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☆ Israel’s Closures of 2 Gaza Border Crossings Prompt Alarm Over Humanitarian Aid
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With its seizure of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, Israel has now closed two key crossings for aid into Gaza, drawing sharp warnings from international agencies and officials who said the moves could exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Since the start of the war, Israel had limited aid entering the Gaza Strip to the two tightly controlled border crossings: Kerem Shalom and Rafah, which both access the enclave’s south. But Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing after a Hamas attack on Sunday killed four soldiers in the area, then mounted an incursion on Tuesday that closed the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt. Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian office, said in a news briefing that Israel had “choked off” the two main arteries for getting aid into Gaza. Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned the Rafah operation “in the strongest terms,” saying on Tuesday afternoon that Israeli control over the crossing jeopardized humanitarian aid deliveries as well as the ability of Gazans to leave the strip for medical treatment.

Persons: Jens Laerke, Israel, “ Organizations: Sunday, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, Israel, Kerem Shalom

☆ China's Xi backs Macron call for global Olympic truce
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Emmanuel Macron, France's president, right, greets Xi Jinping, China's president, ahead of the state dinner marking the visit at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Xi called on France to help fend off a "new Cold War" as the EU increasingly aligns with U.S. concerns over security risks and trade tensions. China's President Xi Jingping on Monday called for a global truce during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer after the French president and the head of the European Commission urged him to use his influence on Russia to end its war in Ukraine. As member of the United Nations Security Council and as a responsible country, China urges with France for a truce in the world during the Paris Olympic games," Xi said, speaking through an interpreter alongside Macron during a joint statement. Russia has previously been lukewarm about a truce saying Ukraine might use it as an opportunity to regroup and rearm.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Xi Jinping, Xi, Xi Jingping, Ursula von der, Macron, Vladimir Putin, Putin's Organizations: Olympic Games, European Commission, United Nations Security Council, Paris Olympic, Paris, Games, Paralympic Games Locations: Paris, France, EU, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, China, Moscow, Russian, Switzerland

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, eastern Rafah evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Adam Renton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The Israel Defense Forces say that evacuation of residents and displaced people in eastern Rafah is "not a wide-scale evacuation of Rafah this is a limited-scale operation in the area of Eastern Rafah." Colonel Nadav Shoshani, IDF's international spokesperson, said in a press briefing Monday they were "calling on people of Eastern Rafah to move north." When asked about how long residents would have to leave, Shoshani said,"People have days at least to move," he said when asked about how long residents would have to leave. Shoshani would not be drawn about whether this evacuation was linked to an attack on IDF soldiers yesterday. "I don't want to go into specific of our operational ideas and plans and timing," he said.

Persons: Nadav Shoshani, Shoshani, Yoav Galant, Jens Laerke Organizations: Israel Defense Forces, CNN, Israeli, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Locations: Rafah, Eastern Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Geneva

☆ Rafah evacuation: Israel’s IDF tells Gazans in parts of eastern Rafah to ‘evacuate immediately’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Helen Regan | Sophie Jeong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Northern Gaza is already experiencing a “full-blown famine” which is rapidly spreading across the strip after almost seven months of war, the World Food Programme warned over the weekend. Three IDF soldiers were killed and three critically injured in the rocket attack which was claimed by Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. It was not clear whether the call for evacuation was in response to the attack at Kerem Shalom, and the border crossing remained closed on Monday. The IDF would also not put an exact timeframe for how long people in eastern Rafah have to evacuate or offer assurances that the area they would move to would not be shelled. As I said, we’re having real-time situational assessments and assessing the situation,” said the IDF’s Shoshani.

Persons: CNN —, ”, ” Avichay Adraee, Adraee, Salam, Tiba Zaraa, Jens Laerke, Nadav Shoshani, Israel, Yoav Galant, Al, we’re, Shoshani, “ Organizations: CNN, IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, Defense Army, Food, Israeli, IDF, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Rafah, Gaza, “, Al, Geneva . Northern Gaza, ”, Egypt, Israel, Kerem Shalom

☆ Man or bear? A viral TikTok question has revealed some uncomfortable truths
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The question, directed towards women, seems simple: Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear? When asked why they would pick the bear, women all give some iteration of the same answer: With a bear, they know what the dangers are. A lot of detractors also seem to be misunderstanding the definition of a hypothetical question. TikTok creator and anti-misogynist educator Call Me BK, who claims to have started the current man vs. bear debate, said he didn’t even consider the question to be hypothetical. However, some positive comments have argued that the question isn’t meant to lambaste men or pick apart the potential danger of a bear encounter.

Persons: there’s, It’s, ”, “, TikToker, didn’t, ” “, commenter Organizations: CNN, United Nations, BK Locations: ”

☆ Palestinians fleeing Rafah describe their fear and despair: ‘I am leaving for the unknown’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Palestinian civilians told to evacuate eastern Rafah by the Israeli military have described their fear and despair at being uprooted from their homes and shelters, as Israel airstrikes hit Gaza’s southernmost city. “We left because they distributed leaflets,” Mohammed Ghanem, a resident in eastern Rafah told a CNN stringer in the area on Monday. They are killing women and children.”Another woman from eastern Rafah said, “The Israelis sent us messages ordering us to leave. It is not only my feeling, it is everyone’s feeling.”Many of those leaving eastern Rafah have been previously displaced multiple times as Israel’s focus moved from city to city. A woman called Maha said Palestinian civilians were at the mercy of the Israeli military.

Persons: ” Mohammed Ghanem, “, ”, Ghanem, Khan Younis, Ramadan Abed, Volker Türk, Faisal Barbakh, Malek, Yousef, ’, Mohammad Abu Khamash, It’s, ” Scott Anderson, Jan Egeland, Ahmad Safi, Safi, Abu Salah, Maha Organizations: CNN, Reuters, United Nations, Norwegian Refugee Council, Israel Defense Forces, Frontieres, ” MSF, UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, UN, Palestinian Civil Defense Locations: Rafah, Israel, “, Mawasi, Gazan, Rafah’s, Gaza, ”, Israeli, Palestinian

☆ Chinese warplane fired flares, put Australian Navy helicopter in danger, Canberra says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Chinese jet “dropped flares about 300 meters (984 feet) in front of the Seahawk helicopter and about 60 meters (197 feet) above it,” Marles said in an interview with 9 News on Monday. The MH-60 Seahawk is a twin-engine helicopter and carries a crew of three, according to the Australian Navy. “They’re in international waters, international airspace, and they’re doing work to ensure that the sanctions that the world has imposed through the United Nations on North Korea, due to their intransient and reckless behavior, are enforced,” the prime minister told CNN affiliate Nine News. According to Australian public broadcaster ABC, Australian Navy Vice Adm. Mark Hammond raised the Toowoomba incident in a meeting with Chinese navy Adm. Hu Zhongming at an international naval symposium in Qingdao. Earlier in 2022, Australia said a Chinese warship used a laser to “illuminate” an Australian P-8A aircraft in waters north of Australia.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Richard Marles, ” Marles, Albanese, “, ” Albanese, “ We’ve, ”, Maj, Rob Millen, Peter Dutton, Xi Jinping, ” Dutton, Mark Hammond, Hu Zhongming, Hammond Organizations: South Korea CNN —, Seahawk, Nations, Defense Ministry, Australian Defense, Australian Navy, United Nations, North, Australian Defense Ministry, CNN, Nine, Royal Canadian Navy, Australian Defence Force, Nine News, Australian, ABC, ” ABC, Pilots Locations: Seoul, South Korea, South Korea CNN — Australia, North Korea, Canberra, Beijing, China, Canadian, South, Ottawa, Australia, Philippines, Japan, United States, Chinese, Toowoomba, Qingdao, “, South China Sea, ”, Australian

☆ Israeli military tells Palestinian civilians in parts of Rafah to 'evacuate immediately'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Israel's military on Monday said it has begun evacuating Palestinians from parts of Gaza's southern city of Rafah, ahead of an expected military operation where roughly half of the enclave's entire population is sheltering. "The IDF will act with extreme force against terrorist organizations in your areas of residence, as it has done so far. Anyone who is close to terrorist organizations puts his life and the life of his family at risk," the post said. The White House — as well as the United Nations, WHO and other multinational organizations — has urged Israel against an offensive in Rafah, warning of catastrophic humanitarian consequences. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu said that an operation there is essential to his country winning the war against Hamas.

Persons: Khan, Al Mawasi, —, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Palestinian Hamas, Israel Defense, United Nations, WHO Locations: Khan Yunis, Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza's, Al

☆ Turkey suspended trade with Israel pending a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. Here's what that could mean for Israel.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Turkey has suspended trade with Israel, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza. AdvertisementTurkey halted trade with Israel last week, demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and criticizing Western influence in the war. That's a significant portion of Israel's trade, according to recent trade data. Though they didn't name the United States, Turkish leaders also called out the West's tolerance and support of the war. The United States abstained from the vote, sparking sharp dissent from Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu.

Persons: Israel, —, Tayyip Erdogan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Erdogan Organizations: Service, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Reuters, MIT Media Lab, United Nations, United Locations: Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Rafah, That's, China, United States

☆ Hamas Claims Rocket Attack That Closes Key Crossing Between Israel and Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Liam Stack | More About Liam Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Hamas said on Sunday that its armed wing had fired rockets at Israeli forces near the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Gaza and Israel. The Israeli military said about 10 rockets had been fired from an area near the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt toward Kerem Shalom. Kerem Shalom is one of the few crossings through which humanitarian aid is able to enter the Gaza Strip. After the attack on Sunday, the army said it was closed to the passage of aid trucks. Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and said it showed that Hamas was not interested in having aid enter the territory, parts of which a United Nations official says are experiencing “a full-blown famine.”

Persons: Kan, Kerem Shalom, ” Organizations: Israel’s Foreign Ministry, United Nations Locations: Kerem, Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Kerem Shalom

☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

☆ Tech titans love Modi's economic powerhouse India — despite mass unemployment and abject poverty
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Youth unemployment, income inequality, regional disparities, and Russian oil remain big problems. But the work starts there, as he'll have to navigate thorny issues such as youth unemployment, income inequality, and reliance on sanctioned Russian oil. "The other key economic policy was JAM — the trinity of bank accounts for the poor, mobile numbers and a biometric card. Indian demand for Russian oil has cooled in recent months as new sanctions have made it more expensive, but the buying remains controversial. Alexandr Demyanchuk/AFP/Getty ImagesIndia the IT hubUnder Modi, India has made big strides in modernizing its economy, combating bureaucracy, and appealing to foreign investors.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, Tim Cook, —, Modi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan's Dimon, He's, Musk, Apple's Cook, Joe Biden, Sundar Pichai, Anna Moneymaker, Jensen Huang, Satya Nadella, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Richard Rossow, Demonetisation, Kunal Sen, Sen, Tim Graham, Rossow, tycoons Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Isha Piramal, Rihanna, Shloka Mehta Ambani, Akash Ambani, Radhika Merchant, Anant, Radhika, Ambani, they'd, Neelima Jain, Vladimir Putin, Alexandr Demyanchuk, Sanjay Shetty, Shetty Organizations: Service, titans, Monetary Fund, Gross, World Bank, Economic, of New, Google, Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, India, Studies, Center for Strategic & International Studies, United Nations, United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics, University of Manchester, International Labor Organization, Oxfam, Bloomberg, Reliance Industries, Adani, CSIS, Indian, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Getty, Modi, Big Tech, Randstad, Economic Times Locations: India, Britain, Japan, Germany, China, of New York, Nimaj, Rajasthan, North Korea, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Moscow, Western, Samarkand, AFP, Randstad India

☆ Israel, Gaza and the Law on Starvation in War
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Amanda Taub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On March 19, Volker Türk, the United Nations’ human rights chief, said in an official statement that Israel’s policies regarding aid in Gaza might amount to a war crime. “The extent of Israel’s continued restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime,” he wrote. Using starvation of civilians as a weapon is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and a war crime under the Rome Statute, the treaty of the International Criminal Court, or I.C.C. was preparing to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials — including potentially over accusations that they prevented the delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza. (They also said they believed that the court was considering arrest warrants for Hamas leaders, which could be issued concurrently.)

Persons: Volker Türk, ” Organizations: United Nations, Criminal, New York Times Locations: Gaza, Rome

☆ Middle East Crisis Turkey Severs Trade With Israel, Citing Conditions in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Gulsin Harman | Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Turkey said late Thursday that it had halted all trade with Israel until “uninterrupted and adequate humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza,” signaling further deterioration in relations between the two countries. Turkey’s Trade Ministry said in a statement that exports and imports “for all products” would pause. Mr. Katz also said he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries. Turkey reported $5.4 billion in exports to Israel in 2023 and $1.64 billion in imports, according to United Nations figures. The Turkish leader has also forcefully defended Hamas and recently met with Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s political leader, and other Hamas officials in Istanbul on April 20.

Persons: Israel Katz, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr, Katz, Erdogan, Ismail Haniyeh, “, “ Israel, Hakan Fidan Organizations: Turkey’s Trade Ministry, Bloomberg, Foreign Ministry, United Nations, Ministry, Trade Ministry, Israel, International Court of Justice Locations: Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Istanbul, “ Israel, Palestine

Turkey said on Friday that it would suspend all trade with Israel until there was a “permanent cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip, the latest international sanction against Israel and one that underscores the mounting global pressure to end the war in the territory. Turkey’s announcement built on statements the previous day that it had halted all trade with Israel until “uninterrupted and adequate humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza.” But even as Turkey announced the measures, Israel continued its repeated warnings that it was preparing for an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that the United Nations said on Friday could result in a “slaughter” in Gaza. In announcing the trade suspension, the Turkish trade minister, Omer Bolat, spoke of Israel’s “uncompromising attitude.” Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told a business association on Friday that he anticipated backlash from Western countries but that Turkey had decided to “stand side by side with the persecuted.”

Persons: Israel, Omer Bolat, Israel’s, ”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: Israel, United Nations Locations: Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Rafah

☆ From Australia to the UK: Where pro-Palestinian university protests are happening around the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Here’s a look at some of the pro-Palestinian campus protests around the world. AustraliaOver the past few weeks, pro-Palestinian protest camps have appeared in at least seven universities across Australia. FranceIn Paris, pro-Palestinian protests erupted at the Sciences Po university and the Sorbonne university in late April. At McGill University in downtown Montreal, pro-Palestinian student protesters have set up an encampment on the front lawn. On May 2, a Quebec Superior Court judge rejected an injunction request that would have forced the pro-Palestinian protesters to leave their encampment.

Persons: Hilary Whiteman, ”, Owen Humphreys, Miguel Medina, Emmanuel Macron, ” Louise, ” Samuel Lejoyeaux, “ I’ll, “, India Eric Garcetti, Christinne, Oliver Marsden, ” Ali Organizations: CNN, New York’s Columbia University, Portland State, UCLA, United Nations, The University of Queensland, Students for Palestine, Palestine, University of Sydney, Sydney, United, United Kingdom Pro, Newcastle University, Newcastle University’s, ”, Sciences Po, Sorbonne, . Riot, Sorbonne University, Getty Images Sciences, Columbia University, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, UNC, Vanderbilt, “, Union of Jewish Students of France, Le Monde, CRS, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Milia Islamia University, BJP, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party, ’ Federation of India, At McGill University, Palestinian, Israel . Mounted, McGill University's, University of Toronto’s, University of British, CBC News, Reuters, American University of Beirut, American University of, Getty Locations: Gaza, United States, Europe, Asia, Israel, Gaza’s Rafah, Australia, Brisbane, United Kingdom, Newcastle, England, Leeds, Bristol, Warwick, Britain, France, Paris, Palestine, AFP, de, India, New Delhi, Columbia, Jamia, Canada, Montreal, Quebec, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Lebanon, American University of Beirut, Beirut

Al-Bursh was arrested along with 10 other medical workers in December during the Israeli military ground invasion of the Jabalya refugee camp, CNN previously reported. He was taken away while treating patients in Al-Awda Hospital, according to the statement. Earlier on Thursday, Israel released dozens of Gaza detainees via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel. The seven-month bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 34,600 people, according to the Gaza health ministry. Concerns are also heightened over an anticipated Israeli military operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah, prompting renewed calls for a ceasefire.

Persons: Adnan Al, Bursh, Israel, Marwan Abu Saada, ”, “ Dr, Adnan, ” Saada, “, –, Ismail Khadr Organizations: CNN, Shifa, Palestinian Prisoners ’ Society, ’ Affairs, Al, Awda, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Al, Gaza City, ”, Israel, Gaza’s Rafah

☆ Opinion: I’ve seen too many young journalists pay the ultimate price. It’s them I’ll be thinking of today
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Opinion Jon Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

When a journalist is killed, it is not just their voice that is silenced: Press freedom is your freedom. Over 30 years ago, the United Nations recognized May 3 as World Press Freedom Day: a global reminder of the importance of press freedom and an opportunity to assess its health around the world. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that at least 100 journalists and media workers have been killed since we last marked World Press Freedom Day. Tragically, on this World Press Freedom Day, our work is needed more than ever. On this World Press Freedom Day, the fallen who gave their lives for the truth should serve as a reminder as to why press freedom is really your freedom.

Persons: Jon Williams, Rory Peck, Read, Jon Williams Rory Peck, Bayeux, ”, Simon Cumbers, Simon, Al, Louise, Cumbers, Johnny Green, Thomas Jefferson, ” Jefferson, it’s, Dom Phillips, Phillips, Aldeia Maloca, Bruno Pereira, Joao Laet, don’t Organizations: Rory Peck Trust, BBC News, ABC News, CNN, 1st Cavalry, Canadian, BBC, The Washington Post, United Nations, Protect Journalists, Getty, United, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Bayeux, Northern France, France, Omaha Beach, Europe, Nazi Germany, Normandy, Paris, “, Saudi Arabia, Al Qaeda, Saudi, Riyadh, Ireland, London, South, Indonesia, Turkey, India, Madrid, Irish, Kabul, Afghanistan, Gaza, Ukraine, Honduras, Sudan, Philippines, Brazil, Aldeia, Roraima, AFP, Britain, United States, Israel, Egypt

☆ China's true military spending in 2022 was likely worth $711 billion, or 'nearly equal' to the US military budget that year: US think tank
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A new report says China's $229 billion military budget in 2022 was actually equivalent to $711 billion. AdvertisementIn June 2023, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska warned Congress that China's military was catching up to America's faster than previously imagined. That makes Beijing's spending in 2022 "nearly equal" to the US defense budget of about $740 billion that year, wrote Eaglen, a senior fellow at AEI. Using that factor, Eaglen wrote that it's highly likely China's spending on personnel that year was worth $293 billion of US military spending. US military spending is also often cited as higher than the actual defense budget.

Persons: —, Sen, Dan Sullivan, Mackenzie Eaglen, Sullivan, Eaglen, haven't Organizations: AEI, Service, Republican, American Enterprise Institute, Pentagon, Beijing, United Nations, Labor, US Army, People's Armed Police, Liberation Army's, Publishing, Getty, China's, Guard Locations: Alaska, Beijing, Washington, China, Nanning, South, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous, United States

☆ Colombia will cut diplomatic ties with Israel, President Petro says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaking during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia, on February 8, 2024, after a meeting with the United Nations Security Council. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday he will break diplomatic relations with Israel over its actions in Gaza. Petro has already heavily criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and requested to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. "Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel ... for having a government, for having a president who is genocidal," Petro told cheering crowds in Bogota who marched to mark International Worker's Day and back Petro's social and economic reforms. Countries cannot be passive in the face of events in Gaza, he added.

Persons: Gustavo Petro, Gaza . Petro, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Petro Organizations: United Nations Security Council, Colombian, Israeli, International Court of Justice Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Israel, Gaza ., Gaza

☆ Opinion | The Cruel Spectacle of British Asylum Policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Daniel Trilling | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Rwanda, the court said, might send them back to countries where their lives could be at risk. The law that passed last week aims to override that court ruling by declaring that Rwanda is safe. Legality aside, it has never been clear that the policy is even capable of working. So what is the point of the Rwanda policy? But Mr. Sunak — under pressure from his party’s right to accede to their demands on immigration — needs an emphatic win, or at least something that looks like one.

Persons: —, Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, ” It’s, Sunak’s, Sunak, Liz Truss, Mr, He’s Organizations: United Nations ’, Rwanda —, Conservative Party, Labour, Mr, Conservative Locations: Rwanda, Kigali

CNN —Dozens of Palestinian children eagerly lined up for a meal in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, as aid workers unloaded huge saucepans of stew and rice from parked trucks under the bright sun. CNN footage from the distribution site in front of a sprawling displacement shelter showed staffers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) serving the children on Wednesday. The World Central Kitchen, a US-based non-profit that focuses on fighting hunger around the world, resumed work in Gaza this week, after a hiatus following a series of Israeli military strikes that killed seven staffers in April and drew the world’s condemnation. “[The World Central Kitchen’s] food makes people feel that they are at home. Shortly after the deaths of the World Central Kitchen workers in April, Israeli officials agreed to open the Erez border crossing into northern Gaza to allow aid deliveries.

Persons: Um Hassan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jose Andres, ” Andres, Israel’s, Ashraf Al Sultan, ”, haven’t, ” Zaki Sobeh, “, Volker Türk, Israel, Yoav Gallant, Erez, CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Tim Lister, Eugenia Yosef, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jonny Hallam Organizations: CNN, Israeli, Kitchen, UN, United Nations, Central Kitchen, US State Department, Hamas Locations: Deir al, Gaza, Palestinian, US, Deir, Israel, Shalom, Erez

On a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken put the onus squarely on Hamas to accept the proposal. But Israeli officials have said, consistently and emphatically, that the offensive will take place. The number of Palestinians Israel is offering to free in exchange is unclear. More than 100 were released in a weeklong cease-fire in November, and Israeli officials say they believe that more than 30 — possibly many more — are dead. Gazan health officials say that Israel’s subsequent bombing and invasion have killed more than 34,000 people, and injured far more.

Persons: Osama Hamdan, Al Manar, —, Antony J, Blinken, wouldn’t, ”, Yair Lapid, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Hamdan, Biden, Netanyahu’s, ” Mr, Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, Washington, Gaza, Lebanese, Israel, United States, Qatar, Egypt, Rafah, masse

☆ Saudi women’s rights activist sentenced to 11 years in jail, rights groups say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Radina Gigova | Hande Atay Alam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Human rights groups are calling for the release of a Saudi woman, who they say has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women’s rights and for the way she dressed. Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, was sentenced during a “secret hearing” before the kingdom’s Specialized Criminal Court on January 9, 2024, Amnesty International and the London-based Saudi rights organization ALQST said in a joint statement Tuesday. Saudi Arabia’s authorities “must immediately and unconditionally” release Manahel al-Otaibi, as the decision to imprison her “directly contradicts the authorities’ narrative of reform and women’s empowerment,” Amnesty and ALQST said. “Manahel’s conviction and 11-year sentence is an appalling and cruel injustice,” said Bissan Fakih, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on Saudi Arabia. Al-Otaibi’s sentencing comes “amid an intensified crackdown on free speech in Saudi Arabia, including online expression,” the groups said.

Persons: Manahel, ”, ALQST, Otaibi “, Al, Fawzia, “, Bissan Fakih, Otaibi, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Organizations: CNN, Amnesty International, Saudi, United Nations, UN, Amnesty, Human Rights Locations: Saudi, London, Geneva, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

☆ Some millennial and Gen X parents are leaving it all behind to spend 6 figures on a family gap year. Here's how they budget and 'worldschool' their kids.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Hillary Hoffower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Some white-collar parents are leaving their jobs to take family gap years. It's sticking around as the world somewhat normalizes; Reddit is littered with threads looking for family gap year advice, which posters can easily find in various blogs. She now offers a family gap year and extended travel planning service for $80 to $100 an hour. "It could expand into a big business," she said, adding that her family gap year clients typically have disposable income and kids around 8 to 11 years old. AdvertisementWorld lessons, no classroom requiredNo family gap year is complete without immersive travel.

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