation against a Hamas Command Center in the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya … During the operation in the area, over 240 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists and other operatives suspected of terror activities were apprehended ... Among the suspects taken for questioning was the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, who is suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative.” The statement added that the IDF “will continue to act in accordance with international law”. The WHO statement said that some of the staff and those patients who were in a stable condition were moved to an unnamed nearby location, while others had been forcibly transferred to the Indonesian hospital, so called because its construction was funded by Indonesia, which had been badly damaged by earlier bombing and was no longer functional. The United Nations organisation said it would send an emergency mission to the Indonesian hospital on Sunday “to safely move patients to southern Gaza for continued care”. “Kamal Adwan is now empty,” the statement said. “On Friday evening, the remaining 15 critical patients, 50 caregivers and 20 health workers were transferred to Indonesian hospital, which lacks the necessary equipment and supplies to provide adequate care. The movement and treatment of these critical patients under such conditions pose grave risks to their survival. “The WHO is deeply concerned for their wellbeing, as well as for the Kamal Adwan hospital director, who has been reportedly detained during the raid. The WHO lost contact with him since the raid began.” Beit Lahia residents said the Indonesian hospital had no water or electricity supply. “Additionally, some people were reportedly stripped and forced to walk toward southern Gaza,” the WHO said. Some of the medics who had been detained told reporters they had been beaten and stripped by their Israeli captors. Gaza’s health ministry said: “We appeal to the relevant institutions to find a solution for the patients and injured currently in the Indonesian hospital.” It added that some patients and health workers had died at the Kamal Adwan hospital in fires started by the IDF, and that Abu Safiyeh was “violently beaten by the occupation forces before his arrest”. A Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, denied there were any of the group’s fighters at the Kamal Adwan hospital, and claimed the targeting of the health facility was part of Israel’s “generals’ plan”. He was referring to a proposal put forward earlier in 2024 by a group of former senior IDF officers to clear northern Gaza of its civilian Palestinian population, to make the area a free-fire zone to take on pockets of Hamas resistance. Although Benjamin Netanyahu’s government officially rejected the plan, some Israeli and Palestinian military analysts believe it is being implemented on the ground, possibly with the ultimate aim (pursued by the far right of the coalition) to colonise the area with Israeli settlements. On Saturday, the IDF distributed messages to residents of another area of northern Gaza, ordering them to leave. “The IDF is operating in this area forcefully,” the orders said. “You must evacuate the area immediately and move south along the Salah al-Din road. Moving via another road exposes you to danger.” In an interview with the Jerusalem Post published on Saturday, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, denied that the government intended to build settlements in Gaza, insisting “the goals set by the cabinet do not include such plans”. However, Sa’ar said he envisioned a long term Israeli military presence in the territory. “My working assumption is that in the foreseeable future, only we can ensure our security,” he said, rejecting the possibility of a foreign peacekeeping force. “I doubt there will be an effective entity that can provide security in Gaza, which is why I believe Israel will need to remain the controlling force from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, west of the river,” Sa’ar said. |
The Guardian;‘Ludicrous’: bitter row erupts over plan to replace original Notre Dame windows;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/ludicrous-bitter-row-erupts-over-plan-to-replace-original-notre-dame-windows;2024-12-28T15:36:05Z | In the wake of the April 2019 fire that devastated Notre Dame, the French president Emmanuel Macron promised that the monument would be rebuilt with a “contemporary gesture”. There followed all manner of madcap ideas: a glass spire; a 300ft carbon-fibre flame; a swimming pool on the roof; a covered garden. In the end, Notre Dame was restored to its original former glory and ceremonially reopened this month. Now, however, the planned “contemporary gesture” has been revealed – and has sparked a bitter row. The French artist Claire Tabouret has been chosen to design new stained glass windows depicting Pentecostal scenes, to be installed in the chapels on the south side of the medieval church. Tabouret was among 100 artists who took part in a competition to replace the existing six windows installed by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1844 – even though the windows were not damaged in the 2019 fire. Designs submitted by Tabouret, 43, a figurative artist whose work featured in the Vatican pavilion at the Venice Biennale this year and who now lives in Los Angeles, show scenes of people in prayer in shades of red, turquoise, yellow and pink. She will work with master glassmakers at the Atelier Simon-Marq, a glass workshop founded in Reims in 1640, to recreate the drawings in glass. The plan to replace the 19th-century chapel windows, which feature geometric designs described as having more historic than aesthetic value, has enraged critics. The 1964 Venice Charter, which codifies guidelines for preserving French buildings, states: “Items of sculpture, painting or decoration which form an integral part of a monument may only be removed if this is the sole means of ensuring their preservation,” and that “the valid contributions of all periods to the building of a monument must be respected”. In July, the national committee for heritage and architecture at France’s ministry of culture unanimously opposed the plan to remove Viollet-le-Duc’s windows, prompting one artist to withdraw his designs from the competition. The Académie des Beaux-Arts has also opposed the replacing of the windows. In a statement last year, it wrote: “[The members of the academy] are concerned that the announcement of a competition for the creation of contemporary stained glass windows, which they support in principle, involves replacing the non-figurative windows ... The fire spared these windows. “The Académie des Beaux-Arts hopes that other locations, starting with the North Tower, will be considered for this commission for contemporary stained glass.” However, the plan, expected to cost more than €4m (£3.3m), has the approval of the president, the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, and the church authorities. At a press conference after the announcement of her selection, Tabouret, a graduate of Paris’s prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, said she was “excited” by the challenge but aware of the controversy. “I’ve read about the different opinions of people because I want to understand their arguments and also to take an approach that is open and two-way. I find it a fascinating debate,” she said. She wanted to create stained glass windows that would have “the right presence … without imposing themselves on visitors”. Didier Rykner, a French journalist, art historian and founder of La Tribune de l’Art, a magazine dedicated to preserving France’s heritage, has described the idea of replacing the windows as “totally ludicrous”. He has launched a petition against the plan that has almost 250,000 signatures. “The president of the republic has decided on his own, without any regard for the heritage law or Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, to replace the stained glass windows in six out of the seven chapels on the south aisle with contemporary creations, after organising a competition,” it reads. “The stained glass windows in Notre Dame designed by Viollet-le-Duc were created as a coherent whole. It is a genuine creation that the architect wanted to be faithful to the cathedral’s gothic origins. Who gave the head of state a mandate to alter a cathedral that does not belong to him, but to everyone? “Emmanuel Macron wants to put the stamp of the 21st century on Notre Dame de Paris. Perhaps a little modesty would be preferable.” The French heritage association Sites & Monuments has threatened legal action if the plan to remove Viollet-le-Duc’s windows goes ahead. Rykner told the Observer: “To remove windows that survived the fire undamaged and replace them with others is just absurd. I am not against contemporary windows per se but there is just no reason to replace these windows. Besides, money donated by people to renovate Notre Dame has already been spent on cleaning them. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. We’ve been told they will put the Viollet-le-Duc windows on display in a museum. They don’t belong in a museum – they belong in Notre Dame. It makes no sense for them to be on display anywhere other than the cathedral. Their only interest is in situ.” He added: “I don’t see why Macron has such a say over what happens to a heritage building. This is just a vanity project. “As for the church authorities approving this – we should remember that the greatest vandalism done to French churches and religious buildings in the 60s and 70s was carried out … by the church. They have no taste.” Stéphane Bern, Macron’s former heritage tsar, voiced his opposition to the plan in an interview with Ouest France newspaper. “I have nothing against Claire Tabouret or contemporary stained glass ... But I am in favour of them when the old ones are destroyed or damaged. You can’t remove stained glass windows that are listed as historic monuments,” Bern said. “Why does the state set itself free from the rules it imposes on others? Just because the president wants it that way?” Simon-Marq will make the six new windows, which will reach 7m high and cover a total surface area of 121 sq metres, and are expected to be installed in 2026. Tabouret said she would be incorporating motifs from Viollet-le-Duc’s windows in the stained glass. |
The Guardian;Elon Musk pens German newspaper opinion piece supporting far-right AfD party;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/elon-musk-germany-afd-party;2024-12-28T15:19:46Z | The tech entrepreneur and close adviser to Donald Trump Elon Musk has taken a stunning new public step in his support for the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), publishing a supportive guest opinion piece for the country’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper that has prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest. The commentary piece in German was launched online on Saturday before being published on Sunday in the flagship paper of the Axel Springer media group, which also owns the US politics news site Politico. Musk uses populist and personal language to try to deny AfD’s extremist bent, and the essay expands on his post on his social media platform, X, on which he last week claimed that “only the AfD can save Germany”. Translated, Musk’s piece said: “The portrayal of the AfD as rightwing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified the AfD at the national level as a suspected extremism case since 2021. Shortly after the piece was published online, the editor of the opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, used the US tech mogul’s own platform to post on X that she had submitted her resignation. “I always enjoyed heading the opinion department at Welt and Wams. Today a text by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. Yesterday I submitted my resignation after printing,” she posted. She included a link to the Musk commentary article. The AfD has a strong anti-immigration stance and, like incoming president Donald Trump in relation to the US, is calling for mass deportations from Germany. Earlier in December, Musk not only posted in favor of AfD but the party’s hard line on immigration appeared to resonate with the incoming US vice-president, JD Vance, MSNBC reported. Senior Welt Group figures weighed in on Saturday. “Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression. This includes dealing with polarising positions and classifying them journalistically,” the newspaper’s editor-in-chief designate, Jan Philipp Burgard, and Ulf Poschardt, who takes over as publisher on 1 January, told Reuters. They said discussion about Musk’s piece, which had about 340 comments several hours after it was published, was “very revealing”. Underneath Musk’s commentary, the newspaper published a response by Burgard. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally false,” he wrote, referencing the AfD’s desire to leave the European Union and seek rapprochement with Russia as well as appease China. Musk and Weidel both later posted a link to the article on X. The AfD backing from Musk, who also defended his right to weigh in on German politics due to his “significant investments”, comes as Germans are set to vote on 23 February after a coalition government led by the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, collapsed late this fall. The AfD is running second in opinion polls and might be able to thwart either a centre-right or centre-left majority, but Germany’s mainstream, more centrist parties have pledged to shun any support from the AfD at the national level. |
The Guardian;Putin apologises for Azerbaijan plane crash without admitting Russia at fault;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/putin-apologises-for-azerbaijan-plane-crash-without-admitting-russia-at-fault;2024-12-28T15:11:03Z | Vladimir Putin has apologised for a “tragic incident” in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on Christmas Day, but stopped short of admitting Russia was responsible. The Kremlin said in an official statement that Putin had spoken to Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, on Saturday by phone in his first comments since the crash, which killed 38 of the 67 people onboard. “Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the statement said. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he had expressed condolences to President Aliyev and called on Russia for a clearer explanation of the crash. “The key priority now is a thorough investigation to provide answers to all questions about what really happened,” he said. “Russia must provide clear explanations and stop spreading disinformation.” On Friday, the White House spokesperson John Kirby said the US had seen “early indications” that Russia might have been responsible for the crash. There has been speculation that the commercial airliner’s GPS systems may have been affected by electronic jamming and the plane may have been damaged by air defence missiles fired at Ukrainian drones. The head of Russia’s civil aviation agency said the situation in Chechnya was “very complicated” because of Ukrainian drone strikes on the region. The Kremlin said: “At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defence systems repelled these attacks.” The statement stopped short of admitting Russia was responsible for downing the plane. The plane, which was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny, in Chechnya, was hundreds of miles off its scheduled route on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. It is not clear why the plane changed course but Russian news agencies initially blamed fog. It crash-landed in Kazakhstan. Azerbaijan has not blamed Russia but the former Soviet republic’s transport minister claimed on Friday the plane was subjected to “external interference” and that it was damaged before it crashed. “All [the survivors] without exception stated they heard three blast sounds when the aircraft was above Grozny,” said Rashad Nabiyev. Kirby said the US had offered assistance to investigators; Russia and Azerbaijan are investigating the crash. The survivors of the crash are being treated in a nearby hospital. One passenger, Subhonkul Rakhimov, told the BBC: “I saw the fuselage shell was slightly damaged and then I got scared. I thought the plane would fall apart. I was very surprised that I was alive.” Another survivor, Vafa Shabanova, told the broadcaster that about 20 or 30 minutes after takeoff she felt two explosions: “The plane was supposed to land but it didn’t. Something exploded inside twice … we panicked.” After the crash, Aliyev announced a day of mourning in Azerbaijan. “It is with deep sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” he wrote on social media. |
The Guardian;Demonstrators arrested outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home – as it happened;https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/28/israel-gaza-hospital-war-hamas-lebanon-syria-latest-news-updates;2024-12-28T13:58:38Z | Demonstrators arrested outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home. Five Israeli demonstrators protesting for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 have been arrested outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Gaza Health Minstry reported that Israel detained hospital a director in northern Gaza on Saturday. However, the director of Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, denied he was arrested.“All that is being circulated about Dr. Hussam Abu Safia being arrested is false news,” his Instagram account posted. Almost one in five children live in conflict zones, says Unicef. Nearly one in five of the world’s children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN. “The impact on children’s mental health is also huge,” Unicef said. A study backed by the charity War Child earlier this month reported that 96% of children in Gaza felt that their death was imminent and almost half wanted to die as a result of the trauma they had been through. A senior official from Libya’s UN-recognised government met Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday and discussed issues including diplomatic relations, energy and migration. “We expressed our full support for the Syrian authorities in the success of the important transitional phase,” Libyan Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs Walid Ellafi told reporters after the meeting. A delegation from Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish DEM party visited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on Saturday for the first time in 10 years, the Agence France-Presse reports. Ocalan is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul DEM’s predecessor, the HDP party, last met Ocalan in April 2015. “The delegation left in the morning,” a party source told AFP, without disclosing how they would reach the island over security concenrs. The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday he was not sure he was going to survive, Reuters reports. Speaking after his ordeal at the Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Thursday, which was bombed by Israeli forces targeting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the air raid was so deafening that his ears were still ringing over a day later. The WHO has reiterated its call for a ceasefire. “This raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes after escalating restrictions on access for WHO and partners, and repeated attacks on or near the facility since early October,” the WHO said. “Such hostilities and the raids are undoing all our efforts and support to keep the facility minimal functional. The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care.” 45,436 Palestinians killed since war began. At least 45,436 Palestinian people have been killed and 108,038 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said. Of those, 37 Palestinians were killed and 98 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said. A delegation from Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish DEM party visited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on Saturday for the first time in 10 years, the Agence France-Presse reports. Ocalan is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul DEM’s predecessor, the HDP party, last met Ocalan in April 2015. “The delegation left in the morning,” a party source told AFP, without disclosing how they would reach the island over security concenrs. Ocalan founded the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) nearly 50 years ago and has served his time in solitary confinement for 25 years after originally being sentenced to death. He escaped the gallows after Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2004 Turkey, the United States and the EU regard the PKK as a “terror” organisation. The DEM party delegation is made up of two lawmakers - Sirri Sureyya Onder and Pervin Buldan. DEM’s co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan said he hoped the talks with Ocalan would “open a new era” for a democratic settlement to the Kurdish problem. “While I speak here, our delegation is currently meeting with Mr Abdullah Ocalan at Imrali (island). We believe it’s important,” he told reporters in the Uludere district near the Iraqi border. “Imrali’s door must be unlocked,” Bakirhan said. “I hope that the discussions there will enable the Kurdish issue to be resolved through democratic means and on a democratic basis.” Saturday’s rare was made possible after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to visit parliament to renounce “terror” and to disband the militant group. President Erdogan backed the unprecedented appeal as a “historic window of opportunity”. “My dear Kurdish brothers, we expect you to firmly grasp (Bahceli’s) sincerely outstretched hand,” he said in October, urging them to join in efforts to build what he called the “century of Turkey”. A senior official from Libya’s UN-recognised government met Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday and discussed issues including diplomatic relations, energy and migration. “We expressed our full support for the Syrian authorities in the success of the important transitional phase,” Libyan Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs Walid Ellafi told reporters after the meeting. “We emphasised the importance of coordination and cooperation... particularly on security and military issues,” he said, while they also discussed cooperation “related to energy and trade” and “illegal immigration”. Syrian refugees fleeing war since 2011 have frequently journeyed to Libya to find work or a way navigate across the Mediterranean towards Europe. Ellafi said they also discussed “the importance of raising diplomatic representation between the two countries”. “Today the charge d’affaires attended the meeting with me and we are seeking a permanent ambassador,” he added. Here are the some of the latest images from photographers on the ground in Gaza: Demonstrators arrested outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home. Five Israeli demonstrators protesting for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 have been arrested outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Gaza Health Minstry reported that Israel detained hospital a director in northern Gaza on Saturday. However, the director of Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, denied he was arrested.“All that is being circulated about Dr. Hussam Abu Safia being arrested is false news,” his Instagram account posted. Almost one in five children live in conflict zones, says Unicef. Nearly one in five of the world’s children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN. “The impact on children’s mental health is also huge,” Unicef said. A study backed by the charity War Child earlier this month reported that 96% of children in Gaza felt that their death was imminent and almost half wanted to die as a result of the trauma they had been through. The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday he was not sure he was going to survive, Reuters reports. Speaking after his ordeal at the Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Thursday, which was bombed by Israeli forces targeting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the air raid was so deafening that his ears were still ringing over a day later. The WHO has reiterated its call for a ceasefire. “This raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes after escalating restrictions on access for WHO and partners, and repeated attacks on or near the facility since early October,” the WHO said. “Such hostilities and the raids are undoing all our efforts and support to keep the facility minimal functional. The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care.” 45,436 Palestinians killed since war began. At least 45,436 Palestinian people have been killed and 108,038 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said. Of those, 37 Palestinians were killed and 98 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said. Instagram account reportedly belonging to the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, posted that he was not arrested by Israeli forces. Officials from the Gaza Health Ministry said that the IDF detained Abu Safiya was along with dozens of the medical staff during the military’s assault on the hospital. “All that is being circulated about Dr. Hussam Abu Safia being arrested is false news,” says a statement published to his Instagram story. “Thank God he is fine, but the communications and network are very bad,” the message adds, which is seemingly written by someone else and not Abu Safia. The IDF has not commented on health ministry’s reports or the contradictory Instagram post. The Government Media Office that 110,000 out of 135,000 tents used by displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are now out of service and have “completely deteriorated”, Al Jazeera reports. In a statement on its Telegram channel the office said the Israeli military is “causing a tragic humanitarian crisis” that is threatening the lives of thousands of civilians as freezing temperatures grip the region. “This catastrophic humanitarian situation is a direct result of the genocide committed by the ‘Israeli’ occupation army, which has completely destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes of these citizens, forcing them to resort to living in tents that lack the minimum requirements for a decent life.” Patients and wounded people who were expelled at gun point from the Kamal Adwan Hospital to the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza on Friday night are in “a very miserable and difficult situation”, the Gaza Health Ministry says. The ministry adds that The Israeli army destroyed the infrastructure before the forced evacuation. “We appeal to all concerned institutions and parties urgently to find a solution for the patients and the injured people who are currently in the Indonesian Hospital,” the ministry says. Five Israeli demonstrators protesting for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 have been arrested outside the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Twenty protestors gathered outside the home in the early morning, shouting through loudspeakers at the prime minister that the hostages were suffering in the tunnels and were “cold, tortured and sick” while he enjoyed home comforts, Channel 12, an Israeli broadcaster, reported. They also chanted that Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, was the subject of a police investigation, referring to when Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara ordered an investigation after a report alleged that she had harassed opponents. “Everything is closing in on you. We, the people, will not forget and will not forgive,” the protestors shouted while banging on drums and blowing horns. Police say they were held for violating noise restrictions. At least 45,436 Palestinian people have been killed and 108,038 injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 7 October 2023, the Gaza health ministry said. Of those, 37 Palestinians were killed and 98 injured in the latest 24-hour reporting period, the ministry said. CCTV footage shows the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, escaping a room at Sana’a airport as it was targeted by an Israeli airstrike. Tensions between Yemen’s Houthi movement and the Israeli government have escalated in recent weeks, with the Houthis intensifying attacks against Israel in an effort to pressure it to end its war in Gaza… The WHO has reiterated its call for a ceasefire. “This raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital comes after escalating restrictions on access for WHO and partners, and repeated attacks on or near the facility since early October,” the WHO said. “Such hostilities and the raids are undoing all our efforts and support to keep the facility minimal functional. The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care.” Hamas denied its militants were present in the hospital, and charged that Israeli forces had stormed the facility on Friday. “We categorically deny the presence of any military activity or resistance fighters in the hospital,” Hamas said in a statement. “The enemy’s lies about the hospital aim to justify the heinous crime committed by the occupation army today, involving the evacuation and burning of all hospital departments as part of a plan for extermination and forced displacement.” The head of the World Health Organization said on Friday he was not sure he was going to survive, Reuters reports. Speaking after his ordeal at the Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Thursday, which was bombed by Israeli forces targeting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the air raid was so deafening that his ears were still ringing over a day later. “I was not sure actually I could survive because it was so close, a few meters from where we were,” he told Reuters. “A slight deviation could have resulted in a direct hit.” Tedros said after the attack, as he and his colleagues wandered through the debris, they could hear drones zooming overhead, making them worry about further strikes. “There (was) no shelter at all. Nothing. So you’re just exposed, just waiting for anything to happen,” he said. The Israeli strikes on Yemen came after Houthis repeatedly fired drones and missiles toward Israel in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. “So a civilian airport should be protected, whether I am in it or not,” Tedros said, before observing there was “nothing special” about what he had faced in Yemen. “One of my colleagues said we narrowly escaped death. I’m just one human being. So I feel for those who are facing the same thing every single day. But at least it allowed me to feel the way they feel.” “I’m worried about our world, where it’s heading,” Tedros added, urging world leaders to work together to end global conflicts. “I have never ... as far as I can remember, seen the world really being in such a very dangerous state.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said afterwards that Israel was “just getting started” with the Houthis. “Usually, we will start to see the people about two years after the cessation of fighting,” Janho says. “So now we have a lot of Yemeni people. Some patients live in rooms in the top floors while their treatment is ongoing, and others will go home and return. “The worst we see? Probably after the barrel bombs were being dropped on people in Syria.” Da’ed Almneaid is a clinical psychologist who runs the multi-disciplinary mental health team from an office adorned with the artwork of past patients and smelling strongly of roses… “The impact on children’s mental health is also huge,” Unicef said. A study backed by the charity War Child earlier this month reported that 96% of children in Gaza felt that their death was imminent and almost half wanted to die as a result of the trauma they had been through. Children in war zones face a daily struggle for survival that deprives them of a childhood,” Russell said. “Their schools are bombed, homes destroyed, and families torn apart. They lose not only their safety and access to basic life-sustaining necessities, but also their chance to play, to learn, and to simply be children. The world is failing these children. As we look towards 2025, we must do more to turn the tide and save and improve the lives of children Nearly one in five of the world’s children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN. The UN humanitarian aid organisation for children, Unicef, said on Saturday that the percentage of children living in conflict zones around the world has doubled from about 10% in the 1990s to almost 19%, and warned that this dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the “new normal”. With more conflicts being waged around the world than at any time since 1945, Unicef said that children were increasingly falling victim. Citing its latest available data, from 2023, the UN verified a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children, the highest figures since the security council mandated monitoring of the impact of war on the world’s children nearly 20 years ago… The last major health facility in northern Gaza has been put out of service, the World Health Organization has said, and its director detained according to Gaza officials after an Israeli military operation targeting sites near the Kamal Adwan hospital. “Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid,” the WHO said in a statement on X. Israel’s military said in a statement that the hospital had become a “key stronghold for terrorist organisations and continues to be used as a hideout for terrorist operatives” since Israeli forces began broader operations in northern Gaza in October… Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. Israeli forces have detained the director of a hospital in the north, Gaza health officials said on Saturday. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the hospital was put out of service by an Israeli raid. “The occupation forces have taken dozens of the medical staff from Kamal Adwan Hospital to a detention centre for interrogation, including the director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh,” the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said in a statement. The Gaza civil defence agency reported that Abu Safiyeh had been detained, adding that the agency’s director for the north, Ahmed Hassan al-Kahlout was among those held. “The occupation has completely destroyed the medical, humanitarian, and civil defence systems in the north, rendering them useless,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, told AFP. On Friday, the Israeli military said it had launched an operation in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, saying the facility was a “key stronghold for terrorist organisations”. Gazan terrorist group Hamas denied its militants were operating out of the hospital, and charged that Israeli forces had stormed the facility on Friday. The World Health Organization said the Israeli military operation had put the hospital out of service. “This morning’s raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital has put this last major health facility in north Gaza out of service. Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid,” the WHO said in a statement on X. |
The Guardian;At least 15 men in Gisèle Pelicot rape and assault trial appeal against convictions;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/at-least-15-men-in-gisele-pelicot-trial-appeal-against-convictions;2024-12-28T13:57:32Z | At least 15 of the men found guilty of raping or sexually abusing Gisèle Pelicot have appealed against their convictions and will be given a second trial. All 51 men, including her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, were convicted and given prison sentences of between three and 20 years before Christmas after a trial lasting three and a half months. Dominique Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years. The court found 47 men guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault. The men have until midnight on Monday to lodge an appeal. Apart from Pelicot’s jail term, all the sentences were below that requested by the public prosecutors, who also have until the same deadline to appeal. An appeal hearing, which will go over all the evidence again, will be held in Nîmes and heard by an ordinary jury, unlike the Avignon trial that was overseen by a panel of professional judges. After the marathon hearing in Avignon, Béatrice Zavarro, lawyer for Dominique Pelicot, 72, a former electrician who had admitted drugging and raping his wife and inviting at least 50 and possibly more than 80 men into the couple’s Provençal home to rape her, said she would discuss with her client whether to appeal against the verdict. Pelicot’s now ex-wife Gisèle, 72, believes she could have been raped by him and strangers more than 200 times between 2011 and 2020. Pelicot was only caught after police arrested him for filming up the skirts of female shoppers in a local supermarket and found tens of thousands of photographs and videos of the abuse. Among those who have appealed against their verdicts is Charly Arbo, 30, a vineyard worker, who went to the Pelicot’s home in the town of Mazan six times and was given a 13-year jail term. On the first occasion he was 22 and Gisèle Pelicot was 64. He was also accused of raping her on the night of her 66th birthday. Video evidence showed Arbo discussing drugging and raping his own mother with Dominique Pelicot. Redouan El Farihi, 55, a former hospital anaesthesia nurse, who was sentenced to eight years, has also appealed against his verdict. He denied rape, saying Dominique Pelicot had “tricked” him and insisted he had not known Gisèle had been drugged, despite videos showing her unconscious and inert. Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Stéphane Babonneau, who said the trial represented a level of depravity he had never before experienced, told the Observer last weekend she was willing to attend any new trial. “She has told us she will be there,” he said. “Maybe not every day, but she says she will go.” After the verdicts were given on 19 December, Babonneau said: “She is relieved, really relieved, that all the accused were convicted for what they did to her and she was relieved she managed to reach the end of this very long and painful process.” Gisèle Pelicot, a retired logistics manager, became an international feminist figurehead after insisting the trial be open to the press and public and the videos of her abuse be shown in open court so that “shame changes sides”. Since the high-profile trial there have been calls to tighten French rape laws, including introducing the concept of “consent”, which is absent. The trial also threw a spotlight on attitudes towards the rape and sexual abuse of women in France. “From Gisèle Pelicot’s point of view, there is no sentence that will give her back what she has lost. She will never feel comforted or somehow compensated by the fact that 50 families have been broken up for Christmas. There can be no satisfaction for her in that,” Babonneau said. “All Gisèle Pelicot wanted is to have the accused convicted for what they did to her. As for the personal sentences, she respects the decision of the court and finds no solace in them.” |
The Guardian;Russia warns of severe environmental damage from Black Sea oil spill;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/russia-warns-of-severe-environmental-damage-from-huge-black-sea-oil-spill;2024-12-28T13:50:37Z | Russia has warned of severe environmental damage from a huge oil spill in the Black Sea caused when two tankers were hit by a storm near Crimea, which has declared a state of emergency. One tanker sank and another ran aground on 15 December in the Kerch strait between Russia and the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula. Thousands of volunteers have been mobilised for clean-up operations that have been criticised as insufficient by some Russian scientists. The tankers were carrying 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, about 40% of which may have spilled into the sea, according to authorities. “The situation is truly critical,” said the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by Russian press agencies. “It is unfortunately impossible to calculate for the moment the extent of the environmental damage, but specialists are working regularly on it,” he said. The Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, said on Telegram he had declared a state of emergency “because of the oil products spill in the Kerch strait”. Russia’s transport ministry said on Saturday that “all polluted aquatic areas that have been identified have been cleaned” and “no recurring pollution has been detected”. But the emergency situations minister, Alexander Kurenkov, was more cautious. He said: “The threat of a new fuel oil leak in the Black Sea from the tankers and spills on the coast persists.” Vladimir Putin earlier this month called the oil spill an “ecological disaster”. |
The Guardian;South Koreans stage mass rally to demand removal of Yoon Suk Yeol;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/south-korea-seoul-rally-protest-yoon-suk-yeol;2024-12-28T13:00:18Z | Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans flooded central Seoul on Saturday in the latest wave of protests demanding the removal of the country’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, a day after parliament voted to impeach his acting replacement. Organisers claimed that more than 500,000 people participated in the rally, which took place amid a large police presence. The demonstrations, which have grown steadily since Yoon’s failed declaration of martial law on 3 December, transformed the historic Gwanghwamun area in a striking display of civic engagement, with citizens including young protesters wielding K-pop light sticks alongside civil society groups. “Imprison Yoon Suk Yeol,” protesters chanted as they marched from Gyeongbokgung Palace toward the Myeongdong shopping district, many singing to K-pop music blasting from speaker trucks in what has become a characteristic mix of celebration and serious political messaging. Lawmakers voted on Friday to impeach the acting president, Han Duck-soo, marking a deepening of South Korea’s political and constitutional crisis, stemming from Han’s refusal to appoint three judges to the constitutional court – the very body that must decide Yoon’s fate. The opposition-controlled parliament viewed this as deliberately stalling Yoon’s impeachment process, while the ruling People Power party warned that removing Han risked triggering a “second financial crisis” and accused the opposition of paralysing state functions. The finance minister, Choi Sang-mok, who doubles as deputy prime minister, has become the interim leader in an unprecedented arrangement where he holds three top positions. The constitutional court, now operating with only six of its nine seats filled, requires at least six votes to uphold Yoon’s removal from office, meaning a single dissenting voice could save his presidency. The court building itself has been barricaded by police buses and heavily guarded. Hundreds of flower wreaths sent by Yoon’s supporters lined the barriers, bearing messages of support for the suspended president. One kilometre from the main demonstration, a large but vocal counterprotest led by far-right evangelical Christian groups gathered to oppose the impeachment. Mostly comprising elderly people and hostile in tone, they denounced the parliamentary impeachment votes as invalid and called for Yoon’s reinstatement. The opposition leader Lee Jae-myung sat on the ground with protesters at the anti-Yoon rally, where the atmosphere remained orderly despite the massive turnout. In a display of civic spirit, some protesters distributed snacks to police officers, while others cleaned the streets, picking up litter left behind. The protests have taken on a distinctly youthful character, with students, women’s groups and activists waving flags and addressing the crowd from a central stage. The use of K-pop light sticks, typically reserved for concerts, has become a symbol of this new generation of protest, contrasting with the candlelight vigils of the Park Geun-hye impeachment protests of 2016-17. The pop band Leenalchi and the Ambiguous Dance Company together performed their hit Tiger Is Coming, with the band member Ahn Yi-ho drawing cheers when he declared: “Tigers may be tigers, but insurrectionists must be eradicated.” Recent polls show a majority of South Koreans support Yoon’s removal from office after his attempt to impose martial law earlier this month. That declaration lasted just six hours before being overturned by parliament but has sparked the biggest challenge to South Korean democracy since the 1980s. As night fell on Saturday and the pro-Yoon protest packed up, the pro-impeachment protesters continued to stream through the city centre, their glittering light sticks illuminating the march in the sub-zero temperatures. Tourists stopped to watch and photograph the peaceful demonstration, a manifestation of South Korea’s democracy in action, even as it faced one of its biggest tests. |
The Guardian;UN authorises new mission against al-Shabaab in Somalia;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/un-authorises-new-mission-against-al-shabaab-in-somalia;2024-12-28T12:28:05Z | The UN has authorised a new African peacekeeping mission to continue its fight against Somalia’s al-Shabaab, the insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaida, but there are doubts about whether troops from neighbouring Ethiopia will remain part of the deployment. The UN security council adopted a resolution on Friday allowing the deployment of up to 12,626 personnel to support the Somali government’s nearly two decades-long fight against al-Shabaab. The existing peacekeeping force, known as the African Union transition mission in Somalia (Atmis), whose mandate ends at the end of this year, will be replaced by the leaner African Union support and stabilization mission in Somalia (Aussom). The two peacekeeping forces were preceded by the African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom), which was the largest, longest running and deadliest such mission in history. Al-Shabaab, a jihadist organisation with roots in Ethiopia’s 2006 invasion of Somalia, carries out regular deadly attacks across the country and in neighbouring Kenya. In August, almost 40 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded when it attacked a beach in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Burundi, one of the troop contributing countries, announced that it would not take part in the upcoming peacekeeping mission due to a “lack of consensus” between Burundi and Somalia on the number of troops it would be allowed to deploy. James Kariuki, the UK’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, welcomed the resolution, telling the council that it “robustly reinforces” support for Somalia in its fight against al-Shabaab. “It authorises Aussom to support Somalia in its fight against al-Shabaab, strengthen Somalia’s stabilisation efforts, and enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance,” he said. The French representative at the council also hailed the adoption of the resolution as an important step forward and a “new stage in the support for Somalia’s efforts to combat the al-Shabaab group”. It wasn’t clear if Ethiopia, which has been a major contributor to the two past iterations of the peacekeeping forces and is also a target of al-Shabaab, would be allowed to continue to play a role. Somalia and Ethiopia have been embroiled in a year-long dispute over a sea access deal that landlocked Ethiopia reached with the separatist northern Somaliland region – which Somaliland officials say would lead to Ethiopia becoming the first country to recognise the region’s statehood. The agreement between Somaliland and Ethiopia has been strongly opposed by Somali officials, who have called it an attempt to “annex” a portion of their territory. The deal would reportedly grant Ethiopia a portion of Somaliland’s coast for potential naval use. Somalia first hinted in the summer that it might remove Ethiopia from the long-running African Union peacekeeping mission against al-Shabaab in parts of southern and central Somalia, and replace its contingent with troops from other countries, including Egypt, with which Ethiopia has its own disputes over a dam it has constructed along the Nile. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, brokered an agreement between the feuding neighbours last month labelled the Ankara declaration, which was meant to address Ethiopia’s sea access concerns. At that time, Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said Ethiopia would be permitted to keep its troops in the peacekeeping mission. Mohamed Rabi Yusuf, the Somalia representative to the UN, said the Somali government had carried out a “comprehensive review of its security arrangements” and had obtained commitments from other countries willing to commit troops to Somalia. “This commitment addresses any security vacuum created by Ethiopia while sustaining progress in the fight against al-Shabaab,” Yusuf said. The Ethiopian delegate, who was present at the UN security council meeting, said his country was “ready to continue its role in the post-Atmis mission”, adding that “extra-regional actors”, a likely reference to Egypt, should abandon their “reckless pursuit”. In a post on X, Somalia’s national security adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, suggested a decision had not yet been reached on whether Ethiopian troops would be permitted to remain, but added: “The spirit of the Ankara declaration remains strong and alive.” The Somali government is using this as a “bargaining chip or negotiating tool”, said Abdinor Dahir, an expert on Somalia, before a follow-up to the Ankara declaration. “The Ankara declaration isn’t an agreement which normalised ties, it was more of a commitment to continue discussions,” said Dahir, adding: “Until Ethiopia cancels the agreement with Somaliland, Somalia is unlikely to want to include their troops.” Earlier this week, the Somali government claimed that Ethiopian troops attacked members of its armed forces in the southern Jubaland state, causing casualties and injuries. Ethiopia denied the allegation, attributing it to unnamed “third-party” actors, according to a statement. After the resolution passed, Ayub Ismail Yusuf, a Somali MP and member of the Somali parliament’s foreign affairs committee, called on the government to exclude Ethiopia from the peacekeeping force. “No nation can trust another where their sovereignty was threatened by them,” he posted on X. |
The Guardian;Don’t give in to pessimism despite wars and injustice, says Pope Francis;https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/28/dont-give-in-to-pessimism-says-pope-francis-in-bbc-thought-for-the-day;2024-12-28T09:46:25Z | Pope Francis has urged people not to be drawn towards “pessimism and resignation” despite wars and social injustices throughout the world, but to retain a “gentle gaze of hope”. The head of the Catholic church gave the Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, wishing listeners “peace, fellowship and gratitude” for the new year and emphasising the importance of humility. In the message, Francis said: “Hope and kindness touch the very heart of the gospel and show us the path to follow in our behaviour. A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world. A society that looks to the future with confidence and treats people with respect and empathy is more humane.” Focusing on the theme of hope, he said: “Even though we do not know what tomorrow may hold for us, we should not look to the future with pessimism and resignation. Wars, social injustices, and the many forms of violence we are exposed to every day should not dishearten us nor draw us towards scepticism and discouragement. “We choose love and love makes our hearts fervent and hopeful. Those who love, even if they find themselves in uncertain situations, always view the world with a gentle gaze of hope.” Francis said kindness was “not a diplomatic strategy” but instead represented a “form of love that opens hearts to acceptance, and helps us all to become more humble”. He added: “How important humility is. Humility lends itself to dialogue, helps to overcome misunderstandings and generates gratitude.” Quoting from the autobiography of British writer GK Chesterton, the pope invited people to “take the elements of life with gratitude and not for granted”. Francis recently began celebrations for the church’s holy year jubilee, a centuries-old tradition that now occurs every 25 years and will involves tens of millions of pilgrims heading to Rome. “I hope that during this jubilee we can practise kindness as a form of love to connect with others,” he said. “May the new year bring us peace, fellowship and gratitude.” The Argentina-born Francis, 88, was invited to deliver a message by the Today programme’s guest editor, Prof Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford. The regular segment welcomes people from all the major faiths to share reflections on the world. Francis recorded his message in Italian before it was translated into English for UK radio audiences. It is the second time Francis has appeared on the Thought for the Day segment, having first spoken in October 2021 before the Cop 26 climate summit. |
The Guardian;Middle East crisis: WHO chief at Yemen airport during Israeli airstrikes; Netanyahu says attack ongoing ‘until we complete the job’ – as it happened;https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/26/middle-east-crisis-live-security-personnel-killed-syria-sednaya-prison-gaza-israel-latest-updates;2024-12-26T19:05:27Z | Here’s a recap of the latest developments: At least three people were killed and nearly a dozen injured after Israel airstrikes struck multiple targets controlled by the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, in Yemen on Thursday, according to Houthi media. Two people were killed in strikes on the international airport in the capital of Sana’a and one person was killed in Ras Issa port, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said. Israel’s military said it struck the Sana’a international airport as well as military infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Kanatib on Yemen’s west coast. It also attacked the country’s Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. The Israeli military said its “fighter jets conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime”. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was at the airport when it came under attack. The WHO chief and his team were in Yemen to seek the release of detained UN staff and assess the war-torn country’s humanitarian situation and were about to board a flight when “the airport came under aerial bombardment”. A crew member on the plane was injured, he said. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli strikes would continue “until our job is done”. “We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil,” the Israeli prime minister said in a video statement after the attacks. His defence minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would “hunt down all the Houthi leaders … No one will be able to escape us.” The latest strikes came after recent attacks on Israel by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. On Saturday, at least 14 people were wounded by a Houthi attack in Tel Aviv. The UN security council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said on Wednesday. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the Israeli strikes in Yemen as a “violation” of peace and security. Five Palestinian journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in central Gaza, their employer, Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said. The journalists were sleeping in their press-marked truck when it was targeted in a direct strike by the Israeli military, witnesses told Palestinian media. The Israeli army said its air force attacked the vehicle in a “targeted manner” and that members of the Islamic Jihad militant group were inside. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said 195 journalists had been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, and at least 400 have been injured over the past 14 months. An infant died in Gaza on Thursday due to extreme cold and falling temperatures, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, marking the fourth baby to have reportedly died from the cold in Gaza’s tent camps in recent days. The deaths underscore the squalid conditions there, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli offensives. Five people were killed and 20 wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood early on Thursday, medics with the Gaza health authorities reported. They warned the death toll could rise as many people remained trapped under the rubble. The strikes came as the latest death toll by the Palestinian health ministry said Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 45,399 Palestinians and wounded 107,940 since 7 October 2023. A report warning of imminent famine in the northern Gaza Strip under Israel’s “near-total blockade” was withdrawn after the US asked for its retraction, according to the Associated Press, citing US officials. The withdrawn report by the Famine Early Warning System Network said unless Israel changes its policy, it expects to see between two and 15 people dying each day of starvation and related ailments in Gaza sometime between January and March. A declaration of famine would have been a great embarrassment for Israel. Fourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartus province after forces tried to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based monitoring group said the clash broke out in Tartus, a stronghold of ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority, on Wednesday, and was sparked by the attempted arrest of the former prison official. The United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon expressed concern at the “continuing” damage done by Israeli forces in the country’s south despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah. Lebanon’s army on Thursday condemned Israel’s “violation of the ceasefire agreement by attacking Lebanese sovereignty and destroying southern towns and villages”. A new report warning of imminent famine in the northern Gaza Strip under Israel’s “near-total blockade” was withdrawn after the US asked for its retraction, according to the Associated Press. Citing US officials, the news agency says the Famine Early Warning System Network (Fews), a US-funded organisation that monitors food crises around the world, withdrew the report after the US ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, publicly criticised the famine warning as inaccurate and “irresponsible”. A declaration of famine would have been a great embarrassment for Israel, which has insisted that its war in Gaza is aimed at Hamas and not against the Palestinian territory’s civilian population, AP writes. In its withdrawn report, Fews warned that unless Israel changes its policy, it expects to see between two and 15 people dying each day of starvation and related ailments in Gaza sometime between January and March. Usaid, the government agency responsible for foreign aid and development assistance, confirmed to the new agency that it had asked the organisation to withdraw its warning. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, said the Israeli airstrikes in Yemen earlier today demonstrated its ability to strike “any threat”. In remarks provided by the IDF and shared by the Times of Israel, Halevi said: Once again, IDF has proven its capability to reach and strike any threat to the citizens of Israel. Over the years, we have developed capabilities to strike very far from Israel’s territory, in a precise, powerful and repeated manner. An infant died in Gaza on Thursday due to extreme cold and falling temperatures, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, marking the fourth baby to have reportedly died this week from the cold. The latest death comes after a three-week-old girl, Sila al-Faseeh, was brought to the emergency room of a southern Gaza hospital “with a severe temperature drop, which led to her death”, according to the hospital’s chief paediatric doctor. The girl’s father, Mahmoud al-Faseeh, said he had taken her to hospital after seeing that she had “bitten her tongue and was bleeding”, which a doctor said was “due to the cold, and there have been several cases with similar symptoms”. Dr Ahmed al-Farra of Nasser hospital in Khan Younis told AFP that his team had handled two other cases on Tuesday involving “a three-day-old baby and another baby, less than a month old”, both of whom died “after a severe temperature drop”. “This is due to the fact that they live in tents”, which “do not protect from the cold”, he said. It had been “extremely cold, and the tent is not suitable for living. The children are always sick,” he said. The risk to newborns was particularly acute, he added, as many mothers suffer malnutrition, affecting the quality of the milk their babies feed on. Israel’s military loosened its rules of engagement at the start of the Gaza war to allow its officers to order airstrikes on thousands of militants and military sites despite a heightened risk of civilian casualties, according to a new report. On 7 October 2023, Israel’s military leadership issued an order that “unleashed one of the most intense bombing campaigns in contemporary warfare”, the New York Times reported. The order granted mid-ranking Israeli officers the authority to strike targets that had previously not been a priority in previous wars in Gaza, allowing mid-ranking officers to strike a wide range of military targets where up to 20 civilians risked being killed, the paper said. The report says: It meant, for example, that the military could target rank-and-file militants as they were at home surrounded by relatives and neighbors, instead of only when they were alone outside. On a few occasions, Israeli senior commanders approved strikes that they knew would put as many as 100 civilian lives at risk, “crossing an extraordinary threshold for a contemporary western military”, it said. Hamas has also released a statement condemning the Israeli strikes on Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen. A statement from the group, shared by AFP, reads: Hamas condemns the brutal terrorist aggression carried out by the Zionist enemy against our brothers from Yemen, targeting civilian sites including Sana’a airport and the port of Hodeida. Iran has condemned the Israeli strikes on Yemen as a “violation” of peace and security. A statement from the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, shared by AFP reads: These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen, who have not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine against the occupation and genocide. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue striking the Houthis in Yemen “until the job is done”, after several people were reportedly killed in Israeli strikes targeting the Iran-aligned movement, including the Sana’a international airport and three ports along the western coast. The Israeli prime minister, in a video statement released after the Israeli strikes, said: We are determined to cut this branch of terrorism from the Iranian axis of evil. We will continue until we complete the job. According to his office, Netanyahu oversaw the Israeli strikes from the Israeli air force’s command centre in Tel Aviv, alongside his defence minister Israel Katz, IDF chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi and IAF commander Maj Gen Tomer Bar. The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was in the Sana’a international airport when it was targeted by an aerial attack. Posting to X on Thursday, he wrote: As we were about to board our flight from Sana’a, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment. One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge – just a few meters from where we were – and the runway were damaged. He said his UN and WHO colleagues are safe, and that they will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before they can leave. He added: Our heartfelt condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack. At least three people have been killed and nearly a dozen injured in Israeli strikes on Yemen, according to Houthi TV reports. Two people were killed in strikes on the Sana’a international airport in the capital and another person was killed in Ras Issa port, Reuters is reporting, citing Houthi al Masirah TV. Eleven others were injured as a result of the strikes, according to reports. Here is a summary of events so far: Israel confirmed attacks on Thursday on Houthi targets in Yemen. Airstrikes targeted “military infrastructure” used by Houthis at the Sana’a international airport; the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations and military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast. The IDF said it was in response to Houthi attacks against Israel. Five journalists were killed when their van, marked as a press vehicle, was struck in the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, health authorities said. The journalists worked for the Al-Quds Al-Youm television channel. The Israeli army said its air force attacked the vehicle in a “targeted manner” and that members of the Islamic Jihad militant group were inside. In a separate incident, five people were killed and 20 wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood early on Thursday, medics with the Gaza health authorities reported. They warned the death toll could rise as many people remained trapped under the rubble. Fourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three “armed men” were killed in clashes in Tartous province when forces attempted to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A baby girl froze to death in Gaza, the third to die from the cold, in Gaza’s tent camps in recent days, doctors said. Syria’s new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government accused of the attack, state media reported. Jordanian authorities said 18,000 Syrians returned home since Assad’s fall. The United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon expressed concern on Thursday at the “continuing” damage done by Israeli forces in the country’s south despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah, Reuters reports. Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 45,399 Palestinians and wounded 107,940 since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday. The number of fatalities includes 38 people killed in the territory in the past 24 hours, it said. An Iraqi delegation met with Syria’s new rulers in Damascus on Thursday, an Iraqi government spokesperson said. Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the “best neighbourly relations” with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus, Reuters reported. A statement posted on X from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said IAF fighter jets “conducted intelligence-based strikes on military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen”. It said the targets that were struck by the IDF “include military infrastructure used by the Houthi terrorist regime for its military activities in both the Sana’a International Airport and the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations”. The IDF also said it struck “military infrastructure in the Al-Hudaydah, Salif and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast”. The statement said the targets “were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to smuggle Iranian weapons into the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials.” The statement continued: The Houthi terrorist regime has repeatedly attacked the State of Israel and its citizens, including in UAV and surface-to-surface missile attacks on Israeli territory. It added: The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world. The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks. The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens. Multiple airstrikes targeted an airport, military airbase and a power station in Yemen on Thursday, witnesses and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said. Agence France-Presse reports that Sana’a airport and the adjacent Al-Dailami base were targeted along with a power station in Hodeida, in attacks that the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV channel called “Israeli aggression”. Haaretz newspaper said Israel struck Sana’a airport in Yemen on Thursday, citing an Israeli official. The United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon expressed concern on Thursday at the “continuing” damage done by Israeli forces in the country’s south despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah, Reuters reports. The truce came into effect on 27 November, about two months after Israel stepped up its bombing campaign and later sent troops into Lebanon following nearly a year of exchanges of cross-border fire initiated by Hezbollah over the war in Gaza. The warring sides have since traded accusations of violating the truce. Lebanon’s army on Thursday condemned Israel’s “violation of the ceasefire agreement by attacking Lebanese sovereignty and destroying southern towns and villages”. Under the ceasefire agreement, Unifil peacekeepers and the Lebanese army were to redeploy in south Lebanon, near the Israeli border, as Israeli forces withdrew over 60 days. Unifil said in a statement on Thursday that “there is concern at continuing destruction by the IDF (army) in residential areas, agricultural land and road networks in south Lebanon”. The statement added that “this is in violation of Resolution 1701”, which was adopted by the UN security council and ended the last Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006. The UN force also reiterated its call for “the timely withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Lebanon, and “the full implementation of Resolution 1701”. The resolution states that Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah exerts control, and also calls for Israeli troops to pull out of Lebanese territory. “Any actions that risk the fragile cessation of hostilities must cease,” UNIFIL said. The Lebanese army said on Thursday that it was reinforcing its presence in several areas of the south where “Israeli forces have penetrated”. One of those areas is Qantara, where Lebanon’s official National news agency (NNA) reported on Thursday “extensive” Israeli operations, sending residents fleeing. Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayad said the operations were an “extremely dangerous” development posing “a serious risk” to the implementation of Resolution 1701. On Wednesday the NNA said Israeli aircraft struck the eastern Baalbek region, far from the border. Of all the horrors Mohammed Ammar Hamami remembers from his time in the Assad regime’s notorious Sednaya prison, the most vivid is the clanging of metal execution tables being moved around on the floor below. About once every 40 days, prison guards would drag the tables away from under the feet of condemned men. Nooses around their necks and hands tied behind their backs, they would die by hanging. Most of the bodies were burned in Sednaya’s crematorium. “This is the noise we used to hear,” the 31-year-old said, picking up the edge of one of the tables and letting the smash of metal on metal echo around the large room. “When we hear this noise, it means they are executing people … Imagine sitting upstairs and knowing prisoners are being executed downstairs.” Hamami was freed from Sednaya after five hellish years on 8 December, when Syria’s longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country in the face of a lightning-fast Islamist rebel offensive. Along with the 20 other men held in his dirty, dark and unfurnished cell, he heard shouting in the corridor before collapsing in astonishment when his father’s face appeared in the cell door’s small window. A week later, the mechanic wanted to return to Sednaya, on the outskirts of Damascus, to retrieve clothes left behind in the chaos – but also, he said, to try to understand that what he had lived through in what he called “the killing machine” was real. On release, he was very thin after experiencing complications from diabetes which was not treated properly during his imprisonment. He is missing teeth from beatings and is still suffering from three broken ribs. “I wanted to revisualise the life we lived here,” Hamami said. “After I went out and breathed fresh air, now I can tell the difference … We were the living dead. “It was like I was reborn. Today I am not 31, I am seven days old,” he said. Read the full report here. About 18,000 Syrians have crossed into their country from Jordan since the government of Bashar al-Assad was toppled earlier this month, Jordanian authorities said on Thursday. Interior minister Mazen al-Faraya told state TV channel Al-Mamlaka that “around 18,000 Syrians have returned to their country between the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad on 8 December 2024 until Thursday”. He said the returnees included 2,300 refugees registered with the United Nations, Agence France-Presse reports. Amman says it has hosted about 1.3 million Syrians who fled their country since civil war broke out in 2011, with 650,000 formally registered with the United Nations. Here is the Guardian’s Bethan McKernan’s full report on the earlier Israeli airstrike which killed five Palestinian journalists. Five Palestinian journalists have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in central Gaza, their employer has said, as renewed ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel have reportedly reached an impasse. Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, Ayman al-Jadi, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed al-Lada’a were sleeping in their broadcasting truck, marked as press, when it was targeted in a direct strike by the Israeli military, witnesses told Palestinian media. Another 16 people were killed in other Israeli pre-dawn strikes across the territory, the local health ministry said. The five men, who worked at Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group that fights alongside Hamas, were buried on Thursday morning. Israel’s military said in a statement it had conducted “a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat”, adding: “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.” The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said 195 journalists have been killed, including those who died in this attack, and at least 400 have been injured since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel. Read the full report here. An Iraqi delegation met with Syria’s new rulers in Damascus on Thursday, an Iraqi government spokesperson said. The delegation, led by Iraqi intelligence chief Hamid al-Shatri, “met with the new Syrian administration”, government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi told state media. He added that the parties discussed “the developments in the Syrian arena, and security and stability needs on the two countries’ shared border”, Reuters reports. An IDF reservist soldier was killed in fighting in the central Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. The 35-year-old was named as Amit Levi, the Jerusalem Post reported. The funerals of the five Palestinian journalists killed in an Israeli strike took place on Thursday. Blue flak jackets bearing the word “PRESS” were placed on top of their shrouded bodies. During the funerals Abed Meqdad, a correspondent for the Al-Araby TV channel said: The Israeli army justifies or excuses this targeting by claiming it is aimed at individuals involved in Palestinian organisations and cells. However, on the ground, these individuals were on journalistic assignments, residing in press vehicles and covering events. The mother of Fadi Hassouna, one of the dead journalists said: May God take revenge on them, may God take revenge on them. He’s the one that makes the news and broadcasts the crimes to the world, this is what they do to them. Our multimedia team made this video with footage showing the aftermath of the Israeli airstrike on the car carrying five Palestinian journalists. Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 45,399 Palestinians and wounded 107,940 since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday. The number of fatalities includes 38 people killed in the territory in the past 24 hours, it said. Syria’s new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government accused of the attack, state media reported. The new administration’s security forces launched the operation to “control security, stability, and civil peace, and to pursue the remnants of Assad’s militias in the woods and hills” in Tartous’ rural areas, state news agency SANA reported. Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having the “best neighbourly relations” with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus, Reuters reports. Lebanese foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib passed the message to his Syrian counterpart in a phone call, according to a statement from the Lebanese foreign ministry. “Lebanon hopes for the best neighbourly relations with the new government in Syria,” Bou Habib told Damascus’s top diplomat Assaad Hassan al-Shibani. Israel’s ultranationalist security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem on Thursday for what he said was a “prayer” for hostages in Gaza, freshly challenging rules over one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East, Reuters reports. Israel’s official position accepts decades-old rules restricting non-Muslim prayer at the compound, Islam’s third holiest site and known as Temple Mount to Jews, who revere it as the site of two ancient temples. Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation and, under rules dating back decades, Jews can visit but may not pray there. In a post on X, Ben-Gvir said: “I ascended today to our holy place, in prayer for the welfare of our soldiers, to swiftly return all the hostages and total victory with God’s help.” Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office immediately released a statement restating the official Israeli position. Al Jazeera reported that the Jordanian foreign ministry was critical of Ben-Gvir, calling his actions “a provocative step” and a violation of the decades-old “historical and legal status quo” and of international law. Suggestions from Israeli ultranationalists that Israel would alter rules about religious observance at the Al-Aqsa compound have sparked violence with Palestinians in the past. In August, Ben-Gvir repeated a call for Jews to be allowed to pray at the al-Aqsa mosque, drawing sharp criticism. Here are some images coming to us over the wires. We’re getting more information on the five journalists killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza. The Gaza-based TV channel Al-Quds Today identified the five journalists killed as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada’a. They were killed “while performing their journalistic and humanitarian duty”, the channel said in a statement, Agence France-Presse reports. “We affirm our commitment to continue our resistant media message,” it added. The channel said the journalists were killed in a broadcast van, sharing an photo of a damaged vehicle marked “Press.” The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted “a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat”. It added that “prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians”. According to witnesses in Nuseirat, a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft hit the broadcast vehicle, which was parked outside Al-Awda Hospital, setting the vehicle alight. The Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East arm said the organisation was “devastated” by the deaths. Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and developments in the Middle East more widely. Fourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartous province when forces attempted to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said the clash broke out in Tartous, a stronghold of ousted president, Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority. Syria’s new interior minister confirmed the fatalities in a message on Telegram, and said that 10 police officers were also wounded by what he called “remnants” of the Assad government. The minister vowed to punish anyone who dared “to undermine Syria’s security or endanger the lives of its citizens”. The deadly incident comes as demonstrations and an overnight curfew elsewhere marked the most widespread unrest since Bashar al-Assad’s removal more than two weeks ago. One demonstrator was killed and five others wounded in Homs “after security forces … opened fire to disperse” the crowd, Agence France-Presse reported. The protests took place in several cities around the same time that an undated video was circulated on social media that showed a fire inside an Alawite shrine in the city of Aleppo. In other developments: Five journalists were killed when their vehicle was struck in the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, health authorities said. Palestinian media and local reporters said the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and Nuseirat camp. The journalists worked for the Al-Quds Al-Youm television channel. The Israeli army said its air force attacked the vehicle in a “targeted manner” and that members of the Islamic Jihad militant group were inside. In a separate incident, five people were killed and 20 wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood early on Thursday, medics with the Gaza health authorities reported. They warned the death toll could rise as many people remained trapped under the rubble. A baby girl has frozen to death in Gaza, the third to die from the cold, in Gaza’s tent camps in recent days, doctors said. The father of three-week-old Sila, Mahmoud al-Faseeh, wrapped her in a blanket to try to keep her warm in their tent in the Muwasi area outside the town of Khan Younis, but it was not enough, he told the Associated Press. On Wednesday, Hamas and Israel traded blame over their failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days. Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities have been women and children, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters. |
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