WHO says Al-Shifa 'looked almost like a battlefield hospital'
The World Health Organization’s Sean Casey has just returned from a visit to the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, where they’ve been delivering much needed medical supplies and equipment.
Speaking to me from Gaza on the BBC News Channel he painted a desperate picture of a hospital which is barely able to function.
Mr Casey said the hospital wards looked “almost like a battlefield hospital” with patients everywhere, and “blood all over the floors”.
He said the medical staff who remain at the hospital are “completely overwhelmed”, as they treat a range of the injured from children with open wounds, babies with jaundice, and a range of other injuries and ailments including blast injuries and fractures.
Summary
- Aid trucks entering Gaza from Egypt have been boarded and stripped of their supplies amid severe food shortages
- The UN Palestinian refugee agency says hungry people are helping themselves to food, making it almost impossible to distribute aid
- France's foreign minister has called for an "immediate and durable" truce, saying "too many civilians are being killed"
‘Prison or bullet’: new Argentina government promises harsh response to protest
President Javier Milei and his allies are preparing new security guidelines in anticipation of protests against currency devaluation
Human rights activists in Argentina have expressed consternation over new security guidelines to crack down on an anticipated wave of protests after the incoming government of libertarian president Javier Milei devalued the country’s currency by more than 50%.
Protesting individuals and organizations will be identified with “video, digital or manual means” – and then billed for the cost of sending security forces to police their demonstrations, said Milei’s security minister, Patricia Bullrich, as she announced the new protocol on Thursday.
“The state is not going to pay for the use of the security forces; organizations that have legal status will have to pay or individuals will have to bear the cost,” Bullrich said.
Keeping Migrants at BayHow a Brutal Militia Became Europe's New Henchmen
By Mohannad al-Najjar, Mohammad Bassiki, Bashar Deeb, Klaas van Dijken, Alexander Epp, Maud Jullien, Steffen Lüdke, Jack Sapoch, Tomas Statius und Lina Verschwele
Even after several days at sea, everything still seemed to be just fine, says Bassel Nahas. Together with around a hundred other refugees, the Syrian had set out from the Libyan coast toward Europe. Nahas, a 36-year-old whose name has been changed for this article, was dreaming of starting a new life in the Netherlands, hoping to bring over his wife and two children later.
But on August 18, as the ship reached the zone within which Malta is responsible for search and rescue operations, he says, a ship flying the Libyan flag approached. The passengers on board the migrant vessel called out to the Libyan crew that they had women and children on board, says Nahas. "But they accused us of having weapons and drugs, and opened fire on our boat.”
Bundesliga fans protest against private equity investors
The decision by the German Football League to allow a private equity investor for the next two decades has sparked backlash from fans. In one incident, Hansa Rostock fans threw pyrotechnics, injuring police.
Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 fans across the country protested on Friday and Saturday against the German Football League’s (DFL) decision to seek to bring in a strategic partner.
On December 11, 24 of 36 teams between the two divisions voted in favor of a plan to secure private equity investment in return for a share of TV rights over the next two decades.
Fans from all 36 teams announced they would remain silent for the first 12 minutes of their matches across the weekend, with multiple matches interrupted by further protests.
Women's rights take centre stage in DR Congo election
Ahead of Monday’s election in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), women’s faces can be seen everywhere, pinned up on electoral posters throughout the country. During his five-year term, President Félix Tshisekedi demonstrated a commitment to women’s rights and better female representation in politics, but there is still a long way to go.
Days out from the DRC's presidential election, campaign clips play constantly on state broadcaster Congolese National Radio and Television (RTNC). One of the advertisements, from the campaign of President Félix Tshisekedi, known colloquially as "Fatshi béton", highlights one of his flagship policies: free maternity care.
Since being implemented in September 2023, the measure is gradually taking effect in public hospitals and health centres. At the Kinshasa General Hospital (still informally known as “Mama Yemo Hospital”, after the mother of ousted President Mobutu), Julie is receiving postnatal care after giving birth to her daughter, Yumi.
"This is my third child. I had a C-section. For the first two, I gave birth elsewhere and paid 40,000 Congolese francs, then 65,000 for the second (€14 and €22.60 at current exchange rates),” says Julie. “I am satisfied with the free maternity care because, this time, if I was made to pay for the C-section, I would have died. I couldn’t have afforded the operation (one million Congolese francs, or €340)."
Putin warns of problems with neighboring Finland after West ‘dragged it into NATO’
Finland’s ascension to NATO marked a major shift in the security landscape in northern Europe, and added some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.
It was also a blow for President Putin, who has long warned against NATO expansion.
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