To understand how it has managed to document tens of thousands of dead in Gaza to a high degree of accuracy, the processes it has used, and the philosophy behind it, Drop Site conducted an interview with Dr. Zaher al-Wahaidi, director of the information center at the Ministry of Health in Gaza who is based at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

The first source is e-Hospital, a computerized program, which monitors all emergency departments in government hospitals. Any casualty brought to a government hospital is registered in the emergency department through the electronic system, and the information is automatically transferred to the repository.

The second source is an Excel file provided by field hospitals that offer emergency services and handle mass casualties, like the Red Cross hospital, the Kuwaiti field hospital and so forth. These hospitals document the casualties in the Excel sheet, which they supply to us; we then process this file and upload it to our system.

A third source was introduced in January – a link provided by the Ministry of Health for reporting martyrs who had not reached ministry hospitals, remained trapped under rubble, or who could not be identified.

DSN: So the number announced by the Ministry of Health, for example, around 41,000 martyrs, could potentially be higher, but this is the figure you were able to confirm?

Dr. Zaher al-Wahaidi Correct. 41,266 martyrs [official ministry of health tally on September 16, 2024], as per the latest report. Bear in mind that the ministry releases multiple figures. The first figure of 41,266 martyrs represents the total number of martyrs who have reached the ministry's hospitals.

The law, which was approved by the Senate in June, will come into force on 22 January next year.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/tNXu6

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2Fcn03we6zpk1o

A court in Russia’s second city St. Petersburg has placed a military cadet in pretrial detention after he allegedly murdered a hearing-impaired woman whose hearing aid he mistook for espionage equipment, local news outlet 78.Ru reported on Tuesday.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240925122516/https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2024/09/25/hearing-impaired-russian-woman-killed-after-hearing-aid-mistaken-for-espionage-device-en-news

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnovayagazeta.eu%2Farticles%2F2024%2F09%2F25%2Fhearing-impaired-russian-woman-killed-after-hearing-aid-mistaken-for-espionage-device-en-news

Over 200,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240926032220/https://truthout.org/articles/israel-has-displaced-over-90000-people-in-lebanon-in-just-3-days-un-reports/

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftruthout.org%2Farticles%2Fisrael-has-displaced-over-90000-people-in-lebanon-in-just-3-days-un-reports%2F

Leaders from across Africa have renewed their calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. They also demand a permanent African representation on the UN Security Council.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240926040411/https://www.dw.com/en/un-general-assembly-african-leaders-call-for-gaza-ceasefire-and-un-reforms/a-70322742

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dw.com%2Fen%2Fun-general-assembly-african-leaders-call-for-gaza-ceasefire-and-un-reforms%2Fa-70322742

A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel has sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time, according to a source familiar with the matter, in an apparent challenge to China's growing military assertiveness in the region.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240926050908/https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/09/f2aefb85d27d-urgent-japan-defense-force-ship-sails-through-taiwan-strait-for-1st-time.html

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish.kyodonews.net%2Fnews%2F2024%2F09%2Ff2aefb85d27d-urgent-japan-defense-force-ship-sails-through-taiwan-strait-for-1st-time.html

Pope Francis has taken the unusual decision to expel 10 people from a troubled Catholic movement in Peru after a Vatican investigation uncovered “sadistic” abuses of power, authority and spirituality.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/Po1LR

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Fpope-abuse-peru-sodalicio-068c8f57dfc37aa86f14198ad08f9157

Russia is preparing to target three Ukrainian nuclear power plants, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the U.N. Security Council in New York on Sept. 24.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/7MJ3L

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkyivindependent.com%2Frussia-preparing-to-attack-3-ukraines-nuclear-plants-zelensky-says%2F

Washington says Israel has legitimate security problem and more complex diplomatic agreement is required

Archived version: https://archive.ph/OtKrA

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2024%2Fsep%2F25%2Fus-thwarts-french-and-british-push-for-lebanon-ceasefire-call-at-un

Israel sent a truck filled with the decomposed bodies of nearly 90 Palestinians to Gaza on Wednesday, which the territory’s health ministry refused to bury, citing Israel's failure to discloses details about who they are and where they were killed.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health, which has worked tirelessly to treat wounded Palestinians and get humanitarian assistance into the enclave, said in a statement that it was refusing to accept the latest arrivals after the Israeli military sent them without providing "their names, ages, genders, or the areas in which they were killed and kidnapped".

Iyad Qadeeh, a media official at the Ministry of Health, said that Wednesday's arrival was the fifth time that authorities had received a truck load of unidentified corpses.

He told Middle East Eye that from now on health officials would refuse to accept any more bodies without identifying information.

Archived version

Vladimir Putin’s statements about the Kremlin’s updated nuclear doctrine reveal his fear that Ukraine might be allowed to use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas has said.

“We have all heard Putin’s words; I believe the key message is not what he said, but that when he talks about the new concept, he clearly signals that granting long-range strike capabilities to Ukraine is a really important issue he fears,” Kasčiūnas told a press conference on Thursday.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who is visiting Lithuania on Thursday, said the West is not intimidated by Putin’s “nuclear rhetoric”.

“I can reiterate that this is Putin’s rhetoric; he speaks loudly and spreads his threats, and we should not be intimidated by that. We will do what we consider right. He can spread this through his channels, but it will not scare us,” Pistorius said.

[...]

Putin said later on Wednesday that the changes [in the political situation] would allow Russia to launch a nuclear response to a “massive air attack”.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had not yet received permission from the United States or the United Kingdom to use long-range missiles to strike targets on Russian territory.

[Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky is urging the West to allow this, but Washington is seeking more detailed information on how Kyiv would use these weapons and how their use would fit into a broader war strategy

[...]

An engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board says the carbon fiber hull of the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic had imperfections dating to the manufacturing process.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240926031417/https://apnews.com/article/titan-titanic-oceangate-coast-guard-hearing-implosion-f1ee1b9d4e48bf782af328590c417f03

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Ftitan-titanic-oceangate-coast-guard-hearing-implosion-f1ee1b9d4e48bf782af328590c417f03

The Israeli military said it intercepted the surface-to-surface missile, which set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/3WlXS

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Fisrael-lebanon-hezbollah-gaza-news-09-25-2024-62cb173728d341c845bff9859addc7a5

The P-800 Onyx missiles could significantly enhance the Houthis' ability to target commercial vessels and threaten US and European warships in the Red Sea.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/d2w00

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kyivpost.com%2Fpost%2F39559

Fresh initiative comes amid tensions between US and Europe on how to press Israel to end offensive on Hezbollah

Archived version: https://archive.ph/UpfH7

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2024%2Fsep%2F26%2Flebanon-temporary-ceasefire-plan-hezbollah-israel

Alleged poisoning follows last year’s killing of human rights lawyer and 2021’s pro-democracy protests

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240926033114/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/25/eswatini-opposition-leader-poisoned-in-south-africa-party-says

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2024%2Fsep%2F25%2Feswatini-opposition-leader-poisoned-in-south-africa-party-says

Environmental activists sprayed red paint on Finland's parliament building on Wednesday to protest against the peat industry, sparking strong criticism from politicians.

Archived version: https://archive.li/2JkJa

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.france24.com%2Fen%2Flive-news%2F20240925-environmentalists-smear-finland-s-parliament-in-red-paint

American envoy to UN urges humanitarian pause and says international community ‘cannot simply look away’

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240926032556/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/25/us-un-sudan-aid-war

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2024%2Fsep%2F25%2Fus-un-sudan-aid-war

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the actress pointed out that even animals had more rights now in Afghanistan following increased restrictions on women.

In response, a Taliban spokesman said they "highly respected" women and would "never compare them to cats".

Streep's comments come after the Taliban government last month introduced a new set of "morality laws".

Among other things, these rules state that women's voices can no longer be heard in public and that they are not allowed to look directly at men they are not related to by blood or marriage.

The measures add to a litany of restrictions that the regime has imposed on Afghan women and girls since returning to power three years ago.

Women have to completely cover their faces and bodies when leaving their homes. Women and girls are also prevented from going to schools, parks, gyms and sport clubs. There are restrictions on the type of work that they are allowed to do.

"Today in Kabul a female cat has more freedom than a woman. A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face, she may chase a squirrel in the park," Streep said on Monday at an event to raise awareness of Afghan women's rights at the UN headquarters in New York.

Countries seeking alternatives to Ukraine's peace formula are playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin, particularly China and Brazil, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

"When some propose alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles, it not only ignores the interests and suffering of the Ukrainians, who are affected by the war the most, it not only ignores reality, but it also gives Putin the political space to continue the war," Zelenskyy said.

He emphasized that any alternative peace initiatives are attempts to achieve a ceasefire rather than an end to the war.

The President suggested that perhaps someone hopes to win a Nobel Prize for a frozen truce, but the only prizes Putin will offer in return are "more sufferings and disasters."

Zelenskyy noted that if any country seeks alternatives or ignores any aspect of the peace formula, then it wants to do part of what Putin is doing.

“When the Chinese-Brazilian duo tries to grow into a choir of voices – with someone in Europe, with someone in Africa – saying something alternative to a full and just peace, the question arises: What is the true interest? Everyone must understand - you will not boost your power at Ukraine's expense," the President noted.

According to him, the world has already gone through colonial wars and conspiracies by great powers at the expense of the smaller ones. And all countries understand why this must remain in the past.

Israel’s attempt to eliminate militant Palestinians in Lebanon led to slaughter of civilians, economic and political chaos and the creation of Hezbollah.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240925010622/https://theconversation.com/lebanese-civilians-are-fleeing-the-south-fearing-an-israeli-invasion-a-look-back-at-1982-suggests-they-have-every-reason-to-worry-239653

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Flebanese-civilians-are-fleeing-the-south-fearing-an-israeli-invasion-a-look-back-at-1982-suggests-they-have-every-reason-to-worry-239653

Here is the report: We Can’t Write the Truth Anymore’: Academic Freedom in Hong Kong Under the National Security Law (pdf)

• Academic freedom in Hong Kong has severely declined since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law on the city on June 30, 2020.
• Students and faculty accustomed to academic freedom must now tread carefully to avoid retribution for what they teach, research, and publish, and even with whom they associate.
• Concerned governments and foreign universities with partnerships with Hong Kong universities should speak up for affiliated academics and students, and review these partnerships to avoid becoming complicit in human rights violations.

Academic freedom in Hong Kong has severely declined since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law on the city on June 30, 2020, Human Rights Watch and Hong Kong Democracy Council said in a report released today.

The 80-page report, “‘We Can’t Write the Truth Anymore’: Academic Freedom in Hong Kong Under the National Security Law,” documents that long-protected civil liberties, including the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, have been under assault in Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities. As these universities have become increasingly repressive, students and faculty widely self-censor, fearful of being targeted for harassment, retribution, and even prosecution for what they say and do both in the classroom and on campus.

A Jewish-American man has been sentenced to death in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for his alleged involvement in a failed coup attempt, sparking controversy and alleged conspiracy theories about possible connections to Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, a native of Washington DC and father of three, was one of 37 individuals sentenced to death by a military tribunal in Kinshasa for their roles in the botched coup on 19 May. The attempted coup, led by Christian Malanga, a used car salesman and gold miner, aimed to overthrow President Félix Tshisekedi’s government.

Amidst the legal proceedings, social media users have circulated photos alleging Zalman-Polun had ties to the CIA and Mossad. These allegations stem from a photograph showing Zalman-Polun and Malanga outside the Golan Spy Shop, a technology and security supply store in Tel Aviv.

Plan calls for Palestinian civilians to be forced out and Hamas militants put under siege in ‘closed military zone’

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20240923174514/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/23/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-plan-northern-gaza-palestinian-civilians-hamas

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2024%2Fsep%2F23%2Fisrael-benjamin-netanyahu-plan-northern-gaza-palestinian-civilians-hamas