levels

High-rise in Gaza city razed as Israel presses for tactical offensive; civilians urged to flee south An Israeli strike levelled a roughly 15-storey residential tower in Gaza city on Thursday, the second such collapse in as many days, as the Israeli military intensified warnings for residents to head south toward a so-called “humanitarian zone” ahead of a planned ground offensive. Video circulated by Israeli officials showed the building buckling and disintegrating into a cloud of dust and concrete. Israel’s defence…

New Delhi, the bustling heart of India, finds itself shrouded in a thick cloak of noxious smog, with air quality deteriorating sharply after a fireworks ban was largely ignored during the vibrant festivities of Diwali, the festival of lights. Home to over 30 million residents, New Delhi's choked thoroughfares rank it as one of the planet's most polluted metropolitan areas, a title it is all too familiar with. Each year, the city succumbs to a choking haze filled with harmful pollutants, primarily attributed to the practice…

The food crisis in Somalia is grim, with around 4.4 million people expected to face severe hunger between October and December, according to the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "Currently, about 3.6 million Somalis are grappling with extreme hunger. This figure is projected to swell to 4.4 million as we move into the latter months of the year, when anticipated rainfall is below average," reported OCHA. From October through December, a time notorious for rising disease outbreaks…

In a contentious decision, European Union member states have opted to reduce the protection status of wolves, sparking outrage among conservationists and setting the stage for a potential easing of stringent hunting regulations. The representatives from the bloc's 27 nations rallied behind a proposal aimed at amending an international wildlife agreement. This change would shift the classification of wolves from "strictly protected" to simply "protected." The European Commission, the body that originally advocated for this…

Reflection Day, this Saturday, July 17, for the residents of Sao Tome and Principe, this archipelago off Gabon. They are preparing to elect their new president on Sunday. The campaign ended on Friday. Nineteen candidates are participating. With the special envoy from the Portuguese-speaking editorial staff of RFI, Neidy…