Dozens killed while waiting for food aid
- At least 104 Palestinians waiting for food aid killed and 760 wounded after being shot at by Israeli forces in Gaza.
- Israeli air strikes and shelling have killed at least 30 people in separate attacks in the Nuseirat, Bureij and Khan Younis camps in Gaza.
- The NGO Save the Children says world is “witnessing mass killing of children in slow motion” in Gaza.
- Gaza Health Ministry says six children died in north Gaza from dehydration and malnutrition at Kamal Adwan and al-Shifa hospitals, while others are in critical condition.
- At least 30,035 people have been killed and 70,457 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 attacks stands at 1,139.
Martin Griffiths says he’s “appalled” at the killing and wounding of hundreds of people during the transfer of aid earlier today.
“Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed,” the UN undersecretary for humanitarian affairs wrote in a post on X, noting that even after almost five months of “brutal hostilities, Gaza still has the ability to shock us”.
US funding delays hurt the Pacific – but there are bigger worries
Pacific leaders are increasingly concerned that Washington’s actions in the region conflict with their objectives
Adelay by the US in providing crucial funding to Pacific Island nations is fuelling concern in the region – but questions about the competing visions held by the US and regional leaders are even more pressing.
The funding is part of longstanding agreements the US has with three nations in the north Pacific, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands and Palau. The agreements, known as the Compacts of Free Association (Cofa), provide a range of assistance to these nations, including visa-free entry to the US, grant assistance, trust fund contributions, and support for government services including the US postal service. In exchange, the US gets exclusive military access to large parts of the north Pacific.
South Korea: Striking trainee doctors face prosecution
The South Korean government has warned trainee doctors they could face legal punishment if they don’t end their strike. Protests have been taking place over plans to boost medical school enrollments
The government in South Korea made a last-ditch appeal to striking doctors on Thursday to end their mass walkout, or face having their medical licenses suspended and prosecution.
Thousands of resident and intern doctors have walked off the job for the past 10 days in protest over government plans to raise the number of students enrolling at medical school by 2,000 each year.
They argue that the government should first address pay and working conditions before attempting to raise the number of doctors.
Chad opposition leader killed in army attack on party headquarters, govt says
A leading opponent of Chad’s ruling junta Yaya Dillo Djerou has been killed in an army assault on his party headquarters, a government spokesman told AFP Thursday.
Dillo died on Wednesday “where he had retreated, at the headquarters of his party. He didn’t want to surrender and fired on law enforcement,” Abderaman Koulamallah, who is also communications minister, said.
The prosecutor general earlier spoke of “dead including Yaya Dillo” without detailing the circumstances.
Dillo, who led the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF), was accused of having led an attack against the offices of the internal security agency overnight on Tuesday to Wednesday.
Meta accused of ‘massive, illegal’ data processing by European consumer groups
European consumer rights groups have accused Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of carrying out a “massive” and “illegal” operation of collecting data from hundreds of millions of users in the region.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an umbrella body for 45 consumer groups, said eight of the groups were filing complaints with their respective national data protection authorities Thursday.
The groups claim that Meta (META) collects an unnecessary amount of information on its users — such as data used to infer their sexual orientation, emotional state or even their susceptibility to addiction — which they are unable to freely consent to.
Putin warns West against sending troops to Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Western countries against sending troops to Ukraine.
The consequences of such a decision would be “tragic”, he said.
In his annual state of the nation address, President Putin accused the West of trying to drag Russia into an arms race.
At the same time, he said that Russia needed to strengthen its defences on its western border now that Sweden and Finland were joining Nato.
President Putin said the West “provoked” the conflict in Ukraine and “continues to lie, without any embarrassment, saying that Russia allegedly intends to attack Europe”.
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