World

Israel ordered evacuations in eastern Gaza on Thursday as heavy attacks hit the region, causing numerous casualties, according to Palestinian officials and residents. Those in the area described a desperate scramble to escape amid the ongoing explosions. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, which reportedly targeted the Shajaiye neighborhood, an area badly damaged by previous intense fighting. Israel's public broadcaster, Kan, noted that the military was conducting a ground operation to eliminate Hamas, based on intelligence suggesting the group was regaining control of the neighborhood. A witness from a human rights organization reported seeing Israeli tanks on the outskirts of Shajaiye. If confirmed, the operation would mark another case of Israeli forces ret...

Kenyan lawmakers passed a controversial finance bill on Tuesday, sparking outrage from thousands of people who marched on parliament in Nairobi. Protesters have called on the government to reject the proposed tax increases, arguing they would disproportionately burden Kenyan citizens. Clashes broke out as police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Footage captured by international media showed the chaotic scene, including the use of force against protesters. Reports of human rights activists being kidnapped ahead of the protest also emerged, raising concerns about freedom of expression. The proposed legislation has sparked a firestorm across Kenya. The East African nation, known for its relative stability, has seen days of nationwide demonstrations. Human rights groups have documented...

“We understand who is behind these terrorist acts,” Sergei Melikov, Dagestan's top official, said in a speech to its residents. He drew a comparison between the victims of the assault and Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, saying they were facing the same enemy. “We must understand that war enters our home,” Melikov added. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, in his daily press conference on Monday appeared to draw a link between the violence in Dagestan and Ukraine's separate attack on Sunday on occupied Crimea. Local officials declared a three-day mourning period in Dagestan, a multi-religious and ethnically diverse region, and said victims' families would receive special compensation. Dagestan's approximately 3.2 million residents are divided among dozens of ethnic groups. The largest gr...

A UN-run school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in May. Most of these schools are now used as shelters.Credit…Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock Karim al-Masri was due to start his final exams on Saturday morning, a few weeks after graduating. Instead, he spent the morning filling bags of water to freeze into ice, which he sold to support his family.“I was supposed to study and prepare for final exams,” said al-Masri, 18. But, more than eight months into the war, “I spend my days working to provide for my family to cope with the situation.”Al-Masri was one of nearly 39,000 Gaza students who failed to take their final high school exams, scheduled for Saturday in the Palestinian territories and Jordan, and who would have failed to graduate, according to Palestine Education. Ministry. The ...

Now, due to the lack of electricity and higher costs in the markets, Abdul Aziz has to buy food every day, depending on what is available and what he can afford. But the party isn't the only thing he'll miss this year, he said. “There are family visits and gatherings, money is given to children, new clothes are bought for everyone, sweets are baked, Eid prayers are said,” he said. “None of this is feasible this year. Everyone is sad and has lost someone or something." Aya Ali Adwan, 26, had become engaged before the war began. Her wedding, set for February, was postponed, another celebration interrupted by the conflict. Originally from northern Gaza, she and her family were forced to flee eight times during the war. They are now sheltering in a cramped tent in Deir al Balah, where the...

The center of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, a Balkan country born just 33 years ago as an independent state, is flooded with history. A statue of Alexander the Great looms over the central square. One of his fathers, Philip II of Macedon, stands on a large pedestal above a nearby square. The city is also dotted with bronze, stone and plaster tributes to generations of other heroes from what the country sees as its glorious and very long history. The problem, however, is that most of the history exposed is claimed by other countries. Modern-day North Macedonia, born out of the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, has no real connection to Alexander the Great, who lived 2,000 years ago down the road in what is now Greece, and many of the other historical figures honored with Stat...