Israel expanding ground offensive into central Gaza refugee camps
By David Gritten BBC News
Israel is expanding its ground offensive into Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza, as it warns the war with Hamas will last for months.
The UN has expressed grave concern after Israeli strikes reportedly killed dozens of people in Bureij, Nuseirat and Maghazi camps in recent days.
Heavy fighting is also continuing to the south, in the city of Khan Younis.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian president has described what is happening in Gaza as “beyond a war of annihilation”.
The Hamas-run health ministry has said at least 195 people have been killed across the territory over the past 24 hours.
Illegal mining on rise again in Amazon, says Yanomami leader
Activist Davi Kopenawa says miners are returning after eviction operations were scaled back, and others never left
Thousands of illegal miners are resisting government attempts to evict them from Brazil’s largest Indigenous territory, the renowned activist and shaman Davi Kopenawa has said, nearly a year after operations to displace them began.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made expelling an estimated 20,000 illegal gold and tin ore miners from the Yanomami Indigenous territory one of his top tasks after taking power last January.
Lula visited the region to denounce what he called a premeditated “genocide” committed by the government of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and ordered an offensive to force miners from the Portugal-sized Amazon enclave.
Congo police seek to disperse banned election protest
Riot police have been deployed in Kinshasa as opposition supporters gather to call for a rerun of chaotic elections. Partial results so far show incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi well ahead.
Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital of Kinshasa on Wednesday fired tear gas to disperse people protesting at the results of last week’s presidential and legislative elections.
Several challengers to President Felix Tshisekedi have denounced the presidential election as fraudulent.
The vote on December 20 was marked by chaos, with delays to the delivery of election materials, equipment that did not function properly and irregularities in voting lists, along with violence in some locations.
Eiffel Tower shut as workers go on strike
The Eiffel Tower was shut down to visitors Wednesday because of a strike over contract negotiations, the day the Paris monument marks 100 years since the death of its creator, Gustave Eiffel.
Tourists can still access the glass-enclosed esplanade beneath the tower, but access to the 300-meter (984-foot) landmark itself is closed until further notice, according to an Eiffel Tower spokesperson.
The strike was declared ahead of contract negotiations with the city of Paris, which owns the 134-year-old monument, the spokesperson said. Union representatives did not immediately respond for comment, and it was unclear how long the strike would last.
One of the world’s most-visited sites, the Eiffel Tower is typically open 365 days a year — though it sees occasional strikes — and is expected to play a central role in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Japan lifts operational ban on world’s biggest nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture
By Yuka Obayashi
Japan’s nuclear power regulator on Wednesday lifted an operational ban imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant two years ago, allowing it to work toward gaining local permission to restart.
TEPCO has been eager to bring the world’s largest nuclear power plant back online to slash operating costs, but a resumption still needs consent from the local governments of Niigata Prefecture, Kashiwazaki city and Kariwa village, where it is located.
When that might happen is unknown.
China warns ‘military fans’ they could face prison for posting photos online
In the age of open-source intelligence, one main way for Western experts to keep tabs on China’s military is by analyzing photos of new People’s Liberation Army equipment posted online by amateur enthusiasts.
Posting photos of military ships or aircraft captured from outside PLA installations or from commercial flights near sensitive areas has become a common sight in recent years as China rapidly modernized its forces. And “military fans” have spread the word to the larger population on social media sites like Weibo, with hundreds of millions of active users.
But not anymore.
Recent Comments