GAZA STRIP
New evacuations ordered
The Israeli military yesterday issued new evacuation orders for residents of Khan Yunis, after retrieving the bodies of five Israelis and warning of new operations. The UN said that more than 180,000 Palestinians have already fled fierce fighting in Khan Yunis since the military began an operation in the area last week. The evacuation orders and “intensified hostilities” have “significantly destabilized aid operations,” the UN said, reporting “dire water, hygiene and sanitation conditions” in the Palestinian territory. Israel ordered residents “to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in al-Mawasi” — the second such adjustment made to the safe zone within a week.
CHINA
Gaemi brings heavy rains
More than 27,000 people in the northeast were evacuated and hundreds of factories were ordered to suspend production as Typhoon Gaemi brought heavy rains, the official Xinhua news agency reported on yesterday. Gaemi on Friday lashed towns in Fujian Province with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek from the southeastern coast into the populous interior. Heavy rains caused water levels to rise in 40 reservoirs across Liaoning Province. The area is expected to experience torrential rain from early on today to Tuesday, the report said. Hundreds of chemical and mining companies across the province have suspended operations and nearby residents have been relocated to avoid flood risks, Xinhua said.
UNITED STATES
FBI confirms Trump shot
Nearly two weeks after former president Donald Trump’s near assassination, the FBI on Friday confirmed that it was indeed a bullet that struck the presidential candidate’s ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts about what caused the former president’s injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally. “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the agency said in a statement. The one-sentence statement from the FBI marked the most definitive law enforcement account of Trump’s injuries and followed ambiguous comments earlier in the week from FBI Director Christopher Wray that appeared to cast doubt on whether Trump had actually been hit by a bullet. The comment drew fury from Trump and his allies and further stoked conspiracy theories that have flourished on both sides of the political aisle amid a dearth of information following the July 13 attack.
POLAND
Divers find Champagne haul
A team of Polish divers has discovered the wreckage of an old sailing ship loaded “to the brim” with luxury goods including porcelain items and about 100 bottles of Champagne and mineral water about 58m deep off the Swedish coast. They believe the precious goods could have been on the way to the royal table in Stockholm or the Russian tsar’s residence in St Petersburg when the ship sank some time in the second half of the 19th century, team leader Tomasz Stachura said. The private Baltictech group of divers, who searches for shipwrecks on the Baltic seabed, made the discovery on July 11 while checking spots of interest about 37km south of the isle of Oland. “I have been diving for 40 years, and it often happens that we find a bottle or two in a wreck, but to discover so much cargo, it’s a first for me,” Stachura said. He said he believes the contents are still in good condition.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
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