In pictures: Israel at war with Hamas

A Palestinian man reacts as others check the rubble of a building in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 6.

A Palestinian man reacts as others check the rubble of a building in Khan Younis, Gaza, on November 6. Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

In pictures: Israel at war with Hamas

Updated 1:39 AM EST, Tue November 7, 2023

One month ago, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a brutal assault on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 240, according to Israeli authorities. It was the deadliest terror attack in the country’s history.

Israel’s retaliation has been lethal, with an air and ground campaign on the densely populated enclave of Gaza, which Hamas has controlled since 2007. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would take “mighty vengeance” and was readying for “a long and difficult war.”

The siege of Gaza has killed more than 10,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry there. Gaza’s population is also gripped by humanitarian crisis after Israel cut off access to food, water and electricity. Only a “trickle” of aid has been allowed to enter the isolated territory, according to the United Nations. Residents are grappling with severe shortages, and power is running out as fuel dwindles.

Editor’s note: This gallery contains graphic images. Viewer discretion is advised.

Tiếp tục đọc “In pictures: Israel at war with Hamas”

In bad faith – 3 parts

Hinduism, Weaponised: A Secular India Under Threat | In Bad Faith – Part 1 | CNA Documentary

CNA – Insider 9-4-2022

We investigate the reasons behind the weaponisation of Hinduism by the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing, paramilitary volunteer organisation that aims to create a Hindu Rashtra – a subcontinent only for the Hindus.

From supporting cow vigilantes in Rajasthan attacking Muslim cattle traders to spreading Islamophobia across RSS-backed television stations, why understand why India’s secular fabric is under threat. Tiếp tục đọc “In bad faith – 3 parts”

“Let me be very, very clear. Being pro-Palestinian is not being antisemitic, being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism.”

In call for ceasefire, Jordan’s Queen Rania told CNN

CNN 

Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan has called for a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas, saying that supporting the protection of Palestinian lives does not equal being antisemitic or pro-terrorism.

“Let me be very, very clear. Being pro-Palestinian is not being antisemitic, being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism,” Rania told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Sunday.

“What we’ve seen in recent years is the charge of antisemitism being weaponized in order to silence any criticism of Israel,” she said.

“I want to absolutely and wholeheartedly condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia…but I also want to remind everyone that Israel does not represent all the Jewish people around the world. Israel is a state and is alone is responsible for its own crimes.”

Queen of Jordan, Rania Al-Abdullah, speaks during the Web Summit, Europe's largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

Queen of Jordan, Rania Al-Abdullah, speaks during the Web Summit, Europe’s largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro NunesPedro Nunes/Reuters

Israel declared a “complete siege” on Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the coastal enclave.

Tiếp tục đọc ““Let me be very, very clear. Being pro-Palestinian is not being antisemitic, being pro-Palestinian does not mean you’re pro-Hamas or pro-terrorism.””

Dự án khu đô thị quây núi đá vịnh Hạ Long làm ‘hòn non bộ’

tiengphong.vn

TPO – Hàng loạt núi đá di sản vịnh Hạ Long (Quảng Ninh) đang bị một dự án quy mô quây kín. Trao đổi với Tiền Phong, đại diện lãnh đạo Ban Quản lý vịnh Hạ Long khẳng định vị trí thực hiện dự án nằm trong vùng đệm của vịnh Hạ Long.

Nhiều ngày nay, khu vực phường Quang Hanh, TP Cẩm Phả (Quảng Ninh) xuất hiện hàng đoàn xe chở đất đá san lấp dự án. Đoàn xe ‘hổ vồ’ này không hề có bạt che phủ khi lưu thông trên đường và có dấu hiệu quá tải.

Theo tìm hiểu, đây là dự án Khu đô thị 10B, được UBND tỉnh Quảng Ninh phê duyệt năm 2021. Hiện dự án đang được triển khai thực hiện.

Điều đặc biệt, dự án này lấn ra vịnh Hạ Long cả cây số tính từ đường bao biển Hạ Long – Cẩm Phả.

Tiếp tục đọc “Dự án khu đô thị quây núi đá vịnh Hạ Long làm ‘hòn non bộ’”

Power scramble – 3 parts

Can Anyone Challenge China’s Near Monopoly On Metals Powering Our Tech? – Part 1/3 | Power Scramble


CNA Insider
– 3-11, 2023

We want the newest gadgets, the most advanced electric vehicles, and a fully electrified future, but behind all of that is a class of critical metals: rare earths. These are the only metals in the world, to date, that can be used to create powerful and portable magnets, essential to everything from EVs to wind turbines. So why the worry? For decades, China has maintained an iron grip on the entire supply chain for rare earths. Today, demand is skyrocketing for rare earths, because the world is racing to electrify just about every part of our lives. Kartik Kuna is the first outsider to gain filming access to a particular magnet factory in Dongguan, China – one of many Chinese factories that are producing a huge majority of the world’s rare earth magnets. Just why is it so hard to outcompete China in this space? Kartik also witnesses for himself a startling statistic – China is building up offshore wind power capacity at breakneck pace… all of which requires rare earths. Tiếp tục đọc “Power scramble – 3 parts”

Why 70 countries in debt could spark the biggest global economic crisis since 1929

CNA Insider – 26-10-2023

Some 70 countries are in or at risk of debt distress – a record number that has the World Bank sounding the alarm. Debt defaults by these emerging and developing countries could lead the world into a global financial crisis perhaps even on par with the Great Depression of 1929. The pattern is clear from three previous debt waves: the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s, Asian financial crisis of the 1990s, and the global financial crisis triggered by the 2007 US subprime crisis.

00:00 Intro & three previous debt waves
01:16 The fourth debt wave
02:07 Countries in debt: Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Laos
03:40 Impact on education, healthcare
04:21 How did the debt crisis start?
05:19 China’s Belt & Road Initiative
06:12 Climate change and debt

Hospitals in Gaza

Two dozen aid workers from Doctors Without Borders made it out of Gaza Wednesday through the Rafah crossing. Andrea Mitchell is joined by Faris Al Jawad, Communications Manager for Doctors Without Borders in Jerusalem, to discuss the status of hospitals and medical experts in Gaza, the desperate need for fuel and the potential for more mass casualties. “Our international staff that have just recently got out are safely over the border. However, I think what we are far more concerned about now is the 300 or so Palestinian staff that we still have in Gaza, still working, many of them in some of the most dangerous areas that are being relentlessly struck,” Al Jawad says. “There are bombs going off very nearby. There are thousands of people taking shelter there, there’s no medication, there’s no anesthesia, we’re doing operations on the floor.”

Moment BBC reporter falls to his knees and weeps while reporting inside Gaza hospital

Lịch sử thăng trầm 4000 năm của người Do Thái

Nghiencuulichsu.com – 28-11-2018

Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Tranh của Molnár, 1861

Đặng Hoàng Xa

Mọi sự đều sẽ hết, nhưng người Do Thái thì không. Tất cả các thế lực khác sẽ qua đi, nhưng Họ vẫn còn. Bí mật trong sự bất tử của Họ là gì?” – Văn hào Mark Twain

 Người Do Thái trên vùng đất Israel (Canaan)

Sự ra đời của đức tin

Người Do Thái có nguồn gốc từ người Hebrew cổ đại xuất hiện tại Trung Đông vào 4.000 năm trước. Theo truyền thuyết, người Do Thái và người Ả Rập là con cháu dòng dõi từ Abram (tên lúc sinh của Abraham) là người đã vâng theo lời gọi của Thượng Đế rời bỏ quê hương ở thành Ur thuộc phía Bắc vùng Mesopotamia (Lưỡng Hà) – nay là Đông-Nam Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ, đến lập nghiệp tại xứ Canaan, một vùng đất kéo ngang từ bờ sông Jordan tới biển Địa Trung Hải ngày nay.

Tiếp tục đọc “Lịch sử thăng trầm 4000 năm của người Do Thái”

Opposition mounts in Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel

FILE - Thousands of Moroccans take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and against normalisation with Israel, in Casablanca, Morocco, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel's war with Hamas. The protesters' demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

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FILE – Thousands of Moroccans take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and against normalisation with Israel, in Casablanca, Morocco, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas. The protesters’ demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy, File)Read More

FILE - Thousands of Moroccans take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and against normalisation with Israel, in Casablanca, Morocco, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel's war with Hamas. The protesters' demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

2 of 4 | 

FILE – Thousands of Moroccans take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and against normalisation with Israel, in Casablanca, Morocco, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas. The protesters’ demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Mosa’ab Elshamy)Read More

FILE - Protesters shout anti-Israel slogans during a rally to show solidarity with the people of Gaza after Friday prayers at Azhar mosque, the Sunni Muslim world's premier Islamic institution, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel's war with Hamas. The protesters' demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

3 of 4 | 

FILE – Protesters shout anti-Israel slogans during a rally to show solidarity with the people of Gaza after Friday prayers at Azhar mosque, the Sunni Muslim world’s premier Islamic institution, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas. The protesters’ demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)Read More

FILE - Protesters shout anti-Israel slogans during a rally to show solidarity with the people of Gaza after Friday prayers at Azhar mosque, the Sunni Muslim world's premier Islamic institution, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel's war with Hamas. The protesters' demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

4 of 4 | 

FILE – Protesters shout anti-Israel slogans during a rally to show solidarity with the people of Gaza after Friday prayers at Azhar mosque, the Sunni Muslim world’s premier Islamic institution, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. Countries in the Middle East that have normalized or are considering normalizing relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas. The protesters’ demands present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)Read More

 Thursday, July 13, 2023, in      .The latest battle over Western public lands and fossil fuels is simmering in the Rockies where a proposed multi-billion dollar, 88-mile railway would cut through Utah wilderness and streamline the movement of crude oil to Colorado and throughout the country. Initial approvals for the project by the U.S. Department of Transportation are raising questions about the Biden administration’s stated commitment to wean the country off fossil fuels and could become a campaign issue in next year’s election. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

BY SAM METZUpdated 4:49 AM GMT+7, November 2, 2023 AP

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Arab nations that have normalized or are considering improving relations with Israel are coming under growing public pressure to cut those ties because of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Rabat and other Moroccan cities in support of the Palestinians. In Bahrain — a country that almost never allows protest — police stood by as hundreds of people marched last month, waving flags and gathering in front of the Israeli Embassy in Manama.

The demonstrations, which mirror protests across the Middle East, present an uncomfortable dilemma for governments that have enjoyed the benefits of closer military and economic ties with Israel in recent years.

Tiếp tục đọc “Opposition mounts in Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel”

After a Decade of Fossil Fuel Investing, Can China Fulfill Its Promise of a “Green” Belt and Road Initiative?

wri.org October 24, 2023 By Lihuan Zhou and Ziyi Ma Cover Image by: xiaoke chen/iStock

A decade ago, China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious effort to finance infrastructure around the world. Since then, Chinese investments made through the BRI have become an integral part of the global infrastructure landscape — particularly in developing countries — with estimates of $1 trillion or more invested across 152 countries.

Unfortunately, the first 10 years of the BRI were dominated by fossil fuel investment, with $52 billion invested in coal power alone according to the China Overseas Finance Inventory.

But the next decade could look very different: At the 2021 UN General Assembly, China announced it would cease building new coal plants abroad and instead step up investment in renewable energy, a commitment reiterated by President Xi Jinping at the latest BRI summit in October 2023.

Tiếp tục đọc “After a Decade of Fossil Fuel Investing, Can China Fulfill Its Promise of a “Green” Belt and Road Initiative?”

When titans clash 2 (3 parts)

US-China: Is A New NATO Emerging In Asia? | When Titans Clash 2 – Part 1/3 | CNA Documentary

CNA Insider – 29-4-2022

As the Ukraine crisis unfolds, China accuses the US of creating an Indo-Pacific version of NATO, and warns of a “Ukraine style tragedy” for Asia. On the other hand, countries like Japan, Philippines, India, Australia and South Korea, seek closer ties to the US as concerns emerge over China’s actions. Could Asia witness a war in the years ahead? Tiếp tục đọc “When titans clash 2 (3 parts)”

“Gaza has become a graveyard for children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.”

United Nations Geneva @UNGeneva

High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation (in Southeast Asia)

SEI.org

Researchers used this data and cloud computing to generate powerful, high-resolution maps of rubber and its associated deforestation in Southeast Asia, where over 90% of global rubber is produced…The mapping showed that forest loss associated with rubber production is more than two to three times greater than indicated by previous research has suggested

A multi-partner team of researchers, led by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, have used new Earth observation satellite data and advanced computer modelling to show that rubber-related deforestation is far higher than previous estimates have suggested

Almost all tropical deforestation is related to the production of global commodities, but mapping this deforestation through satellite imagery is rare (oil palm and soy are the notable exceptions). Natural rubber ranks among these global commodities but its deforestation impact has proved difficult to measure: globally, 85% of natural rubber is produced by smallholders on scattered plantations which have proved difficult to detect through traditional satellite imaging due to their small size. Moreover, these plantations also have a very similar visual appearance to forest when viewed from space. Previous calculations of rubber deforestation have therefore used model-based data.

Due to recent improvements in the visual quality of Earth observation data, in this paper the authors were able to capture the smallholder plantations in their mapping and address the deforestation knowledge gap. Researchers used this data and cloud computing to generate powerful, high-resolution maps of rubber and its associated deforestation in Southeast Asia, where over 90% of global rubber is produced.

Rubber tapping on a plantation in Thailand.Photo: Pavel Muravev / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Tiếp tục đọc “High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation (in Southeast Asia)”

The Interdependence of Climate Security and Good Governance: A Case Study from Pakistan

Climateandsecurity.org

By Ameera Adil and Faraz Haider

Last year, Pakistan faced the most devastating floods in the history of the country, which is notable because the country lies on a geographical floodplain. The Indus is an ancient and powerful river. The floodplain of the river covers nearly half of Pakistan, where most of the country’s population resides. When the Indus breathes, as rivers do, the lives and livelihoods on the floodplains are quietly absorbed by the water. 

Climate change had a significant role to play in the 2022 floods. The affected areas received 900mm of rainfall between June to August, which is nearly 350 percent more than the long-term average. Tiếp tục đọc “The Interdependence of Climate Security and Good Governance: A Case Study from Pakistan”

Hong Kong’s teachers are leaving. Is the National Security Law behind it? 

CNA Insider – 26-9-2023

Teachers in Hong Kong are leaving in record numbers. About 6,550 resigned or retired in the last academic year, almost twice the average prior to 2021. One possible reason? The National Security Law. Changes to the curriculum and limits on what can be discussed have left liberal-minded educators feeling stifled. Teachers are also worried that they risk censure should class discussions run afoul of the law. At the same time, thousands of students have also dropped out of Hong Kong schools, as the emigration wave continues. Some classrooms now sit empty. How will Hong Kong schools emerge from this shake up, and what will they look like after?

00:00 Introduction
01:35 Hong Kong teachers are quitting in record numbers
05:06 The National Security Law and how it affected education
14:47 Teachers under pressure
19:42 Recent changes to school curriculum
24:01 Heightened scrutiny in classrooms
27:04 The emigration wave and falling student enrolment
38:15 More mainland students entering Hong Kong
42:49 Future of Hong Kong’s education sector