While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 23
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A Palestinian woman makes food outside a house in the southern Gaza Strip.
PHOTO: AFP
UN Security Council acts to boost aid to Gaza after US abstains
The United Nations Security Council on Dec 22 adopted a resolution to boost humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that stopped short of a call for a ceasefire after a week of vote delays and intense negotiations to avoid a United States veto.
The resolution “calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Amid global outrage over a rising Gaza death toll in 11 weeks of war between Israel and Hamas and a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave, the US abstained to allow the 15-member council to adopt a resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates.
The remaining council members voted for the resolution except for Russia which also abstained, having favored an initial draft that called for “an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” to allow aid access.
Poland in Kyiv calls on West to rally around Ukraine
Poland’s new foreign minister on Dec 22 urged the West to rally around Ukraine, choosing the war-torn country for his first visit abroad in a sign of support as other allies waver on aid.
Ukraine in turn expressed hope for a quick resolution to a blockade from Polish truckers and said the visit marked a “new page” in the two countries’ relations that became strained under the previous administration.
Air alarms sounded during the meeting, warning of a potential new raid from Russia, which has intensified air attacks in the past weeks.
France grounds plane over suspected ‘human trafficking’
French police were questioning two men on Dec 22, a day after officials grounded a Nicaragua-bound plane carrying more than 300 Indian passengers over suspected “human trafficking”, prosecutors said.
The Airbus A340 had flown in from the United Arab Emirates on Dec 21, landing at Vatry airport in eastern France for a technical stopover.
It was held by French authorities after an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying passengers “likely to be victims of human trafficking”, the Paris prosecutors office told AFP.
Two men run off with new London Banksy installation
British street artist Banksy revealed his latest UK street artwork on Dec 22 – only for two men to run off with it just hours later while being filmed by bemused onlookers.
The installation, a traffic stop sign covered with three aircraft resembling military drones, was erected at an intersection in Peckham, south London, on Dec 22 morning.
An image was posted to Banksy’s social media just after midday. But shortly afterwards bystanders filmed two men taking it down, one of them running off with the sign under his arm.
Man City cruise to first Club World Cup triumph
Manchester City won the Club World Cup for the first time to end 2023 with five trophies after a 4-0 win over Fluminense in Jeddah on Dec 22.
City’s victory extended European clubs’ domination of the competition since 2012 and was never in doubt once Julian Alvarez opened the scoring inside the first minute.
Nino’s first-half own goal realistically ended the Brazilians’ dreams of an upset, before Phil Foden and Alvarez rounded off the scoring in the final 20 minutes.