Israel Strikes Evacuation Site, Netanyahu Says Ground Invasion is to Follow
Israel launched airstrikes on the south Gazan city of Rafah Sunday night, killing at least 67 people. Previously, Israel ordered Gazan civilians to evacuate to the south, causing Rafah’s population to swell from 250,000 to an estimated 1.5 million civilians, many living in tents in “desperate conditions” according to the BBC. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday that the area should expect a ground invasion. Rafah has been described as Palestinians’ last refuge in Gaza. Top UN official Martin Griffiths said a ground invasion of Rafah would be “catastrophic” and “leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.”
Ex-General Charged with Human Rights Violations Claims Victory in Indonesian Presidential Election
Prabowo Subianto claimed a win in the Indonesian presidential election Wednesday morning. He appeared to receive nearly 60 percent of the vote, though the final numbers are not yet settled. According to The New York Times, Subianto has stated that he believes Indonesia does not “need” democracy. Previously, he was charged and removed from the military for ordering the kidnapping and torture of more than a dozen pro-democracy advocates. Subianto is the former son-in-law of Suharto, another former military strongman, who held a dictatorship over Indonesia for 32 years. Hendardi, the director of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, said that Subianto’s election will lead to the “death of democracy” in Indonesia.
Democrats Win U.S. House Seat in Special Election
Democrat Tom Suozzi won the race against Republican Mazi Pilip to fill the open New York seat in the House of Representatives. The seat was left vacant after Republican George Santos was expelled from Congress in early October due to charges of conspiracy against the U.S. including wire fraud, identity theft, and falsifying documents. Suozzi ran on a platform promoting bipartisanship, while also calling himself a “staunch ally of Israel” who would fight against other Democrats to continue aid to the country. Republicans still hold a slight majority in the House, with 219 seats to the Democrat’s 212. The race was called by the Associated Press at 10:03 p.m. Tuesday with Suozzi holding 53.9 percent of the vote.
New Study Claims Climate Change Could Fuel Locust Storms
According to a new study published in the journal Science Advances, a warming climate will lead to “widespread increases in locust outbreaks.” The swarms could expand in number and distance covered, as well as increase in frequency, as locusts thrive in hot, dry conditions with occasional strong rains to fuel their eggs and provide vegetation for hatchlings to eat. These conditions are being intensified by human-caused global warming. Nations most prone to locust swarms include Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, and India. With increased global warming, more hotspots are projected to emerge across Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.
Satellite to Return to Earth Within the Week
By the end of this week, a European satellite launched in 1995 by the European Space Agency will return to Earth, almost definitely burning up in the atmosphere upon its descent. Benjamin Bastida Virgili, an ESA space debris engineer, said it is a “one in a billion” chance that a piece of satellite would hit a person. The satellite, called the ERS-2, was once Europe’s most sophisticated Earth observation satellite. In 2011, the satellite’s lifespan ended and the agency turned it off in a way that would fall back to Earth in 13 years time. The decision was part of the ESA’s “Zero Debris approach,” which seeks to eliminate the production of space debris in the Earth and lunar orbits by 2023.
