Israeli military orders the evacuation of Gaza City

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military has urged all Palestinians to leave Gaza City and head south. The evacuation orders issued Wednesday indicated that Israel was pressing ahead with a fresh offensive across the north, south and center of the embattled territory that has killed dozens of people over the past 48 hours. The stepped-up military activity came as U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators were meeting with Israeli officials in the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks seeking a long-elusive cease-fire deal with Gaza’s Hamas militant group. Israel informed people in Gaza of the evacuation order by dropping leaflets.

Dozens of people are sentenced to life in prison in the UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A mass trial in the United Arab Emirates of dissidents that was widely criticized abroad has sentenced 43 people to life in prison, while others received other prison terms. The sentences on Wednesday by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal came in a case described by the UAE government as involving the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Islamic organization declared a terrorist group by the Emirates. Activists, however, decried the case as targeting dissidents, something that drew attention and protests at the United Nations COP28 climate talks held in Dubai in November. The state-run WAM news agency reported the verdicts. Five defendants received 15-year sentences while five others received 10-year sentences. Another 24 defendants had their cases dismissed.

Man suspected of killing the family of BBC radio commentator has been found

LONDON (AP) — British police say they have found the man suspected of killing three women with a crossbow near London and that he’s receiving medical treatment for his injuries. The Hertfordshire Police said 26-year-old Kyle Clifford was found on Wednesday in the Enfield area of north London. The BBC has confirmed that the women killed were the family of its well-known radio racing commentator John Hunt. Police confirmed no shots had been fired and that they weren’t looking for anyone else in connection with the killings. Police had been scouring a park in north London, near the home of Clifford, after being alerted Tuesday about the killings in a house in Bushey, a residential area in northwestern London.

A second critically endangered Chinese pangolin is born in the Prague zoo

PRAGUE (AP) — A second Chinese pangolin was born in the Prague zoo in less than two years and is doing well, defying the odds and surprising park officials. The female of the critically endangered mammal was born July 1, the second Chinese pangolin born in captivity in Europe following her sister, Cone, in February last year. The pangolins are difficult to breed in captivity and Prague became only the second European zoo to keep them. The pangolins arrived came after Prague decided to revoke a sister-city agreement with Beijing and signed a similar deal in 2020 with the Taiwanese capital. The deal caused tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.