Three Spanish tourists killed in an attack in Afghanistan
Today's news: Bodies of three Israeli citizens killed on 7 October found in Gaza; China announces massive funding to clear the glut of unsold housing created by the housing bubble; North Korea wants to strengthen the country's nuclear weapons; In Georgia those who take part in protests risk dismissal
AFGHANISTAN
Three Spanish tourists were killed in an attack by gunmen in the central province of Bamyan in Afghanistan, the Spanish Foreign Ministry announced yesterday. The Taliban are in fact encouraging tourist visits: there is a UNESCO heritage site in Bamyan. It is one of the most serious hostilities towards foreign citizens since foreign forces left the country in 2021.
CHINA
Beijing announced funding of 300 billion yuan (about 40 billion dollars) to help dispose of the glut of unsold housing, as well as measures to ensure builders have access to financing and to encourage the repurchase of ‘idle’ land. This is the most ambitious effort to save the real estate sector and support the economy in general. The initiative will allow local authorities to purchase unsold houses to be offered as affordable housing.
NORTH KOREA
After a joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington, which saw stealth fighter jets simulating air engagements in action, Kim Jong Un ordered an acceleration of production to more rapidly strengthen the country's nuclear force. The intention is to ‘cope with the enemies’ reckless military confrontation", the leader said on Friday while visiting a weapons factory.
GEORGIA
In Georgia, several civil servants and workers of state-owned companies were dismissed for being among the participants in demonstrations protesting against the law on ‘foreign influence’, which the leaders forbid, including the invalid Georgij Mukhigulašvili, who worked as a street sweeper in Tbilisi. Demonstrators' rallies continue every night in many cities across the country.
INDIA
Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Indian Congress Party, made an emotional appeal to voters in her family's district - in Raebareli, which goes to the polls in the fifth phase of India's general elections on 20 May - asking them to vote for her son in a region that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party have dominated for the past ten years. His son Rahul was announced the candidate for the region.
ISRAEL
The Israeli army announced that it had recovered in a night operation in Gaza the bodies of three hostages - Shani Louk, Amit Buskila and Itzhak Gelerenter - taken to the Strip on 7 October, and found in a Hamas tunnel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the news ‘heartbreaking’. The three victims had been killed at a road junction near the Nova Festival site in southern Israel.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
In Krasnogorsk in Moscow province, survival courses began at St. Elizabeth's Church in Opalikh, led by veterans of the war in Ukraine, open to boys aged 12 and up, who can learn free of charge how to ‘resist firearms’ with the assistance of Orthodox priests, who will deliver ‘sermons on patriotism in life’.
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24/06/2020 09:38
20/06/2020 11:03
