Independent Online News
Health officials say blast killed hundreds as footage shows fire engulfing medical centre owned by Anglican church
Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem
Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in a massive explosion at a crowded hospital in Gaza City, in the biggest single loss of life in the blockaded territory in all the five wars between Hamas and Israel since the militants took over the strip in 2007.… Read the rest
Reporter reveals she was arrested for breaking a news embargo, and talks about how she survived months in solitary confinement
Australian journalist Cheng Lei spent almost three years in China’s prison system for breaking an embargo by a few minutes, she has revealed in her first interview after returning home to Melbourne last week.… Read the rest
Port in Manaus records lowest water level since 1902, leaving boats stranded and unable to deliver food and water to remote villages
The water level at a major river port in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has hit its lowest point in at least 121 years, as a historic drought upends the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and damages the jungle ecosystem.
Conflict highlights growing gulf with west, as other big developing powers face difficult diplomatic choices
Jason Burke International security correspondent
China and Russia have hardened their positions towards the conflict in Gaza in recent days, as the war between Israel and Hamas aggravates existing geopolitical tensions and underscores the growing gulf between the cold war allies and western powers such as the US, UK and France.… Read the rest
The UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) issued an urgent call on Saturday for Israeli Authorities to protect all civilians sheltering in Gaza.
The statement came as the Israeli-imposed deadline for some 1.1 million civilians to leave the northern part of the enclave, ahead of what is expected to be a major advance into Gaza by Israeli ground forces, expired.… Read the rest