Duty Editor: Karl Malakunas
Tel: +852 2829 6211
+ Israeli troops battle Hamas in southern Gaza
+ White House warns Ukraine aid could run out
+ Global warming could pass 1.5C in seven years
+ Ex-US ambassador charged with spying for Cuba
+ Surprise drop of ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ trailer
Israel-Palestinians-conflict,WRAP
GAZA STRIP
Israeli troops battle Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip after expanding their offensive deeper into the besieged territory, with warnings that an “even more hellish scenario” was unfolding for trapped civilians.
900 words 0800 GMT by Adel Zaanoun with Sebastien Berger in Jerusalem. Picture. Video. Live video. Graphic
Ukraine-Russia-conflict-US
WASHINGTON
The White House issues a stark warning that US aid for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year, saying that if Congress fails to agree funding, it will “kneecap” Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invasion.
650 words moved by Danny Kemp
Climate-COP28-UN-UAE-emissions-energy
PARIS
The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warn, urging countries at the COP28 talks to “act now” on coal, oil and gas pollution.
650 words moved by Kelly Macnamara
US-justice-intelligence-Cuba,WRAP
MIAMI
A former US ambassador to Bolivia is arrested and charged with spying for Cuba over a 40-year span, with the Justice Department announcing the shocking betrayal in which the suspect referred to the United States as “the enemy.”
600 words moved by Gerard Martinez. Picture. Video
US-internet-games,WRAP
SAN FRANCISCO
The first trailer for “Grand Theft Auto VI” is put on YouTube in a surprise, ahead-of-schedule post, promising a 2025 release for the latest installment in the mega-popular video game franchise.
650 words 0600 GMT by Glenn Chapman. Picture. Video. Graphic
Also moving: US-internet-games-GTA,Q&A
Already moved: US-internet-games-enterprises-Rockstar-GTA,FOCUS
— ISRAEL-GAZA WAR —
Israel-Palestinian-conflict-Jerusalem-shooting,FOCUS
KIRYAT TIVON, Israel
When Yuval Kestelman saw gunmen firing at a Jerusalem bus stop, he acted swiftly to stop the attack — but was killed by Israeli soldiers who likely mistook him for an assailant.
800 words moved by Ilan Ben Zion. Picture
— ASIA —
Indonesia-volcano,WRAP
AGAM, Indonesia
Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers are racing to find 10 hikers who went missing after a volcano eruption killed 13 people.
550 words 0630 GMT by Irwanda Saputra. Picture. Video.
India-weather-flood-climate,WRAP
CHENNAI
Eight people are killed as Cyclone Michaung approaches southeast India, with flooding washing away cars and uprooting trees in one major city.
450 words 0800 GMT. Picture
Environment-India-pollution-health,FOCUS
NEW DELHI
Environmental change hits the poorest the hardest, experts say, and in India’s toxic smog-filled capital that extends even to the air people breathe.
750 words 0730 GMT by Aishwarya Kumar. Picture. Video
Pakistan-environment-turtles,FEATURE
KARACHI
Against the backdrop of the mega port city of Karachi, choked with traffic and construction, four green turtles emerge from the frothy Arabian Sea seeking a spot to lay their eggs.
600 words moved by Ashraf Khan. Picture. Video
Bhutan-politics-entertainment-film,INTERVIEW
THIMPU, Bhutan
The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the last country to introduce television, made waves last year with a film director who walked the red carpet of the Oscars.
600 words moved by Dechen Wangdi. File Picture
— AMERICAS —
Venezuela-Guyana-politics-election-Essequibo,WRAP
CARACAS
Guyana says it remains ‘vigilant’ after Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly in favor of claiming an oil-rich border region that makes up more than two-thirds of its territory.
550 words moved by Javier Tovar with Denis Chabrol in Georgetown. Picture. Video. Graphic
Brazil-Mercosur-EU-diplomacy-trade,ADVANCER
BRASILIA
The fate of a long-awaited but controversial Europe-South America trade deal hangs in the balance this week when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosts a summit of the Mercosur regional bloc.
650 words moved by Ramon Sahmkov. Picture
US-economy-agriculture-cannabis,FOCUS
MATTITUCK, New York
When New York authorities gave him a license to cultivate cannabis in the spring of 2022, Marcos Ribeiro thought he’d hit the big time.
750 words moved by Andrea Bambino. Picture. Video
— EUROPE —
Ukraine-Russia-conflict-tanks-Germany,FOCUS
LYMAN, Ukraine
In a snow-blanketed forest near the front line in eastern Ukraine, a 59-tonne battle tank rumbled from a camouflaged dug-out, where Ukrainian forces are holding back Russian attacks.
700 words 0600 GMT by Emmanuel Peuchot. Picture. Video
France-heritage-NotreDame,ADVANCER
PARIS
Workers at Paris’s emblematic Notre-Dame cathedral have one year, starting on Friday, to finish restoring the gothic monument in time for its reopening following a monstrous fire in 2019 that almost destroyed it.
500 words moved by Philippe Grelard. Picture. Video. File picture
Also moved: France-heritage-NotreDame,FACTS
— AFRICA —
SAfrica-Mandela-politics
JOHANNESBURG
With murals of his smiling face still covering many buildings, South Africans on Tuesday mark 10 years since the death of Nelson Mandela with a mixture of nostalgia for his integrity and disappointment over what has happened since.
500 words 0700 GMT by Gersende Rambourg. Video + File Picture
Women-health-Cameroon-research,PROFILE
YAOUNDE, Cameroon
In Cameroon’s rural north, very few girls go on to enjoy careers in science. Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang, a neuroscience doctor, and Hadidjatou Dairou, PhD student of cellular physiology, have overcome prejudice and smashed through the glass ceiling.
700 words 0630 GMT by Jean-Baptiste Ketchateng. Picture. Video
GBissau-politics,WRAP
BISSAU
The president of Guinea-Bissau dissolves parliament ahead of fresh elections after what he calls an attempted coup plunged the West African nation into a new crisis.
500 words moved by Allen Yero Embalo
— ENVIRONMENT —
Climate-COP28-UN-UAE-lobbyists
PARIS
A record almost 2,500 fossil fuel lobbyists have been accredited for UN climate talks in Dubai, as negotiators wrestle with calls to end all new oil, gas and coal projects to curb global warming, campaign groups says.
450 words moved
Climate-COP28-UN-UAE-science,WRAP
DUBAI
The Emirati head of the UN climate conference insists that he respects climate science after coming under fire over a leaked video in which he questioned the science on fossil fuels.
650 words moved by Laurent Thomet, Benjamin Legendre and Julien Mivielle. Picture. Video
Also moved: Climate-COP28-UN-UAE-trade,FOCUS
Climate-COP28-UN-China-automobile-EVs,FOCUS
SHENZHEN
On a rainy afternoon in Shenzhen, damp passengers jostle their way onto the megacity’s buses, the quiet foot soldiers of an electric revolution for coal-guzzling China’s public transport network.
850 words 0600 GMT by Rebecca BAILEY with Michael Zhang and Emily Wang. Picture. Video. Graphic
Iran-climate-architecture-COP28-UN-UAE,FOCUS
YAZD, Iran
Tall, chimney-like towers rise from centuries-old adobe houses in Iran’s desert city of Yazd, drawing in a pleasant breeze for residents of one of the hottest cities on earth.
700 words 0530 GMT by Jerome Rivet and Ahmad Parhizi. Picture. Video
— ENTERTAINMENT —
Entertainment-US film-actors-strike
LOS ANGELES
Hollywood anxiously waits to learn if actors have approved their union’s hard-fought deal with studios, or if an entertainment industry still reeling from months-long strikes could be plunged back into turmoil.
500 words 0530 GMT by Andrew Marszal
afp
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