hacker news

People in China are calling attention to the fact that the state of Israel is not present on online maps in China, a concerning development given China's historical obsession with map boundaries. While it is unclear when Chinese companies like Baidu and Alibaba removed references to Israel, Chinese internet users began discussing the absence after Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre. Searching for "Israel" on Baidu's map portal prompts it to zoom in on the correct region, but Israel's name is absent from the map despite cities like Jerusalem being correctly marked. Israel's neighbors like Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt also appear and are named accurately on the maps. CHINA FORCIBLY REPATRIATES HUNDREDS OF ESCAPED NORTH KOREANS, US AMBASSADOR WARNS China has a long history of hyperfocusing on maps. It has redrawn maps in recent months in an effort to lay claim to disputed territory in spats with India and Malaysia. India in August formally lodged an objection throug...

Shani Louk, a German-Israeli citizen who was kidnapped by Hamas and paraded unconscious on the back of a truck, as seen in footage of the Oct. 7 massacre, was discovered dead and beheaded, according to Israeli government officials. Israel’s government said in a post to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday morning, that it had identified the body of Louk. "We are devastated to share that the body of 23-year-old German-Israeli Shani Luk was found and identified," the post read. "Shani, who was kidnapped from a music festival and tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists , experienced unfathomable horrors. Our hearts are broken. May her memory be a blessing." WHO IS SHANI LOUK? GERMAN-BORN WOMAN PARADED AROUND GAZA AFTER HAMAS TERROR ATTACK AT MUSIC FESTIVAL IN ISRAEL In an interview with German newspaper BILD, Israeli President Yitchak Herzog expanded on the discovery of Louk’s body. "I am truly sorry to report that w...

During a massive rally in Istanbul in support of Palestinians over the weekend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lamented the loss of the Ottoman Empire, vowing that his country must "never allow new Gazas to emerge again," a report says.  Erdogan compared cities in Greece, Macedonia, Syria, Iraq and Gaza to ones in Turkey, saying that they were "an inseparable part of the homeland’s territory," according to Abdullah Bozkurt, a journalist and director of the Nordic Research & Monitoring Network.  "A century ago, for this nation and this country, Gaza was what Adana is," Erdogan reportedly said.  "They separated us from all these lands that are as much a part of us as our blood, our life, and our love," he continued. LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL AT WAR WITH HAMAS   "At this magnificent gathering where we have come together to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza, we must leave with a determination to never allow new G...

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson announced Monday that more military forces are pouring into the Gaza Strip and are "directly engaging terrorists" as troops remain on "high alert" along Israel’s border with Lebanon.  In a briefing, the spokesperson said over the last 24 hours, "we have expanded ground activities, with additional forces entering the Gaza Strip including Infantry, Armored Corps, Combat Engineering and Artillery Corps.  "Through integrated strikes of the Ground Forces and the IAF, dozens of terrorists were eliminated last night who had barricaded themselves in buildings and attempted to attack the forces that were moving in their direction," the spokesperson said.  "We maneuver on the ground, identify the terrorists, and strike from the air. Ground forces are also directly engaging terrorists," the spokesperson added. "The fighting is being carried out in the Gaza Strip."  LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL AT WAR ...

The White House said Sunday it "vigorously condemns" the group of pro-Palestinian rioters in Russia who flooded an airport as they were shouting antisemitic chants and reportedly searching for passengers from a flight that departed from Tel Aviv, Israel. The airport, located in the city of Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan, closed after rioters began flooding the runway Sunday night, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia reported. All other flights headed toward Makhachkala were diverted. In the first public comment made by the Biden administration since the incident, White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the U.S. condemns the "antisemitic protests" at the airport in Russia. "The United States vigorously condemns the antisemitic protests in Dagestan, Russia," Watson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The U.S. unequivocally stands with the entire Jewish community as we witness a worldwide surge in antis...

Pakistan's government plans to deport over 1.4 million Afghan nationals after Nov. 1, and the United Nations is calling for the country to hold off to avoid human rights violations. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a press release that it is "extremely alarmed" by Pakistan’s deportation announcement, as there are currently over 2 million undocumented Afghans living in the country. Of the 2 million, more than 600,000 are immigrants who left Afghanistan after the Taliban reclaimed power in August 2021. PAKISTAN ANNOUNCES BIG CRACKDOWN ON ITS ILLEGAL MIGRANTS, INCLUDING 1.7 MILLION AFGHANS Some of these facing deportation include civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, former government officials and security force members. But also at risk are women and girls, who are banned from obtaining secondary and tertiary education, working in many escorts and other aspects of daily life because of polici...

A group of protestors in southwestern Russia flooded an airport while chanting anti-Israeli remarks on Sunday night, reportedly searching for passengers from a flight that departed from Tel Aviv. The airport, which is in the city of Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan, closed after rioters began flooding the runway, according to Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia. Rosaviatsia reported that all aircrafts headed towards Makhachkala were diverted. Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reporter Amichai Stein said that a small number of Jews and Israelis were "isolated" at the airport during the protests. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem told Reuters that an Israeli ambassador in Russia was working with authorities to protect the Israelis in the region. BIDEN, OTHER WESTERN LEADERS REAFFIRM ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, CALL FOR FOR CIVILIAN PROTECTION "The State of Israel views gravely attempts to harm Israelis citizens and Jews anywhere," the st...

As the world’s attention remains divided on the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a delegation from the Ronald Reagan Foundation visited Taiwan last week seeking to shore up U.S. support for the island that continues to be threatened by Beijing. "Taiwanese skepticism about America's staying power and its ability to deter aggression is on the rise," Heino Klinck, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, told Fox News Digital.  "The Biden administration's precipitous Afghanistan withdrawal, piecemeal material support to Ukraine, inability to provide defense articles in a timely manner, as well as other foreign policy woes are the fodder for Chinese disinformation and propaganda that fuel this skepticism."  The foundation’s trip recalls two visits President Reagan made while still serving as governor of California, first in 1971 and again in 1978. The delegation included members from the foundation and members of var...

The United Nations' World Food Programme said Saturday the humanitarian organization has lost contact with their aid teams in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists. WFP chief Cindy McCain made the announcement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after communications to people in Gaza were cut. "The silence is deafening," McCain wrote. "As conflict rages on, I am extremely worried for the safety of all humanitarian workers and civilians. We are at a tipping point. Humanity must prevail." This comes during Israel's continued expansion of its ground attack against Gaza after cutting communications to the region. The residents of Gaza are now left without cellphone or radio service as Israeli forces attack Hamas from the ground, sea and air. NETANYAHU ANNOUNCES ‘SECOND PHASE’ OF ‘LONG AND DIFFICULT’ WAR ON HAMAS: ‘MY LIFE’S MISSION' More than 8,700 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday announced that his forces have entered the "second stage" of its war with the terrorist group Hamas , calling the fight a "second War of Independence."  "The war inside the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it," Netanyahu said during a press conference in the evening, local time. "This is our second War of Independence." "We will fight for the defense of the homeland," he continued. "We will fight and not retreat. We will fight on land, sea and in the air. We will destroy the enemy above ground, and underground. We will fight and win." "The war inside the Gaza Strip will be long and difficult, and we are prepared for it," he added, saying that the war is now "my life's mission." FAMILIES OF ISRAELI HOSTAGES TAKEN BY HAMAS MEETING WITH NETANYAHU Netanyahu spoke at the end of a difficult week for Israel, with more dis...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used the momentous platform of a rally to celebrate his country’s 100th anniversary to accuse Israel of committing war crimes and lambaste Western allies for their responses. "Israel has been openly committing war crimes for 22 days, but the Western leaders cannot even call on Israel for a ceasefire, let alone react to it," Erdogan told the crowd in Istanbul, who waved Palestinian flags. "We will tell the whole world that Israel is a war criminal. We are making preparations for this. We will declare Israel a war criminal," he said. Saturday marked 100 years since the declaration of the Republic of Turkey ( renamed Turkiye in international arenas ), replacing the Ottoman Empire after its post-World War I collapse. Erdogan spoke for an hour, reiterating his belief that Hamas are not terrorists and labeling Israel an "occupier." GROUND FIGHTING BEGINS ALONG GAZA BORDER AHEAD OF OFFICIAL ISRAELI INVASION Erdogan’s s...

Three teenagers were arrested as suspects in the killing in Germany of a homeless man, which one of them apparently filmed, authorities said Friday. AT LEAST 1 SAILOR DEAD, 4 MISSING AFTER CARGO SHIPS CRASH OFF GERMAN COAST A passer-by found the victim's body on Thursday in a meadow in Horn-Bad Meinberg, a town in a rural region of western Germany . On Friday, police and prosecutors said in a statement that a 14-year-old boy and two 15-year-olds were arrested as suspects. They said that the suspects and the man appeared to have met by chance and that they had a video of the crime, which they believe was filmed and circulated by one of the suspects. Prosecutor Alexander Goerlitz told German news agency dpa that the two elder suspects had admitted to using violence against the man. from Latest World News on Fox News https://ift.tt/7Pl36KR https://ift.tt/r2M8TY4

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Thursday said Russia is executing soldiers who have failed to follow orders and threatening entire units with death if they retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire. It's a development that U.S. national security officials believe reflects Russia's morale problems 20 months into its grinding invasion of Ukraine, said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. PUTIN OVERSEES RUSSIAN MILITARY DRILL SIMULATING ‘MASSIVE RETALIATORY NUCLEAR STRIKE’: REPORTS "It’s reprehensible to think about that you would execute your own soldiers because they didn’t want to follow orders and now threatening to execute entire units, it’s barbaric," Kirby told reporters. "But I think it’s a symptom of how poorly Russia’s military leaders know they’re doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective." The White House has downgraded and released intelligence findings about Russian action over the course of ...

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — In a city where damaged buildings are everywhere, a destroyed pizzeria stands out as a painful reminder of lives and livelihoods dashed in an instant. A Russian ballistic missile struck the popular eatery in eastern Ukraine in June, killing 13 people including an award-winning Ukrainian writer and several teenagers. Seven of the victims were staff. LEFTIST UKRAINE SKEPTIC ROBERT FICO BACK IN AS SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER Today, fresh flowers and notes have been placed where the entrance once was. A T-shirt, part of the waitstaff’s uniform, hangs near the makeshift memorial with the inscription "We will never forget." "As an entrepreneur, of course, I regret the loss of property, but there’s something that cannot be returned: human lives," said Dmytro Ihnatenko, the owner of RIA Pizza. The bombed-out building in Kramatorsk underscores the massive risks for businesses in this front-line city in the Donetsk region. But that has not deterred ...

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Hamsa Diakite can't remember the last time her family of eight had a good meal. She once sustained them by selling fried bread until a coup in Niger three months ago resulted in sanctions against the West African nation, squeezing incomes in one of the world's poorest countries and leaving millions like Hamsa struggling in the absence of aid. THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS STRANDED IN NIGER FOLLOWING COUP THAT LED TO BORDER CLOSURES "Not only is food very expensive, but school supplies have also doubled in price. I also have to clothe my children and, above all, deal with their illnesses," the 65-year-old said. After elite soldiers toppled Niger’s democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, the country faced economic sanctions from West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS, as well as Western and European countries including the United States that had provided aid for health, security and infrastructure needs. Neighbors shut their bord...

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his country Wednesday evening during a primetime address that its cabinet is "deciding" on the timing for a possible ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.  "The goal, the timing of what the Israel Defense Forces is going to do is based on the cabinet and the chief of staff and the cabinet are deciding," Netanyahu said. "And when we get into Gaza as we go on, we will exact the highest price from these murderers for what they've done."  Netanyahu said Israel has two goals in the war – to "destroy Hamas and all its infrastructure" and to "do everything that's possible to bring our hostages back home."  "All the Hamas members are sons of death. They are going to be eliminated everywhere," Netanyahu vowed.  LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL AT WAR WITH HAMAS   He also reiterated a call for the "non-guilty and uninvolved population" of Gaza to "move away from that area,...

A co-ed Israeli combat squad eliminated nearly 100 Hamas terrorists while protecting towns along Israel’s borders, and the unit’s female commander says their heroic actions leave "no more doubts about female combat soldiers," according to a report. Lt.-Col. Or Ben-Yehuda commands the Caracal Battalion, a mixed-gender infantry combat unit that has been protecting Israel near the southern Gaza Strip from Hamas infiltration, the Jerusalem Post reported. "Their training and performance on the battlefield have erased any doubts. They fought bravely, saved lives, and emerged as heroes," Ben-Yehuda said of the female troops, according to the newspaper. Ben-Yehuda received reports of Hamas terrorists near the Sufa and Nirim kibbutzim along the border near the southern Gaza Strip, the report said. She reportedly led her troops to Sufa and learned that terrorists had entered a military base.  LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL CONDUCTS AIRSTRIKES IN WEST BANK, SYRIA OVERNIGHT, KILLS ...

Two cargo ships collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany on Tuesday and one of them sank, German authorities said. At least one sailor died and rescuers were trying to find another four. The vessels collided shortly before 5 a.m. about 14 miles southwest of the island of Helgoland, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said. The site of the collision was about 19 miles northeast of Langeoog island, which is just off the German mainland. The British-flagged Verity, which had seven people on board and was en route from Bremen, Germany, to the English port of Immingham, sank shortly after the collision. A signal from the ship was lost at about 5:20 a.m., suggesting that it had already gone down, and wreckage was found. PROSECUTORS CLOSE PROBE INTO MASSIVE BERLIN AQUARIUM COLLAPSE Two sailors were rescued and taken to a hospital, where they weren't in a life-threatening condition. The body of one man was recovered, while four other people were still mis...

Extremists with ties to the Islamic State group killed at least 26 people in eastern Congo, authorities said on Tuesday. Attackers with the Allied Democratic Forces killed people in the city of Oicha in North Kivu province on Monday, said Beni Charles Ehuta Omeonga, the military administrator for the area. "Among the victims were seven members from the same family killed by the assailants in their home," he said. FOREIGN TOURISTS, LOCAL GUIDE KILLED IN ATTACK AT UGANDAN NATIONAL PARK Most of the victims were shot in their homes, said Nicolas Kikuku, a deputy governor in the region, adding that the death toll is likely higher than what’s been reported. Conflict has been simmering in eastern Congo for decades where more than 120 armed groups are fighting in the region, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while some are trying to protect their communities. 27 DEAD IN NORTHWEST CONGO AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES ADF has been expanding and intensifying opera...

A German tourist who went missing in a national park teeming with wild animals in northern Zimbabwe has been found alive and in "good health" along with his rental car three days later, a spokesperson for the national parks agency said Tuesday. Tinashe Farawo with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said Andreas Hoberg had last been seen buying a drink at the park shop in Matusadona National Park before going for a game drive around 3.30 p.m. on Saturday. FOREIGN TOURISTS, LOCAL GUIDE KILLED IN ATTACK AT UGANDAN NATIONAL PARK He failed to return by 6 p.m., when all game drives should end, and the car rental company failed to locate him on its GPS tracking system, Farawo said. Authorities deployed a helicopter, vehicles and sniffer dogs to scour the remote 540-square-mile park that is home to lions, buffalo, leopards, elephants "and all the dangerous animals you can expect in the bush," Farawo said. ZIMBABWEAN OPPOSITION LEADER CALLS FOR REIN...

Prosecutors in Berlin said Tuesday they have closed their investigation into the spectacular collapse of a huge aquarium last December after an expert report failed to pin down a reason why the tank burst. The AquaDom aquarium, which stood in a hotel lobby in the center of the German capital, burst in the early hours of Dec. 16, sending 264,000 gallons of water gushing into the building and the street outside. Two people were slightly injured. Prosecutors said they have closed an investigation of persons unknown on suspicion of causing bodily harm by negligence after evaluating the export report, commissioned by the building's owners, which they received on Oct. 6. MASSIVE BERLIN AQUARIUM WITH 1,500 FISH BURSTS, INJURING 2 AND FLOODING HOTEL WITH 260K GALLONS OF WATER Its author, engineer Christian Bonten, has presented three theories but said there was no clear evidence to prove any of them. The hypotheses were that an adhesive seam holding together the cylinder may have fa...

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán compared Hungary's membership in the European Union to more than four decades of Soviet occupation of his country during a speech on Monday commemorating the anniversary of Hungary's 1956 anti-Soviet revolution. Speaking to a select group of guests in the city of Veszprem, Orbán accused the EU of seeking to strip Hungary of its identity by imposing a model of liberal democracy that he said Hungarians reject. Brussels, the de facto capital of the EU, employs methods against Hungary that hearken back to the days of Soviet domination by Moscow, he said. "Today, things pop up that remind us of the Soviet times. Yes, it happens that history repeats itself," Orbán said at the event, from which all media were excluded except Hungary's state broadcaster. "Fortunately, what once was tragedy is now a comedy at best. Fortunately, Brussels is not Moscow. Moscow was a tragedy. Brussels is just a bad contemporary parody." HUNGARIAN FORE...

Hurricane Tammy unleashed heavy rain in the northeast Caribbean on Monday as it spun over open waters after making landfall in Barbuda. The storm was located about 260 miles north of Anguilla. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was moving north at 7 mph. Tammy was expected to strengthen slightly in upcoming days and then weaken, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. HURRICANE NORMA CLOSES IN ON MEXICO'S LOS CABOS RESORTS The storm was forecast to drop up to three inches of rain in the Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, with meteorologists warning of mudslides and isolated flash flooding. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Otis whirled through open waters in the Pacific on a path toward Mexico's southern coast. HURRICANE LIDIA DISSIPATES AFTER LEAVING 1 DEAD, 2 HURT IN MEXICO The storm was located about 375 miles south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico . It had winds of up to 45 mph and was moving north at 7 mph. A tropical storm watch wa...

Argentines went to the polls Sunday night in the first round of the presidential election which saw iconoclastic libertarian frontrunner Javier Milei face off against center-right former Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich, and current left-wing Minister of Economy Sergio Massa. While most political observers expected Milei and Massa to face off in a second round, surging anti-establishment rage had led some to at least contemplate the possibility of a first-round Milei knock-out blow. That scenario failed to materialize, as establishment candidate Sergio Massa overperformed: with 89% of the vote in, Massa led with 36.3%, followed by Milei with 30.2%, while Bullrich trailed in third at 23.8%. Milei was expected to fare better. Massa's strong showing now sets up a hotly contested second round matchup on November 19, which will largely hinge on the decision made by nearly a quarter of Argentines who backed Bullrich. According to Argentine electoral law, a candidate needs 45% ...

Israeli officials say Hamas terrorists killed during the Oct. 7 attack in the southern portion of the country were found to be carrying instructions on how to use cyanide-based chemical bombs, according to reports. The massacre at the kibbutz is one of many scenes of unspeakable bloodshed perpetrated by Hamas. Axios reportedly reviewed Israeli intelligence that showed Hamas terrorists carried instructions stored on USB devices that included detailed diagrams for a "cyanide dispersion device." ISRAEL SECURITY AGENCY CREATES NEW UNIT TO HUNT, KILL EVERY HAMAS TERRORIST IN OCT. 7 SURPRISE ATTACKS: REPORT The intelligence was found on the USB devices discovered on the dead bodies of militants who invaded Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza Strip in Southern Israel. "This finding points to an intention by Hamas to use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians," Israel said in a cable to its embassies. Israeli officials also told the embassies the t...

The State Department on Sunday updated its travel advisory for Iraq to include the ordered departure of all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members. Americans are warned "do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraq’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens." On Oct. 20, the State Department already ordered the departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil "due to increased security threats against U.S. government personnel and interests."  In recent days, Iran-backed militias attacked United States military bases in Iraq. Iran has warned that an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza could spark an escalation from allied armed groups and a possible regional war. Hundreds of Iraqi protesters gathered at the western Trebil border crossing near Jordan Friday in a demonstration orga...