Heavy fighting in northern Gaza as concern grows over babies at key hospital
What’s been happening?
- Concerns are growing about the situation in Gaza’s largest hospital Al Shifa, where doctors warn more than 30 premature babies could die without fuel to power incubators
- The Israeli military says Hamas rejected fuel it offered to support the babies, denying claims by staff that they would be attacked if they collected it
- The head of the Hamas-run ministry of health has told the BBC that more than 100 corpses were piled up in the courtyard at Al Shifa, with no fuel to power the mortuaries
BP and Spotify bought carbon credits at risk of link to forced Uyghur labour in China
Credits sourced from carbon project that was centred on biomass power plant in Xinjiang, investigation finds
BP and Spotify were among companies who bought carbon credits at risk of being implicated in potential Uyghur forced labour, an investigation has found.
The credits were sourced from the Bachu carbon project, which was developed by South Pole, the world’s largest carbon consultancy. The project focussed on a biomass power plant in Xinjiang, China, which said it would lower global carbon emissions by using waste cotton stalks from nearby fields to generate electricity.
West Bank: Israeli violence increases against Palestinians
Amid Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, human rights groups have documented an alarming increase in settler violence and forced displacement in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The last few weeks have been extremely difficult, said Halima Khalil Abu Eid.
The mother of two little girls lives in Khirbet Susiya, a village in the South Hebron Hills in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A month ago, while the family was asleep, Israeli settlers raided her family’s home, beat her husband and threatened them with an ultimatum.
“You have to leave the place. If you don’t leave, we will shoot you. And you must destroy your home,” said Abu Eid, relating the warning she received that night.
Nations negotiate terms of global plastic pollution treaty in Kenya
The latest negotiations towards a global treaty to combat plastic pollution opened in Nairobi on Monday, with tensions expected as nations tussle over what should be included in the pact.
Some 175 countries agreed last year to conclude by 2024 a UN treaty to address the plastic blighting oceans, floating in the atmosphere, and infiltrating the bodies of animals and humans.
While there is broad consensus a treaty is needed, there are very different opinions about what should be in it.
As the talks formally opened, Peru’s Gustavo Meza-Cuadra Velasquez, chair of the forum’s intergovernmental negotiating committee, warned that plastic pollution posed “a direct threat to our environment, human health, and the delicate balance of our planet.”
Thirty years on, ghostly ‘Kitaro’ statues lifting town’s fortunes
By SHOTARO WATANABE/ Staff Writer
A road lined with 177 bronze statues of Shigeru Mizuki’s manga characters has drawn millions of visitors since it was set up to revitalize this city 30 years ago.
The Mizuki Shigeru Road features ghost figures from works by the manga artist (1922-2015), who grew up in this city and whose tales feature “yokai” (monsters) and the supernatural.
“This place here is themed on the coexistence of humans, nature, and ghosts who inhabit nature,” former city official Tomonori Kurome, 74, said. “The 30th anniversary is a good opportunity for going back to that starting point and propagating that way of thinking.”
Kurome recalled how the idea for the tourist attraction developed 32 years ago.
UK’s Braverman sacked following pro-Palestinian protests comments
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sacked Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who drew anger for accusing police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters.
The government said on Monday that Braverman has left her job as part of a cabinet shuffle ahead of a general election expected next year.
Following her dismissal, Braverman said “it has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary”.
“I will have more to say in due course,” she added.
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