NewsDeadly firestorms erupt globally: Unrest spreads from Monrovia to Israel
Deadly firestorms erupt globally: Unrest spreads from Monrovia to Israel
It happened while you were sleeping. Here's what the world agencies reported overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
6:36 AM EST, December 19, 2024
- Following the riots in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, the building of the combined chambers of parliament was set on fire. Protesters, who gathered on Tuesday to oppose efforts to remove the opposition-affiliated speaker of the local parliament and demand the resignation of the sitting president, returned to Monrovia's main street, Sinkor, on Wednesday. Once again, brutal clashes with police occurred against the backdrop of the burning parliament, which the capital's fire department could not control. On Wednesday evening, black smoke and flames were still visible under the characteristic dome of the building, known in Monrovia as the Capitol. The fire and riots paralyzed the capital, which has only one main road—the one where the parliament was burning and where protesters were throwing stones at police officers who were shooting rubber bullets and smoke grenades at them.
- At least 30 people were killed on Wednesday in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, reported the Reuters agency, citing local medical sources. The US, Egypt, and Qatar are intensifying efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 14-month-long conflict. Negotiations are ongoing in Cairo, Egypt's capital. On Tuesday, local sources reported that an agreement on a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners in Israel might be reached in the coming days. Since October, Israeli forces have been active in Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun as part of an operation intended, according to the military, to prevent Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians accuse Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and attempt to depopulate the northern part of the Gaza Strip to create a buffer zone. Israel denies these allegations.
- Eleven people died, and two were injured in a fire at a café in Hanoi, reported Vietnamese authorities on Thursday. Police reported receiving a call about a fire in the western part of Hanoi on Wednesday at 11 PM local time (Eastern Time: 12 PM). Firefighters found 11 bodies and managed to rescue seven people, two of whom were hospitalized. A man arrested by the police confessed to using gasoline to start the fire on the ground floor of the three-story café after an argument with the staff. The 50-year-old testified that he bought gasoline, poured it on the café's ground floor—where many motorcycles were parked—set it on fire, and then fled the scene.
- The Israeli military carried out "precision strikes" on facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen, including ports and energy infrastructure in the rebel-controlled capital, Sana'a, announced Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari on Thursday. The AP agency earlier reported that Sana'a was rocked by a series of airstrikes on Thursday morning. The Houthis also reported an attack on the port city of Al Hudaydah. The Houthi-controlled Yemeni television station Al-Masirah reported that power plants in Sana'a and an oil terminal on the Red Sea were attacked.
- A nighttime fire at the oil refinery in Novoshakhtinsk in the Rostov region. Earlier, Russian authorities reported a drone attack.
