Not Your Casual News Week 29: Israel strikes Yemeni port after deadly Tel Aviv drone attack
A weekly read to keep you in the loop on geopolitics and humanitarian issues
Tensions between Israel and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have escalated sharply after Israel carried out air strikes on the port city of Hodeidah. Israel claims the strikes targeted military infrastructure used by the Iran-aligned Houthis.
The strikes come just a day after a Houthi drone attack killed a civilian in Tel Aviv. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the drone strike, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthis condemned the strikes as a “brutal act of aggression” and vowed to retaliate, warning that Israel would “pay the price.”
The strikes reportedly hit a fuel depot in Hodeidah, raising fears of civilian casualties and wider instability in war-torn Yemen.
The Israeli military said it had hit “military targets” and blamed the Houthis for more than 200 attacks on Israeli targets.
The White House confirmed the US was not involved in the Israeli strikes.
Deadly storms hit eastern Afghanistan
At least 40 people have been killed and more than 230 injured after heavy rains and storms hit Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. The severe weather, which struck on Tuesday 16 July during the afternoon, triggered flash floods and landslides, causing widespread damage.
Local hospitals in Jalalabad, the provincial capital, were overwhelmed with casualties. Many remain trapped under the rubble, and the death toll is feared to be rising. Social media footage shows the devastating impact of the storm, with water flowing everywhere.
Taliban officials have deployed emergency teams to assess the damage and provide aid to affected communities. The disaster has destroyed hundreds of hectares of farmland and vital infrastructure.
This tragedy follows warnings from meteorological authorities of heavy rains and possible flooding in several Afghan provinces. Just two months ago, devastating floods in the country claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed thousands of acres of farmland.
What Else Happened?
Bangladesh protesters storm state TV station. Thousands of student protesters stormed the headquarters of Bangladesh’s state broadcaster BTV on Thursday 18 July, “vandalising furniture, smashing windows and lights and setting parts of it on fire”, writes the BBC. The attack on the state broadcaster is a flashpoint of the growing unrest in Bangladesh, sparked by weeks of protests against the government job quota system — a system reserving a significant proportion of government jobs for veterans of the 1971 war of independence and their families. The protests have led to widespread clashes with police and pro-government groups, resulting in at least 25 deaths and many more injuries. Major universities remain closed indefinitely as the government struggles to contain the unrest.
Kagame beats his own record. Paul Kagame has secured a fifth term as president of Rwanda with a landslide victory, winning over 99% of the vote in the 15 July election. This continues a trend of overwhelming victories for Kagame, who previously won with 98.6% in 2017. Kagame’s supporters hail the stability and economic growth under his 24-year rule, but there are obvious suspicions about such a figure and whether the election was free, fair and democratic. “Discussing Rwandan politics as simply undemocratic or dictatorial is too simplistic,” explains Claudine Ukubereyimfura in an article for Igihe. “The majority of Rwandans want to continue living under the stability of his leadership.” Paul Kagame, a former rebel commander, swept to power in 1994, ending a genocide that killed some 800,000 people in 100 days.
Six found dead in Bangkok hotel after drinking cyanide-laced tea. A luxurious Bangkok hotel room turned into a deadly scene when six Vietnamese nationals, two of whom with dual US citizenship, were found dead of cyanide poisoning. Thai police suspect a murder-suicide plot and believe one of the group laced their companions’ tea with the deadly poison before taking their own lives. Evidence suggests that a business deal gone wrong may have been behind the tragic incident. Two of the victims, a married couple, had reportedly loaned another member of the group a substantial sum of money for a hospital project in Japan. Thai authorities are working with the FBI to investigate the case.
Climate News
Rare warming event detected over Antarctica. Scientists are monitoring a rare Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event detected high above Antarctica. SSWs are abrupt temperature spikes in the stratosphere, typically tens of degrees Celsius over a few days. While this event may not initially affect weather at ground level, it could eventually affect weather patterns in the Southern Hemisphere, leading to a more volatile winter in Australia with increased rainfall and colder temperatures in some regions. The effects of the event could even reach the Northern Hemisphere and affect the winter weather patterns there.
Heat index soars in the Persian Gulf. A dangerous heat dome is bringing almost unbearable conditions to the Persian Gulf region. Temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) combined with extreme humidity are creating heat index values — what the temperature actually feels like — of 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit (60 to 65 degrees Celsius). Experts warn that such extreme heat and humidity pose serious health risks. Last year, the region experienced heat index readings as high as 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius), and researchers warn that this could become more common in the coming decades due to climate change.
Image of the Week
The next Time’s cover, after President Joe Biden officially — and finally — drops out of the 2024 presidential race and brought his support to Vice President Kamala Harris.
In 24 hours, Kamala Harris raised $81 million (€74.5 million) for her presidential campaign, breaking a presidential fundraising record.
Thanks for reading! Have a good week