July 11, 2024

*) Israeli military orders evacuation of Gaza City The Israeli military has ordered all Palestinians to leave Gaza City and head south, pressing ahead with a fresh offensive across the north, south and centre of the war-stricken territory that has killed dozens of people over the past 48 hours. The stepped-up military activity came as US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators were meeting with Israeli officials in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks trying to push through a long-elusive ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas. *) Spain slams 'double standards' on Gaza during NATO summit Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has urged the West to reject "double standards" regarding Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza as he joined NATO leaders in supporting Ukraine. "If we are telling our people that we are supporting Ukraine because we are defending the international law, this is the same as what we have to do towards Gaza," he said at NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington *) Israel's Gaza war producing alarming carbon emissions: study Israeli strikes on Gaza have generated more carbon emissions in the first 120 days than the annual output of 26 countries combined, according to a new study. The study by Queen Mary University in London found that the carbon emissions resulting from Israeli attacks on Gaza have been significantly detrimental to the environment. The study underscores the critical intersection of military conflict and environmental degradation, calling for global attention to mitigate the impact of such crises on climate change. *) Samsung union in South Korea declares ‘indefinite’ strike A union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics in South Korea said it would extend a three-day strike indefinitely to force management to negotiate. The strike is the biggest labour action in the tech giant's history and steps up pressure on the chipmaker's management, who last week predicted a huge second-quarter operating profit increase. *) Hollywood star George Clooney urges Biden to end 2024 presidential bid US President Joe Biden suffered a stunning blow when actor and Democratic supporter George Clooney urged him to drop his re-election bid. "I love Joe Biden," Clooney, wrote in the New York Times. "But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. It's devastating, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020.”