Lebanon, the Koreas, DR Congo
Today's three stories you should know
Lebanon
Israel deliberately targeted and killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and intentionally prevented medical workers from reaching her as she lay dying, the world’s two leading rights groups have found. At a press conference in Beirut, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, alongside Lebanese watchdog Legal Agenda and the Union of Journalists in Lebanon, said they had reached the conclusion after reviewing and corroborating photos, videos, satellite imagery, WhatsApp conversations and testimonies from eyewitnesses and officials. Forty-two-year-old Khalil, a reporter for the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, was killed in a direct strike on a building in southern Lebanon that she was known to have taken shelter in with her colleague Zeinab Faraj, who was wounded.
More from AP here.
The Koreas
An apparent disagreement has emerged between South Korea's foreign minister and its unification minister over how to deal with North Korea. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun called proposals put forward by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young this week "idealistic," adding other ministries had not backed them. Chung later told reporters that ideals were needed “to change reality.” The discord may prove embarrassing for dovish President Lee Jae Myung, who has pursued a “peace-first” policy towards Pyongyang. Chung’s proposals included four-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States and China.
More from Reuters here.
DR Congo
Confirmed cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have passed 4,000 as the country struggles to beat the fastest-growing outbreak on record. The latest data from DRC’s public health institute showed the total number of infections had reached 4,053, including 1,850 deaths. The U.N. believes the true figure is higher given the virus is thought to have been spreading undetected before the outbreak was declared on May 15. The response has been hampered by challenges, including the epicenter’s location in a conflict zone and the lack of a vaccine for the rarer Ebola strain responsible for the epidemic.
More from TRT Afrika here.
In the latest episode of The Proximities Podcast, Dr. Abdou Sebushishe, currently on the Ebola frontlines in Ituri province, pointed out that there are real people behind the death tolls that are coldly reported by outlets such as Proximities. You can hear him tell some of those stories on Apple Podcasts here, Spotify here and YouTube here.