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☆ The last time Hamas released a hostage, it took 5 years for him to be freed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The IDF said Hamas is holding nearly 200 people hostage after carrying out a deadly terror attack. The last time Hamas freed a hostage was in 2011, when it released the IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. AdvertisementAdvertisementHamas is holding nearly 200 people hostage after it carried out a deadly terror attack in Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The last time Hamas released a hostage was in 2011, when it freed the IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Israel has relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip since Hamas' October 7 terror attacks.

Persons: Gilad Shalit, —, Shalit, Mitzpe Hila, Gershon Baskin, Israel, Baskin, Osama al, Mia Schem, Schem Organizations: Service, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, NPR, Israel, International Communities Organization, IDF, Nova Locations: Israel, Gaza, American

☆ Egyptian sources say ceasefire agreed to allow Rafah re-opening, Netanyahu denies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"There is currently no truce and humanitarian aid in Gaza in exchange for getting foreigners out," a statement from his office said. Rafah, which is on the border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Hamas-governed Gaza, is the only crossing into the territory not controlled by Israel. The Egyptian sources said the ceasefire would last for several hours but they were not clear on the exact duration. They also said the three countries had agreed that Rafah would be open until 1400 GMT on Monday as a one-day initial re-opening. A security source and NGO source in Al-Arish said that aid trucks were still waiting there after the re-opening at 0600 GMT.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Arish, Blinken, Salama Marouf, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Dan Williams, Yusri Mohamed, Aidan Lewis, Nadine Awadallah, Tala Ramadan, Nafisa, Jacqueline Wong, Toby Chopra Organizations: Hamas, U.S, Thomson Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Al, Arish, Sinai, Egypt, CAIRO, Hamas, al, Cairo, U.S, Jerusalem, Ismailia

☆ India same-sex marriage: The Supreme Court may be about to legalize it for millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But they’re up against a tough opponent: the ruling government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which argues that same-sex marriage is a “Western” concept without “any basis” in the constitution. Since then, India’s LGBTQ community – likely one of the world’s largest given its population of 1.4 billion people – has faced widespread marginalization from society. But Victorian laws governing same-sex marriage are one throwback to the colonial past his party has fought to retain. In 2018, after a decade-long battle, the Supreme Court struck down the colonial-era law that criminalized same-sex intercourse – though it left intact the legislation limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. Anand agreed, adding that what started off as a conversation in their home has morphed into a movement that has united India’s LGBTQ community.

Persons: Aditi Anand, Susan Dias, ” Anand, “, ” Weeks, Dias, Anand, Susan Dias India, ”, Dipa Chakraborty, India’s, –, Narendra Modi, Vivek, Vivek Kishore, Karan Johar, ” Vishwa, Suvir Saran, Saran, ” Saran, Anish Gawde, ” Gawde, ” Vivek, It’s Organizations: CNN, India’s, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Pride, Future Publishing, Bollywood, Pink List Locations: Mumbai, India, India’s British, England, Wales, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pink List India

REUTERS/Bruno Kelly Acquire Licensing RightsMANAUS, Brazil, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The Amazon River fell to its lowest level in over a century on Monday at the heart of the Brazilian rainforest as a record drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem. Rapidly drying tributaries to the mighty Amazon have left boats stranded, cutting off food and water supplies to remote villages, while high water temperatures are suspected of killing more than 100 endangered river dolphins. That is the lowest level since records began in 1902, passing a previous all-time low set in 2010. After months without rain, rainforest villager Pedro Mendonca was relieved when a Brazilian NGO delivered supplies to his riverside community near Manaus late last week. The drought has threatened their access to food, drinking water and medicines, which are usually transported by river.

Persons: Bruno Kelly, Pedro Mendonca, Mendonca, Santa Helena do, Nelson Mendonca, Santa Helena do Ingles, Luciana Valentin, Jake Spring, Gabriel Stargardter, Steven Grattan, Marguerita Choy, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rio Negro, Brazil's Science Ministry, El, Fundacao Amazonia Sustentavel, Sao Paulo, Thomson Locations: Rio Negro, Manaus, Brazil, Rights MANAUS, Brazilian, Santa Helena, Santa Helena do Ingles, Amazonas, parched, Sao

☆ Israel-Hamas war: Diplomatic aid efforts ramp up for 'strangled' Gaza as regional conflict fears grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Helen Regan Kareem El Damanhoury Eyad Kourdi Abeer Salman Abbaggini | Helen Regan | Kareem El Damanhoury | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“We all know water is life – Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life. People walk amid the destruction of houses and streets in Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Hamas is believed to be holding some 150 Israeli and foreign nationals hostage in the warren of tunnels underneath Gaza. It is also unclear if water is now flowing into southern Gaza. Israeli soldiers gather on and around a tank near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel on October 15.

Persons: ”, ’, Joe Biden, Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini, “, Marwan Jilani, Khan Younis, Mohamed Zaanoun, Dominic Allen, ” UNRWA’s Lazzarini, Isaac Herzog, Antonio Guterres, Pope Francis, Ravina Shamdasani, doesn’t, ” Shamdasani, Herzog, Antony Blinken, Benjamin, Netanyahu, Sunday Blinken, China’s, Wang Yi, Israel, Zhai Jun, Jacquelyn Martin, Jordan, United States Michael Herzog, Stéphane Dujarric, Jonathan Conricus, Emmanuel Macron “, Ebrahim Raisi, Warthogs, Ronen Zvulun, Jake Sullivan, ” Sullivan Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israel’s, UN, Israel Defense Forces, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, “, CNN, Crescent, Getty, Population Fund, Sunday, Palestinian Health Ministry, UN Human Rights, Reuters, CNN Israel, CNN Sunday, Water Authority, East Sunday, CBS Sunday, US National Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, Rafah, Egypt, Khan, Guterres, Cairo, Jordan, nonfunctional, United States, Israeli, Iran, Syria, Israel’s, Lebanon

☆ A mediator who worked on a 2011 Israeli prisoner exchange says Hamas' hostage-taking is 'unprecedented': 'What do they even do with them now that they have them?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gershon Baskin helped secure the release of an Israeli soldier from Hamas in 2011. He says Hamas' hostage-taking campaign is "unprecedented," per The Wall Street Journal. AdvertisementAdvertisementA mediator who helped negotiate the 2011 exchange of an Israeli soldier said Hamas' hostage-taking in its recent terror attacks was "unprecedented" due to the sheer number of people involved, according to The Wall Street Journal . "It's unprecedented, there's no doubt," Gershon Baskin, the Middle East director for International Communities Organization, a UK-based peace-building NGO, told the newspaper. Baskin, an American-Israeli peace activist, helped secure the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas in 2011.

Persons: Gershon Baskin, —, Baskin, Gilad Shalit, He's, Abu Ubaida, Israel Organizations: Street, Service, Wall Street, International Communities Organization, Israel Defense Forces, Department, West Bank, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, American

☆ The Great China Boom is going bust
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Unless dramatic action is taken, the future of China's economy is looking less like a young dynamo and more like an old, slow-moving blob. AdvertisementAdvertisementChinese President Xi Jinping has shifted the country's priorities from economic growth to a "technology and national-security race with the US." A faltering Chinese economy will suppress demand for commodities like oil seeds and grain, hitting US farmers especially hard. For the US economy, China as a workshop is much more important than China as a consumer. Now that China's economic supercycle is over, that may be the cycle we're about to witness.

Persons: We've, Xi Jinping, Lee Miller, it's, Xi's, —, Xu Jiayin, Charlene Chu, Chu, Chu —, Victor Shih, Shih, that's, they're, Zhang, Beijing's largess, Miller, It's, they'll, Chinese Communist Party that's, Anne Stevenson, Yang, isn't, Stevenson, Linette Lopez Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Trust, Autonomous Research, Bloomberg, Autonomous, Century China Center, University of California, J Capital Research, Japan, Nike, Starbucks, WSJ, China, Companies Locations: China, Beijing, Cities, Shanghai, It's, Shenyang, metropolises, Shenzhen, Europe, Wall, —, University of California San Diego, Middle Kingdom, Mexico, Vietnam, New York City

☆ The Ukrainian draft dodgers who don't want to go to war against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Ukrainian men cannot leave the country under martial law and face being drafted into war service. He told Insider he's desperate to leave Ukraine to escape being drafted and had already attempted one escape. Bohdan's unit suffered significant casualties while stationed near Svatove and the Serebryansky forest, he told Insider, and he was one of the few who survived without injuries. "Young men at a checkpoint near the border told me not to bother trying," Artem told Insider. 80,000 Ukrainian men have crossed over to PolandA Ukrainian soldier who lost her leg in the fighting near Kherson.

Persons: —, Artem, Bohdan, didn't, he's, — it's, hasn't, Ukrainska, Anna Michalska, Odesa, Borysov, Costa, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mytkalyk, Bolhan, Euronews Organizations: Service, National Guard of, AP, Verkhovna Rada, Ukrainska Pravda, The New York Times, Armed Forces, Poland's Border Guard, Polish Border Guard, Kyiv Post, Business, New York Times, The, Kyiv Independent, Times, Getty, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, National Guard of Ukraine, Svatove, Bohdan, Romania, Belgium, Hungary, Montenegro, Moldova, Poland, Ukrainian, Kherson, Verkhovna, Ukraine's, Polish, Marbella, Costa del Sol, London, Russia, Warsaw

☆ It’s official: The era of China’s global dominance is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

We've reached the end of an era for the Chinese economy. Unless dramatic action is taken, the future of China's economy is looking less like a young dynamo and more like an old, slow-moving blob. A faltering Chinese economy will suppress demand for commodities like oil seeds and grain, hitting US farmers especially hard. For the US economy, China as a workshop is much more important than China as a consumer. Now that China's economic supercycle is over, that may be the cycle we're about to witness.

Persons: We've, Xi Jinping, Lee Miller, it's, Xi's, —, Xu Jiayin, Charlene Chu, Chu, Chu —, Victor Shih, Shih, that's, they're, Jinping, Zhang, Miller, It's, they'll, Chinese Communist Party that's, Anne Stevenson, Yang, isn't, Stevenson, Linette Lopez Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Trust, Autonomous Research, Bloomberg, Autonomous, Century China Center, University of California, J Capital Research, Japan, Nike, Starbucks, Companies Locations: China, Beijing, Cities, Shanghai, It's, Shenyang, metropolises, Shenzhen, Europe, Wall, —, University of California San Diego, Middle Kingdom, Mexico, Vietnam, New York City, United States

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban will attend China's Belt and Road Forum next week, a spokesman said on Saturday, underscoring Beijing's growing official ties with the administration, despite its lack of formal recognition by any government. Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostly those focussed on Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile multilateral summits it has been invited to attend. China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan. Officials from China, the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan said in May they would like Belt and Road to include Afghanistan and for the flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor to be extended across the border to Afghanistan. China has boosted engagement with the Taliban, becoming the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul since the Taliban took power, and invested in mining projects.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Xi, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, Azizi, Akhundzada, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Joe Cash, William Mallard Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, Rights, China Pakistan Economic, Taliban, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Rights KABUL, Beijing, Pakistan, China Pakistan, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad

☆ 'Absolutely no humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza,' NGO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The restrictions "mean that aid agencies can't bring in more aid from outside," one NGO told Insider. "Absolutely no humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza," Ivan Karakashian, the head of advocacy in Jerusalem for the NGO Norwegian Refugee Council, told Insider. Karakashian said his group is currently "distributing what we have in stock and available locally within Gaza, but the blockade restrictions mean that aid agencies can't bring in more aid from outside." AdvertisementAdvertisementIsrael cut off food, water, fuel, and electricity to Gaza after the militant Palestinian group Hamas launched deadly strikes on Israel and took civilians hostage over the weekend. He said there needs to be humanitarian corridors and a pause that allows humanitarian personnel and supplies to enter.

Persons: —, Ivan Karakashian, Karakashian, Israel, Ali Mahmoud, Alun McDonald, McDonald Organizations: Service, Norwegian Refugee Council, Hamas, Sunday, Israel's Air Force, UN, Shifa, AP, Islamic Relief Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem, Palestinian, Gaza City

☆ I worked as an engineer on merchant vessels and my ship was held hostage by pirates for 8 months. I still cherish my career at sea.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Chirag Bahri worked as an engineer on merchant vessels during a nearly decade-long career at sea. In 2010, his chemical tanker was held hostage by pirates for eight months. I had just joined the crew and I really needed to be on the ship to earn money. I was in the engine room when I got the call that pirates had boarded the ship. I still cherish the time I spent working onboard ships and I would encourage people to look at seafaring as a very positive, rewarding profession.

Persons: Bahri, —, Marguerite, Farah Abdi Warsameh, I'm, Bahri's, Dharmesh Gohil, Sattish Bate, Chirag Bahri, Dierk Lindemann, there's Organizations: Service, Chirag Bahri, International, International Seafarers Welfare, Assistance, Regional, South, Maritime, Google, International Maritime Bureau, AP, Hindustan Times, Getty, Asphalt Venture, Chirag Locations: South Asia, India, Belgium, Aden, Asia, East, Europe, Somalia, English, al, Shabab, South Somalia, Salalah, Chirag

☆ McDonald's is donating thousands of free meals to the Israel Defence Forces and citizens after Hamas attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

McDonald's Israel said it's donating 4,000 meals daily to the Israel Defence Forces and citizens. It's also offering a 50% discount for soldiers and security forces who come to restaurants. AdvertisementAdvertisementMcDonald's Israel announced that it's giving away thousands of free meals to the Israel Defence Forces and citizens after Hamas' surprise attack on Saturday. In addition to a 50% discount to soldiers and security forces who come to our branches." Pictures in the post show cars loaded with McDonald's meals and soldiers and workers in hospitals receiving the packages.

Persons: McDonald's Israel, It's, Israel, —, McDonald's, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ivan Karakashian Organizations: Israel Defence Forces, Service, Israel's, Hamas, BBC, Norwegian Refugee Council Locations: Gaza, Israel, Southern Israel, Jerusalem

☆ More than 2 million people in Gaza are trapped in a humanitarian disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

More than 2 million people live in the Gaza Strip, which is facing a punishing counterattack from Israel. Experts say Gaza is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, and people are running out of basic supplies. The crisis is exacerbated by the fact that Gaza has been restricted under blockade for 16 years. So far, thousands have been killed or injured in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank and in Israel. Groups are begging for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to bring in much-needed supplies to the trapped region.

Persons: —, António Guterres, Akshaya Kumar, Hamas —, Antony Blinken, John Kirby, Kirby, Kumar, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Ivan Karakashian, they've, Ahmad Abuznaid, he's, Abuznaid, they're, Joe Biden, Israel, Blinken, Biden, Vox, that's Organizations: Experts, Service, Hamas, UN, World Health Organization, West Bank, Human Rights, CNN, White, Norwegian Refugee Council, US, Palestinian, State Department Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Philadelphia, Egypt, of Israel, Jerusalem, Houston, Huwara, Jenin

☆ For people in Gaza, life is about to get even worse, with Israel's siege about to 'starve the population,' NGO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Israel is stopping food, fuel, and medicine from entering Gaza after announcing a "complete siege." AdvertisementAdvertisementFollowing Israel's announcement of a "complete siege" of Gaza, fears are mounting over an impending humanitarian crisis in the territory. The siege will "quite literally starve the population and lead people to going hungry, thirsty, and ultimately towards dying." REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu MustafaUN Secretary General António Guterres, who condemned Hamas' attacks, said he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's siege announcement. A relative reacts next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at a hospital in Gaza City, October 11, 2023.

Persons: —, Israel, Ivan Karakashian, Gaza's, Karakashian, Abu Mustafa, General António Guterres, EUTERS, Mohammed Salem Organizations: Service, Associated Press, Norwegian Refugee Council, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Gaza, Gaza Energy Authority Locations: Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Jerusalem, Hamas, Khan Yunis, Egypt, Gaza City, France

At least 1,055 people have died in Gaza, with some 5,184 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. New York City's Empire State Building, illuminated in the colors of the flag of Israel on October 7. “This was the largest number of Jewish victims in an attack in one day since the Holocaust,” he said. “Not during the Yom Kippur War, not in the war of independence did we see civilians killed like this. Fighting regularly takes place between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Persons: CNN —, Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Gary Hershorn, Kathy Hochul, Adam Gray, Emmanuel Macron, Gérald Darmanin, Laurent Nuñez, Marie, Sarah Seeberger, Israel, Benoit Tessier, ”, Olaf Scholz, “, Suella Braverman, ” Braverman, Wiktor, ” Mark Gardner, Gardner, Peter Nicholls, Rishi Sunak, Robert Jenrick, Dean Lewins, Pinchas Goldschmidt, Goldschmidt, ” Goldschmidt, Carl Court, Gazans, Nadim, CNN “, Zaghloul, OCHA, Médecins, Avril Benoît Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Corbis, Getty, Solidarity, Opera, White, Washington DC, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, police, Marseille, Jewish, of France, Reuters, Authorities, London’s Metropolitan Police, “, Community Security Trust, Police, Publishing, Security, Hamas, ISIS, ”, Downing, Jewish Leadership Council, Saturday, Sydney Opera House, Israel, West Bank, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Conference, Embassy, Islamic, ’, United Nations Office, of Humanitarian Affairs, MSF Locations: Israel, Gaza, . New York, Paris, Washington, United States, New York, New York City, France, French, Lyon, Paris Monday, United Kingdom, Germany, Berlin, London, London’s, Britain, Israel's, Palestine, Moscow, Ukraine, Jerusalem, Europe, Egypt

☆ Civilians in Gaza could run out of food in 6 days and don't know where to seek refuge from Israel's counterattacks, advocacy group says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Civilians in Gaza worry they may run out of food in as little as six days. Israel is engaging in a counterstrike against Gaza after Hamas' deadly attack on Saturday. As of Tuesday, 830 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the Gaza Ministry of Health said. The Israeli death toll has surpassed 1,000 people since Hamas invaded Israel on Saturday, Israeli officials said. Hamas is also holding Israelis hostage — the militant group said it had about 100 people captive in Gaza.

Persons: —, counterstrikes, Ivan Karakashian, Karakashian Organizations: Service, Israel, Gaza, Norwegian Refugee Council, Associated Press, Gaza Ministry, Health, NBC News, Israeli Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jerusalem

☆ Israeli festival attendees played dead for hours to try to stay alive during Hamas attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Festival attendees in Israel played dead to try to stay alive during Hamas' attack on Saturday. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementAttendees of a music festival in Israel played dead for hours after Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, according to a new report. Armed fighters arrived at the Nova outdoors festival shortly after the attack began, shooting into the crowds and taking hostages. Israeli rescue service Zaka said 260 bodies were recovered from the festival site, but Israeli officials have not said how many were injured or taken hostage there.

Persons: —, Zaka, Israel Organizations: Service, Hamas, Armed, Guardian, Monday Israel Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Father of 2 women at Israeli music festival said he doesn't know where they are, fears they are 'lying in a ditch' in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two women who attended Israel's Nova festival are missing. Their father said he fears they have been raped or left in a ditch in Gaza. About 260 bodies were recovered from the grounds of the Nova music festival, an NGO said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe distressed father of two women who have gone missing after attending the Nova music festival in southern Israel said that he fears his children may have been dumped in a ditch somewhere in Gaza. About 260 bodies were recovered from the grounds of the Nova music festival, said a spokesperson for ZAKA, an Israeli NGO rescue and recovery organization, according to multiple media outlets.

Persons: —, Uri David, David Organizations: Israel's, Nova, Service, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Israel, Urim, Israeli

☆ Robert Fico, pro-Russian Slovak political heavyweight wins another election
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] SMER-SSD party leader Robert Fico walks outside his party's headquarters on the day of the country's early parliamentary election in Bratislava, Slovakia, September 30, 2023. Fico, who analysts see inspired by Hungary's Viktor Orban, has said he has Slovak interests at heart and wants the war to end. Born to a working-class family, Fico graduated with a law degree in 1986 and joined the then-ruling Communist party. "He became the most prominent political representative of a movement against face masks or vaccination," said political analyst Grigorij Meseznikov. Fico also swatted away accusations of graft that have dogged his party during his political career.

Persons: Robert Fico, Eva Korinkova, Michal Vasecka, Fico, Hungary's Viktor Orban, Viktor Orban, Zuzana Caputova, George Soros, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kusnirova, SMER, Grigorij Meseznikov, Jan Lopatka, Michael Kahn, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Institute, Ukraine, NATO, Reuters, Communist, European Court, Human Rights, Democracy, Thomson Locations: Bratislava, Slovakia, Rights BRATISLAVA, European, Brussels, Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Hungarian, France, Germany

☆ This Caribbean island was once plagued with rats that destroyed the ecosystem. Now, plant biomass has increased 2,000% thanks to environmental group efforts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When miners stepped foot on the island, they introduced invasive species that destroyed the habitat. The tiny island of Redonda, about a mile long, was formerly a haven for several species of seabirds. AdvertisementAdvertisementHumans deserted the island around the 1930s, but the mining operations left behind invasive species, mainly domestic goats and stowaway black rats, that wreaked havoc on the island's ecosystem. In 2016, environmental groups such as EAG launched restoration efforts to bring back the local plant life and animal species native to the island. We just removed the rats and the goats, and the island transformed right in front of our eyes," Bradshaw told CNN.

Persons: —, Brown Boobies, Johnella Bradshaw, haven't, Bradshaw Organizations: Service, British, BBC, Environmental, CNN Locations: Redonda, Caribbean, Antigua, Barbuda, EAG's Redonda

☆ Germany hits back at Elon Musk after he wades in on migrant debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Germany has hit back at Elon Musk after the billionaire businessman waded into the country’s debate on migration. Musk reshared a post on the platform X, formerly Twitter, that criticized German NGO operations in the Mediterranean for “unloading illegal immigrants” in Italy. The post also called for a victory for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the next elections. “There are currently 8 German NGO ships in the Mediterranean Sea collecting illegal immigrants to be unloaded in Italy. Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty ImagesMusk’s comments come with Berlin locked in a spat with Italy over NGO sea operations.

Persons: Elon Musk, waded, Musk, “, ” Musk, Odd Andersen, Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Olaf Scholz, ”, ” Meloni Organizations: CNN, Elon, Radio Genoa ”, Foreign, Immigration Authority, Getty, Italian, ”, European Union Locations: Germany, Italy, Eisenhuttenstadt, Berlin, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Croatia, Slovenia, Valletta

☆ Robert Fico, Pro-Russian Slovak Political Heavyweight Wins Another Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

Fico, who analysts see inspired by Hungary's Viktor Orban, has said he has Slovak interests at heart and wants the war to end. Born to a working-class family, Fico graduated with a law degree in 1986 and joined the then-ruling Communist party. Polling under 10%, Fico once sought to address voter fears during the coronavirus pandemic when he slammed government health measures. "He became the most prominent political representative of a movement against face masks or vaccination," said political analyst Grigorij Meseznikov. Fico also swatted away accusations of graft that have dogged his party during his political career.

Persons: Jan Lopatka, Robert Fico, Michal Vasecka, Fico, Hungary's Viktor Orban, Viktor Orban, Zuzana Caputova, George Soros, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kusnirova, SMER, Grigorij Meseznikov, Michael Kahn, Michael Perry Organizations: European Union, Institute, Ukraine, NATO, Reuters, Communist, European Court, Human Rights, Democracy Locations: Jan Lopatka BRATISLAVA, European, Brussels, Europe, Slovakia, Bratislava, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Hungarian, France, Germany

☆ Redonda: A Caribbean island once ruled by rats is now a wildlife haven
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But with the humans came invasive species, such as black rats and feral goats. In 2016, they launched an effort to restore the island and eliminate the invasive species. We just removed the rats and the goats, and the island transformed right in front of our eyes,” she says. Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora/Re:wild Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora/Re:wild Redonda island, before and after the eradication of invasive species. Redonda, which is about a mile long, was estimated to have around 6,000 rats and 60 goats pre-eradication, explains Bradshaw.

Persons: Christopher Columbus, Redonda, Ed Marshall, ”, Johnella Bradshaw, Jenny Daltry, they’re, Bradshaw, “, ” Bradshaw, Lawson Lewis, Nneka Nicholas, Helena Jeffery Brown, Nature Organizations: CNN, Environmental, Barbuda Defence Force, Department of, Department for Environment, “ Locations: Redonda, Antigua, Barbuda, Caribbean, Fauna

Vietnam’s opaque legal system has come under increased criticism from Western observers this year, even as the Southeast Asian country draws closer to the United States. In April during a visit to Hanoi, a delegation of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee of Human Rights expressed “great concern at the worsening human rights situation in the country” calling for the release of “political prisoners” including NGO leaders, journalists and environmental activists, according to Reuters. “Vietnam and the United States are critical partners at what I would argue is a very critical time,” Biden said at the time, referencing climate change. The importance of her cause has been underlined by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which lists Vietnam as one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. Ben Swanton, co director of The 88 Project, which advocates for human rights in Vietnam, called her trial “a total sham.”“This is yet another example of the law being weaponized for the purpose of political persecution,” he said.

Persons: Hoang, Hong, Nguyen Van Tu, Matthew Miller, “, ”, ” Miller, Joe Biden’s, ” Biden, “ I’m, Hong “, Ben Swanton Organizations: CNN, US State Department, State, European, Human, Reuters, Human Rights Watch, Obama, Columbia University, HRW, United States Agency for International Development, USAID, Amnesty Locations: Ho Chi Minh City, United States, Vietnam, Hanoi, “ Vietnam

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