| | | | | | | Hello. US President Joe Biden has announced he will travel to Israel and Jordan tomorrow to boost his administration's efforts to contain the conflict between its closest Middle East ally and the Hamas militant group. State Department correspondent Barbara Plett Usher explains the American diplomatic strategy. In Illinois, Mike Wendling attends the funeral of six-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume and speaks to mourners reeling from a killing that, according to prosecutors, stems from incendiary rhetoric on the Israeli-Gaza conflict. Finally, we explore Chile's Caleta Eugenia, the southernmost point to which you can drive on Earth. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Biden's bid to contain Israel-Hamas conflict | | | | Mr Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday. Credit: Michael Reynold/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock |
| | US President Joe Biden's decision to travel to the Middle East this week reflects America's concerns about the conflict between Israel and Hamas spilling over to the wider region. Mr Biden is due to visit Israel as well as the Jordanian capital of Amman, where he'll be meeting Jordan's King Abdullah, Egyptian leader Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to discuss humanitarian issues. Mr Biden's visit will support his Secretary of State Antony Blinken's diplomatic efforts across the region, reinforcing the US's commitment to Israel's right to defend itself after Hamas killed more than 1,300 people on its soil, while arguing it must affirm "shared values for human life and human dignity". Palestinian officials say three Israeli airstrikes on southern Gaza killed more than 100 people on Monday evening. There have been no indications any Israeli ground offensive has started. | | | | |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Brussels manhunt: Police in the Belgian capital have shot dead the man they say killed two Swedish nationals on Monday evening. | | • | Same-sex marriages: India's Supreme Court has put the onus on the government to create the laws to legalise LGBTQ+ unions, disappointing activists. | | • | Jim Jordan: The Republican lawmaker has a few more people to convince to secure a majority in a vote to become Speaker of the House of Representatives in the US. | | • | Meta watchers: Talks aimed at reaching a settlement between 184 Kenya-based Facebook moderators, who claim they were laid off for organising a union, and the platform's parent company have broken down. | | • | Grave robbery: Five men have been jailed for 12 years each in Nigeria after exhuming a human skull so a traditional doctor could use it in rituals to make them rich. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Bridgeview, US | | Community gathers for child's funeral | | Mourners gathered to remember Wadea al-Fayoume, the six-year-old Muslim boy who was stabbed to death in an attack that left his mother seriously injured and that prosecutors consider a hate crime. The man charged with the crime, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, was their landlord. | | | | There was a heavy security presence at the funeral, which was held in a neighbourhood known as Little Palestine. In this corner of the suburb of Bridgeview, local shops have signs in both English and Arabic and businesses fly the Palestinian and American flags side by side. An uncle and family spokesman, Yousef Hannon, said that before the killing "there was no sign of anything wrong" between the alleged perpetrator, Joseph Czuba, and the victims. "He was friendly to the whole family, but especially to the kid, whom he treated like a grandson," Mr Hannon said. "He brought him gifts, he brought him some toys." |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | Assessing China's Belt and Road Initiative | | | | The initiative helped China extend its influence, but at a cost. Credit: Getty Images |
| | China is throwing a huge celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of its Belt and Road Initiative. President Xi Jinping's guests include Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and even members of the Taliban government. But pomp aside, the initiative has not gone entirely as Beijing had hoped. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | On the edge | | Traveling to the end of the world (well, as far as south as you can go in a car). | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Once a month, a special train charters hundreds of members and staff of the European Parliament from Brussels to Strasbourg, where the legislative assembly also sits. Yes, it's a controversial issue, but that's not why I'm writing about it. On Monday, due to a signalling error, the train took the lawmakers to an entirely different destination: Disneyland Paris. |
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| | | | | | Future Planet | | Explore the wonders of our amazing planet. | | |
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– Sofia |
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