World in Brief

News stories from around the globe GAZA: The Health Ministry warned today that malnutrition and starvation rates have reached “catastrophic levels,” with 466 deaths since 2024, including 157 children. More than 1.4 million people are projected to face crisis-level food insecurity through the end of 2026, while nearly 4,000 pregnancy losses were recorded in the first half of this year. The ministry called on the international community to ensure unrestricted food deliveries to the enclave. INDONESIA: Four people died, and two suffered severe burns while battling a wildfire in a national park on Java, officials said today. The victims were among a 12-member firefighting team trapped by thick smoke and rapidly spreading flames in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park on Thursday. The fire follows a major blaze in August, as Indonesia battles worsening forest fires amid an El Nino-driven dry season. ARGENTINA: Students protested on campus over President Javier Milei’s austerity on Thursday as a judge fined the government for failing to fund universities. Students at the University of Buenos Aires occupied a faculty building, warning that free higher education is at risk as professors leave en masse over salaries that cannot cover basic needs. Mr Milei’s spending cuts have made public universities a major battleground of his austerity plan. PAKISTAN: Authorities ordered inspections of all private schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa today after a school roof collapsed and killed 34 children and a teacher, as relatives said the structure had previously been reported as weak. Police arrested the school’s owner, and the provincial government announced an investigation into Thursday’s collapse. Rescuers pulled at least 40 children alive from the debris. Rescue care from the realm of sentimentality: what happens when we replace the vertical relationship between benefactor and victim with interdependence, collective organisation and struggle?