NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2024 12PM EST

Episode Date: December 27, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. A U.S.-funded group that tracks food security around the world has taken down its latest report on northern Gaza. The report said that a famine was unfolding there. But as NPR's Michelle Kelliman reports, the U.S. is raising doubts about the information. The Famine Early Warning Systems Network says its latest alert on Gaza is under review and will be re-released with updated data and analysis in January. The alert had warned of an impending famine in North Gaza, but U.S. officials say the

group had inflated the number of people living in the area. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, called it irresponsible. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which created the famine monitoring group, says it requested the report to be updated. A spokesman says the U.S. is still deeply concerned about the scale of food insecurity in Gaza and the quote minimal amount of assistance that has reached Palestinians in the north. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, Washington. The number of journalists killed in conflict zones this year has reached a five-year high.

Reporters Without Borders say more than 145 members of the press have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. Clayton Weimers is the executive director of Reporters Without Borders USA. He says accountability for their deaths has been elusive so far. Clayton Weimers, Executive Director, Reporters Without Borders USA It's extremely challenging, and it's only getting harder because the Israeli defense forces do not cooperate. Israel has instituted a blockade that prevents outside groups like ours or international media from entering Gaza and reporting independently.

We do investigate every report of a killing of a journalist anywhere in the world to ensure that the journalist killed, was killed in function of their duty and that the claims are accurate. The group says many of the slain reporters were clearly identifiable as journalists and protected by that status. Yet they were shot or killed in airstrikes carried out by Israel. NATO is stepping up Navy patrols in the Baltic Sea after Russia was accused of deliberately cutting an undersea power cable.

The BBC's Paul Moss reports the power line, which carries electricity between Finland and Estonia, stopped working two days ago. Estonia has described it as critical marine infrastructure. The S-Link One is now the only cable carrying electricity to Estonia from Finland. And Friday saw Estonia send out a navy patrol to protect it. Now it seems NATO is offering to help, with the Alliance's Secretary General Mark Rutter offering its full solidarity and support. Russia has brushed off claims it was responsible for severing the S-Link 2 cable.

The BBC's Paul Moss reporting. This is NPR News. Investigators are learning more about the Azerbaijan plane that crashed on Wednesday. A preliminary report shows physical and technical interference from outside the plane. The jet was on a flight from the capital, Baku, to the Russian city of Grozny when it crashed. At least 38 people were killed. 29 passengers survived. Chinese carmaker BYD has fired a subcontractor at its electric vehicle factory in Brazil after labor officials reported slavery-like conditions. NPR's Awen Tao reports. Backed by Warren Buffett, BYD is China's

largest electric car company and a major rival to Tesla. As part of its global growth, it's turning an old Ford factory in northeastern Bahia, Brazil into a new production hub. Brazilian labor officials recently discovered overcrowded dorms, beds without mattresses, and not enough bathrooms for workers. They also reported unsafe working conditions and long hours which led to accidents. Authorities found evidence of forced labor, including confiscated passports and 60% of workers' wages being withheld. The subcontractor Jin Jiang Group has denied the claims, saying they were the result of cultural misunderstandings and translation mix-ups. Alvin Cao, NPR News, Beijing.

Stocks are trading sharply lower on Wall Street this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial averages down 507 points at 42818. The Nasdaq Composite also trading lower, down 431 points. This is NPR News from Washington.