UN agency warns Gaza operation could end tomorrow without more fuel
‘Every day we say it can’t get worse, and then it does’
Deirdre Finnerty
BBC News
Earlier today, Ibrahim AlAgha, a 38-year-old Irish citizen in Khan Younis, Gaza, cycled past a shuttered supermarket and petrol station in the city – to get bread from a bakery he knew would be open.
He was able to buy some today, but not as much as other days. His household – which includes about 90 people – will eat it later with tomatoes and cucumber.
Ibrahim says the bread queues are getting longer and longer every day, stretching past the apartment blocks along the street to the pedestrian crossing. He has noticed that people who can’t find shelter are sleeping on mattresses on the streets of Khan Younis.
Earth’s ‘vital signs’ worse than at any time in human history, scientists warn
Life on planet is in peril, say climate experts, as they call for a rapid and just transition to a sustainable future
Earth’s “vital signs” are worse than at any time in human history, an international team of scientists has warned, meaning life on the planet is in peril.
Their report found that 20 of the 35 planetary vital signs they use to track the climate crisis are at record extremes. As well as greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature and sea level rise, the indicators also include human and livestock population numbers.
Many climate records were broken by enormous margins in 2023, including global air temperature, ocean temperature and Antarctic sea ice extent, the researchers said. The highest monthly surface temperature ever recorded was in July and was probably the hottest the planet has been in 100,000 years.
China removes defence minister, ousts former foreign minister from cabinet
China on Tuesday removed defence minister Li Shangfu and ousted former foreign minister Qin Gang from its cabinet, state media reported, as part of a major reshuffle of its top leadership.
The news comes after months of speculation about China‘s cabinet, after Qin was abruptly removed from office without explanation in July, and with Li not having been seen in public for months.
Both Qin and Li are believed by experts to have been personally selected for their roles by President Xi Jinping.
On Tuesday state broadcaster CCTV announced the removals in its regular evening bulletin, but did not give reasons for the ministers’ fall from grace.
No replacement for Li as defence minister was announced.
Sweden welcomes Turkey ratifying NATO membership bid
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially submitted Sweden’s NATO membership application to parliament, with the legislature receiving the request on Monday.
“Sweden’s NATO membership protocol was signed on October 23, 2023, by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and sent to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,” Erdogan’s government posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The move brings Sweden closer to entering the defense alliance and would mark the end of a 17-month diplomatic standoff with Turkey over the issue.
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members who still have not ratified Sweden’s membership request.
Unification Church tells branches to manage assets based on law
The Unification Church’s headquarters in South Korea has told its branches worldwide to manage their assets in accordance with the laws of their respective countries amid speculation the Japan branch may transfer its assets overseas to avoid liquidation when it is issued a dissolution order, a church source said.
Japanese lawmakers are stepping up efforts to ensure the assets of the Japan affiliate will be used to help victims of the group’s aggressive donation solicitation tactics after the government filed a request with a court this month for an order to dissolve the branch, a move that would deprive the group of its tax-exempt status.
The notification from the church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said their assets “need to be managed according to respective country’s laws” and that each branch is run “independently and with self-reliance,” according to the source.
Nigeria escapes $11 billion bill after landmark UK court ruling over failed gas project
The West African nation was previously ordered by an arbitration tribunal in 2017 to pay $6.6 billion, plus interest in damages to a British Virgin Islands-based engineering firm, Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID).
The company had sued for compensation over lost profits following the collapse of a 20-year deal with Nigerian authorities in 2010 to build a gas processing facility.
The awarded sum and accumulated interest had now exceeded $11 billion, nearly half of Nigeria’s federal budget for this year.
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