03-12-2023 MANAUS: The Amazon rainforest’s record-breaking drought hit home for Raimundo Leite de Souza one October morning, he said, when he woke to find the stream that runs behind his house had dropped nearly a foot overnight, stranding his skiff in a mudflat. As weeks passed, Souza said, rotting fish …
Read More »Gaza under bombardment after Israel-Hamas truce collapses
03-12-2023 GAZA CITY: Israeli air strikes and artillery bombardments hit Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday as Israel pressed its offensive against Hamas militants with renewed force after the collapse of a truce in the nearly two-month-old war. Palestinian residents said houses and open areas …
Read More »Top Russian court bans LGBT movement as ‘extremist’
02-12-2023 MOSCOW: Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that LGBT activists should be designated as extremists, in a move that representatives of gay and transgender people fear will lead to arrests and prosecutions. A journalist in court heard it announce that it had approved a request from the justice ministry …
Read More »Women in Sudan ‘gang-raped in ethnically-targeted attacks’
02-12-2023 KHARTOUM: Eleven women have spoken about soldiers gang-raping them for up to three days. All the alleged victims are part of the ethnic-African Masalit tribe, caught up in the power struggle war in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The RSF and its …
Read More »Japan asks US to stop flying Ospreys after crash
02-12-2023 TOKYO: Japan has asked the US military to ground its Osprey hybrid planes, as search and rescue operations continue following Wednesday’s deadly crash. The pause should last until the aircraft can be confirmed as safe, Japan’s NHK broadcaster cited the defence ministry as saying. One crew member has been …
Read More »Released Palestinians allege abuse in Israeli jails
02-12-2023 GAZA CITY: Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails say that guards carried out abuse and collective punishment in the weeks after the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October. They have described being hit with sticks, having muzzled dogs set on them, and their clothes, food and blankets taken …
Read More »Eight Israeli hostages freed by Hamas in Gaza
02-12-2023 TEL AVIV/ GAZA CITY: Eight more Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza on Thursday, Day 7 of the truce with Hamas. Two hostages released on Wednesday were also counted in Thursday’s tally, meaning the day’s total was 10. Israel says it freed 30 more Palestinian prisoners from jails in …
Read More »Poor countries win 30-year fight for climate cash
02-12-2023 DUBAI: In a surprise that has lit up COP28, delegates have agreed to launch a long-awaited fund to pay for damage from climate-driven storms and drought. Such deals are normally sealed last minute after days of negotiations. COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber shook up the meeting by bringing the decision …
Read More »War resumes in Gaza after truce collapses
01-12-2023 GAZA CITY: Israeli warplanes resumed pounding Gaza, Palestinian civilians fled for shelter and rocket sirens blared in southern Israel on Friday as war resumed after a week-old truce ran out with no deal to extend it. As the deadline lapsed, journalists in Khan Younis in southern Gaza saw eastern …
Read More »More Palestinian prisoners freed in latest exchange of Gaza truce
01-12-2023 Thirty Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails in seventh exchange of Israel-Hamas truce after more Israeli captives released in Gaza. International mediators, including Qatar, Egypt and the US, are pushing for another extension of the pause in fighting. Top US diplomat Blinken says Israel plans to resume Gaza offensive, …
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