International
The UN approves a resolution condemning Israel’s treatment of civilians in Gaza
The United Nations Human Rights Council approved on Friday a resolution that condemns, among other abuses, “the practice of making the civilian population suffer hunger as a method of war in Gaza,” despite the votes against from countries such as Germany, Argentina or the United States.
The resolution was approved on the last day of the 55th session of the Council, which has lasted six weeks, with 28 votes in favor, 6 against and 13 abstentions, including those of France, India, Japan or the Netherlands.
The text also expresses “great concern” about statements by Israeli officials that “equate to incitement to genocide,” and urges the international community to stop the sale and transfer of weapons to Israel “in order to avoid further violations of international humanitarian law.”
On the other hand, the Council has adopted another resolution that reaffirms the Palestinian right to self-determination, “including its right to an independent State of Palestine.”
The resolution has been sponsored by about 70 countries, including Spain.
At least 54 Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, a figure that brings the total number of deaths since the beginning of the war to 33,091, according to the latest count of the Ministry of Health of the enclave, controlled by Hamas.
Of the death toll, more than 73% are women and children. Specifically, 14,500 minors have died to date, which makes this war the most lethal for childhood in years.
According to the official Palestinian agency Wafa, in recent hours artillery attacks have been recorded in large areas of the province of Jan Yunis, as well as in the eastern part of the city of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Army has confirmed that it continues to operate in Jan Yunis to dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities and assured that it had eliminated several “terrorist cells.”
In addition, an intense air attack reached the vicinity of the city of Sheikh Zayed, in northern Gaza.
In the center of the Strip, Israeli artillery besieged several localities, including the Maghazi refugee camp, which also suffered air bombardment.
In addition, Israel attacked during the night several launch posts in the north of the enclave, from where yesterday rockets were fired at the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Sderot and against the kibbutz Kfar Aza, which were claimed by Islamic Jihad.
The evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli Army to the Gazans before an attack are full of important errors that cause confusion, according to a BBC analysis released this Friday.
The British public broadcaster examined numerous material in brochures or transmitted through social networks corresponding to 26 different announcements issued since December 1.
In his study, he found notable inconsistencies, which meant that many people did not know exactly where to go.
“The warnings contained contradictory information and, sometimes, districts with incorrect names,” says the network, which has consulted experts who indicate that these errors “could violate Israel’s obligations under international law.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have rejected the results of this BBC study in a statement and assure that the alerts are only a part of their “extensive efforts to encourage the evacuation of civilians.”
International humanitarian law requires that the attacking forces warn in advance and effectively of attacks that may affect the civilian population, unless circumstances do not allow it.
An internal investigation by the Israeli Army has determined that Efrat Katz, a 68-year-old Israeli, was “probably” killed by an Air Force attack on October 7 in the Nir Oz kibutz during the attack in Hamas, when militiamen took her hostage to the Strip.
Based on the evidence captured by drones and security cameras, as well as testimonies from Air Force crews and witnesses, the examination concluded that a combat helicopter opened fire on a vehicle where “terrorists” from Hamas were traveling, in which Katz was also traveling.
“As a result of the shooting, most of the terrorists traveling in the vehicle died, and apparently Efrat Katz,” the Israeli Army said.
The examination was carried out by a designated team established under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Air Force, in order to examine the issue, in parallel with the in-depth examinations of all the combat incidents of October 7.
The heads of the Israeli and US intelligence services will arrive in Cairo at the beginning of next week to meet with their Egyptian and Qatari counterparts in the framework of the negotiations for a truce in Gaza, an Egyptian security source told EFE.
According to this same source, who asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, both the head of the Mossad, Didi Barnea, and that of the CIA, Bill Burns, will arrive in the Egyptian capital at the beginning of this week to start talks with “the Qatari Prime Minister and the head of Egyptian Intelligence.”
The objective of this meeting is “to achieve an openness in the conversations with which they seek to free the hostages held by the Islamic resistance movement Hamas in Gaza.”
On the other hand, a Palestinian source told EFE that Barnea will participate in the meeting “together with the president of Shabak, Ronen Bar, and the head of hostages and missing persons in the Israeli Army, General Nitzan Alon.”
International
At least ten dead in Iran in a bus accident in the west of the country
At least ten people lost their lives this Saturday when a passenger bus fell down a ravine on a highway in the province of Lorestan, in western Iran.
“The bus that left Andimeshk (Juzestan province) to Poldokhtar (Lorestan), went off the road and fell into a ravine so unfortunately at least 10 people have died,” announced the executive director of the Red Crescent of the province of Lorestan, Mohammad Ghadami, reported the Tasnim agency.
The official did not give details about the number of injured in the accident and their state of health.
Ghadami said that four rescue teams were sent to the scene of the incident immediately after it was reported at 12:39 local time (9:10 GMT) this Saturday.
Mortality on roads, one of the highest in the world
Traffic accidents are very common in Iran, where the road mortality rate is one of the highest in the world, with an average of 20,000 deaths per year.
Many of the accidents are due to the poor condition of the vehicles and the poor compliance with traffic rules by drivers.
Last August, at least 28 Pakistani pilgrims died when the bus in which they were traveling overturned in central Iran, in an accident that occurred due to a brake failure.
International
Helene, the violent hurricane that destroyed the southeastern United States
Hurricane Helene is one of the extreme climatic events that have starred this 2024 after leaving more than 150 direct deaths and billions of dollars in losses in six states of the southeastern United States, according to preliminary figures.
The deadly Helene, which in the continental United States has only been surpassed by Katrina (2005), ended with more than 150 deaths, at least a hundred in North Carolina, in addition to leaving a path of destruction that reached the mountainous area of that state with special virulence.
After impacting Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula, Helene made landfall on September 26 with winds of 225 kilometers per hour in the Big Bend region of Florida, in the northwest of that state, as the most powerful cyclone in that region since records have been available.
From Florida, where it arrived as a major hurricane, and while it weakened progressively to become a tropical depression, Helene continued on land through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
North Carolina was the one that took the worst part, not only for the number of deaths but for the economic losses, which amount to more than 59.6 billion dollars, according to an update from the state government released this month.
The historic rainfall of up to 76 centimeters caused floods and landslides in this state, which caused serious damage, and long-term, both in homes and in public infrastructure and the agricultural industry.
Million-dollar economic losses
Quantifying at this time the economic losses in all the states impacted by Helene, which generated strong winds and tornadoes, is difficult because there are discrepancies in the damage assessment since it produced “a large-scale disaster,” as Mónica Escaleras, professor of the Department of Economics at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), told EFE.
“The widespread nature of the damage, the diversity of affected sectors and ongoing recovery efforts” are factors that prevent an accurate estimate at present, he added.
Escaleras believes, however, that Helene is a reflection of how in recent years “extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent and intense, altering infrastructure and supply chains.”
A preliminary report from the Institute of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the University of Florida (UF/IFAS) estimates that agricultural losses in this southern state due to Helene can range between 40.3 and 162.2 million dollars, after destroying 6.1 million acres (2.4 million hectares) of arable land.
More hurricanes like Helene in the future
A key factor in Helene’s intensity were the high temperatures in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, whose surfaces were at about 29.4 degrees Celsius when the system began to form.
A preliminary study by the World Weather Attribution network of scientists reflected that this temperature is the result of climate change, which made Helene’s effects worse, responsible for example for 10% more rain.
“It is expected that the growing occurrence of these events will generate higher insurance premiums and may lead to the withdrawal of coverage in high-risk areas, which will affect both the real estate and business sectors,” Escaleras said.
This possible future scenario can, on the other hand, affect unprotected communities more, such as the Hispanic one in the United States. The Climate Power organization revealed last week a report that shows that Latino communities have been the great victims of the extreme weather events that occurred in 2024.
The report in question found that many Latino families in western North Carolina live in trailers flooded or destroyed by the storm, and that not mastering English they had obstacles when it came to receiving information about recovery tasks.
Antonieta Cádiz, executive director of the Climate Power In Action campaign, reminded EFE of the case of the workers of a plastics factory in Erwin (Tennessee) who died after a negligence in their evacuation, which was not carried out due to the imminent effects of Helene, employees who were mostly Hispanic.
The above, he said, is a sample of the disproportionate and “deep inequalities” that affect the Hispanic community when it comes to extreme weather events.
International
The piangua, the mangrove mollusk that empowers women in the Colombian Pacific
When the low tide in the Colombian Pacific, a group of women put on rubber boots, take a raft and enter a mangrove forest to collect the piangua, a mollusk that, in addition to providing food to their families, empowers them and gives them a voice in their territory.
They are in the community of La Plata, in the heart of the Uramba-Bahía Málaga National Natural Park, and they have just six hours to work before the sea rises again. Stuck in the mud they sing to liven up their days and regardless of the sun or rain they fill their containers with this mollusk similar to the mussel with which they prepare delicious recipes.
“It is a very important ancestral activity because it allows us to have economic sustainability as women, to be a symbol of resistance to cultural traditions and to take care of our gastronomic traditions,” Matilde Mosquera Murillo, legal representative of the Raíces Piangüeras Association.
Mosquera, 27 years old and a sociologist by profession, took on the challenge of leading that organization created in 2019 and has managed to bring together more than 70 women who are dedicated to this profession in the Community Council of La Plata-Bahía Málaga, where they play a fundamental role in conservation.
“We monitor mangroves, because we know the importance they have in the ecosystem, they are the cradle of thousands of species. We also make every process sustainable so that all the initiatives we lead allow us to take care of nature,” Mosquera insists.
International recognition
Their work already has international recognition and since 2023 they have held the ‘Meeting of Women of the Colombian Pacific’. In the first edition they asked the National Government to advocate before UNESCO to declare the piangüeo as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
“We believe in the need for a political strengthening of women, that our voice is heard and that we are part of the decisions that are made in the country so that we have votes in public policies and that they recognize our ancestral work in the world,” she adds.
The environmental richness of the La Plata archipelago is enormous and its 32 islands and islets are the habitat of 1,396 species of birds, reptiles, mammals and felines, as well as 60 classes of frogs, 25 of lizards and 52 of snakes.
There are also eight species of sharks, 22 rays and 348 of fish that have six types of mangroves as their home: red mangrove, born mangrove, ped mangrove, button or button mangrove, bobo mangle and feeder mangle.
Unity and awareness
According to Santiago Valencia, leader of the Community Council of La Plata-Bahía Málaga, women use a ‘piangüímetro’, a tool that works as a rule that allows them to measure the mollusk when it has already passed its reproductive stage.
“Their organization is as strong as the roots of the mangrove and they even come together to reforest when they see it necessary. This unity has made them look for other alternatives because they see that everything is possible and today they see themselves as what they are: powerful women, businesswomen and nature lovers,” says Valencia.
Currently, women piangüeras work in the search for resources that allow them to access studies to improve and strengthen their processes.
Some of them have already created other ventures for the manufacture of ointments based on medicinal plants from the jungle, ancestral drinks and even think about packing the piangua in a vacuum to export it to other countries.
“When we go to the mangrove we sing as a symbol of power, to express our feelings, it also serves to harmonize our activity and understand that we are important; we will leave this inheritance to our children and it will continue for generations,” concludes Mosquera.
At least ten dead in Iran in a bus accident in the west of the country
Helene, the violent hurricane that destroyed the southeastern United States
The piangua, the mangrove mollusk that empowers women in the Colombian Pacific
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