Gaza, Colombia, North Korea.
Today's three stories you should know.
Gaza
By now you’ll have read the horrible and entirely predictable news that full-blown famine has been formally declared in Gaza City and surrounding areas. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system, a U.N.-backed global hunger monitor, said 514,000 people, almost a quarter of Gaza’s population, are experiencing famine. The number could rise to 641,000 by the end of September, it said. But what does a famine declaration actually mean? Such a classification is an often thorny and sometimes politicised process, but there are key benchmarks that need to be reached. I thought it might be useful today to recommend some pieces around famine declarations so you can put the news in context.
You can read a U.N. explainer on famine here.
And a comprehensive background piece from Al Jazeera here.
Colombia
At least 18 people have been killed in two separate attacks blamed on dissident groups in Colombia, officials said, deepening a growing security crisis. Six people were killed and dozens wounded when a truck bomb exploded near a military aviation school in the southern city of Cali. And, in the second incident, a drone downed a police helicopter, killing 12 officers. The groups involved are both offshoots of the now defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which laid down its arms in a 2016 peace deal after decades of fighting. The recent upsurge in violence threatens to upend years of relative calm since then.
More from France 24 here.
North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held an emotional ceremony with the families of Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine. Kim awarded medals to returning soldiers as well as to the fallen, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Photos released by KCNA showed the leader hugging children and visibly upset family members. South Korean intelligence agencies say North Korea has sent about 15,000 troops to fight for Russia as well as artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems. They estimate about 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed.
More from Reuters here.