Six In The Morning Friday 30 August 2024

 

Aid missions rejected by Israel nearly doubled in August: UN

The United Nations humanitarian affairs says Israel nearly doubled its rejections of aid missions in Gaza this month despite calls for much more assistance for desperate Palestinians.

“In August, the number of humanitarian missions and movements within Gaza that have been denied access by Israeli authorities has doubled in the north (68 vs. 30) and almost doubled in the south (99 vs 53) compared with July,” the group said in a situation update.

Elon Musk’s X could face ban in Brazil after failure to appoint legal representative

Platform failed to meet court-imposed deadline in ongoing case over accounts allegedly spreading disinformation

Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro

Fri 30 Aug 2024 14.15 BST

The social media platform X faces the prospect of a ban in Brazil after failing to meet a court-imposed 24-hour deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.

The deadline expired at 8.07pm local time on Thursday (0.07am BST on Friday). An hour later, Elon Musk’s social network announced it would not comply.

The dispute began in April when the supreme court judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation – a request Musk has denounced as censorship.

Israel agrees to pause fighting to allow polio vaccination

The World Health Organization says Israel has agreed to limited humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow polio vaccines to be given to children under the age of 10.

Russian 'guided bomb' attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv kills at least five

Russian strikes killed at least five people in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, local officials said on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had dropped a guided bomb on the city and reiterated his call for Western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russian military air bases.

Russian strikes killed at least five people in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, including a 14-year-old girl at a playground, officials said on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had dropped a guided bomb on the city and urged Kyiv’s allies to take “strong decisions” to bolster his country’s air defence systems.

Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, lies around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Russian border and has been bombed persistently by Russian forces since they launched their invasion in February 2022.

Germany deports 28 Afghans after unveiling new security package

By Sophie Tanno and Claudia Otto, CNN

 4 minute read 

Published 9:50 AM EDT, Fri August 30, 2024

A deportation flight bound for Afghanistan carrying 28 Afghan nationals left Germany on Friday morning, a day after the German government pledged to strengthen its asylum regulations in the wake of a deadly knife attack.

A spokesperson from Saxony’s Interior Ministry told CNN that a plane with the Afghans on board departed from Leipzig just before 7 a.m. local time and was scheduled to land in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday afternoon. The Afghans on the flight are convicted criminals from various states across Germany who had been selected by the Interior Ministry, the spokesperson added.

Nearly 40,000 people died home alone in Japan this year, report says

Hafsa Khalil

BBC News

Almost 40,000 people died alone in their homes in Japan during the first half of 2024, a report by the country’s police shows.

Of that number, nearly 4,000 people were discovered more than a month after they died, and 130 bodies went unmissed for a year before they were found, according to the National Police Agency.

Japan currently has the world’s oldest population, according to the United Nations.

The agency hopes its report will shed light on the country's growing issue of vast numbers of its aging population who live, and die, alone.