News Briefs for Friday, December 27, 2024
HAVANA TIMES – Here are the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Friday, December 27, 2024.
Israel Forces Evacuation of Northern Gaza Hospital After Attack That Killed 50
Dec 27, 2024
In northern Gaza, the director of the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital says five medical workers were among 50 people killed in Israeli strikes near the hospital. Israeli forces have since stormed the hospital and forced out 350 people at gunpoint, including about 75 remaining patients. Parts of the hospital were seen in flames. Kamal Adwan was one of the only medical facilities still operating in northern Gaza. The five medical workers killed were pediatrician Dr. Ahmed Samour, laboratory specialist Israa Abu Zaida, paramedics Abdul Majeed Abu Al-Aish and Maher Al-Ajrami, and maintenance specialist Fares Al-Hudali.
Elsewhere, a fourth Palestinian infant has reportedly died due to an extreme cold snap in Gaza. And overnight, dozens of people were killed or left missing under the rubble of their homes after Israel bombed residential buildings in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. Civil defense workers said the strikes killed civilians in their own homes.
Mahmoud Basla: “Fifteen martyrs have arrived at the Al-Ahli Hospital, and there are more than 40 civilians still remaining underneath the rubble, according to the family. There was also the targeting of the Isleem family, and five people were martyred, as well as the targeting of the Harrara family and the martyrdom of an entire family. It was truly a bloody night for civilians. And the question continues as to why these homes are being bombed.”
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Watchdog Finds 75,000 in Gaza at Risk of Famine, Buries Report After U.S. Ambassador to Israel Objects
Dec 27, 2024
A top famine watchdog organization says it withdrew a new report this week warning up to 75,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza are at risk of famine and are unable to evacuate. The report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network appeared on the organization’s website but was removed after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jacob Lew criticized the report’s findings, calling its figures “outdated and inaccurate” — though he did not provide evidence. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network is funded by USAID, the U.S. government agency overseeing foreign aid.
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Israel Bombs Yemeni Capital and Port City of Hodeidah, Killing 6 and Wounding Dozens
Dec 27, 2024
In Yemen, at least six people were killed and dozens more wounded Thursday when Israel bombed the capital Sana’a and the western city of Hodeidah. One of the strikes triggered panic at Sana’a International Airport, where at least three people were killed and 30 others injured. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was just meters away from the blast, preparing to board a flight out of Sana’a as part of a high-level U.N. delegation. Dr. Tedros was not wounded, but the bombing did injure one of the U.N. plane’s crew members. Yemen’s Houthis said they would respond to the attack by meeting “escalation with escalation.” Overnight, the Houthis claimed attacks on Tel Aviv, including Ben Gurion Airport as well as a ship in the Arabian Sea.
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Famine Spreads as Fighting Escalates in Sudan, Prompting Exodus of Refugees
Dec 27, 2024
A U.N.-backed hunger-monitoring group warns famine is spreading in Sudan, 20 months after fighting erupted between Sudan’s military rulers and the rival Rapid Support Forces. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reports more than 24.6 million people — one-half of Sudan’s population — are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. A surge of fighting in Sudan’s White Nile, Sennar and Blue Nile states has pushed more than 80,000 people to seek refuge across the border into South Sudan. Silva Alkebeh is with the U.N. Refugee Agency.
Silva Alkebeh: “This place two weeks ago was almost empty. We built the reception center to accommodate few hundred of people. Currently we have over 5,000 refugees and returnees who are staying at the border and many of them also staying at the roadside connecting Renk town with the border. People are arriving currently from six border points, and that requires scaling up of all resources, all our capacity to be able to assist them. People are staying with the community, sharing very limited resources with everyone.”
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More Than 10,000 Asylum Seekers Have Died at Sea Attempting to Reach Spain in 2024
Dec 27, 2024
The Spanish coast guard says it rescued dozens of asylum seekers from five wooden boats just a few miles off the coast of the Canary Islands on Christmas Day. The Canaries have registered the fastest increase in arrivals by sea in the European Union this year, with nearly 44,000 asylum seekers. A new report by the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, or “Walking Borders,” finds more than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year. Victims were from 28 mostly African nations, though some came from as far away as Iraq and Pakistan.
CDC Warns Sample of First Severely Ill U.S. Bird Flu Patient Contains Troublesome Mutations
Dec 27, 2024
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a sample from the first U.S. patient to suffer a severe case of bird flu shows mutations that could help the virus bind to cells in the upper airways of people. The mutations raise the risk the virus could further evolve to spread from person to person, triggering a pandemic. The sample came from a 65-year-old Louisiana resident who suffered from severe respiratory illness after contracting bird flu from an infected backyard flock. Meanwhile, bird flu has killed 20 big cats, including four cougars and a half-Bengal tiger, at an animal sanctuary in Shelton, Washington. This comes after Northwest Naturals recalled bags of cat food containing turkey after it tested positive for virulent bird flu. The Oregon Department of Agriculture linked the cat food to the death of at least one house cat.
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South Korean Parliament Impeaches Acting President 2 Weeks After Former President’s Ouster
Dec 27, 2024
South Korean lawmakers have voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo, accusing him of complicity in the failed effort to declare martial law on December 3. Han’s impeachment comes just two weeks after parliament voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. One hundred ninety-two lawmakers voted in favor of impeachment; members of Han’s and Yoon’s People Power Party boycotted the vote and surrounded the speaker’s podium chanting that the vote was “invalid!”
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New York Gov. Signs Bill to Hold Climate Polluters Accountable But Vetoes Anti-Deforestation Bill
Dec 27, 2024
Here in New York, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a bill holding fossil fuel giants financially accountable for pollution and contributing to the climate crisis. The Climate Change Superfund Act will require large fossil fuel companies to pay $75 billion over 25 years for climate damage repair, resilience and protection programs. New York State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest hailed the bill’s passage into law, writing, “Corporate polluters have been poisoning our planet and our communities for too long—now they’re going to pay up. This is a win for working people and a step toward real climate justice.”
Meanwhile, Governor Hochul has vetoed the TREES Act, legislation that would require New York state to prove it is not purchasing products driving deforestation. It would have been the first anti-deforestation law in the U.S.
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L.A. Deputy Who Beat Trans Man Fired Along with 7 Others Amid FBI Probe
Dec 27, 2024
In Los Angeles, eight L.A. sheriff’s deputies have been fired for their roles in the arrest and beating of a transgender man outside a convenience store in February 2023. Emmett Brock was driving home from his job as a teacher when he was followed by deputy Joseph Benza to a 7-Eleven parking lot, where the officer tackled Brock to the pavement and punched him repeatedly in the head, accusing him of resisting arrest even as Brock cried out for help, struggled to breathe and made no move against the officer. Deputy Benza and seven colleagues who allegedly covered up details from the incident were fired amid an internal review and an FBI investigation.