A huge fire threatens thousands of residents in Southern California, USA

On Tuesday, American authorities in California ordered more than 5,000 people living in a rural area in the south of the state to evacuate their homes due to a huge fire that broke out on Monday and was fanned by strong winds.

The authorities explained that they asked about 5,700 people to leave the areas threatened by fire located southeast of Los Angeles. 

The "Highland Fire" fire, which broke out midday on Monday, spread on Tuesday morning over an area of ​​​​more than 900 hectares, without firefighters being able to control it until 11:53 (GMT), while the fire destroyed three buildings and caused damage to six buildings. Other. 

More than 300 firefighters are participating in fighting the fire, supported by water bombers from the air.

A spokeswoman for the Riverside County Fire Brigade told Agence France-Presse that strong winds complicate the fire brigade's mission. 

She said, “The biggest problem at the present time is the strong winds,” adding that what complicates the fire brigades’ mission “is the terrain, as the fire descends and settles in many valleys and depressions.”

Wind speeds during the day are expected to reach 50 kilometers per hour, according to the National Meteorological Directorate.

Chile and Colombia recall their ambassadors to Israel in protest against the "Gaza massacres"

Chile and Colombia on Tuesday recalled their ambassadors to Israel in protest against Israeli massacres and violations in the Gaza Strip and the collective punishment of Palestinian civilians.

Chile and Colombia decided on Tuesday to recall their ambassadors to Israel in rejection of the Israeli massacres and violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.

Chile accused the Israeli army of committing “violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza, while Colombia accused it of committing a massacre in the Strip.

The Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it summoned Ambassador Jorge Carvajal in protest against "unacceptable Israeli violations of humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip."

Santiago strongly condemned and monitors with great concern the ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, stressing also its condemnation of the measures of "collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza."

Chile is home to the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab world, and condemned Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, as well as defending the two-state solution and calling for an end to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

For his part, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced in a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that he had summoned his country’s ambassador to Israel, Margarita Manjarrez. Petro stressed, "If Israel does not stop the massacre against the Palestinian people, we cannot remain diplomatically in the Hebrew state."

On Tuesday, Bolivia announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Israel, due to the continued Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, during a joint press conference by Bolivian presidential spokeswoman Maria Neela Prada and Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani.

Mamani referred to the UN Convention on Human Rights and said: “Bolivia rejects all forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

For 26 days, the Israeli army has been waging a war on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death and injury of thousands of Palestinians, most of them civilians, and causing a catastrophic humanitarian situation, according to warnings issued by international institutions.

White House: Biden will use his veto against the draft aid bill for Israel if it is passed in isolation from Ukraine

The White House announced that US President Joe Biden will veto the bill on military and humanitarian aid to Israel and Ukraine if the House of Representatives passes it separately as proposed.

The White House stressed that the administration believes that requests for military and humanitarian aid to Israel and Ukraine cannot be separated, otherwise this will lead to consequences at the global level.

“If the President is presented with this bill (separate aid as the House proposes), he will veto it,” the White House Budget Office said in a statement.

By proposing to split the request for $105 billion in aid to Israel and Ukraine, the administration believes Republicans are politicizing an issue that should actually be addressed on a bipartisan basis.

The statement added: “Separating aid to Israel from other national security priorities in the request will have consequences at the global level.”

The administration also insists that it is important to address the need to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian side.

A bill was submitted in the US House of Representatives to provide additional emergency aid to Israel in the amount of $14.3 billion, separate from Biden's other requests for military support for Ukraine and Taiwan and other spending items, and the US Congress is scheduled to vote on it next Thursday.