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.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long
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