General NewsIsraeli raid on Al Jazeera, snowstorm cripples South Africa, Alabama shooting
Israeli raid on Al Jazeera, snowstorm cripples South Africa, Alabama shooting
It occurred while you were sleeping. Here’s what global agencies reported overnight from Sunday to Monday.
6:01 AM EDT, September 23, 2024
- On Sunday morning, Israeli forces raided the Al Jazeera media network office in Ramallah on the West Bank and issued a military order to shut down its operations. Al Jazeera broadcast the entire situation live. The footage shows Israeli soldiers entering the office with guns drawn and handing the head of the Ramallah office, Walid al-Omari, a military court order. The Israeli army told Reuters that the office was closed, and the equipment was confiscated. They explained that the order was signed after intelligence assessed that Al Jazeera was being used "to incite terror, support terrorist activities." "The broadcasts of this channel pose a threat to security and public order both in this area and throughout the State of Israel," the statement reads. Al Jazeera called the raid a "criminal act" and held the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the safety of its journalists. "Al Jazeera rejects the draconian actions and the unfounded allegations presented by Israeli authorities to justify these illegal raids," the statement said.
- A severe snowstorm swept through South Africa. As a result, the snowfall immobilized thousands of cars on the roads. At one point, nearly 2,000 cars were stuck in drifts on the country’s main highway. Many roads were closed in the southern part of the country. On Saturday, on the main national highway N3 between Johannesburg and Durban, many drivers were stuck for 24 hours without food and water. One person died there due to hypothermia. In many cities, snowfall caused power outages as downed trees and accumulated snow damaged power lines. There were also interruptions in the water supply.
- A shooting occurred in Alabama, USA. Four people are dead, and 18 have been injured in the incident in the Five Points South neighborhood of Birmingham in the southeastern state of Alabama. The shots were fired near a nightclub. The local police chief said the perpetrators arrived at the scene by car and then opened fire on a group of people. The incident was most likely not accidental - he noted, emphasizing that "the shooters were paid to kill a targeted individual." The rest of the deceased are probably bystanders. The police have still not found the perpetrators.
- As a result of floods and landslides that struck central Japan, six people have died over the past two days, and 10 have been reported missing, local media reported on Monday. Two of the victims were workers in the vicinity of the city of Wajima. They died due to a landslide. Another two people went missing after being swept away by swollen rivers. The disaster damaged many homes, including eight temporary housing centers in Wajima and Suzu, where earthquake victims still live. Numerous landslides blocked many sections of roads. More than 6,000 households were without power, and at least 1,700 lacked running water, according to the media.
