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As host of UN COP28 climate talks, the autocratic UAE is now allowing in critics it once kept out

3Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

As host of UN COP28 climate talks, the autocratic UAE is now allowing in critics it once kept out

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — As participants at the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks filed in Sunday for another day of talks, they found themselves greeted by a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates — a protest. From activism about the Israel-Hamas war to environmental issues, activists allowed into the UAE can demonstrate under strict guidelines in this autocratic nation. Others from organizations long banned by the country also have been let in, providing them some the opportunity for the first time in over a decade to offer criticism — though many acknowledge it may see them never allowed back in the country. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms led by Abu Dhabi’s ruler, bans political parties and labor unions. All power rests in each emirate’s hereditary ruler. Br...

3Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Israel widens evacuation orders as it shifts its offensive to southern Gaza amid heavy bombardments

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory where it says many Hamas leaders are hiding. Heavy bombardments were reported overnight and into Sunday in the area of Khan Younis and the southern city of Rafah, as well as parts of the north that had been the focus of Israel’s blistering air and ground campaign. Many of the territory’s 2.3 million people are crammed in the south after Israeli forces ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the 2-month-old war. With the resumption of fighting, hopes receded that another temporary truce could be negotiated. A weeklong cease-fire, which expired Friday, had...

‘Leaning tower’ in Italy on ‘high alert’ for collapse

2Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

‘Leaning tower’ in Italy on ‘high alert’ for collapse

It's the 'leaning tower' that has stood tipsily – but steadily – for nearly 1000 years. But now, the days of the Garisenda tower in Bologna, Italy, could be numbered. Following investigations last month, the city is instigating a civil protection plan for the "sudden and unexpected collapse of the tower," which has dominated the Bologna skyline since the 12th century. A protective metal cordon will be erected to "contain debris resulting from a possible collapse, to reduce the vulnerability of surrounding buildings and the exposure to the population, as well as blocking access to the off-limits area," the city council said in a statement. The cordon will be fixed into the ground, and will include specially designed rockfall protection nets, also made of metal and ...

Putin orders the Russian military to add 170,000 troops for a total of 1.32 million

2Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Putin orders the Russian military to add 170,000 troops for a total of 1.32 million

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country's military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million, as Moscow’s military action in Ukraine continues into its 22nd month. Putin's decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took force immediately. It brings the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country's military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000. (AP) It is the second such expansion of the army since 2018. The previous boost by 137,000 troops, ordered by Putin in August 2022, put the military's numbers at about 2 million personnel and about 1.15 million troops. The Defence Ministry sa...

Oklahoma executes man for double murder he claimed was self defence

1Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Oklahoma executes man for double murder he claimed was self defence

Oklahoma executed 59-year-old death row inmate Phillip Hancock, who was sentenced to death for the 2001 double murder of Robert Jett and James Lynch, officials said. Hancock – who had claimed the killings were done in self-defence – was pronounced dead at 11.29am on Thursday, the state's Department of Corrections said. Hancock's execution went ahead after Governor Kevin Stitt declined to halt it despite a recommendation by the state's parole board that he receive clemency, Hancock's lawyers said in a statement. CNN has reached out to the governor's office for comment. Stitt was not bound by the recommendation of the board, which voted three to two in favour of clemency at a hearing earlier this month. On Thursday, following the execution, Jett's brother said the f...

Japan suspends its Osprey flights after the fatal crash of a US Air Force aircraft

1Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Japan suspends its Osprey flights after the fatal crash of a US Air Force aircraft

Japan is suspending flights by its Osprey aircraft, officials said, one day after a US Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed into the sea during a training mission. Tokyo said it also asked the US military to ground all Ospreys operating in Japan except for those joining the search operations at the crash site. At least one of the eight crew members aboard was killed, but the status of the others is not yet known. It comes just three months after a US Marine Corps Osprey with 23 on board crashed on the Tiwi Islands near Darwin during a multinational military exercise. Nicknamed the "Widowmaker" by some pilots, the revolutionary Osprey aircraft is part helicopter and part aircraft and is notoriously difficult to fly. Three US marines were killed and five ser...