Skip to main content

French government faces fresh test as Yellow Vests mobilise

France's Yellow Vest movement filed plans for a major ​march through Paris on Saturday, presenting the government with its next major test after riots and looting last weekend shook confidence ‌in its ability to maintain order. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was due to meet union leaders on Wednesday, seeking ways to defuse one of the worst crises France has faced in recent years and avoid a repeat of the violence that swept French cities on October 17. A representative of the "Gilets Jaunes" (Yellow Vests) movement, which is a grassroots ​group not tied to the unions, presented plans for a march across the heart of Paris, including areas that were ransacked just ​days ago. Student groups have also called for protests the same day to push their demands for more investment ⁠in education. Yellow Vest activists are seeking to revive their campaign, which emerged in 2018, against rising living costs and declining public services. Investors fret, French borrowin...

Drone strike on Sudan hospital kills 64, wounds dozens, WHO says

A strike on a hospital in Sudan’s East Darfur state killed 64 people and wounded 89 others, including 13 children, the World Health Organization said Saturday. The attack on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in the state capital occurred on Friday, damaging the pediatric, maternity, and emergency departments and leaving the facility non-functional. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an end to the nearly three-year conflict. “Enough blood has been spilled,” he said. “Health care should never be a target. Peace is the best medicine”. Human toll and emergency response Among the dead were two female nurses, one male doctor, and multiple patients. Eight health staff were reported among the wounded. The WHO is supporting local health partners to treat the injured and fill urgent gaps in medical services with essential supplies. Read: Drone strikes in Sudan kill 33 Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers reported that the hospital was struck by a drone. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) control the Darfur region, while Sudan’s army holds the east, center, and north. Ongoing attacks on health care RSF-controlled El-Daein has been targeted repeatedly by the Sudanese army, including a market strike earlier this month. The Sudan Armed Forces said in a statement carried by SUNA that it adheres to international norms, accusing the RSF of regularly attacking service and health facilities. The WHO’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) tracks such incidents but does not assign blame. According to SSA data, Friday’s strike brings the total deaths in health-care attacks in Sudan to 2,036 across 213 incidents. Read more: Landmine explosion in Sudan kills nine “Beyond the devastating human toll, attacks on health care have immediate and long-term consequences for communities already in desperate need of medical services,” Tedros said. Escalating drone warfare Drone strikes have become a hallmark of the Sudan conflict, killing dozens at a time, mainly in southern Kordofan. UN rights chief Volker Turk said more than 200 civilians were killed by drone attacks over eight days this month. The war, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 11 million people. More than 33 million need humanitarian aid, according to the UN. “Enough suffering has been inflicted,” Tedros said. “The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians”.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/xYqhCjI

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...

Arab countries, Pakistan likely to observe Eid on same day

The International Astronomy Centre confirmed on Wednesday that the crescent moon of Shawwal will be impossible to sight on Saturday, March 29, across all regions of the Arab and Islamic world. This is due to the moon setting before the sun, with the conjunction occurring after sunset. As a result, observing the crescent moon, whether by the naked eye, telescopes, or other means, will be unfeasible on March 29. For countries requiring an actual sighting to mark the start of Shawwal, Ramadan will likely extend to 30 days, with Eid Al Fitr falling on Monday, March 31. However, in some regions where the conjunction occurs before sunset, allowing the moon to set after sunset, some countries may choose to declare Eid on Sunday, March 30, following traditional moon-sighting practices. Notably, a partial solar eclipse will be visible at noon on Saturday in parts of the western Arab world, including Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. This event serves as definitive proof that the cresce...

Climate damage fund hailed, but 'needs billions rather than millions'

The launch of a climate "loss and damage" fund drew praise and hundreds of millions of dollars in pledges at the UN's COP28 talks on Thursday but also warnings that much more is needed to help vulnerable nations. "We have delivered history today," the UAE's COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber told delegates who stood and applauded after the decision's adoption in Dubai. The announcement was followed immediately by financial pledges, including 225 million euros ($246 million) from the European Union, $100 million from the United Arab Emirates, another $100 million from Germany, $40 million from Britain, $17.5 million from the United States and $10 million from Japan. After years of dragging their feet on the issue, wealthy nations backed the fund in a landmark agreement at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last year. Its launch on the first day of COP28 follows fraught negotiations on the mechanics of the fund, which will be housed at the World Bank...