Winter cold piles misery on displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza

China

Winter cold piles misery on displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza

2024-12-17 11:25 Last Updated At：18:27

The winter cold has compounded the misery of displaced Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where they are facing shortages of supplies and the threat of starvation.

Wahbi Salama and his family live in a makeshift tent on the rubble in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis.

Their home was destroyed by Israeli forces several months ago. They fled to Rafah, Deir al-Balah, and the coastal area before moving to Khan Yunis, as it is not safe to live near the sea in winter.

"The ground is full of sand and rubble. When strong wind hits, the tent shakes. The ground even sinks. When it rains, the tent can't even keep out the water," said Wahbi Salama.

"At night, when we sleep, rats scurry around. There are also lots of mosquitoes and bugs. We were even attacked by stray dogs for two times. However, we have nowhere else to go except this rubble site," said Amal Salama.

In addition to the harsh living conditions, they also face shortages of food, water, and clothing needed to withstand the winter cold.

"Two of our children leave every morning at 8:30 to queue at the food distribution point, where they must wait until noon. If they can bring food back, we'll have a meal; if not, we can only leave it to fate. I just hope the war will end so that we can live in peace," said Amal Salama.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has topped 45,000, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Monday.

China to increase issuance size of ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2025

2024-12-17 17:21 Last Updated At：17:37

China intends to issue more ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2025, aiming to promote equipment renewal, encourage trade-in programs, and support major national strategies and projects, according to the Office of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs.

As of Dec. 12, driven by treasury bonds issued to promote large-scale equipment renewal and the trading-in of consumer goods, over 5.2 million new vehicles have been sold, generating more than 690 billion yuan (about 95 billion U.S. dollars) in sales revenue. Besides, over 49 million home appliances were sold through these programs, totaling more than 210 billion yuan (about 29 billion U.S. dollars), and more than 2 million old equipment sets were replaced.

These treasury bonds have also supported the development of more than 1,400 major projects, including the new land-sea corridor in western China, high-standard farmland in northeastern China, and the shelterbelt program in northern China.

Based on the progress made in 2024, China plans to issue more ultra-long special treasury bonds in the coming year, with a significant increase in bonds supporting equipment upgrades and consumption through trade-ins, the committee said.

Meanwhile, more products and sectors with high market demand and strong potential will be considered for inclusion in the scope of policy support.

In addition, the funds raised from treasury bonds will be carefully allocated to support key national strategic areas and projects, while improving the mechanisms and efficiency of their use.