We are sorry, the requested page does not exist
Israel-Hamas Truce, Release of Hostages and Prisoners Underway
Jerusalem - After almost seven weeks of war, a four-day cease-fire took hold Friday between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. For Israelis, it means the return of 50 women and children out of a total of some 240 hostages.The first group of 13 were released Friday afternoon and taken to the Rafah border crossing and from there to Israel by helicopter.The hostages were taken to different hospitals in Israel where t.....»»
Israel-Hamas Truce, Release of Hostages and Prisoners Underway
Jerusalem - After almost seven weeks of war, a four-day cease-fire took hold Friday between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. For Israelis, it means the return of 50 women and children out of a total of some 240 hostages.The first group of 13 were released Friday afternoon and taken to the Rafah border crossing and from there to Israel by helicopter.The hostages were taken to different hospitals in Israel where t.....»»
UN barking up the wrong tree
Negotiations with the terror group Hamas, the crux of the humanitarian pause being pushed in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations, or UN, are backed by groups with an ax to grind against the United States and Israel. The UN said the halt in hostilities is needed to bring in aid and provide fuel primarily to run the electricity for hospitals to maintain medical operations. At the height of the terror attack, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said Hamas bandits ransacked the UN office and carted away provisions, including fuel. The UN agency, which provides aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and is the only specialized UN agency for a particular group of refugees, warned it would have to halt operations if no fuel was delivered. The lack of fuel means hospitals and water desalination plants will not function. While there have been limited deliveries of food, water, and medicines, no fuel has been allowed, as Israel is concerned about Hamas’ possible diversion of fuel deliveries. White House national security spokesman John Kirby described Israel’s concerns as legitimate. A satellite image provided by the Israel Defense Forces showed Hamas owns fuel tanks near the Rafah border crossing, containing 500,000 liters of fuel. The IDF suggested that the United Nations ask Hamas for fuel after it showed the satellite images on social media. “Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the IDF wrote. Rafah is the main crossing in and out of Gaza that does not border Israel. It has become the focus of efforts to deliver aid since Israel imposed a “total siege” of the enclave in retaliation for an attack by Hamas militants on 7 October. Israel’s military spokesperson Daniel Hagari recounted that Hamas has been stealing fuel from UNRWA, prompting the decision to block the fuel supply to Gaza. “Petrol will not enter Gaza. Hamas takes the petrol for its military infrastructure,” he said. Another IDF spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said the photographs belied Hamas’s claims that “it does not have enough fuel to support hospitals and bakeries.” The IDF added: “Hamas-ISIS steals this fuel from civilians and transfers it to its tunnels, rocket launchers, and leaders. This is what Hamas’s list of priorities looks like.” Hamas propaganda said that a power outage at the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip was a “crime against humanity” and called on Arab and Muslim countries and the UN to address the crisis. A power outage hit the hospital on Monday night due to a fuel shortage. It was news network Al Jazeera which reported that electricity was restored during the night, but the hospital only had fuel to operate generators for 48 more hours, after which lifesaving medical devices such as respirators and incubators would cease functioning. The fuel supply from Israel was halted after the 7 October terror assault. Under the cover of a barrage of thousands of rockets, over 2,500 gunmen crossed the border and rampaged murderously through southern Israeli towns, killing more than 1,400, most of whom were civilians. More than 220 were taken hostage. Now, Hamas is trying to deceive the world by crying in violation of human rights with the denial of fuel to the territory it controls. The outrageous twist Hamas applies to the atrocities it initiated then is swallowed lock, stock and barrel by the UN, which is pounding on Israel for a humanitarian pause. “Residents of Gaza, the address for your complaints is not Israel. It’s Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif, and other Hamas-ISIS members who pushed Gaza into this abyss,” according to the IDF. The IDF has disputed the so-called humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip that the UN and Hamas are peddling. “As of now, I can tell you that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There are hardships in moving people within days to the south of the Gaza Strip, but the population is getting along,” an IDF official said. Another indicator that the terror organization controlling Gaza has little concern for the civilians is their obstructing the movement of the Gaza residents south as Israel had directed to the extent of confiscating the car keys of individuals. Hamas is the source of the crisis that the UN said should be solved, which is precisely what Israel is trying to do in committing to wipe out the terror group from the planet. The post UN barking up the wrong tree appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
UN barking upthe wrong tree
Negotiations with the terror group Hamas, the crux of the humanitarian pause being pushed in the Gaza Strip by the United Nations, or UN, are backed by groups with an ax to grind against the United States and Israel. The UN said the halt in hostilities is needed to bring in aid and provide fuel primarily to run the electricity for hospitals to maintain medical operations. At the height of the terror attack, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said Hamas bandits ransacked the UN office and carted away provisions, including fuel. The UN agency, which provides aid to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and is the only specialized UN agency for a particular group of refugees, warned it would have to halt operations if no fuel was delivered. The lack of fuel means hospitals and water desalination plants will not function. While there have been limited deliveries of food, water, and medicines, no fuel has been allowed, as Israel is concerned about Hamas’ possible diversion of fuel deliveries. White House national security spokesman John Kirby described Israel’s concerns as legitimate. A satellite image provided by the Israel Defense Forces showed Hamas owns fuel tanks near the Rafah border crossing, containing 500,000 liters of fuel. The IDF suggested that the United Nations ask Hamas for fuel after it showed the satellite images on social media. “Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the IDF wrote. Rafah is the main crossing in and out of Gaza that does not border Israel. It has become the focus of efforts to deliver aid since Israel imposed a “total siege” of the enclave in retaliation for an attack by Hamas militants on 7 October. Israel’s military spokesperson Daniel Hagari recounted that Hamas has been stealing fuel from UNRWA, prompting the decision to block the fuel supply to Gaza. “Petrol will not enter Gaza. Hamas takes the petrol for its military infrastructure,” he said. Another IDF spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said the photographs belied Hamas’s claims that “it does not have enough fuel to support hospitals and bakeries.” The IDF added: “Hamas-ISIS steals this fuel from civilians and transfers it to its tunnels, rocket launchers, and leaders. This is what Hamas’s list of priorities looks like.” Hamas propaganda said that a power outage at the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip was a “crime against humanity” and called on Arab and Muslim countries and the UN to address the crisis. A power outage hit the hospital on Monday night due to a fuel shortage. It was news network Al Jazeera which reported that electricity was restored during the night, but the hospital only had fuel to operate generators for 48 more hours, after which lifesaving medical devices such as respirators and incubators would cease functioning. The fuel supply from Israel was halted after the 7 October terror assault. Under the cover of a barrage of thousands of rockets, over 2,500 gunmen crossed the border and rampaged murderously through southern Israeli towns, killing more than 1,400, most of whom were civilians. More than 220 were taken hostage. Now, Hamas is trying to deceive the world by crying in violation of human rights with the denial of fuel to the territory it controls. The outrageous twist Hamas applies to the atrocities it initiated then is swallowed lock, stock and barrel by the UN, which is pounding on Israel for a humanitarian pause. “Residents of Gaza, the address for your complaints is not Israel. It’s Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif, and other Hamas-ISIS members who pushed Gaza into this abyss,” according to the IDF. The IDF has disputed the so-called humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip that the UN and Hamas are peddling. “As of now, I can tell you that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There are hardships in moving people within days to the south of the Gaza Strip, but the population is getting along,” an IDF official said. Another indicator that the terror organization controlling Gaza has little concern for the civilians is their obstructing the movement of the Gaza residents south as Israel had directed to the extent of confiscating the car keys of individuals. Hamas is the source of the crisis that the UN said should be solved, which is precisely what Israel is trying to do in committing to wipe out the terror group from the planet. The post UN barking upthe wrong tree appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
After conflict’s won, what happens next?
In the wake of the coordinated, well-planned savage attack mounted by the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which stunned Israel on 7 October, a seething Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the total annihilation of Hamas. A “mighty vengeance” is what he promised against what he described as a “cruel enemy, worse than ISIS.” Likewise enraged by the slaughter of scores of Israelis, including over 200 revelers who were mowed down by armed paragliders and foot soldiers as they made merry at an electronic music festival outside the Re’im kibbutz, about 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) from the wall that separates Gaza from southern Israel, Netanyahu’s words were echoed by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who declared, “We will wipe this thing called Hamas, ISIS-Gaza off the face of the earth. It will cease to exist.” Hamas didn’t spare any of the nearly 1,500 Israelis they felled —men, women, children, old people — they also took with them over 200 hostages. Within a week of the attack, Israel retaliated with an intense bombing of Central and Northern Gaza, with Israel striking over 7,000 targets, including rocket launchers, command centers, munitions factories, and leaders of Hamas. It has been nearly three weeks since the 7 October attack by Hamas, and it remains unclear if or when Israel will conduct a ground invasion of Gaza. Even as Israel continues to blast enemy targets, Western leaders and the UN are pleading for a pause to give aid a chance to get through the blockade and into Gaza and for the safe release of the hostages in Hamas’s hands. On Thursday, Israel said it had briefly sent tanks into Gaza to “prepare the battlefield ahead of the next stages of combat.” Again, on Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed Israel would exact a price for the terrorist assault, which killed over 1,400. Despite these statements by Netanyahu and the Israeli defense minister to decimate Hamas to kingdom come, there is no exact clarity as to when Israel will begin its ground invasion. For sure, the challenges of a ground war are gargantuan. If or when such a ground invasion is finally mounted, what awaits the Israeli defense force will be sustained urban warfare in enemy territory in pursuit of an objective that, other than the total demolition of Hamas, leaves so many other vital matters hanging in the air. The Israelites will confront at least four critical challenges in carrying out a major ground offensive. For Council for Foreign Relations expert Max Boot, these include urban fighting, an inherently different form of warfare where buildings provide positions for defenders, and the multiplication of difficulties for Israeli combatants due to the presence of a large number of Palestinian civilians and even the hostages seized by Hamas who could be used as human shields. Then there are all the underground tunnels built by Hamas over the years, enabling them to hide from Israeli troops and emerge at unexpected moments. There, too, is the challenge of a possible second front, with the Hezbollah in Lebanon poised on Israel’s northern border. The Hezbollah has an estimated arsenal of some 150,000 missiles and rockets. So far, Hezbollah has not mounted a major assault on Israel, but analysts fear it could do so once Israeli ground forces get into Gaza. “A two-front conflict would be a nightmare for Israel,” says Boot. A third critical challenge consists of post-combat stabilization operations. Known in the US military as “Phase IV,” this is where US efforts in both Washington and Iraq foundered badly for lack of preparation. Israeli media have reported that the Israeli government has been struggling to develop a Phase IV plan of its own and, Boot points out, “no wonder because there are no good options.” If Israel simply attacks Hamas and then leaves — as it had done in the past — the terrorist group would just regenerate itself. If to prevent that from happening, a Palestinian Authority government would be established in place of Hamas, with help from Arab states, that could be an option. But if that fails, Israel may have no choice but to re-occupy Gaza — a situation that could leave Israeli soldiers vulnerable to a grinding guerrilla war of the kind they faced in Lebanon in the early 1980s all through 2000. Even as they do get into Gaza, there are many unknowns, according to Boot: how will Israel deal with the Hamas tunnel network; how skillfully will Hamas fight; will a toll on civilian lives in Gaza force Israel to suspend its offensive; will Hezbollah join the war; will this war spread across the region and draw into the fray Hamas’s biggest supporter, Iran? If Hamas is indeed physically decimated — what then should be done to stabilize Gaza after the enemy has been vanquished? Who takes over Gaza once the guns have been stilled and the smoke of war clears? What happens next? Israel’s leaders say those matters, for the moment, are not of immediate concern to them. But at a certain point, they will become unavoidable; Israel will have to grapple with complex questions and carve out a workably resolute path through the din for its continued survival. The post After conflict’s won, what happens next? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
On the edge of Gaza, Israeli soldiers brace for battle
After 16 days of mobilising and massing near the Gaza Strip, an eerie calm lingers among Israeli troops as they await the highly anticipated invasion of the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory. The parched desert floor is now filled with hundreds of armoured vehicles along with columns of tanks primed for the expected onslaught. The mechanised steel is adorned with the blue and white Israeli flags, while soldiers labour away with the everyday maintenance of their vehicles. This entire first line is protected by an immense trench, about two kilometres (more than a mile) long, that was dug by engineering units outfitted with heavy machinery. Like most ground offensives, the combat engineering corps will lead the armoured formations when they enter Gaza -- breaching defences and clearing mines and booby traps to pave the way for ground troops. "Military engineering is essential. Without us, no one enters Gaza," explained a soldier serving with unit 601 of the military engineering corps, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There are a lot of obstacles. The enemy is spraying rockets and other things that I cannot detail to prevent us from progressing," he added. Jammed Israel's general staff said their troops are "ready" for a ground incursion, after more than two weeks of heavy bombardment of Gaza by Israeli warplanes and artillery that the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed more than 5,700 people. The campaign follows the bloodiest day in Israel's 75-year history, when hundreds of Hamas fighters rampaged through communities across southern Israel, killing around 1,400 people and taking more than 200 others hostage, according to Israeli officials. The decision to launch a ground invasion is now in the hands of the Israeli government, even as pressure builds from its allies over the shape and parameters of the operation. As its forces wait to strike, Israel has jammed signals near the Gaza border, rendering navigation applications like Google Maps and Waze useless throughout the militarised zone that has been sealed off from civilian use. AFP journalists on the ground noted that the attempts to pin their locations with the apps resulted in errant positions, including the airport near Tel Aviv or the Egyptian capital of Cairo. To reach the sprawling Tze'elim base some 20 kilometres from Gaza, a steady traffic jam leads to the entrance of the largest military facility in the country's southern desert. For kilometres (miles), tourist buses, family cars, tanks and army jeeps form an seemingly endless convoy en route to the base. Tze'elim has long been renowned as one of the premier training grounds for urban combat, which includes life-size replicas of Gaza neighbourhoods, including a mosque and minarets. The forces that have spent years honing their skills at the base will likely be instrumental in the expected ground campaign. Israeli forces last entered Gaza on foot in 2014, allowing Hamas ample time since then to fortify and expand their defences, including a maze of tunnels snaking under the city. In Tze'elim, "tens of thousands" are believed to be on hand in addition to the 169,500 Israeli soldiers already serving in active duty, while an estimated 360,000 reserves have been mobilised to assist in the fight. "Many are already on the ground," explains a senior officer on condition of anonymity referring to the Gaza border. The families of conscripts flock to the base to deliver meals or join their relatives on brief stints of leave, as they lounge on camping chairs lining the road to the base. 'We have to face this' At the entrance to the facility, Omer, a 23-year-old artillery reservist, searches through the masses of troops hoping to find a friend who is taking him on 24-hour leave. "I have been cut off from everything for 14 days -- two weeks in the field, shooting day and night," explained the artilleryman, with a dirt-smeared face and an Indian necklace hanging from his neck. Before the war, the gunner was a yoga teacher and had been studying in northern India when he received his marching orders. Since then, Omer has been manning his battery during "impossible" nights filled with the repeated concussion of heavy artillery and clouds of dust kicked up by passing armoured vehicles. "The worst thing is being in this shit and not even having time to grieve. I have two friends from Nova killed and a friend of a friend kidnapped," said the Israeli soldier, referring to the desert rave where around 270 people were gunned down by Hamas. "When all this is over, we will also have to face this," he added. "But right now, we don't have time." The post On the edge of Gaza, Israeli soldiers brace for battle appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Medics recount shocking toll of child deaths in Gaza war
Eight sleeping children killed in one strike, doctors fighting but failing to save an unborn child -- such were the stories recounted by Gaza medics on Thursday as Israel stepped up its air strikes. Gaza's Hamas-run government said that children made up 1,524 of the 3,785 people killed since Israel launched a relentless barrage on Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attacks. Grief-stricken parents carrying the bodies of children in white shrouds through Gaza streets have become a familiar sight since the war started. Doctors say they are fighting a losing battle against a lack of medicines, water and fuel to keep hospitals running. Eight children aged between two and five were among 10 people from the same family killed in an air strike on a house in the city of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, early on Wednesday, relatives said. "The children were asleep when they destroyed the house," their 67-year-old grandfather, Abu Mohammad Wafi al-Bakri, said. Father escaped Diyala, Ayman, Hamada, Zaher, Uday, Jamal, Nabil and Acil all came from one extended family and all slept on the ground floor. It took an hour after the raid to find their bodies, rescuers said. "None of my children were linked to Palestinian organisations and no men were in the house at the time," said Jihad al-Bakri, father of three of the children. He had left his home an hour before the missile hit to try to find water. At Najjar hospital in Rafah, doctors mourned the unborn child of a woman killed by a missile strike early on Thursday. Arij Marwan al-Banna, seven months pregnant, and her daughters, Sarah and Samya, both aged under 10, were killed on the spot, medical sources told AFP. Banna had fled to her parents' house from northern Gaza after Israel warned its 1.1 million people to head south. Doctors operated but could not save her child. She was posthumously named Fatima and her tiny body bag placed atop that of her mother, doctors said. The Israeli military said on Thursday it had carried out hundreds of air raids in 24 hours, targeting Hamas military infrastructure. Terrified Gaza residents have flocked to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only possible escape route from the besieged territory, but it has remained closed. Scores of people waited forlornly about 100 metres (yards) from the crossing hoping that it would reopen to let aid in and refugees out. US President Joe Biden announced after visiting Israel on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to let some food, water and medicines into Gaza. He said some deliveries could be made on Friday. Wary inhabitants kept away from the gates fearing that they would again be a target for Israel's relentless strikes after the crossing was hit four times last week. "I have been waiting for three days with my family in a house 10 minutes away. We are ready with our bags but we just don't know if or when the crossing will open," said Mohammed, a 40-year-old working for an Italian group. Majed, 43, who works for a German organisation, told AFP: "I came on my own this morning. If the crossing opens, I will get my wife and family -- they're ready." He estimated there were about 400 foreigners, dual nationals and employees of international organisations waiting near Rafah. The Hamas government media office said it had no details on aid deliveries. It said the crossing's head of operations, Fuad Abu Btihan, had been killed in the Israeli strikes. Israel intensified its air strikes after Biden flew home and clouds of black smoke again rose over Gaza City. "It's been tough for three nights, but tonight was the hardest," 60-year-old Umm Mohamed Abu Ziada told AFP. The post Medics recount shocking toll of child deaths in Gaza war appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned of a "long and difficult" war, as fighting with Hamas left hundreds dead on both sides after a surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group. The conflict's bloodiest escalation in decades saw Hamas carry out a massive rocket barrage and ground, air and sea offensive Saturday that Israel's army said had killed more than 200 Israelis and wounded 1,000, while soldiers and civilians were taken hostage. Gaza officials said intense Israeli air strikes on the coastal enclave had brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 256, with nearly 1,788 wounded. As fighting raged Sunday, Lebanon's powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it had fired "large numbers of artillery shells and guided missiles" at Israeli positions in a contested border areas "in solidarity" with Hamas. Israel's army had earlier said it fired artillery on southern Lebanon in response to a shot from the area without identifying the attackers. "We are embarking on a long and difficult war that was forced on us by a murderous Hamas attack," Netanyahu said on X, formerly Twitter, early Sunday. "The first stage is ending at this time by the destruction of the vast majority of the enemy forces that infiltrated our territory," he added, pledging no "respite" until victory. Overnight Israel battered the Gaza Strip with air strikes as rockets from the blockaded Palestinians territory rained on Israel. Sunday morning gun still battles raged between Israeli forces and hundreds of Hamas fighters in multiple locations, including at the Sderot police station across the border from Gaza. Police and Israeli army special forces "neutralized 10 armed terrorists" who were holed up inside the station, a police statement said. The bloody air, sea and land attack launched Saturday by Hamas came half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, taking Israel and the world by surprise. As the UN Security Council called an emergency meeting for Sunday, President Joe Biden voiced "rock solid and unwavering" support for the US ally and warned "against any other party hostile to Israel seeking advantage in this situation". - Hostages and 'so many bodies' - The Israeli army said overnight its forces were still engaged in gun battles in a string of Israel locations, in an operation labelled "Swords of Iron", as reservists were being called up. Hamas earlier released images of several Israelis taken captive, and another army spokesman, Daniel Hagari, confirmed that soldiers and civilians had been kidnapped. "I can't give figures about them at the moment," he said late Saturday, adding there was also a "severe hostage situation" in the Negev desert communities of Beeri and Ofakim east of Gaza. According to Ynet Israeli news website "dozens of Israeli captives, including numerous women, children and elders, are believed to have been taken into the Gaza Strip". The fighting prompted Israel to cut off Gaza's electricity, fuel and goods supplies, Netanyahu said. The Islamist group started the multi-pronged attack around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday with thousands of rockets aimed as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some bypassing the Iron Dome defense system and hitting buildings. Hamas fighters -- traveling in ground vehicles, motorized paragliders and boats -- breached Gaza's security barrier and attacked nearby Israeli towns and military posts, opening fire on residents and passersby. "Send help, please!" one Israeli woman sheltering with her two-year-old child pleaded as militants outside opened fire and tried to break into their safe room, Israeli media reported. Bodies were strewn on the streets of the Israeli town of Sderot near Gaza and inside cars, the windscreens shattered by a hail of bullets. "I saw many bodies, of terrorists and civilians," one man told AFP, standing beside covered corpses on a road near Gevim Kibbutz in southern Israel. "So many bodies, so many bodies." AFP journalists witnessed Palestinian armed men gather around a burning Israeli tank, and others driving a seized Israeli military Humvee vehicle back into Gaza, where they were met by cheering crowds. - 'Gates of hell' - Israeli army Major General Ghasan Alyan warned Hamas had "opened the gates of hell". An AFP journalist in Gaza saw clouds of dust from the remains of bombed residential towers which Gaza's interior ministry said contained 100 apartments. Israel's military said it had warned residents to evacuate before targeting the multi-story buildings used by Hamas. The escalation follows months of rising violence, mostly in the occupied West Bank, and tensions around Gaza's border and at contested holy sites in Jerusalem. Before Saturday, at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners had been killed this year, including combatants and civilians, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas labeled its attack "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" and called on "resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as in "Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle. Its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed to have fired more than 5,000 rockets, while Hecht said Israel had counted more than 3,000 incoming rockets. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group was on the "verge of a great victory", vowing to press ahead with "the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons must be completed". - 'Dangerous precipice' - Air raid sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, as well as in Jerusalem on Saturday, and there were major disruptions at Tel Aviv airport where many carriers canceled flights. Israel said schools would remain closed on Sunday which marks the start of the week. Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, leading to Israel's crippling blockade of the impoverished enclave of 2.3 million people. Israel and Hamas have since fought several wars. The last major military exchange, in May, killed 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. Violence also erupted across the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, with five Palestinians killed and 120 wounded in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers, Palestinian medical services said. Countries around the world condemned the wave of attacks by Hamas, which Israel, the United States and European Union consider a terrorist group. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack "terrorism in its most despicable form". But Hamas drew support from other foes of Israel, with Iran's supreme leader declaring he was "proud". UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland warned of "a dangerous precipice" and called on all sides to "pull back from the brink". (Rosie Scammell with Adel Zaanoun in Gaza) az-rsc-jd/hkb © Agence France-Presse The post Hundreds dead in Israel-Gaza war as Hezbollah launches attacks appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Israel says at ‘war’ after rocket barrages, militant infiltration
Palestinian militants have begun a "war" against Israel, the country's defense minister said Saturday after a barrage of rockets were fired and fighters from the Palestinian enclave infiltrated Israel, a major escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Violence between Israel and the Palestinians has been surging for almost two years, with fatalities in the occupied West Bank hitting a scale not seen in years. At least two people were killed in Israel, officials said. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Palestinian militant group Hamas has "launched a war against the State of Israel." "Troops are fighting against the enemy at every location," he said in a statement. AFP journalists said Israel's military began air strikes on Gaza, following the rocket barrage from inside the territory which is sealed off from Israel by a militarized border barrier. "Dozens of IDF fighter jets are currently striking a number of targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the military said. Rockets had earlier streamed across the sky repeatedly after the first launches from multiple locations across the Palestinian territory from 6:30 am (0330 GMT), AFP journalists in Gaza City reported. The armed wing of Hamas, which controls Gaza, said it was behind the aerial assault, saying its militants had launched thousands of rockets and its fighters seized an Israeli tank. Israel's army did not immediately comment on the tank claim when contacted by AFP. Israeli security chiefs convened over the violence, which occurred on Shabbat and during a Jewish holiday. Air raid sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, and the army urged people to stay near bomb shelters. AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard multiple rockets being intercepted by Israeli air defense systems. Sirens blared across the city on more occasions than in any Gaza conflict in the past three years. "We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel). Their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said. "We announce Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and we fired, in the first strike of 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets." Hundreds of Gazans flee Hundreds of residents fled their homes in eastern Gaza to move away from the border with Israel, an AFP correspondent said. Men, women and children carrying blankets and food left their homes, mostly in the northeastern part of the territory, the reporter said. Israel's military said Hamas launched "massive shooting of rockets", while at the same time "terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory in a number of different locations". Hamas "will face the consequences and responsibility for these events", it said in a statement. In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, some Palestinian residents cheered and blew their car horns as sirens blared. A regional council for Israeli communities northeast of Gaza said its president was killed in an exchange of fire with attackers from Gaza. Separately, a woman in her 60s was killed "due to a direct hit" in Israel, the Magen David Adom emergency services said. Fifteen others were wounded, two of them seriously, medics said. An AFP photographer in the coastal city of Tel Aviv saw a gaping hole in a building, with residents gathered outside. Hamas calls to 'join battle' Hamas called on "the resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as "our Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle, in a statement posted on Telegram. The United States condemned the Hamas fire and urged "all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks." "Terror and violence solve nothing," the US Office of Palestinian Affairs wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007 after Hamas took power. Palestinian militants and Israel have fought several devastating wars since. The latest violence follows heightened tensions in September, when Israel closed the border to Gazan workers for two weeks. The shutdown of the crossing came as Palestinian demonstrators along the border burned tires and threw rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and live bullets. Resuming workers' passage on 28 September had raised hopes of calming the situation in impoverished Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. In May, an exchange of Israeli air strikes and Gaza rocket fire killed 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. So far this year at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. The vast majority of fatalities have occurred in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property. The rising violence this year came against the backdrop of divisive judicial reforms introduced by the hard-right government of President Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges he denies. Several far-right ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet live in West Bank settlements deemed illegal under international law. The post Israel says at ‘war’ after rocket barrages, militant infiltration appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘They put a price on everything’: extortion hits Mexican economy
Plots of land lie empty among lime and banana plantations in one of Mexico's most violent regions -- abandoned by their owners due to widespread extortion squeezing Latin America's second-largest economy. As in many other agricultural zones around the country, criminal gangs in the western state of Michoacan have become a major market force, driving up costs and hurting not just farmers but also consumers. Take limes, for example: despite a national increase in production, and a slowing of overall consumer price inflation, the cost of the citrus fruit rose by more than 50 percent in the past year, according to the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA), a consulting firm. The impact is huge in a country where limes are a vital ingredient in many dishes. "The prices are through the roof!" said Gabriela Jacobo, a 53-year-old housewife who now only buys a few limes a week. The threat from organized crime is such that trucks transporting limes now have police escorts, AFP reporters saw during a visit to the region. The fallout has even been felt in Mexico City, where drug and gang violence is often seen as a faraway problem and the ability to source food from all around the country eases supply problems. The price of limes in the capital doubled, reaching almost $4.5 per kilo ($2 per pound) in August. "It's not because of a supply issue," but because of extortion, said GCMA analyst Juan Carlos Anaya. Turf wars Michoacan, which covers an area as big as Costa Rica, is riven by bloody turf wars between rival gangs such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Los Viagras, and La Familia Michoacana. As well as fighting over drug smuggling routes, they also compete to make money through extortion. Payment is taken in the form of a charge of 11 US cents to package each kilo of limes, a farmer told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal. It may not sound like much, but the region can produce about 900 tons of fruit every day. In the past, "the criminals had their fights but they left us to work. Now they don't even leave us to work,'" the farmer said. Tomato, banana, and mango producers, as well as transporters and distributors, must also pay the gangs, he said. "They put a price on everything," he added. Extortion and theft cost companies in Mexico about 120 billion pesos ($6.8 billion) a year, equivalent to 0.67 percent of the country's annual economic output, according to official figures. In the southern state of Chiapas, extortion and violence have caused food shortages in communities bordering Guatemala. "There's no electricity. There's no food. There's no water. There's no gas," a resident told AFP. The region is gripped by a turf war between the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels that has led to dozens of business closures and forced locals to buy supplies in Guatemala, at higher cost. Even the ingredients for tortillas -- a Mexican staple -- are being purchased across the border. Cities such as Chilpancingo, the capital of southern Guerrero state, also saw widespread closures of chicken shops in the past after farmers and merchants who allegedly refused to pay extortion were murdered. 'Deep trouble' Avocado growers have also fallen prey to the battle for control of Michoacan's agricultural riches. Last year the United States briefly suspended avocado imports from the state after a US inspector checking export shipments before the Super Bowl received phone threats. To confront crime, lime producers like Hipolito Mora founded self-defense groups in 2013 that were themselves later accused of links to criminals. After vehemently denouncing drug traffickers, Mora was shot dead in June in Michoacan. "We're in deep trouble with the cartels," said his brother Guadalupe Mora, who was being watched over by several bodyguards. "They charge us a fee for everything -- basic foods, soft drinks, beers, chicken. Everything's very expensive because of them," he said. State prosecutor Rodrigo Gonzalez urged people to come forward to report such crimes. "We're committed to fighting these people, identifying them, arresting them, and bringing them to court," he said. But many fear they will suffer the same fate as Mora if they speak up. Despite the risks, the farmer said that he had no intention to leave his land. "Lots of people depend on us and our work, to provide for their families," he said. The post ‘They put a price on everything’: extortion hits Mexican economy appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ukraine port takes hit
Another Ukraine port took a hit after a massive Russian drone attack Tuesday overnight as Kyiv fired a missile into Crimea which Moscow annexed in 2014. Twenty-six of 38 Shahed drones unleashed by Moscow were destroyed by Ukraine’s air force and other military units but those that got through hit infrastructure in the grain-exporting Danube river port of Izmail, Odesa regional governor Oleg Kiper said on Telegram. More than 30 vehicles were destroyed and two people were injured in the attack, he added. Izmail, on the border with North Atlantic Treaty Organization member Romania, has become a major export route for Ukrainian agricultural products as its traditional Black Sea route makes its grain ships vulnerable to Russian attack. Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down a missile over Crimea on Monday, said the Moscow-installed head of Sevastopol city in the Russian-annexed Black Sea peninsula. “According to preliminary data, air defense shot down one missile near the Belbek airfield,” Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on the messaging platform Telegram. The region was under an air raid alert for one hour starting at 8:57 p.m. Ukraine has targeted Crimea throughout Russia’s offensive but attacks on military installations there have recently intensified as Kyiv vows to recapture the peninsula. Ukraine has received American Abrams battle tanks, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday, boosting Kyiv’s forces as they seek to break through heavily-fortified Russian defensive lines. with AFP The post Ukraine port takes hit appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Rise of the machines: AI spells danger for Hollywood stunt workers
Hollywood's striking actors fear that artificial intelligence is coming for their jobs -- but for many stunt performers, that dystopian danger is already a reality. From "Game of Thrones" to the latest Marvel superhero movies, cost-slashing studios have long used computer-generated background figures to reduce the number of actors needed for battle scenes. Now, the rise of AI means cheaper and more powerful techniques are being explored to create highly elaborate action sequences such as car chases and shootouts -- without those pesky (and expensive) humans. Stunt work, a time-honored Hollywood tradition that has spanned from silent epics through to Tom Cruise's latest "Mission Impossible," is at risk of rapidly shrinking. "The technology is exponentially getting faster and better," said Freddy Bouciegues, stunt coordinator for movies like "Free Guy" and "Terminator: Dark Fate." "It's really a scary time right now." Studios are already requiring stunt and background performers to take part in high-tech 3D "body scans" on set, often without explaining how or when the images will be used. Advancements in AI mean these likenesses could be used to create detailed, eerily realistic "digital replicas," which can perform any action or speak any dialogue its creators wish. Bouciegues fears producers could use these virtual avatars to replace "nondescript" stunt performers -- such as those playing pedestrians leaping out of the way of a car chase. "There could be a world where they said, 'No, we don't want to bring these 10 guys in... we'll just add them in later via effects and AI. Now those guys are out of the job." But according to director Neill Blomkamp, whose new film "Gran Turismo" hits theaters August 25, even that scenario only scratches the surface. The role AI will soon play in generating images from scratch is "hard to compute," he told AFP. "Gran Turismo" primarily uses stunt performers driving real cars on actual racetracks, with some computer-generated effects added on top for one particularly complex and dangerous scene. But Blomkamp predicts that, in as soon as six or 12 months, AI will reach a point where it can generate photo-realistic footage like high-speed crashes based on a director's instructions alone. At that point, "you take all of your CG (computer graphics) and VFX (visual effects) computers and throw them out the window, and you get rid of stunts, and you get rid of cameras, and you don't go to the racetrack," he told AFP. "It's that different." The human element The lack of guarantees over the future use of AI is one of the major factors at stake in the ongoing strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and Hollywood's writers, who have been on the picket lines 100 days. SAG-AFTRA last month warned that studios intend to create realistic digital replicas of performers, to use "for the rest of eternity, in any project they want" -- all for the payment of one day's work. The studios dispute this, and say they have offered rules including informed consent and compensation. But as well as the potential implications for thousands of lost jobs, Bouciegues warns that no matter how good the technology has become, "the audience can still tell" when the wool is being pulled over their eyes by computer-generated VFX. Even if AI can perfectly replicate a battle, explosion or crash, it cannot supplant the human element that is vital to any successful action film, he said, pointing to Cruise's recent "Top Gun" and "Mission Impossible" sequels. "He uses real stunt people, and he does real stunts, and you can see it on the screen. For me, I feel like it subconsciously affects the viewer," said Bouciegues. Current AI technology still gives "slightly unpredictable results," agreed Blomkamp, who began his career in VFX, and directed Oscar-nominated "District 9." "But it's coming... It's going to fundamentally change society, let alone Hollywood. The world is going to be different." For stunt workers like Bouciegues, the best outcome now is to blend the use of human performers with VFX and AI to pull off sequences that would be too dangerous with old-fashioned techniques alone. "I don't think this job will ever just cease to be," said Bouciegues, of stunt work. "It just definitely is going to get smaller and more precise." But even that is a sobering reality for stunt performers who are currently standing on picket lines outside Hollywood studios. "Every stunt guy is the alpha male type, and everybody wants to say, 'Oh, we're good,'" said Bouciegues. "But I personally have spoken to a lot of people that are freaked out and nervous." The post Rise of the machines: AI spells danger for Hollywood stunt workers appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Thousands flee Greek island fires as southern US swelters
Around 30,000 people were moved to safety on the Greek island of Rhodes where a wildfire burned on Saturday, while people in the southern United States struggled under a record-breaking heatwave. Tens of millions of people have been suffering through intense heat this summer and the world looks set for its hottest July on record. As temperature records tumble, experts have pointed to climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels, arguing that global warming is playing a key role in the devastating heat. On the Mediterranean island of Rhodes, where a wildfire has been blazing for days, boats carried 2,000 people to safety from beaches in the east of the popular tourist island. Greek fire service spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannis told Skai TV: "This is not a fire that will be over tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. It'll be troubling us for days." Three coastguard ships led more than 30 private vessels in the evacuation, while a Greek navy boat was heading to the area. Island officials arranged for dozens of buses to take people to safety, but where fires had cut off road access, others had to walk. Authorities have opened up gyms, schools and hotel conference centers to serve as makeshift accommodation, while firefighters battle the blaze. In Athens, the foreign ministry said it had activated its crisis management unit to facilitate the evacuation of foreign citizens due to the ongoing forest fires. Greece is fighting dozens of forest fires 11 days into a heatwave that has seen temperatures soaring above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Meteorologists have warned it could be the longest hot spell the country has ever seen. - 80 million Americans sweltering - Across the southern United States, about 80 million Americans will swelter in temperatures of 41C and above this weekend, the National Weather Service said. The southwestern city of Phoenix, Arizona hit 46C on Saturday, extending a record-breaking streak to 22 consecutive days of highs above 43C. Tourists have been flocking to Death Valley National Park, which straddles California and Nevada, to post selfies with a temperature display outside the visitor centre. Many are hoping to see it break a world record of 56.7C, which was set in July 1913 but was likely the result of a faulty measurement, according to several meteorologists. Further north, in Canada, which has been suffering wildfires that left Montreal blanketed in smog, torrential rain hit the eastern province of Nova Scotia, cutting off roads and threatening to burst a dam. Four people were reported missing, including two children who had been in a car engulfed by flood waters. Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 active wildfires were burning across Canada, with 11.3 million hectares scorched this season by the deadly blazes. Across the border in the US state of Washington, a wildfire burned more than 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) in less than a day. - Hottest month - July 2023 is on track to be the hottest month -- not only since records began, but also in "hundreds, if not thousands, of years", said leading NASA climatologist Gavin Schmidt. The effects cannot be attributed solely to the El Nino weather pattern, which "has really only just emerged" and isn't expected to strengthen until later in the year, he added. El Nino is associated with the warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Schmidt said the trend of extreme heat was expected to persist, "and the reason why we think that's going to continue, is because we continue to put greenhouse gases into the atmosphere". The exceptional temperatures in Greece also meant key tourist sites such as the Acropolis closed during the hottest part of the day. A 46-year-old man was reported to have succumbed to heatstroke on the central Greek island of Evia after being admitted to Chalkida hospital. Staff there said cardio-respiratory failure following exposure to high temperatures appeared to have been the cause. Emergency health officials told the state broadcaster they had admitted at least 38 heatstroke patients in the last three days, while hospitals were also seeing cases of fainting and other heat-related conditions. Greece is just one of many countries battling a prolonged spell of extreme heat around the globe in recent days. burs/jj/acb © Agence France-Presse The post Thousands flee Greek island fires as southern US swelters appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
ICC evidence not admissible
Detractors of the government who will be tapped by the International Criminal Court, or ICC, will be supplying information that is not formally offered as evidence and thus is not admissible in court, according to Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile. Enrile was referring to a rule of court that requires a party to make a formal offer of evidence by stating its substance or nature and the purpose or purposes for which the evidence is offered. Without a formal offer of evidence, and hence without disclosure of its purpose, it cannot be determined whether it is admissible or not. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday directed the government to cease discussions with the ICC. “As far as the Philippines is concerned, we are done with the ICC,” Marcos said. The ICC should examine the sources of the evidence that is being supplied to it. “That’s what I am wondering about, why does the ICC have strong links with the enemies of the state who are engaged in murdering their members primarily through purges?” Enrile asked. “Why does the ICC insist on investigating the country which is a democracy? The Philippines has a Constitution which says that the government should enforce the law,” he averred. “The leftists, who do they consider are the enemies? They are not conducting an armed struggle against Rodrigo Duterte or against Ferdinand Marcos Jr. but their battle is directed at the Constitution,” the former Senate president said. “As an institution of democratic organizations like the UN, why is the ICC timid about investigating atrocities of the New People’s Army?” he added. Pure gov’t function “The campaign against drugs involves law enforcement. Don’t we have a law against the use of drugs and the crimes that happened were all here in the country so what will our President do, will he not implement the law?” Enrile said. “It boils down to law enforcement versus the International Criminal Court or ICC,” the veteran public servant pointed out. “The campaign against drugs is an internal affair. The ICC does not know the level of criminality in the country,” he indicated. “The ICC is not a government, why should we surrender to them our obligation?” “My stand has been against filing any pleadings or actions with the ICC. Let the tribunal make its move. We do not recognize their jurisdiction over us,” Enrile said. “There are those in the Cabinet who wanted to be strictly legal in dealing with the ICC so since that’s what they wanted we let them engage the tribunal.” “So what happened was that we bungled it, the appeal was thrown out,” he noted. “Since we have already withdrawn from the Rome Statute, we should not participate in their proceedings,” Enrile emphasized. “If the Commission on Human Rights will continue engaging the ICC, they must remember that they are still part of the government and they are being supported by tax money raised from the public and they are not being supported by the ICC or the United Nations,” he said. Probers not allowed The Department of Justice, or DoJ, meanwhile, plans to prevent the entry of ICC investigators into the country. Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said that since the Philippines has withdrawn from the treaty that created the ICC, “all options are with the Executive department.” Vasquez said that among the options is for the government to prohibit ICC investigators from entering the country. However, he said, “They can be accepted, they can be allowed subject to limitations.” The DoJ official said the decision on how to address the ICC visits will be up to the President, being the country’s chief policymaker. “For now his decision is to disengage from the ICC. That means we won’t coordinate, we won’t allow them to come here as ICC,” Vasquez said. The post ICC evidence not admissible appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
SC to decide on NTC legal battle vs. Newsnet
National Telecommunications Commission is taking its legal battle against News and Entertainment Network Corp. to the Supreme Court after the appellate court decided to favor the petition of the network to reinstate its nationwide operations. Responding to reports that the Court of Appeal’s Former Eighth Division junked its Motion for Reconsideration, the NTC reiterated Wednesday that since the decision is not final, it will elevate the case to SC. The NTC said it has yet to receive a copy of the CA resolution but it maintained that the mandamus could no longer be enforced after the Anti-Red Tape Authority reversed its 12 February 2022 decision. It directed the Commission to automatically approve Newsnet’s application to install, operate and maintain a local multipoint distribution system or LMDS. LMDS will enable Newsnet to deliver interactive pay television and multimedia services nationwide in the 25.35GHz-26.35GHz frequency range. The ARTA, in a resolution dated 17 June 2022 recalled its previous decision favoring Newsnet, a move that was eventually upheld by the Office of the President. “The ARTA has already reversed itself so there is no ARTA Decision that can be subject to mandamus. On 31 March 2023, the Office of the President affirmed ARTA’s action, saying that "Thus, ARTA’s vacating of its orders were like executing of or complying with the DOJ ruling that it did not possess the power to issue its 12 February 2020,” the NTC said. “For having been issued more than its powers, the 12 February 2020 Order never became final and was properly vacated,” it added. The OP dismissed Newsnet’s appeal to reverse ARTA’s order nullifying its earlier ruling on the “automatic approval” of Newsnet’s application. The OP held that ARTA had no jurisdiction over the assignment of frequencies, the recall of ARTA’s 12 February 2020 order was only proper having been rendered without jurisdiction, and the expiration of Newsnet’s franchise rendered its application moot. Meanwhile, the NTC insisted that Newsnet could no longer be allowed to operate and be assigned a radio frequency after its legislative franchise expired in August 2021. “The Supreme Court, in a long line of decisions, which includes Divinagracia v. Consolidated Broadcasting System & People’s Broadcasting Service, Inc. and Associated Communications and Wireless Services United Broadcasting Networks v. NTC, has put to rest the ‘no franchise, no operations’ doctrine for broadcast companies, which include Newsnet which will use radio frequencies in its LMDS operations,” the NTC pointed out. “The latest SC decision in point is ABS-CBN Corporation v. National Telecommunications Commission,” it added. The regulatory body, in a decision dated 18 May 2022 in NTC Case 2021-175, already made permanent the cease and desist order against Newsnet. In the same ruling, the NTC had already recalled all of Newsnet’s frequencies for lack of a valid congressional franchise. The post SC to decide on NTC legal battle vs. Newsnet appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
60 killed in Burkina Faso ‘by men in army uniform’
About 60 civilians were killed in a village in northern Burkina Faso by men wearing military uniforms, the local prosecutor said late Sunday, announcing an investigation into the latest bloodshed in the insurgency-hit country. Landlocked and in the heart of West Africa's Sahel, the country is one of the world's most volatile and impoverished. Attacks blamed on suspected jihadists are on the rise in Burkina Faso, which is battling an insurgency that spilled over from neighboring Mali. "About 60 people were killed by people wearing the uniforms of our national armed forces" on Thursday in the village of Karma, in northern Yatenga province, Ouahigouya High Court prosecutor Lamine Kabore told AFP in a statement, citing the gendarmerie. "The wounded have been evacuated and are currently being taken care of within our health facilities," he said, adding that the perpetrators had "taken various goods". The village of Karma is near the Malian border and attracts many illegal gold miners. According to residents contacted by AFP, survivors said more than 100 people on motorbikes and pick-up trucks raided the village. Dozens of men and young people were killed by the men, dressed in military uniforms, they said. Survivors gave a toll of "around 80 dead". The latest bloodshed occurred a week after 34 defense volunteers and six soldiers were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists near the village of Aorema, about 15 kilometers (10 miles) from provincial capital Ouahigouya and 40 kilometers from Karma. Following that attack, Burkina Faso's military junta declared a "general mobilization" to give the state "all necessary means" to combat a string of bloody attacks blamed on jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. The decree states that anyone over 18 years old and physically fit who is not in the armed forces will be "called to enlist according to the needs expressed by the competent authorities". The government had already announced a plan to recruit 5,000 more soldiers to battle the insurgency that has gripped the country since 2015. Captain Ibrahim Traore, Burkina's transitional president, has declared a goal of recapturing the 40 percent of the country's territory which is controlled by jihadists. The violence has left more than 10,000 people dead, according to non-governmental aid groups, and displaced two million people from their homes. Anger within the military at the mounting toll sparked two coups in 2022, the most recent of which was in September, when Traore seized power. He is standing by a pledge made by the preceding junta to stage elections for a civilian government by 2024. The post 60 killed in Burkina Faso ‘by men in army uniform’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Rangers battle human encroachment in Sudan s biggest park
Tucked away by the Ethiopian border, Sudan's Dinder National Park boasts the country's most diverse wildlife, but rangers face a daily battle to protect it as human encroachment mounts. .....»»
PH bars entry of foreigners
The Philippines will close its border to foreigners anew and restrict the number of Filipinos entering the country starting this Saturday, as authorities battle to contain a spike in coronavirus infections......»»
Philippines to shut border to foreigners as virus cases surge
The Philippines will close its border to foreigners and restrict the number of Filipinos entering the country as authorities battle to contain a spike in coronavirus infections......»»
Hard-hit nations step up measures
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Countries among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic unveiled further measures on Friday to battle rising infections, as the number of cases worldwide passed 21 million. The US Department of Homeland Security said it was extending a ban on non-essential travel through border crossings with Canada and Mexico throughout […] The post Hard-hit nations step up measures appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»