Putin Consolidates Power, Hires Ousted Ministers

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened its Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza after days of closure, but the U. N. said no humanitarian aid has yet entered and there is no one to receive it on the Palestinian side after workers fled during Israel’s military incursion in the area. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby, and on Tuesday, an Israeli tank brigade seized the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, forcing its closure.

Hong Kong’s government will be able to outlaw the famous protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong” after a court of appeal overturned a ruling last year that permitted its use. Judges on Wednesday said that the song had been used as a “weapon,” making it dangerous to authorities if played in public settings.

It’s been a three-nation European tour with a two-part message. On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Paris, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to argue the point that engagement with China is a net good. Then, on Tuesday, came the postscript: Xi traveled to Serbia to mark the anniversary of the bombing of Belgrade’s Chinese Embassy in 1999 by five stray NATO rockets amid its occupation of Kosovo.

An Australian modern art museum featured a lavish, green velvet-ordained room—for women’s use only—to make a statement about discrimination. Then it got accused of being discriminatory. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] After a male ticket-payer last year complained of being denied entry to the Ladies Lounge, which opened in 2020, a local tribunal last month ordered the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania to make the space accessible to all. But the exhibit artist and curator, Kirsha Kaechele, who is married to MONA’s founder and owner, has vowed to fight the order, which she calls the “verdick,” saying she plans to challenge the ruling before the state supreme court and, in the interim, pursue a workaround to ensure the Ladies Lounge remains off limits for men—except for male butlers who serve guests refreshments. “Men need to be discriminated against,” Kaechele said in a post on Instagram on Tuesday, adding that she believes, with a few tweaks, the Ladies Lounge could qualify for various exemptions to Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act.

Kim Ki Nam, a propaganda mastermind who helped forge the cult of personality for the family dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding in the Cold War, has died at the age of 94. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Kim, who had been in poor health for several years, died on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, saying he devoted his life to the “sacred struggle for defending and strengthening the ideological purity of our revolution.” Read More: The Despotic Dynasty: A Family Tree of North Korea’s Kim Clan The official biography released by KCNA said that Kim rose from the hardships of childhood to work at the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea from 1956, earning the trust of state founder Kim Il Sung.

COVID-19 variants called 'FLiRT' continue to spread across the US, CDC says KSAT San AntonioNew COVID variant 'FLiRT': What to know about spread, symptoms USA TODAYFLiRT COVID Variants: What Are the Symptoms? NewsweekDoctors Warn About 2 New COVID Variants—What to Know About 'FLiRT' Strains Prevention Magazine