IRAQ
Death toll hits 40 in 24 hours
Officials said that five anti-government protesters were killed by security forces in Najaf, amid tensions following the burning of an Iranian consulate, bringing the death toll to 40 in more than 24 hours. Security and medical officials said that five protesters were killed and 32 wounded late on Thursday when security forces fired live rounds to repel them from setting alight a mosque. One demonstrator was killed when security forces tried to prevent them from storming the consulate. Thirty-five protesters were killed by security forces since Wednesday in separate demonstrations in Nasiriyah and Baghdad.
SUDAN
Ruling party to be dissolved
Transitional authorities on Thursday approved a law to dissolve the former ruling party and repealed a public order law used to regulate women’s behavior under former president Omar al-Bashir, the Minister of Justice said. “It is an important step on the path to building a democratic civilian state,” said the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the protests against al-Bashir. The public order law imposed conservative Islamic social codes, restricting women’s freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study. Those found to have contravened the law could be punished with flogging. “The decision to abolish the public order law is a culmination of the courageous struggles of women for 30 years,” women’s rights advocate Hadia Hasaballah said.
ZIMBABWE
Starvation menaces 60%
The country is facing “man-made” starvation, with 60 percent of the people failing to meet basic food needs, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Hilal Elver said on Thursday after an 11-day tour. Elver ranked the country among the four top countries facing severe food shortages outside nations in conflict zones. “Today, Zimbabwe counts among the four highest food-insecure states,” she said, adding that poor harvests were compounded by 490 percent hyperinflation. “A staggering 5.5 million people are currently facing food insecurity.”
UNITED STATES
Climber dies in Mexico fall
Civil defense officials in northern Mexico on Thursday reported that Californian mountain climber Brad Gobright died in a fall. The fall occurred on Wednesday at an almost sheer rock face known as Sendero Luminoso on El Potrero Chico peak near the city of Monterrey. The Nuevo Leon State civil defense office said that Gobright fell about 300m. The publication Rock and Ice described Gobright, 31, as a native of Orange County, California, who was “one of the most accomplished free solo climbers in the world.”
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
‘MOBILIZED’: While protesters countered ICE agents, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state’s National Guard to ‘support the rights of Minnesotans’ to assemble Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement, although not yet deployed to city streets. There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. The maneuver, which takes up to 12 hours, would allow the US space agency to begin a string of tests for the Artemis 2 mission, which could blast off as early as Feb. 6. The immense orange and white SLS rocket, and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved 6.5km to Launch Pad 39B. If the
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