While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 19
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The war has left the Gaza Strip largely in ruins and killed about 19,000 Palestinians.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Biden’s defence chief urges Israel to reduce civilian harm in Gaza
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he urged Israel to protect civilians caught in the war in Gaza and discussed a transition from major combat to lower intensity warfare during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart on Dec 18.
“In any campaign, there will be phases,” Mr Austin told a news conference, saying those required detailed, thoughtful planning and that he would not dictate timelines.
He said he had discussed with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant how to reduce harm to civilians on the battlefield.
Ground issue delays Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launch
Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin called off a return-to-flight mission with its suborbital New Shepard rocket in Texas over what it described as a ground system issue encountered during preparations for liftoff, the company said.
“We’re scrubbing #NS24 today due to a ground system issue the team is troubleshooting,” Blue Origin wrote on social network X, formally Twitter. “We’ll provide a new launch target for this week soon.”
New Shepard, the company’s only active rocket that can carry humans and cargo on short trips to and from the brim of space, was scheduled to launch at 9:30 a.m. CT (1530 GMT) on Dec 18 for the first time since a mission failure in 2022 triggered a 15-month grounding.
Eight dead in northwest China earthquake
At least eight people were killed when a strong shallow earthquake sent tremors through northwest China overnight and destroyed some buildings, state news agency Xinhua reported on Dec 19.
The quake, which struck in Gansu province, caused significant damage, including collapsed houses, and sent people running into the street for safety, the agency said. Rescue work was underway early Tuesday.
Fallen ceilings and other debris could be seen in videos posted on social media.
Actor Jonathan Majors convicted by jury in NY assault case
Actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty by a New York jury on Dec 18 on charges the Marvel star attacked his ex-girlfriend in the back of a car.
Majors, seen as one of the future faces of Disney’s Marvel superhero franchise until the allegations stalled his rapid rise, had been charged with two counts of assault and two counts of harassment, all misdemeanors.
The jury of six convicted him on one count of assault and one count of harassment, and acquitted him of the other charges. The verdict followed a two-week trial in state court in Manhattan.
Paris 1924 ‘Chariots of Fire’ stadium ready for Games century on
The stadium that was the main site for the 1924 Paris Olympics is ready, a century later, to welcome hundreds of participants and tens of thousands of spectators for next year’s Summer Olympic Games in the French capital.
The Yves-du-Manoir stadium, in the northwestern Paris suburb of Colombes, became on Dec 18 the first sporting venue to be formally handed over by developers to local authorities ahead of the Games.
It will host the competitions in field hockey, a sport which may not be the number one activity in France but has a huge following in northern Europe and Asia, in particular India.
