The article begins: “Mohammed Abu Al-Qumsan had just picked up birth certificates for his newly-born twins when he found out they had been killed, along with his wife and her mother, by an Israeli strike on the Gaza apartment where they were sheltering.”
There’s more detail about the attack (tank shell) and a photo of the grieving man.
I just listened to a podcast on this whole saga - what a wild ride.
Thanks! Will do some more research…
Oh dear. I was planning to visit Japan in the autumn. Guess I will give it a swerve. Maybe Korea then? I haven’t flown anywhere since the Before Times and have a hankering for foreign travel.
Oh yes, I’d forgotten about Winnie. I have a lot more respect for science and literature prizes than the peace prize though. Harder work, I reckon.
Is this the first Nobel laureate to run a country? How bloody amazing. Well done Mexico!
Be careful what you wish for!
Wow, I had no idea. I thought it was just a spiritual woowoo kind of thing.
Ah, ok, just clicked the link. That’s hilarious - support for plucky mystics oppressed by communist China until they go, “heaven is racially segregated”. Um, hang on…
When I was in Hong Kong a few years back I saw a small group of people quietly promoting Falun Gong (banner slogan: “Falun Gong is Good”, catchy), while across the street another small group of people quietly held up signs denouncing Falun Gong as dangerous nonsense. Not sure why, but the CCP is fairly worked up about it, calls it a cult. I thought it was banned in China.
“Why are they so hostile?”
I visited Bhutan in 2008 when democracy had just been introduced. I asked someone what he thought about it, and he kind of sighed and said, " People were happy with the old system, but the king wanted this so we’re going along with it." Big shrug.
Part of the 49% the bot left out: "Employed by the now-defunct Omani private firm Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, they were contracted for providing training and related services to Qatar’s armed forces.
“While the charges have never been made public, media reports hinted at the possibility of their being charged with espionage.”
I wonder if that’s the one child policy biting them in the bum. They ditched it nearly ten years ago I think. It ended up causing a few social problems - like the one child left looking after aging parents and grandparents, and the “little emperor” thing of spoiled brats. Also skewed the ratio of men to women quite a bit.
It’s like when they decided sparrows were stealing grain, so they set about killing sparrows in their millions - only to have crops devastated by the insects the sparrows had previously been eating. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign (A billion sparrows, apparently. Idiots.)
I’m all itchy just thinking about it. Good luck! New bed is the way to go. New duvet too, boil wash for sheets etc … what about the carpet? Aaaaargh! Good luck!
Edinburgh has snow, lovely!
Forgot to add the big old /s. I was JOKING, not gatekeeping. Also, I’m a septuagenarian thankyouverymuch.
I managed to stay “not old” until I hit 70. When I realised I have, at best, 20 good years left… well that was brutal.
So yeah, kid yourself you’re old lol. Are you even 60? Lightweight! Friday night? I’ll be finishing the latest Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club offering and knitting socks. Life on the edge, yessss.
I just watched that BBC doco about the guy, blood-freezing stuff. The way he worked his way up from being a minor prince to de facto king… yikes.