Netanyahu says progress made on hostages as Hamas says deal close
Israeli army reviewing claims strikes killed Lebanese journalists
Earlier today we reported that a Lebanese broadcaster said two of its journalists were killed by an Israeli air strike.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed its soldiers were in the area of al-Jabin, saying they were “operating against a threat posed from a launching area of the Hezbollah terrorist organization”.
The Israeli military adds: “We are aware of a claim regarding journalists in the area who were killed as a result of IDF fire.
“This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous. The incident is under review.”
Rapists and kidnappers increasingly targeting migrants crossing Darién Gap
As record numbers make the perilous journey between Colombia and Panama, Médecins Sans Frontières is treating far more survivors of sexual violence, including children
Armed bandits are exploiting the record number of people crossing the Darién Gap – a 100km stretch of jungle connecting Colombia and Panama – to kidnap and rape desperate migrants, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The organisation said it treated 397 survivors of sexual violence this year – many of them children – once they safely reached Panama. There have been reports of “group rapes in tents set up for that purpose in the mountainous rainforest and swampland”.
The number far exceeds the 172 recorded in 2022, and the charity says it is the latest example of how the suffering of migrants in the Darién is becoming normalised. MSF is urging the Panama and Colombian authorities to deploy an effective security presence in the jungle to protect migrants.
Ukraine commemorates 10 years since ‘Euromaidan’ protests
Ten years ago today, mass protests began in Kyiv against deepening ties with Russia in what would set the stage for today’s conflict. European politicians are visiting in a show of solidarity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday addressed Ukrainians on the “Day of Dignity and Freedom,” which commemorates the 2004 “Orange Revolution” and the 2014 “Revolution of Dignity” pro-democracy protests.
The latter was sparked by the “Euromaidan” protests that started on November 21, 2013 centered on Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Square, after Ukraine’s former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych scrapped an agreement to bring Ukraine closer to the EU.
By February 2014, the Euromaidan protests became known as the Revolution of Dignity, and deadly clashes between police and protesters ended with Yanukovych being removed by parliament. Russia called the ouster a coup, and later in 2014 annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine.
Transgender women banned from playing international women’s cricket
Transgender women who have been through male puberty have been barred from international women’s cricket under new regulations announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.
In September, Canada’s Danielle McGahey became the first transgender cricketer to take part in an official international match.
Transgender participation has become a hot-button issue as different sports try to balance inclusivity with ensuring fair competition.
International governing bodies in cycling and athletics have also banned transgender competitors.
The ICC board, meeting in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, said the new policy, which takes effect immediately, is aimed at “protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion”.
3rd release of treated water from Fukushima nuclear plant ends safely, TEPCO says
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
The release of a third batch of treated radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean ended safely as planned, its operator said Monday, as the country’s seafood producers continue to suffer from a Chinese import ban imposed after the discharges began.
Large amounts of radioactive wastewater have accumulated at the nuclear plant since it was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. It began discharging treated and diluted wastewater into the ocean on Aug. 24 and finished releasing the third 7,800-ton batch on Monday. The process is expected to take decades.
The discharges have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries including China, which banned all imports of Japanese seafood, badly hurting Japanese producers and exporters of scallops and other seafood.
Far-right conspiracy theorists accused a 22-year-old Jewish man of being a neo-Nazi. Then Elon Musk got involved
Ben Brody says his life was going fine. He had just finished college, stayed out of trouble, and was prepping for law school. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Elon Musk used his considerable social media clout to amplify an online mob’s misguided rants accusing the 22-year-old from California of being an undercover agent in a neo-Nazi group.
The claim, Brody told CNN, was as bizarre as it was baseless.
But the fact he bore a vague resemblance to a person allegedly in the group, that he was Jewish, and, that he once stated in a college fraternity profile posted online that he aspired to one day work for the government, was more than enough information for internet trolls to falsely conclude Brody was an undercover government agent (a “Fed”) planted inside the neo-Nazi group to make them look bad.
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