World roundup: October 11 2024

Stories from Lebanon, Sudan, Panama, and elsewhere

TODAY IN HISTORY

October 11, 1142: The Jin and Song monarchies ratify the Treaty of Shaoxing, establishing a formal boundary between the two Chinese kingdoms. The Song were obliged by the treaty to give up their dynastic claims on northern China, which they’d ruled from 960 until the Jurchen people rebelled and drove the Song south of the Yangtze River in the 1110s (historians sometimes refer to the dynasty moving forward as the “Southern Song” to mark this geographic shift). The treaty also required the Song to pay an annual tribute to the Jin, though a subsequent war in the 1160s ended with a Song victory that established a more equal relationship between the two dynasties. The Mongol invasions of the 13th century eventually did away with both kingdoms and reunified China.

October 11, 1899: The Second Boer War begins. Though the Boer states had some initial success, the war ended in May 1902 with an overwhelming British victory and the collapse of both the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. Among the war’s many legacies was the popularization of the concentration camp, which Britain used to house large numbers of Boer civilians, many of whom died due to the treatment to which they were subjected.

MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

The United Nations World Food Program told CNN on Friday that there has been no food coming into northern Gaza since the beginning of October. That’s after 700 trucks entered that area in August and 400 last month, which was already a dangerous decline. The total cut off coincides with the Israeli military’s (IDF) new operation in northern Gaza and aligns with speculation that the Israelis are prepared to starve the population there to cleanse the area of militants (and everyone else). The IDF has ordered civilians to evacuate northern Gaza, but as The New York Times reports many people are either unable to leave or are choosing to stay put. Many who are refusing to evacuate seem to be doing so because they’re unconvinced that any other part of Gaza will be any safer.

Elsewhere: