Gaza: volunteer staff will not leave Indonesian hospital

Today's news: After Diwali, three Indian cities were ranked among the 10 most polluted in the world this morning; Sri Lanka will present its budget plan for 2024 today; The Vietnamese government is stepping up controls on sand mines; Release on bail for former Philippine sentress Leila De Lima; In Russia, applications for Chinese teachers increased by 70%; Suicides among women double in Turkmenistan.

GAZA – INDONESIA

As pressure increases in the Gaza Strip, the volunteer medical staff of Beit Lahia, where the Indonesian hospital run by the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee organization is based, has decided that they will not abandon the facility. “At the Indonesian hospital the staff receives a meal only once a day at lunchtime, which is provided by the nearby al-Shifa hospital,” explained Indonesian volunteer doctor Fikri Rofiul Haq in recent days. At least three newborns at the al-Shifa facility died due to the power outage.

INDIA

In addition to New Delhi, two other Indian cities are in the ranking of the 10 most polluted cities in the world this morning after the Diwali celebrations: Calcutta and Mumbai. The problem of air pollution recurs every winter and is made worse by fireworks. Workers in the construction sector, which has suffered bans and slowdowns in Delhi in an attempt to reduce the level of dust in the air, have not received pay for several days, saying they are unable to feed their families.

SRI LANKA

The President and Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wicremesinghe, will today have to present the budget plan for 2024 by launching reforms in line with the objectives of the International Monetary Fund, without, at the same time, displeasing the population too much with an increase in taxes in a situation of economic crisis. Sri Lanka's economy contracted by 7.8% last year, forcing the country into default. The national central bank expects growth of 3.3% in 2024 after an economic contraction of 2% in 2023.

VIETNAM

The Vietnamese government is intensifying controls on sand mines, one of the most traded resources in the world and widely used in the region also to build artificial islands. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a note to five ministries to monitor mining, especially illegal mining which puts the Mekong Delta at environmental risk, eroding and sinking the soil, already damaged by Chinese dams at north.

PHILIPPINES

After almost seven years in prison, this morning bail was granted to former senator Leila De Lima, accused by the previous Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, of having received money from drug trafficking, but who in reality has always been very critical of the administration due to human rights violations. With the coming to power of President Ferdinand Marcos, who appears to have scaled back his predecessor's anti-drug campaign, many witnesses at the trial have revised their testimonies.

CHINA - RUSSIA

According to research by the Russian site Avito Rabota, specialized in online job offers, the demand for Chinese language teachers in Russia in November is almost 70% higher than last year, and the size of their skills is also growing salaries, by more than 60% compared to 11% of teachers of other subjects, up to even 120 thousand rubles per month.

TURKMENISTAN

In Turkmenistan, cases of female suicide have doubled in the last three years, due to domestic violence and the growing economic and social crisis, even if the police refuse to provide official data on the matter. In Lebap, two women in their early thirties set themselves on fire shortly after, and a resident of Turkmenabat threw herself from the bridge into the Amu Darya.

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