Thursday, February 15, 2024

Six In The Morning Thursday 15 February 2024

 

UNRWA says 84 percent of health facilities impacted by attacks

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA has said that 84 percent of Gaza’s health facilities have been affected by attacks since the war began. Israeli forces have targeted and raided health facilities throughout the conflict.

“Shocking footage shows unimaginable destruction in Gaza City, including our health centre. +70 percent of civilian infrastructure- including homes, hospitals & schools- have been destroyed or severely damaged,” the group said in a social media post.

“84 percent of health facilities have been affected by attacks. Nowhere is safe.”

  • The Israeli army enters Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis with heavy tank and machine gun fire, forcing everyone inside to evacuate and flee for their lives.
  • Rafah exodus begins as Israel’s military steps up air raids and artillery fire before a feared ground operation on the southern city once designated a “safe zone”.


‘Very afraid’: Colombian human rights lawyer loses security after winning prize

Adil Meléndez Márquez received call from bodyguards 20 minutes after Sir Henry Brooke award from Alliance for Lawyers at Risk

I’m very afraid,” says Colombian lawyer Adil Meléndez Márquez, the day after being presented with an award in London honouring human rights defenders.

Meléndez is no stranger to death threats, because of his work on cases related to Colombia’s decades-long civil war, environmental justice and corruption, but things have just got a lot scarier. With bitter irony, 20 minutes after receiving the Sir Henry Brooke award from the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk, his bodyguards called him to say that they had been stood down from, leaving him without protection.


South African soldiers killed in DR Congo attack

Two South African soldiers were killed and three were wounded during a mortar strike in DR Congo, the South African military said, adding that the details were "still sketchy."

South Africa's mission to help bring peace and security to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has gotten off to a deadly start.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Thursday said that two of its soldiers had been killed in a mortar strike near the eastern city of Goma.

The SANDF said that three more soldiers were injured in the attack, which took place on Wednesday.

"A mortar landed inside one of the South African contingent military bases inflicting casualties and injuries to the SANDF soldiers," the South African military said in a statement.


Gaza: The charity attempting to feed Rafah’s displaced



As food supplies run low and with what little there is unaffordable for many, charities in Gaza’s Rafah are doing what they can to feed the hungry. The Al-Tikkey charity says it makes around 35 large pots of food every day to serve some of the roughly one million displaced people who have fled to Rafah to escape fighting further north. But with levels of hunger growing and supplies dwindling, it is struggling to keep up with the growing demand.


Poor students at disadvantage in new system for admissions

By JUNYA YOSHIDA/ Staff Writer

February 15, 2024 at 15:37 JST


More universities are moving toward interviews and recommendations in admitting students in place of traditional written exams.

This new system, according to Tenma Fusegawa, a student at the University of Tokyo, puts applicants from poorer families at a distinct disadvantage.

With the university entrance exam season now in full swing, Fusegawa explained his own experience in getting into the prestigious institution and what he encountered while interacting with other students after admission.


X accused of taking payments from terrorists

By Faarea Masud & Natalie Sherman

Business reporters


Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, granted subscription perks to designated terrorist groups and others barred from operating in the US, according to campaigners.


The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found X had granted blue check marks to accounts tied to Hezbollah members, among others.

For $8 (£6.40) a month, a tick allows longer posts and better promotion.

X removed some ticks after the report, saying its security was "robust".

Mr Musk's decision to charge for check marks was one of the most controversial changes he made after he bought Twitter in 2022, with critics saying the move would make issues of disinformation worse, opening the platform to impersonators.

The badge was previously free, meant to indicate that the social media platform had verified the identity behind the account.

Many of the recipients were journalists, as well as world leaders and celebrities.








No comments:

Translate