👋 Avuxeni!*
Welcome to Thursday, where Israeli forces kill dozens of Palestinans as it pushes into Gaza, China starts “punishment” military drills around Taiwan in response to President William Lai’s declarations, and a Nepali woman climbs Mount Everest in record time. Meanwhile, independent Persian-language news site Kayhan-London reports on Iranian doubts of foul play concerning the crash of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter.
[*Tsonga, South Africa and Mozambique]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Free London-based business-focused daily City A.M. dedicates its front page to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak completely drenched in the rain as he announced his decision to call a summer general election on July 4, much sooner than anticipated. With the promise to fight for every vote, he stated that “now is the moment for Britain to choose its future,” claiming the Conservative party to be the trusted one to lead the country in a time of global instability.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Israeli forces kill 35 Palestinians in air and ground strikes across Gaza. Intense street battles with Hamas-led militants were reported as well in areas of Rafah while Israeli tanks advanced in the city’s southeast. Israel announced it would reprimand the ambassadors of Ireland, Norway and Spain following the countries’ plan to recognize a Palestinian state next week. Follow Worldcrunch’s international coverage of the war in Gaza here.
• China starts two days of “punishment” military drills around Taiwan. The move comes three days after the inauguration of President William Lai, who called on Beijing to stop its “intimidation” of the island, which China claims as its own. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had placed its military on “high alert,” describing China’s drills as “irrational provocations.”
• Macron says French troops will remain in New Caledonia “as long as necessary.” France’s president arrived in the capital city Noumea on Thursday and met with local officials, in a show of support for the French Pacific archipelago gripped by deadly unrest, which were triggered by plans to change electoral rules. Macron described the rioting as an “unprecedented insurrection movement” that no one saw coming and said Paris would “go until the end” to restore calm and peace.
• Norway to ban entry for most Russian tourists. The Nordic country announced on Thursday that Russian citizens with tourist visas issued by Norway before it first imposed restrictions in 2022 or issued by another European country will be barred from entering as of next week. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said this was a response to “Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
• UN to vote on memorial day for 1995 Srebrenica genocide amid Serbian opposition. The General Assembly will examine on Thursday the resolution written by Germany and Rwanda, which designates July 11 as the “International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica” to be observed annually. Serbian opponents to the resolution say they fear it will brand them all as “genocidal” supporters of the mass killing, even though it doesn’t mention Serbia as the culprit. To know more about the Srebrenica massacre.
• At least nine dead at Mexico campaign rally after stage collapses. The accident is attributed to strong winds that gusted through an election rally for presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez in the northern city of San Pedro Garza Garcia on Wednesday. About 50 people were also injured. Rescue operations were ongoing overnight to save some of the people trapped under the collapsed stage.
• Nepali climber smashes women’s record for fastest ascent of Mount Everest. Phunjo Lama conquered the world’s highest mountain in 14 hours and 31 minutes on Thursday, shaving more than 11 hours off the previous best that had stood since 2021. Lama actually reclaimed her own world record, which she had clinched in 2018 when she climbed Everest in 39 hours and six minutes. And read more about “extreme tourism” here.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$19 billion
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has announced the creation of a comprehensive support programme for the semiconductor industry worth 26 trillion Korean won ($19 billion), which includes financial, infrastructure, research and development, as well as support for small and medium-sized companies. In addition, tax benefits for chip investments will be extended, in order to boost employment and attract more talent to the industry.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Iranians start to doubt official line that Raisi crash was an accident
In spite of the political or diplomatic headaches this could cause, there are preliminary grounds for not ruling out foul play as causing the crash of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter days ago, reports independent Persian-language news site Kayhan-London.
🇮🇷 While the exact causes of the incident have yet to be established, there are new elements that might at least strengthen suspicions of foul play. The first is why the helicopters flew at all in thick fog that impeded the view. Authorities announced the chopper had a hard landing, though nobody has verified this. Pilots carry out hard landings in particular conditions, with specific protocols that are repeatedly practiced before in mock or simulated landings. Still, even a hard landing is likely to produce deaths. It is very rare in any case for helicopters to fly over risky terrain in the middle of fog.
📶 As the crash happened near the frontiers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, it is possible jamming signals might have impeded the satellite connection, though this again requires investigation. An interrupted signal could have delayed altitude and terrain data pilots need to receive in real time. Separately, the Turkish transport minister revealed the helicopter's transponder was off — this being a signaling device that allows its localization at all times.
🔍 Our source says investigators will look into whether or not the three choppers took off together or flew separately, and whether or not they too had technical glitches. They would also check to see if anything had struck Raisi's helicopter, though political considerations will certainly impact on whether or not, and when and how, Iran would decide to reveal anything about a projectile.
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📣 VERBATIM
"What did I do? Do you have any facts about it?"
— Former South African President Jacob Zuma told the BBC that the Constitutional Court was wrong to decide he was unfit to run, based on his 2021 conviction for refusing to testify at an inquiry investigating corruption during his presidency. Ahead of next week's general election, Mr. Zuma asked “If people say I am corrupt, what did I do? Do you have any facts about it? Am I guilty?” recalling the 2021 deadly riots that proved the scale of public support for him.
👉MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• African Peacekeepers To Haiti: When Gangs Are More Dangerous Than War — FRANCE INTER
• Why Egyptian Building And City Design Make Life Riskier For Women — AL-MANASSA
• The "Forest Gardens" That Could Help Canada's First Nations Reclaim Their Land — UNDARK
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet and Agnese Tonghini
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