World Food Programme to cut aid to Gaza

WFP Announces Cut in Aid to 500,000 in Gaza

The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced it will halt food supplies to 500,000 people in Gaza, citing a severe funding shortfall. Community kitchens will serve 100,000 fewer hot meals per day as a result. Carl Skau (カール・スコウ), who recently visited Gaza, said: "This is not the time to step back, with winter approaching — but without funding we cannot continue." He spoke with residents at distribution points, some of whom said that a hot meal from the community kitchen was their only food of the day, as they had no gas at home to cook.

BBC Middle East correspondent Yolande Nel (ヨランド・ネル) reported from Jerusalem. Nearly all of Gaza's approximately 2.1 million residents have been displaced from their homes, and two-thirds are surviving on food aid. Israeli strikes continue on an almost daily basis, access to clean water is severely limited, sanitation is dire, and many people are living in fragile tents. The approaching winter and rains are expected to make conditions considerably worse.

On the causes of the funding gap, WFP Gaza Director Shaun Hughes (ショーン・ヒューズ) outlined a combination of factors: global economic pressures, donor fatigue after three years of crisis, competition for attention with conflicts elsewhere in the world, and a mistaken perception that conditions had improved following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas reached around a year ago. WFP says it urgently needs approximately $450 million to continue Palestinian operations for the next six months.

Australian MP Seriously Injured After Being Deliberately Run Over

Independent MP Helen Haines (ヘレン・ヘインズ) was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser outside her office in Wangaratta, a city in south-eastern Australia, and is in a serious condition in hospital. The incident occurred just before 4 p.m. local time. A 43-year-old man got out of the vehicle and was arrested at the scene; police also recovered a knife from inside the car.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (アンソニー・アルバニージー) told national broadcaster ABC that the incident appeared to be "a deliberate attack" and said "there is no place for violence in democracy." Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke (トニー・バーク) cited figures showing a rise in threats and harassment against MPs over the past year, and expressed concern about growing political tension. BBC Sydney correspondent Katie Watson (ケイティ・ワトソン) noted that regional offices such as the one in Wangaratta do not normally have security personnel, and pointed out that Australia is a country unaccustomed to such threats against politicians.

Verdict Delivered in Kenya Doomsday Cult Leader Trial

A long-awaited verdict has been delivered in the trial of Pastor Paul Mackenzie (ポール・マッケンジー), who faces charges of killing approximately 200 people — almost all of them children. Mackenzie preached that the end of the world was coming and that followers should reject modern medicine and education. He relocated believers to the Shakahola Forest, about an hour's drive inland from the coast, and told them that fasting to death would allow them to meet Jesus. Hundreds died. Authorities have recovered more than 400 bodies, and more than 600 people remain missing. Mackenzie has denied the charges.

BBC Africa correspondent Thomas Mukwana (トーマス・ムクワナ) reported from the scene, describing a desolate landscape of bare, dead trees where it was difficult to comprehend why people had chosen to die there. Local residents who helped exhume the bodies described remains so badly decomposed they had turned to a porridge-like state, and mass graves containing as many as 12 children buried together. Stephen Mwiti (スティーブン・ムウィティ), 48, recounted how his wife had entered the forest with their five children; only his wife survived. "I cannot sleep when I think of my children's faces," he said. By contrast, Peter Shukrani (ピーター・シュクラニ), 23, who began attending the church at age eight and was rescued moments before death, still refers to Mackenzie as "pastor" and has not abandoned his faith.

France Declares Partial Curfews After Large-Scale Riots

Large-scale riots broke out across France over the weekend, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests. Around 1,000 police and gendarmerie officers were injured, and approximately 2,000 businesses were damaged. In Marseille, up to 30,000 people were reported to have looted shops in the city centre. In Limoges, the city hall was set on fire and a spire collapsed. Student groups blockaded an entrance to the Louvre.

Prime Minister Sébastien Le Cornu (セバスティアン・ル・コルニュ) imposed partial night-time curfews on several cities, stating that "we cannot allow this violence and disorder to continue," and suggested a national state of emergency could be declared if necessary. President Emmanuel Macron (エマニュエル・マクロン) continued with his scheduled visit to four Arab Gulf states.

BBC Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield (ヒュー・スコフィールド) described the unrest as "far more serious" than the Gilets Jaunes movement of eight years ago. He pointed to political polarisation ahead of next year's election, heightened energy on both the far left and far right, and the ease with which social media now enables mass mobilisation. Unlike the Yellow Vests — largely a non-partisan movement rooted in rural areas — this unrest has a clear political underpinning, and those who instigated it are already calling for further large demonstrations the following weekend.