Aid to Gaza falls to lowest level in 11 months despite US ultimatum to Israel
US government wrote to Israel a month ago threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies
Mon 11 Nov 2024 15.43 GMT
The amount of aid reaching Gaza has dropped to the lowest level since December, official Israeli figures show, despite the US having issued a 30-day ultimatum last month threatening sanctions if there was no increase in humanitarian supplies reaching the territory.
The ultimatum was delivered on 13 October, so will expire on Tuesday or Wednesday. It is unclear what measures Israel’s apparent failure to fulfil US demands will trigger, but they may include a temporary halt to the supply of some munitions or other military assistance.
In an apparent last-minute concession on Monday, Israeli authorities announced an extension of the designated “humanitarian zone”, adding inland areas which could partially relieve intense overcrowding and allow some displaced people to move away from the coast as winter approaches.
COP29: Climate funding in the spotlight
This year more than ever, the UN climate conference is about how much support developing countries can expect to receive to combat the increasingly dramatic consequences of climate change.
The UN climate conference is all about money. Who will pay developing countries for the consequences of climate change? In a year that saw millions of people hit by extreme weather disasters, the annual UN climate summit is taking place in Azerbaijan, a petrostate with little interest in leaving its climate-damaging fossil fuels in the ground.
Azerbaijan has huge untapped renewable energy potential, but around 60% of state revenue comes from fossil fuels and it plans to "markedly increase" oil and gas production in the coming years.
"As the head of a country rich in fossil fuels, of course, we will defend the right of these countries to continue investments and production," said Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in April at a preparatory meeting for COP29.
Haiti's governing council replaces prime minister amid ongoing turmoil
Haiti's transitional council has moved to oust Prime Minister Garry Conille after five months, naming businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime as his replacement, according to an official bulletin seen Sunday. The nine-member council agreed the decision by consensus on November 8, as the political crisis threatens further turmoil in the Caribbean nation.
Haiti's transitional council has moved to replace Prime Minister Garry Conille, according to an official gazette bulletin seen Sunday by AFP, as a power struggle threatens to plunge the crisis-wracked nation into fresh chaos.
The nine-member council's decision, dated for publication on Monday November 11, seeks to push out Conille after just five months in office and replace him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aime.
The bulletin says the council agreed by consensus on November 8 to remove Conille, a former UN official and academic tapped in May to lead the struggling Caribbean nation as it confronts soaring, long-standing political instability.
Ishiba elected prime minister in runoff at special Diet session
By DONI TANI/ Staff Writer
November 11, 2024 at 18:44 JST
The Diet on Nov. 11 elected Shigeru Ishiba, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, as the 103rd prime minister of Japan in the first runoff vote in 30 years.
No candidate received a majority of votes in the first round of the election in the Lower House, so a runoff was held between the top two finishers, Ishiba and Yoshihiko Noda, president of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
Ishiba received 221 votes, Noda gained 160, and 84 ballots were invalid because they listed the names of other candidates.
Toxic smog in Pakistan is so bad you can see it from space
Record-breaking levels of thick, toxic smog that have shrouded eastern Pakistan and northern India since last month can be seen in striking satellite imagery.
A huge cloud of gray smog blankets Pakistan’s Punjab province and stretches out east into India, over the capital New Delhi and beyond, satellite imagery from NASA Worldview shows.
The pollution has forced authorities in Pakistan to close schools and public spaces as the acrid smog threatens the health of tens of millions of people.
Optimism and uncertainty at summit as Middle East awaits Trump’s return
As leaders of dozens of Arab and Islamic nations gather in the Saudi capital for a summit, there is widespread speculation about what a second Trump presidency will mean for the region.
In sharp contrast to the fears voiced in Europe about Donald Trump’s famous unpredictability, Gulf Arab countries tend to view him as a force for stability.
Writing in the officially approved Arab News opinion column, the prominent UAE business leader Khalaf al-Habtoor says: “In a Middle East where security is paramount, Trump’s focus on strengthening alliances and curbing extremist forces offers a way forward.”
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