Smoke on the horizon - Israel and Hezbollah edge closer to all-out war
By Orla Guerin, Reporting from southern Lebanon
As the war in Gaza grinds on, there are growing fears another Middle East war may erupt - with devastating consequences for the region, and beyond.
Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah (backed by Iran) have been trading fire across their shared border for the past nine months. If this conflict escalates to all-out war, it could dwarf the destruction in Gaza, draw in Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, spread embers around the Middle East and embroil the US. Iran itself could intervene directly.
The United Nations has warned of a “catastrophe beyond imagination”.
For now, a low-level war simmers in the summer heat, along a 120km (75 mile) stretch of border. One spark here could set the Middle East alight.
Crisis at Tres Fronteras: how criminal syndicates threaten Amazon’s future
At the lawless triple border between Brazil, Colombia and Peru, drug trafficking, illegal logging and gangs jeopardise the ecological and social fabric of the rainforest
The area of the Amazon where Brazil, Colombia, and Peru meet – referred to as Tres Fronteras (triple frontier) – brims with wildlife and natural resources. It is also a hotbed of illicit activity. Criminal groups are clearing the forest to plant coca and erect laboratories to turn the crop into cocaine. In the process of making coca paste, these labs discharge chemical waste – including acetone, gasoline and sulphuric acid – into rivers and soil.
Increasingly, these outfits are branching into illegal logging, gold dredging and fishing, in part because these activities allow them to launder money made from drug trafficking. These activities compound the environmental harm the groups are inflicting.
Bangladesh PM vows justice for 6 killed in student protests
Schools and universities across Bangladesh will remain closed until further notice after six people were killed in ongoing student protests. PM Sheikh Hasina said those responsible would be punished.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday vowed to punish those responsible for the deaths of six people, including anti-government protesters, after student protests saw campuses shutter around the country.
Six people were killed in clashes between police and protesters on Tuesday, which was the most violent day so far in weeks of protests regarding public sector job quotas for the children of freedom fighters who fought in the 1971 War of Independence.
"I firmly declare that those who carried out murders, looting and violence — whoever they are — I will make sure they will be given the appropriate punishment," Hasina said in a televised address.
Parisian cultural sector braces for a fall during 2024 Olympics: ‘We’re the big losers’
In the next few weeks, millions of people will descend on the French capital to attend one of the world’s biggest sporting events: the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. But most will turn their backs on Paris’s cultural attractions, many of which are expecting the worst revenue drop in years. While some venues have opted to close during the period, others have come up with creative solutions to try to make up the shortfall.
Paris's cultural sector is bracing for a tough summer. Judging by the 2012 Olympics in London, when the city’s cultural visitor numbers dropped by a staggering 30 percent, Paris cinemas, museums and theatres are expecting much of the same.
The London statistics are a scary read: During the two-week Games, the British museum lost one out of every four visitors, the National Gallery two out of every five, and the London Zoo saw a 40 percent plunge in the number of recorded entries.
China strives to lure foreign tourists, but it’s a hard sell for some
REUTERS
July 17, 2024 at 13:15 JST
Guilherme Carvalho made his first visit to China this month, and the Italian said one of the main factors behind the trip was the post-pandemic policy to scrap entry permits for some tourists.
Previously, all foreign visitors had to go through the onerous process of applying for a Chinese visa. Now, visitors from more than a dozen countries can just fly in and stay for up to 15 days.
“I didn’t expect to feel so safe,” said Carvalho, who visited Shanghai. “Everyone is so kind.”
Uncontacted tribe sighted in Peruvian Amazon where loggers are active
Rare images of the Mashco Piro, an uncontacted indigenous tribe in the remote Peruvian Amazon, were published on Tuesday by Survival International, showing dozens of the people on the banks of a river close to where logging companies have concessions.
The reclusive tribe has been sighted coming out of the rainforest more frequently in recent weeks in search of food, apparently moving away from the growing presence of loggers, said local indigenous rights group FENAMAD.
The Mashco Piro were photographed at the end of June on the banks of a river in the Madre de Dios region in southeast Peru near the border with Brazil, Survival International said as it released the photos.
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