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Cigarette smuggling in Gaza affects humanitarian aid deliveries

Cigarette smuggling in Gaza affects humanitarian aid deliveries

Related media - Recent news In the heavily blockaded Gaza Strip, cigarettes have become a rare commodity, often selling for $25-30 each. Both U.N. and Israeli officials have reported that coordinated attacks by groups seeking to profit from these contraband cigarettes are severely hampering the transportation of essential aid into southern Gaza. Israeli authorities carefully monitor all goods entering and leaving Gaza through checkpoints under their control. Despite these efforts, cigarettes have managed to pass for weeks inside aid trucks, mainly through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza. To evade Israeli controls, traffickers in Egypt hide cigarettes in sacks…
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Ferrari Ventures Into Electric Age Amid Industry Challenges

Ferrari Ventures Into Electric Age Amid Industry Challenges

Related media - Recent news In a new factory in northern Italy, Ferrari chassis slide onto robot trucks as engineers in cherry-red uniforms add components like the engine block, dashboard, and steering wheel, turning these bodies into hybrids. Soon: fully electric. There’s a lot at stake in Ferrari’s €200 million “e-building,” which opened last month. Almost twice the size of Rome’s Colosseum, the factory aims to propel the 77-year-old sports car maker, famous for the roar of its combustion engines, into the age of electrification. However, this effort comes at a delicate time for the auto industry. The transition to…
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WHO data indicates rising number of deaths in Ukrainian medical facilities during ongoing conflict

WHO data indicates rising number of deaths in Ukrainian medical facilities during ongoing conflict

Related media - News 24 hours A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's largest children's hospital on Monday underscored the escalation of attacks on medical facilities, vehicles and workers in the country. The incident is in line with World Health Organization (WHO) data indicating a potential increase in Ukrainian casualties from such attacks in 2024 compared to the previous year. Before the attack on Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv, WHO had reported 18 deaths and 81 injuries from more than 175 attacks on health infrastructure in Ukraine during the first half of 2024. In addition, 44 attacks on medical vehicles were…
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NATO unity faces challenges amid leadership uncertainty

NATO unity faces challenges amid leadership uncertainty

More news - News 24 hours As President Biden and his team prepared to celebrate NATO’s 75th anniversary, starting Tuesday night in Washington, the goal was to project unity and confidence. The intention was to send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other adversaries that, despite more than two years of war in Ukraine, NATO had become stronger and more resolute in its mission to deter aggression. But as 38 world leaders began arriving on Monday, that confidence seemed to be wavering. Even before the summit officially began, doubts were raised about Biden’s potential for a second…
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Viktor Orban visits Xi Jinping in China after meeting with Putin in Moscow

Viktor Orban visits Xi Jinping in China after meeting with Putin in Moscow

Related media - Breaking news Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday, following his recent talks with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin in Moscow. China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, announced Orban's visit, saying Xi would engage in "in-depth discussions on issues of mutual concern" with him. The two leaders last met two months ago, when Xi visited Budapest to boost Chinese influence in Europe. Chinese state television reported that the meeting took place at the Diaooyutai State Guesthouse, but gave no further details. The meeting offers Xi and Orban, who often diverges from…
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The Silent Killer Who Stalks Sri Lankan Men

The Silent Killer Who Stalks Sri Lankan Men

Related media - Breaking news Climate change and contaminated water have triggered an epidemic of kidney disease. In Sri Lanka, a serene island nation in the Indian Ocean, a silent killer is claiming the lives of thousands of men. Statistics reveal an alarming spike in chronic kidney disease cases, and experts point to two main culprits: climate change and water pollution. In rural northern and eastern Sri Lanka, where agriculture is the backbone of the local economy, farmers face a daily struggle not only to cultivate their land but also to survive amid a growing health crisis. Extreme temperatures and…
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Political changes in France after early elections

Political changes in France after early elections

Related media - Recent news After Sunday's snap legislative elections in France, the nation faces a deadlocked parliament and significant political uncertainty. No major political factions, left, center or right, have won an outright majority. The left-wing New Popular Front emerged as the leading group with 178 seats. President Emmanuel Macron's centrist coalition followed with 150 seats, while Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration Rassemblement National party and its allies secured 142 seats. Contrary to expectations, the National Rally did not win a clear victory. A strategic move by centrists and leftists to form a "republican front" against the National Rally in…
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Building Global Supply Chains: US Strategy to Mitigate Risks with China

Building Global Supply Chains: US Strategy to Mitigate Risks with China

More news - Recent news If the Biden administration is successful, many more electronic chips will be produced in factories located in, say, Texas or Arizona. These chips will then be shipped to partner countries like Costa Rica, Vietnam, or Kenya for final assembly and global distribution, powering everything from refrigerators to supercomputers. These places aren’t the first that come to mind when you think of semiconductors. But administration officials are trying to transform the global chip supply chain, and they’re negotiating hard to make that happen. Key elements of the plan include convincing foreign companies to invest in U.S.…
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Live coverage: Labour poised for historic victory in UK election

Live coverage: Labour poised for historic victory in UK election

Related media - Recent news Voters in Portsmouth, a city famous for its naval base on England’s south coast, streamed into a polling station on Thursday morning. Warmly greeted by poll workers, they arrived in a steady stream: elderly couples holding hands, parents with babies in strollers, and young professionals rushing to work. According to the latest polls, every vote cast has added weight to what could be the decisive conclusion to 14 years of Conservative government. “I just want to see change,” said Sam Argha, 36, after voting for Labour. “We need to try something different.” This sentiment reverberated…
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Gilead Shot Provides Full Protection From HIV in Study of Young African Women

Gilead Shot Provides Full Protection From HIV in Study of Young African Women

Related media - Breaking news It can take years for generic drugmakers to be ready to produce a drug, and they need to have a sense of the potential market to commit to investing in production. So in the meantime, Gilead will aim to ship "sufficient volumes" of lenacapavir to low-income countries as soon as it gets regulatory approval, he said. Lenacapavir and the two pills studied are all known as pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs, or PrEP. Another effective injectable PrEP drug is available in some African countries, but its introduction has been plagued by access issues. Long-acting cabotegravir, which is…
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