At least 27 people have died in anti-government protests in Sierra Leone, police and other sources said on Thursday, sharply raising the death toll from the previous day's clashes as shocked citizens stayed mostly behind closed doors in the capital, Freetown.

Six police officers and at least 21 civilians were killed, the sources said, as hundreds took to the streets in frustration at economic hardship and a perceived failure by the government to cushion the impact of rising prices.

The unrest is highly unusual for Sierra Leone, especially in Freetown. A few people have been killed in isolated protests in other cities in recent years.

Latest attack comes as UN warns both sides to cease fighting near the facility.

Ten shells launched by the Ukrainian army landed near the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant on Thursday, according to regional authorities. The facility is located in southeastern Ukraine but is currently under the control of Russian troops.

Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Zaporozhye Region military-civil administration, explained that five explosives landed near the commandant's office at the plant, next to a welding site and a radioactive substance storage facility, causing grass in the area to catch fire.

Another five shells landed near the fire station beside the power plant, preventing a shift change.

Rogov said this was the second time the power plant had come under fire on Thursday and suggested that the strikes were being carried out by Ukrainian forces using multiple launch rocket systems and heavy artillery positioned in Dnepropetrovsk Region.

If you have followed my reporting you probably know about the protests happening in the Netherlands. Tens of thousands of farmers have taken to the streets to protest against new climate goals which will force farmers to shut down their farms. They have set hay bales on fire on motorways and dumped manure and even blocked supermarket distribution centers.
Around 1/5 of farms will be forced to shut down!

The Fargo School Board voted 7-2 in favor of rescinding a previous approved motion to begin their bi-weekly meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. The board ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance didn't align with the Fargo Public School District's diversity code.

After passing a motion on March 22 to begin each Fargo School Board meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the board has rescinded the motion, voting in favor of removing it.

In a 7-2 decision Tuesday, Aug. 9, the board voted in favor of removing the verse that has been a part of every school board meeting since April 12.

Board members Nikkie Gullickson and Robin Nelson voted in favor of keeping the Pledge of Allegiance at its bi-weekly meetings.

Board member Seth Holden asked the Governance Committee during its July 28 meeting that a removal of the previously passed motion, which was proposed by former board member David Paulson , should be voted on. The board agreed to put it on the agenda

Holden said the Pledge of Allegiance didn't align with the school's diversity, equity and inclusion values.

TGP received the following letter from the wife of an American soldier and the mother of his children. This American hero, father, and husband is being attacked despite a board recommending that her husband, Brandon Budge, remain on flying status:

Nearly 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments, all of it wasted! It pains me to admit that our military has become a ruthless, toxic mélange of spineless, gas-lighting leadership. A place where leaders live a different standard than the one they force on those to whom they are supposed to "guide." I use the word "guide" loosely, as my family and I currently fight a leadership team determined to destroy my husband's career, without cause. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Budge is living through the ugliest side of our current political culture and climate. His leadership has been allowed to operate outside of what is just and prudent. Colonel Shane Finison and 7th Infantry Division Commander Major General Stephen G. Smith have abused and mistreated our family to the point of breaking. The reason? A medic falsified his records to show him receiving a COVID "vaccine" when he hadn't, even though he, under threat had agreed to be vaccinated while on leave. He had spoken to his commander the day he departed for leave, explaining his plan to be vaccinated while on leave. Brandon was accused of falsifying his records, he didn't. He swore an oath to defend the Constitution and is now being denied due process by those who took the same oath.

Food producers across Europe are contending with soaring energy prices, with that increase quickly felt in the pockets of consumers grappling with a cost-of-living crisis, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, citing a Bank of England forecast, a third of UK households are set to spend more than 10% of incomes on energy, and now surging grocery costs are driving up food poverty.

Ryan Peters, managing director of Brioche Pasquier UK, told the outlet:

"It is the domino effect that has happened with us having to take a huge increase on energy. We have to try and raise our prices to retailers a little bit, and unfortunately that goes on to consumers."

Kona Haque, head of research for commodities trader ED&F Man, warned:

"I think the worst is still to come as energy prices rise. This winter will be a game changer and processing costs will likely go up."

Iranian authorities have warned manufacturers and sellers of women's clothing that they will shut down their businesses if they keep using "loud" colors in their products.

In a statement to the Roydad24 website, Majid Emami, who heads Iran's fashion and clothing organization, quoted the Ministry of Industry and Trade as saying that women's clothing manufacturers could lose the right to manufacture knee-length open cloaks -- the Iranian women's most common piece of clothing that is usually worn over a shirt and with long pants or jeans -- unless they stick with colors not deemed to be "loud."

"Regarding the color: the ministry emphasized that manufacturers should not use loud colors. There is no order or regulation to clarify which colors are deemed illegal. Society does not have a problem with this kind of clothing [knee-length open cloaks in bright colors]. If the relevant institutions want to create restrictions on the type of production, they should first change the taste of society."

The news comes amid recent reports that authorities in Iran are increasingly cracking down on women deemed to be in violation of wearing the hijab, which is mandatory in public in Iran.

The German economy is expected to lose more than €260 billion ($265 billion) in added value by 2030 due to the conflict in Ukraine and high energy prices, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB).

According to the study, Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) is set to be 1.7% lower in 2023, while the country will have about 240,000 fewer jobs. Employment is forecast to stay at this level until 2026, when the after-effects of the current crises are expected to end.

The country's hospitality industry, already weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic, is expected to be hit the hardest as consumers' purchasing power dwindles. Other sectors which are likely to be affected are the chemical industry and metal production, as they are highly reliant on energy supplies.

A Palestinian security official was shot dead late on Monday in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, three Palestinian security officials said, just hours after a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Saeed Alaeddine was an officer in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, in charge of liaising between the group and Lebanese security. He was killed by a gunman, who fired at him while he was praying at a friend's house in the camp, said senior Fatah official Mounir Makdah.

An unknown gunman shot him several times, and Alaeddine was rushed to hospital, where he died. The perpetrator fled the scene and details on his identity and motive were not immediately clear.

An AFP correspondent heard more gunshots in the camp after Alaeddine's killing.

Indian companies are using Asian currencies more often to pay for Russian coal imports, according to customs documents and industry sources, avoiding the U.S. dollar and cutting the risk of breaching Western sanctions against Moscow.

Reuters previously reported on a large Indian coal deal involving the Chinese yuan, but the customs data underline how non-dollar settlements are becoming commonplace.

India has aggressively stepped up purchases of Russian oil and coal since the war in Ukraine began, helping to cushion Moscow from the effects of sanctions and allowing New Delhi to secure raw materials at discounts compared to supplies from other countries.