engineerkhan/newsSample17Mar · Datasets at Hugging Face

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The election provides the Kremlin with an opportunity to create an illusion for state-controlled media and their Russian audience.	What's happening?
“The authorities formed groups of people who gladly pose for videos to provide a pretty picture. They don’t need to force anyone to go voting. No one is going to riot, get angry,” the former Enerhodar resident said.	What's the latest?
Russia permits voting even for those who haven’t yet obtained red Russian passports in a blatant violation of its own election laws.	What's the scoop?
Wannabe voters can present any valid ID, including a Ukrainian passport or driving license.	Anything noteworthy?
Moscow announced strict security measures amid what they call Ukraine’s “information diversions”.	What's going on?
It says Ukrainian intelligence services fish for voters’ information and send threats to election officials.	Any new developments?
The threats “look copied and pasted. Only some words are changed” in each of them, Vladimir Vysotsky, chief election official in the Russia-occupied part of the Donetsk region, told the Itar-Tass news agency.	What's the buzz?
“For the first time, we are holding elections in such a complicated, extreme situation, when such a toxic international situation is created with constant threats and a mass of other negative things,” Russia’s chief election official, Ella Pamfilova, said on Thursday.	Got any headlines?
Meanwhile, Ukrainian observers wonder aloud about the necessity of elections in Russia, where Putin has become the longest-serving leader since Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin.	Got any news?
“The deep split within the totalitarian reality is manifested through the way Putin fanatically clings to the necessity of extending his endless cadences through ‘election’ while fully neutering the very essence of competition and open ending,” said Svetlana Chunikhina, vice president of the Association of Political Psychologists, a group in Kyiv.	Any updates?
“In Russia, they consider elections as the most prestigious way to legitimise power,” she told Al Jazeera. “But totalitarian reality doesn’t generate any prestige. It only generates fear and submissiveness.”	What's happening?
Kyiv predictably lambasted the vote in the occupied areas.	What's the latest?
“The campaign to imitate a presidential election shows Russia’s further insolent disregard for the standards and principles of international law,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.	What's the scoop?
Icelandic police declared a state of emergency on Saturday as lava spewed from a new volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the fourth eruption to hit the area since December.	Anything noteworthy?
A “volcanic eruption has started between Stori-Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” said a statement from the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO). Live video images showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.	What's going on?
Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced it had sent a helicopter to narrow down the exact location of the new fissure. The authority also said the police had declared a state of emergency due to the eruption.	Any new developments?
According to the IMO, it occurred close to the same location as a previous eruption on February 8. Lava appeared to flow south towards the dykes built to protect the fishing village Grindavik, it said.	What's the buzz?
Just after 22:00 GMT, “the southern lava front was just 200 metres [656 feet] from the barriers on the eastern side of Grindavik and moving at a rate of about one km per hour”, it added.	Got any headlines?
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa, one of Iceland’s top tourist attractions, when the eruption began, national broadcaster RUV said.	Got any news?
No flight disruptions were reported at nearby Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport.	Any updates?
The eruption site is a few kilometres northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people about 50km (30 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, that was evacuated before the initial eruption in December. A few residents who had returned to their homes were evacuated again on Saturday.	What's happening?
Grindavik was evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system awakened after almost 800 years with a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the ground north of the town.	What's the latest?
The volcano eventually erupted on December 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on January 14 sent lava towards the town. Defensive walls that had been bolstered after the first eruption stopped some of the flow, but several buildings were consumed by the lava.	What's the scoop?
Both eruptions lasted only a matter of days. A third eruption began February 8. It petered out within hours, but not before a river of lava engulfed a pipeline, cutting off heat and hot water to thousands of people.	Anything noteworthy?
RUV quoted geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson as saying that the latest eruption is the most powerful so far. The IMO said some of the lava was flowing towards the defensive barriers around Grindavik.	What's going on?
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions and is highly experienced at dealing with them. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.	Any new developments?
No confirmed deaths have been reported from any of the recent eruptions, but a workman was declared missing after falling into a fissure opened by the volcano.	What's the buzz?
An ‘extremely dangerous’ suspect has been taken into custody in New Jersey following an hours-long effort to detain him.	Got any headlines?
A suspect has been taken into custody in New Jersey after allegedly shooting dead three family members, authorities have said, following an hours-long effort to detain him.	Got any news?
Andre Gordon, 26, “surrendered peacefully”, Trenton Police Department spokeswoman Lisette Rios told the AFP news agency on Saturday, after a trail of violence that triggered shelter-in-place orders in two states.	Any updates?
Authorities said Gordon, who is believed to be homeless, began the day by carjacking a vehicle in Trenton before driving some 65km (40 miles) to the northern Philadelphia suburb of Levittown.	What's happening?
There, police said, the suspect killed two people – identified as his 52-year-old stepmother and his 13-year-old sister.	What's the latest?
Three others, including a minor, managed to hide “as he went through the house searching for them”, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a briefing.	What's the scoop?
The suspect then drove to a nearby residence where he broke in before shooting and killing a 25-year-old woman – who Schorn said was the mother of his two children – before bludgeoning her mother with the butt of his rifle.	Anything noteworthy?
Driving to a nearby discount store, the suspect carjacked a 44-year-old man before fleeing. The man was not injured, according to Falls Township Sheriff Nelson Whitney.	What's going on?
The suspect then drove across the state line back to Trenton, where police believed he had barricaded himself in a three-storey house.	Any new developments?
Whitney had said the suspect was believed to be armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and police described him as “extremely dangerous”.	What's the buzz?
For several hours they appealed to him to surrender, after SWAT officers evacuated people in the home through a second-storey window.	Got any headlines?
“Andre, get away from the windows. We know you’re inside, if you’d like to surrender, dial 911 now,” police said over a loudspeaker. “You’re a young man, you have too much to live for.”	Got any news?
Later on Saturday Gordon was “located at another location in Trenton”, police spokeswoman Rios said.	Any updates?
Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson said Gordon was uninjured and walking along a street when a patrol officer approached him.	What's happening?
Gordon had apparently slipped out of the house before police had completed setting up a perimeter, Wilson said.	What's the latest?
Because the suspect crossed state lines, federal authorities – including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – were working the case, along with local, county and state police.	What's the scoop?
Officials said they could not yet speak to a motive for the attacks. While Gordon had had some minor brushes with the law, they were “nothing that would indicate that anything like this would happen”, Whitney, the Sheriff said at a news conference.	Anything noteworthy?
The mayhem forced the cancellation of a St Patrick’s Day parade and shut down a Sesame Street-themed amusement park.	What's going on?
Navy captures MV Ruen off the Indian coast, ending the three-month hijacking of the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier.	Any new developments?
Indian naval forces including special commandos have seized a cargo vessel that had been hijacked by Somali pirates and rescued 17 crew members, a spokesperson for the navy said.	What's the buzz?
In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, the navy said that all 35 pirates on board the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel MV Ruen had surrendered, and the ship had been checked for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition and contraband.	Got any headlines?
The MV Ruen was hijacked late last year and the navy said it first intercepted the vessel on Friday.	Got any news?
“The pirates onboard the vessel have been called upon to surrender and release the vessel and any civilians they may be holding against their will,” the navy said in a statement.	Any updates?
“The Indian navy remains committed to maritime security and safety of seafarers in the region,” it added.	What's happening?
The vessel may have been used as the base for the takeover of a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia earlier this week, the European Union naval force said.	What's the latest?
The hijacking of the Ruen in December was the first successful takeover of a vessel involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.	What's the scoop?
#INSKolkata, in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender & ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members in the evening today #16Mar 24 from the pirate vessel without any injury.#INSKolkata had carried out the… https://t.co/eKxfEdMRES pic.twitter.com/tmQq2fG8yE	Anything noteworthy?
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 16, 2024	What's going on?
Somali pirates have caused chaos in important global waterways for a decade, but had been dormant until a resurgence of attacks starting late last year.	Any new developments?
India has deployed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to provide security against pirates as Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.	What's the buzz?
The subcontinent’s navy has also increased its surveillance of the Arabian Sea after a recent spate of attacks in the region.	Got any headlines?
In January, the navy rescued all crew members from a Liberian-flagged merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea.	Got any news?
At least 17 incidents of hijacking, attempted hijacking and suspicious approaches have been recorded by the Indian navy since December 1.	Any updates?
Data from the Indian navy’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region shows at least three hijackings in December.	What's happening?
Israel says it will send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after Hamas presented a new truce proposal.	What's the latest?
The main United Nations aid agency operating in Gaza has said that acute malnutrition was accelerating in the north of the Palestinian enclave as Israel prepared to send a delegation to Qatar for new truce talks on a hostage deal with Hamas.	What's the scoop?
On Saturday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza are now acutely malnourished, putting more pressure on Israel over the looming famine.	Anything noteworthy?
“Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post.	What's going on?
On Friday, Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after Hamas presented a new proposal for a ceasefire with an exchange of hostages and prisoners.	Any new developments?
A source familiar with the talks told the Reuters news agency that the delegation will be led by the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to convene the security cabinet to discuss the proposal before the talks start.	What's the buzz?
Netanyahu’s office has said the Hamas offer was still based on “unrealistic demands”.	Got any headlines?
Repeated efforts failed to secure a ceasefire before the holy month of Ramadan, which started a week ago, with Israel saying it plans to launch a new offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza.	Got any news?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, starting a two-day visit to the region, voiced concerns about an assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are sheltering, saying there was a danger it would result “in many terrible civilian casualties”.	Any updates?
On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said he had approved an attack plan on Rafah and that the civilian population would be evacuated.	What's happening?
It gave no timeframe, and there was no immediate evidence of extra preparations on the ground.	What's the latest?
Humanitarian crisis	What's the scoop?
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 31,553 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the strip.	Anything noteworthy?
The assault has also devastated the enclave, forcing nearly all the inhabitants from their homes, leaving much of the territory in rubble and triggering a massive hunger crisis.	What's going on?
“Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post. Hospitals in Gaza have reported some children dying of malnutrition and dehydration.	Any new developments?
Western countries have called on Israel to do more to allow in aid, with the UN saying it faced “overwhelming obstacles” including crossing closures, onerous vetting, restrictions on movement and unrest inside Gaza.	What's the buzz?
A first delivery into Gaza by the World Central Kitchen, pioneering a new sea route via Cyprus, arrived on Friday and was off-loaded, the charity said.	Got any headlines?
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said a second cargo of food aid was ready to depart by sea from Cyprus on Saturday, while the United States and Jordan said they carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid.	Got any news?
In a CNN interview, Queen Rania of Jordan called the airdrops “literally just drops in the ocean of unmet needs” and accused Israel of “cutting off everything that is required to sustain a human life: food, fuel, medicine, water”.	Any updates?
Humanitarian aid for Gaza is loaded on a cargo ship in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]	What's happening?
Source	What's the latest?
:	What's the scoop?
Al Jazeera and news agencies	Anything noteworthy?
Calcha K, Bolivia - Teófila Cayo Calcina, 56, stands among her rows of quinoa plants, pointing towards the horizon. "The lithium plant is 50km in that direction. We are worried that the mining could leave us with not enough water to survive," she says, clearly disheartened.	What's going on?
Calcina lives with her husband in one of the houses overlooking the central square of the tiny village of Calcha K, an hour’s walk from her quinoa fields, where she grows quinoa real, a variety which is native to the Uyuni region of Bolivia and is considered a “superfood” in Western countries such as the US and Europe.	Any new developments?
Teófila Cayo Calcina, a quinoa farmer in the Potosi region of Bolivia, points in the direction of the new lithium plant which is approximately 50km from her crop [Alberto Mazzieri/Al Jazeera]	What's the buzz?
The village is home to 400 people who speak Quechua, an ancient Inca language but still very widely spoken in South America. This community, where most people’s livelihoods are tied to farming quinoa and herding llamas, lives on the edge of the Uyuni salt flat in the Potosí region, part of the Bolivian Andes.	Got any headlines?
The Salar of Uyuni forms the world’s largest salt flat, stretching for nearly 10,500sq km (more than 4,050 square miles) - slightly larger than the size of Lebanon - and attracting tourists from all over the world who come to marvel at its unique landscape.	Got any news?
In recent years, salt flats such as this one have also begun to draw intense interest from "green" industries around the world because the lightest metals on Earth are mined from lithium-rich brines, typically found in salt flats.	Any updates?
Teófila Cayo Calcina checks on her quinoa plants. She grows quinoa real, a variety which is native to the Uyuni region of Bolivia and is considered a 'superfood' in Western countries. Calcina is fearful for the future of this industry, however, if the new lithium extraction plant depletes the area of water [Alberto Mazzieri/Al Jazeera]	What's happening?
Last year, geologists discovered a vast deposit of two million tonnes of lithium in the district of Potosí, leading to a re-evaluation of the previously estimated resources of the metal on Bolivian soil.	What's the latest?
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) now estimates that Bolivia has about 23 million tonnes (more than 20 billion kg) of lithium - some two million tonnes more than previously thought.	What's the scoop?
The mineral is a key ingredient for the production of electric car batteries, which countries around the world are rushing to produce in the race to switch away from fossil fuels. Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, has announced that he plans for the country to be able to export batteries by the end of 2026.	Anything noteworthy?
The new lithium find has propelled Bolivia to number one in the world for lithium deposits, followed by Argentina with 22 million tonnes and Chile with 11 million tonnes.	What's going on?
This is the so-called "Lithium Triangle" where the rush for "white gold" is very much under way.	Any new developments?
New Delhi, India – It is almost 5:40 in the evening. A hair salon in New Delhi’s bustling New Friends Colony neighbourhood is alive with the sound of buzzing clippers and chattering customers. The air is thick with the scent of hair spray and aftershave.	What's the buzz?
Zaki Marzai, 29, stands behind a barber’s brown chair, his hands moving with precision as he snips a customer’s hair.	Got any headlines?
Wooden shelves on the walls bear colourful bottles of shampoo and styling products. The mirrors reflect Marzai, his eyes focused on the hair before him. His customer looks satisfied.	Got any news?
Marzai, though, would rather be elsewhere – with a rifle in his hand, not a razor.	Any updates?

The election provides the Kremlin with an opportunity to create an illusion for state-controlled media and their Russian audience.

What's happening?

“The authorities formed groups of people who gladly pose for videos to provide a pretty picture. They don’t need to force anyone to go voting. No one is going to riot, get angry,” the former Enerhodar resident said.

What's the latest?

Russia permits voting even for those who haven’t yet obtained red Russian passports in a blatant violation of its own election laws.

What's the scoop?

Wannabe voters can present any valid ID, including a Ukrainian passport or driving license.

Anything noteworthy?

Moscow announced strict security measures amid what they call Ukraine’s “information diversions”.

What's going on?

It says Ukrainian intelligence services fish for voters’ information and send threats to election officials.

Any new developments?

The threats “look copied and pasted. Only some words are changed” in each of them, Vladimir Vysotsky, chief election official in the Russia-occupied part of the Donetsk region, told the Itar-Tass news agency.

What's the buzz?

“For the first time, we are holding elections in such a complicated, extreme situation, when such a toxic international situation is created with constant threats and a mass of other negative things,” Russia’s chief election official, Ella Pamfilova, said on Thursday.

Got any headlines?

Meanwhile, Ukrainian observers wonder aloud about the necessity of elections in Russia, where Putin has become the longest-serving leader since Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin.

Got any news?

“The deep split within the totalitarian reality is manifested through the way Putin fanatically clings to the necessity of extending his endless cadences through ‘election’ while fully neutering the very essence of competition and open ending,” said Svetlana Chunikhina, vice president of the Association of Political Psychologists, a group in Kyiv.

Any updates?

“In Russia, they consider elections as the most prestigious way to legitimise power,” she told Al Jazeera. “But totalitarian reality doesn’t generate any prestige. It only generates fear and submissiveness.”

What's happening?

Kyiv predictably lambasted the vote in the occupied areas.

What's the latest?

“The campaign to imitate a presidential election shows Russia’s further insolent disregard for the standards and principles of international law,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.

What's the scoop?

Icelandic police declared a state of emergency on Saturday as lava spewed from a new volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the fourth eruption to hit the area since December.

Anything noteworthy?

A “volcanic eruption has started between Stori-Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” said a statement from the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO). Live video images showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.

What's going on?

Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced it had sent a helicopter to narrow down the exact location of the new fissure. The authority also said the police had declared a state of emergency due to the eruption.

Any new developments?

According to the IMO, it occurred close to the same location as a previous eruption on February 8. Lava appeared to flow south towards the dykes built to protect the fishing village Grindavik, it said.

What's the buzz?

Just after 22:00 GMT, “the southern lava front was just 200 metres [656 feet] from the barriers on the eastern side of Grindavik and moving at a rate of about one km per hour”, it added.

Got any headlines?

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa, one of Iceland’s top tourist attractions, when the eruption began, national broadcaster RUV said.

Got any news?

No flight disruptions were reported at nearby Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport.

Any updates?

The eruption site is a few kilometres northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people about 50km (30 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, that was evacuated before the initial eruption in December. A few residents who had returned to their homes were evacuated again on Saturday.

What's happening?

Grindavik was evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system awakened after almost 800 years with a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the ground north of the town.

What's the latest?

The volcano eventually erupted on December 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on January 14 sent lava towards the town. Defensive walls that had been bolstered after the first eruption stopped some of the flow, but several buildings were consumed by the lava.

What's the scoop?

Both eruptions lasted only a matter of days. A third eruption began February 8. It petered out within hours, but not before a river of lava engulfed a pipeline, cutting off heat and hot water to thousands of people.

Anything noteworthy?

RUV quoted geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson as saying that the latest eruption is the most powerful so far. The IMO said some of the lava was flowing towards the defensive barriers around Grindavik.

What's going on?

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions and is highly experienced at dealing with them. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.

Any new developments?

No confirmed deaths have been reported from any of the recent eruptions, but a workman was declared missing after falling into a fissure opened by the volcano.

What's the buzz?

An ‘extremely dangerous’ suspect has been taken into custody in New Jersey following an hours-long effort to detain him.

Got any headlines?

A suspect has been taken into custody in New Jersey after allegedly shooting dead three family members, authorities have said, following an hours-long effort to detain him.

Got any news?

Andre Gordon, 26, “surrendered peacefully”, Trenton Police Department spokeswoman Lisette Rios told the AFP news agency on Saturday, after a trail of violence that triggered shelter-in-place orders in two states.

Any updates?

Authorities said Gordon, who is believed to be homeless, began the day by carjacking a vehicle in Trenton before driving some 65km (40 miles) to the northern Philadelphia suburb of Levittown.

What's happening?

There, police said, the suspect killed two people – identified as his 52-year-old stepmother and his 13-year-old sister.

What's the latest?

Three others, including a minor, managed to hide “as he went through the house searching for them”, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a briefing.

What's the scoop?

The suspect then drove to a nearby residence where he broke in before shooting and killing a 25-year-old woman – who Schorn said was the mother of his two children – before bludgeoning her mother with the butt of his rifle.

Anything noteworthy?

Driving to a nearby discount store, the suspect carjacked a 44-year-old man before fleeing. The man was not injured, according to Falls Township Sheriff Nelson Whitney.

What's going on?

The suspect then drove across the state line back to Trenton, where police believed he had barricaded himself in a three-storey house.

Any new developments?

Whitney had said the suspect was believed to be armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and police described him as “extremely dangerous”.

What's the buzz?

For several hours they appealed to him to surrender, after SWAT officers evacuated people in the home through a second-storey window.

Got any headlines?

“Andre, get away from the windows. We know you’re inside, if you’d like to surrender, dial 911 now,” police said over a loudspeaker. “You’re a young man, you have too much to live for.”

Got any news?

Later on Saturday Gordon was “located at another location in Trenton”, police spokeswoman Rios said.

Any updates?

Trenton Police Director Steve Wilson said Gordon was uninjured and walking along a street when a patrol officer approached him.

What's happening?

Gordon had apparently slipped out of the house before police had completed setting up a perimeter, Wilson said.

What's the latest?

Because the suspect crossed state lines, federal authorities – including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – were working the case, along with local, county and state police.

What's the scoop?

Officials said they could not yet speak to a motive for the attacks. While Gordon had had some minor brushes with the law, they were “nothing that would indicate that anything like this would happen”, Whitney, the Sheriff said at a news conference.

Anything noteworthy?

The mayhem forced the cancellation of a St Patrick’s Day parade and shut down a Sesame Street-themed amusement park.

What's going on?

Navy captures MV Ruen off the Indian coast, ending the three-month hijacking of the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier.

Any new developments?

Indian naval forces including special commandos have seized a cargo vessel that had been hijacked by Somali pirates and rescued 17 crew members, a spokesperson for the navy said.

What's the buzz?

In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, the navy said that all 35 pirates on board the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel MV Ruen had surrendered, and the ship had been checked for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition and contraband.

Got any headlines?

The MV Ruen was hijacked late last year and the navy said it first intercepted the vessel on Friday.

Got any news?

“The pirates onboard the vessel have been called upon to surrender and release the vessel and any civilians they may be holding against their will,” the navy said in a statement.

Any updates?

“The Indian navy remains committed to maritime security and safety of seafarers in the region,” it added.

What's happening?

The vessel may have been used as the base for the takeover of a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia earlier this week, the European Union naval force said.

What's the latest?

The hijacking of the Ruen in December was the first successful takeover of a vessel involving Somali pirates since 2017 when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

What's the scoop?

#INSKolkata, in the last 40 hours, through concerted actions successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender & ensured safe evacuation of 17 crew members in the evening today #16Mar 24 from the pirate vessel without any injury.#INSKolkata had carried out the… https://t.co/eKxfEdMRES pic.twitter.com/tmQq2fG8yE

Anything noteworthy?

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 16, 2024

What's going on?

Somali pirates have caused chaos in important global waterways for a decade, but had been dormant until a resurgence of attacks starting late last year.

Any new developments?

India has deployed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to provide security against pirates as Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

What's the buzz?

The subcontinent’s navy has also increased its surveillance of the Arabian Sea after a recent spate of attacks in the region.

Got any headlines?

In January, the navy rescued all crew members from a Liberian-flagged merchant vessel after its attempted hijack in the Arabian Sea.

Got any news?

At least 17 incidents of hijacking, attempted hijacking and suspicious approaches have been recorded by the Indian navy since December 1.

Any updates?

Data from the Indian navy’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region shows at least three hijackings in December.

What's happening?

Israel says it will send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after Hamas presented a new truce proposal.

What's the latest?

The main United Nations aid agency operating in Gaza has said that acute malnutrition was accelerating in the north of the Palestinian enclave as Israel prepared to send a delegation to Qatar for new truce talks on a hostage deal with Hamas.

What's the scoop?

On Saturday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza are now acutely malnourished, putting more pressure on Israel over the looming famine.

Anything noteworthy?

“Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post.

What's going on?

On Friday, Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for more talks with mediators after Hamas presented a new proposal for a ceasefire with an exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Any new developments?

A source familiar with the talks told the Reuters news agency that the delegation will be led by the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to convene the security cabinet to discuss the proposal before the talks start.

What's the buzz?

Netanyahu’s office has said the Hamas offer was still based on “unrealistic demands”.

Got any headlines?

Repeated efforts failed to secure a ceasefire before the holy month of Ramadan, which started a week ago, with Israel saying it plans to launch a new offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza.

Got any news?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, starting a two-day visit to the region, voiced concerns about an assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are sheltering, saying there was a danger it would result “in many terrible civilian casualties”.

Any updates?

On Friday, Netanyahu’s office said he had approved an attack plan on Rafah and that the civilian population would be evacuated.

What's happening?

It gave no timeframe, and there was no immediate evidence of extra preparations on the ground.

What's the latest?

Humanitarian crisis

What's the scoop?

Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 31,553 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the strip.

Anything noteworthy?

The assault has also devastated the enclave, forcing nearly all the inhabitants from their homes, leaving much of the territory in rubble and triggering a massive hunger crisis.

What's going on?

“Children’s malnutrition is spreading fast and reaching unprecedented levels in Gaza,” UNRWA said in a social media post. Hospitals in Gaza have reported some children dying of malnutrition and dehydration.

Any new developments?

Western countries have called on Israel to do more to allow in aid, with the UN saying it faced “overwhelming obstacles” including crossing closures, onerous vetting, restrictions on movement and unrest inside Gaza.

What's the buzz?

A first delivery into Gaza by the World Central Kitchen, pioneering a new sea route via Cyprus, arrived on Friday and was off-loaded, the charity said.

Got any headlines?

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said a second cargo of food aid was ready to depart by sea from Cyprus on Saturday, while the United States and Jordan said they carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid.

Got any news?

In a CNN interview, Queen Rania of Jordan called the airdrops “literally just drops in the ocean of unmet needs” and accused Israel of “cutting off everything that is required to sustain a human life: food, fuel, medicine, water”.

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Humanitarian aid for Gaza is loaded on a cargo ship in the port of Larnaca, Cyprus [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]

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Calcha K, Bolivia - Teófila Cayo Calcina, 56, stands among her rows of quinoa plants, pointing towards the horizon. "The lithium plant is 50km in that direction. We are worried that the mining could leave us with not enough water to survive," she says, clearly disheartened.

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Calcina lives with her husband in one of the houses overlooking the central square of the tiny village of Calcha K, an hour’s walk from her quinoa fields, where she grows quinoa real, a variety which is native to the Uyuni region of Bolivia and is considered a “superfood” in Western countries such as the US and Europe.

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Teófila Cayo Calcina, a quinoa farmer in the Potosi region of Bolivia, points in the direction of the new lithium plant which is approximately 50km from her crop [Alberto Mazzieri/Al Jazeera]

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The village is home to 400 people who speak Quechua, an ancient Inca language but still very widely spoken in South America. This community, where most people’s livelihoods are tied to farming quinoa and herding llamas, lives on the edge of the Uyuni salt flat in the Potosí region, part of the Bolivian Andes.

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The Salar of Uyuni forms the world’s largest salt flat, stretching for nearly 10,500sq km (more than 4,050 square miles) - slightly larger than the size of Lebanon - and attracting tourists from all over the world who come to marvel at its unique landscape.

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In recent years, salt flats such as this one have also begun to draw intense interest from "green" industries around the world because the lightest metals on Earth are mined from lithium-rich brines, typically found in salt flats.

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Teófila Cayo Calcina checks on her quinoa plants. She grows quinoa real, a variety which is native to the Uyuni region of Bolivia and is considered a 'superfood' in Western countries. Calcina is fearful for the future of this industry, however, if the new lithium extraction plant depletes the area of water [Alberto Mazzieri/Al Jazeera]

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Last year, geologists discovered a vast deposit of two million tonnes of lithium in the district of Potosí, leading to a re-evaluation of the previously estimated resources of the metal on Bolivian soil.

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The United States Geological Survey (USGS) now estimates that Bolivia has about 23 million tonnes (more than 20 billion kg) of lithium - some two million tonnes more than previously thought.

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The mineral is a key ingredient for the production of electric car batteries, which countries around the world are rushing to produce in the race to switch away from fossil fuels. Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, has announced that he plans for the country to be able to export batteries by the end of 2026.

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The new lithium find has propelled Bolivia to number one in the world for lithium deposits, followed by Argentina with 22 million tonnes and Chile with 11 million tonnes.

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This is the so-called "Lithium Triangle" where the rush for "white gold" is very much under way.

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New Delhi, India – It is almost 5:40 in the evening. A hair salon in New Delhi’s bustling New Friends Colony neighbourhood is alive with the sound of buzzing clippers and chattering customers. The air is thick with the scent of hair spray and aftershave.

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Zaki Marzai, 29, stands behind a barber’s brown chair, his hands moving with precision as he snips a customer’s hair.

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Wooden shelves on the walls bear colourful bottles of shampoo and styling products. The mirrors reflect Marzai, his eyes focused on the hair before him. His customer looks satisfied.

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Marzai, though, would rather be elsewhere – with a rifle in his hand, not a razor.

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