World

israeli-army-says-it-used-small-munitions-in-rafah-airstrike-fire-was-caused-by-secondary-blast

Tue May 28 20:20:27 IST 2024

The Israeli military says an initial investigation into a strike that sparked a deadly weekend fire in a tent camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has found the blaze was caused by a secondary explosion.

Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, said Tuesday that the military fired two 17-kg (37-pound) munitions that targeted two senior Hamas militants. He said the munitions would have been too small to ignite a fire on their own and the military is looking into the possibility that weapons were stored in the area.

Palestinian health officials say at least 45 people, around half of them women and children, were killed in Sunday's strike. The fire also could have ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials in the densely populated camp housing displaced people.

The strike caused widespread outrage, including from some of Israel's closest allies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was the result of a tragic mishap.

New strikes in the same western Tel al-Sultan district of Rafah that was hit Sunday killed at least 16 Palestinians, the Palestinian Civil Defence and the Palestinian Red Crescent said Tuesday. Residents reported an escalation of fighting in the southern Gaza city once seen as the territory's last refuge.

An Israeli incursion launched in early May has caused nearly 1 million to flee from Rafah, most of whom had already been displaced in the war between Israel and Hamas. They now seek refuge in squalid tent camps and other war-ravaged areas.

The United States and other allies of Israel have warned against a full-fledged offensive in the city, with the Biden administration saying that would cross a red line and refusing to provide offensive arms for such an undertaking. On Friday, the International Court of Justice called on Israel to halt its Rafah offensive, an order it has no power to enforce.

Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead, saying Israeli forces must enter Rafah to dismantle Hamas and return hostages taken in the Oct 7 attack that triggered the war.

Israel says it is carrying out limited operations in eastern Rafah along the Gaza-Egypt border. But residents reported heavy bombardment overnight in Tel al-Sultan.

It was a night of horror, said Abdel-Rahman Abu Ismail, a Palestinian from Gaza City who has been sheltering in Tel al-Sultan since December. He said he heard constant sounds of explosions overnight and into Tuesday, with fighter jets and drones flying over the area.

He said it reminded him of the Israeli invasion of his neighbourhood of Shijaiyah in Gaza City, where Israel launched a heavy bombing campaign before sending in ground forces in late 2023. We saw this before, he said.

Sayed al-Masri, a Rafah resident, said many families have been forced to flee their homes and shelters, with most heading for the crowded Muwasi area, where giant tent camps have been set up on a barren coastline, or to Khan Younis, a southern city that suffered heavy damage during months of fighting.

The situation is worsening in Rafah, al-Masri said.

Gaza's Health Ministry said two medical facilities in Tel al-Sultan are out of service because of intense bombing nearby. Medical Aid for Palestinians, a charity operating throughout the territory, said the Tel al-Sultan medical centre and the Indonesian Field Hospital were under lockdown, with medics, patients and displaced people trapped inside.

Most of Gaza's hospitals are no longer functioning. The Kuwait Hospital in Rafah shut down Monday after a strike near its entrance killed two health workers.

A spokesperson for the World Health Organisation said the casualties from Sunday's strike and fire absolutely overwhelmed field hospitals in the area, which were already running short on supplies to treat severe burns.

That requires intensive care, that requires electricity, that requires high-level medical services, Dr Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva. Increasingly, we are struggling to even have the high-level skilled doctors and nurses because they've been displaced.

The war began when Hamas and other militants burst into southern Israel in a surprise attack on Oct 7, killing some 1,200 civilians and abducting around 250. More than 100 were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israel responded to the attack with a massive air, land and sea offensive that has killed at least 36,096 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. Around 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million has been displaced and United Nations officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

The fighting in Rafah has made it nearly impossible for humanitarian groups to import and distribute aid to southern Gaza.

The Israeli military says it has allowed hundreds of trucks to enter through the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing since the start of its operation, but aid groups say it's extremely difficult to access that aid on the Gaza side because of the fighting.

The UN says it has only been able to collect aid from around 170 trucks over the past three weeks via Kerem Shalom. Smaller amounts of aid are entering through two crossings in the north and by sea through a US-built floating pier, but it's nowhere near the 600 trucks a day that aid groups say are needed.

vatican-issues-apology-following-reports-of-pope-using-homophobic-vulgar-term

Tue May 28 19:59:29 IST 2024

After reports of Pope Francis using ‘vulgar term’ to describe gay men, the Vatican on Tuesday issued an apology.

Reportedly, the Pope made the 'derogatory comments' during a closed-door meeting with bishops in Rome on May 20.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the incident. In a statement, the Vatican said that the Pope did not intend to use homophobic language and apologised to anyone offended by it.

The Pope “never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms and apologises to those who felt offended by the term reported by others," read the statement. Bruni said Francis was aware of the reports and recalled that the Argentine Pope, who has made outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark of his papacy, has long insisted there was room for everyone in the Catholic Church.

According to two prominent Italian newspapers 'La Repubblica' and 'Corriere della Sera', Pope said seminaries were already too full of "frociaggine", a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as "faggotness".

The comments were made at the Italian Bishops Conference (CIE), where the discussion was centred on the amendment of guidelines to accept candidates to seminaries. On whether gay men should be admitted to Catholic seminaries, the Pontiff is said to have reiterated his vehement opposition to the idea.

Stating that while it was important to embrace everyone, he said "it was likely that a gay person could risk leading a double life." He is then alleged to have added that there was already too much "frociaggine" in some seminaries.

papua-new-guinea-orders-evacuations-as-fear-of-second-landslide-looms

Tue May 28 18:04:05 IST 2024

The Papua New Guinea government had ordered evacuations on Tuesday after a massive landslide buried over 2,000 people under the mud. Further fears of a second landslide and disease outbreak also loom in Enga province.

According to officials, the still-active landslides are posing a major challenge to the rescue operations.

It has been difficult to access the northern Enga region of the Pacific nation since Friday, said officials. The treacherous terrain was making it difficult for the heavy equipment and aid to arrive in the landslide-hit areas as well.

Residents are using sticks, shovels and their bare hands to search for the survivors. "The landslide area is very unstable. When we're up there, we're regularly hearing big explosions where the mountain is, there are still rocks and debris coming down," Enga province disaster committee chairperson Sandis Tsaka told Reuters.

According to the United Nations, only six bodies have been recovered so far. The total affected population, including those needing possible evacuation and relocation, was estimated at 7,849.

A bridge collapsing on the main highway has again forced the aid convoys to take the longer route.

Reportedly, around 8,000 people need to be evacuated. "My biggest fear at the moment is corpses are decaying, ... water is flowing and this is going to pose serious health risks in relation to contagious diseases," Aktoprak was quoted by Associated Press.

The Papua New Guinea government on Sunday officially asked the United Nations for additional help and to coordinate contributions from individual nations.

An Australian disaster response team is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday to assist the relief efforts. Australia's minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, said the government would also provide long-term logistical support for clearing debris, recovering bodies and supporting displaced people. The government announced an initial aid package of 2.5 million Australian dollars (USD 1.7 million).

India on Tuesday announced an immediate financial aid of USD 1 million to provide relief and assistance.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep condolences and conveyed India's readiness to extend all possible support and assistance to the Pacific island country in its time of difficulty.

"As a close friend and partner under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and as a gesture of solidarity with the friendly people of Papua New Guinea, the government of India extends an immediate relief assistance of USD 1 million to support relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts," MEA said in a statement.

spain-norway-formally-recognise-a-palestinian-state-as-eu-rift-with-israel-widens

Tue May 28 17:38:18 IST 2024

rael has strenuously denied. Spain and Norway moved to formally recognise a Palestinian state with Ireland to follow suit on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three western European nations. Israel slammed the diplomatic move that will have no immediate impact on its grinding war in Gaza but adds to international pressure on Tel Aviv to soften its devastating response to last year's Hamas-led attack.

Prime Minister Pedro Snchez said the Spanish Cabinet will recognise a Palestinian state at its Tuesday morning meeting.

This is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace, Snchez, standing at the gates of the prime minister's palace in Madrid, said during a televised speech.

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz lashed out at Spain on X, saying Snchez's government was being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state. Today, when Norway officially recognises Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine.

While dozens of countries have recognised a Palestinian state, none of the major Western powers has done so. Still, the adherence of three European countries to the group represents a victory for Palestinian efforts in the world of public opinion.

Relations between the EU and Israel have nosedived with the diplomatic recognitions by two EU members, and Madrid insisting on Monday that the EU should take measures against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza's city of Rafah.

After Monday's meeting of EU foreign ministers, Irish Foreign Minister Michel Martin said for the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I have seen a significant discussion on sanctions for Israel.

Norway, which is not an EU member but often aligns its foreign policy with the bloc, handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian government over the weekend ahead of its formal recognition.

At the same time, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threw his weight behind the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including leaders of the Hamas militant group.

The formal declaration and resulting diplomatic dispute come over seven months into a grinding war waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas-led attack in which militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. Israel's air and land attacks have killed 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Last week's joint announcement by Spain, Ireland and Norway triggered an angry response from Israeli authorities, which summoned the countries' ambassadors in Tel Aviv to the Foreign Ministry, where they were filmed while being shown videos of the October 7 Hamas attack and abductions.

Some 140 countries more than two-thirds of the United Nations recognise a Palestinian state. The addition of three western European countries to that group will likely put pressure on EU heavyweights France and Germany to rethink their position.

Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob said Monday his government will decide on the recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday and forward its decision to parliament for final approval.

The United States and Britain, among others, back the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel but say it should come as part of a negotiated settlement. Netanyahu's government says the conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations.

In his speech on Tuesday, Snchez said that the recognition of a Palestinian state was a decision that we do not adopt against anyone, least of all against Israel, a friendly people whom we respect, whom we appreciate and with whom we want to have the best possible relationship.

The Socialist leader, who announced his country's decision before parliament last week, has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries, including stops in Oslo and Dublin, to garner support for the recognition of a Palestinian state and a cease-fire in Gaza.

He called for a permanent cease-fire, for stepping up humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the release of hostages that Hamas has held since the October 7 attack that triggered Israel's response.

Snchez said that the move was to back the beleaguered Palestinian Authority, which lost effective political control of Gaza to Hamas. He laid out his vision for a state ruled by the Palestinian Authority that must connect the West Bank and Gaza via a corridor with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Norway's Barth Eide added that it is regrettable that the Israeli government shows no signs of engaging constructively.

The recognition is a strong expression of support for moderate forces in both countries," Norway's top diplomat said.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, cooperates with Israel on security matters and favours a negotiated two-state solution. Its forces were driven out of Gaza by Hamas when the militants seized power there in 2007.

The Palestinians have long sought an independent state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. The idea of a land corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank through Israel was discussed in previous rounds of peace talks, but no serious or substantive peace negotiations have been held in over 15 years.

We will not recognise changes in the 1967 border lines other than those agreed to by the parties, Snchez added.

Furthermore, this decision reflects our absolute rejection of Hamas, a terrorist organisation who is against the two-state solution, Snchez said. From the outset, Spain has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks of October 7. This clear condemnation is the resounding expression of our steadfast commitment in the fight against terrorism. I would like to underline that starting tomorrow we would focus all our efforts to implement the two state solution and make it a reality.

Israel is also under pressure from the International Criminal Court after its chief prosecutor said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister. The ICJ is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.

pope-francis-used-a-vulgar-term-to-refer-to-gay-men-in-a-closed-door-meeting-report

Tue May 28 13:46:14 IST 2024

Pope Francis allegedly used a homophobic slur to describe gay men during a closed-door meeting with bishops in Rome, several Italian newspapers reported. The pontiff reportedly used the highly derogatory term while reiterating that gay people should not be allowed to become priests.

According to two prominent Italian newspapers 'La Repubblica' and 'Corriere della Sera', the 87-year-old Pope said seminaries were already too full of "frociaggine", a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as "faggotness".

The incident is said to have happened on May 20, when the Italian Bishops Conference (CIE) opened a four-day assembly with a non-public meeting with the pontiff. The discussion centred on the amendment of guidelines to accept candidates to seminaries, a topic the CIE is said to have been deliberating for some time. On whether gay men should be admitted to Catholic seminaries, the Pontiff is said to have reiterated his vehement opposition to the idea.

Though the report first appeared in the political gossip website 'Dagospia', major dailies 'La Repubblica' and 'Corriere della Sera', and news agency 'Adnkronos' followed them up. The reports quoted unnamed Bishops.

The source mentioned in 'Corriere' said the Pope, being an Argentine, might not have realised that the Italian term he used was offensive. However, the slur left those around the Pope surprised and perplexed.

Since he took over as Pope, he has sought to adopt a favourable approach towards the LGBTQ+ community. In 2013, at the start of his papacy, he famously said, "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?".

Last year, he allowed priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples couples, marking a significant change in the position of the Catholic church. However, the Pope has also been clear about not allowing gay people to join the clergy. In a 2018 interview, he said he aired his views on homosexuality, stating he was "concerned”.

"In our societies, it even seems that homosexuality is fashionable and that mentality, in some way, also influences the life of the church," he said.

opinion-pakistani-generals-destroying-themselves

Tue May 28 10:19:43 IST 2024

By their misbehaviour, Gen Munir and the other Pakistani generals have convinced me that they are a bunch of blockheads leading their country to disaster. The clearest proof of this is their destruction of the independence of Pakistan's judiciary, as it happened after the events of May 9, 2023 (which many say were stage-managed), and as evidenced by the explosive letter of six judges of the Islamabad High Court to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan.

Let me explain.

We must first understand what is the purpose of a judiciary in society.

It is in the nature of things that in every society, in all countries, and in all ages, there will be some disputes between the people among themselves, and between the people and the authorities. Hence there must be a forum where such these disputes are resolved peacefully, otherwise they will be resolved violently, by swords, guns or bombs. Therefore an independent and unbiased judiciary is a sine qua non to every society, and no society can function without one.

Take, for instance, a dispute which a person has with his neighbour over a piece of land. He comes to court, and files a case.The court issues notice to his opposite party, sees the evidence, hears counsels of both sides, and then gives its verdict. The party which loses still gets the satisfaction that he was given a hearing, and this reduces his heart-burning, and thus restrains him from committing violence (which he may otherwise do).

A study of history books shows that in every society, in all ages there was a judiciary. Thus, we read in the book 'Indica' written about 2300 years ago by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador of Seleucus Nicator to Magadh emperor Chandragupta Maurya, of the judiciary (presided over by the emperor himself) in Pataliputra.

Similarly, the Mughal emperors were great lovers of justice, and everyone knows of emperor Jahangir's chain of justice.

Another example is the justice done by Qazi Sirajuddin, the Qazi-e-Subah of Bengal in 1490.

After the events of May 9, 2023 in Pakistan the Pakistan army has destroyed the independence of Pakistan's judiciary by blatantly and brazenly interfering in its functioning and independence, which amounts to destroying the judiciary itself, for a judiciary is nothing unless it is independent and unbiased.

Over 14,000 people (including women and children) were arrested in Pakistan on trumped up charges after the events of May 9,2023, beaten, tortured, and incarcerated in jail in inhuman conditions, where they are still languishing, and the judiciary has been rendered impotent to interfere by Pakistan's all-powerful army.

The Pakistan generals think themselves too clever by half, but they do not realiise that by doing so they have set ablaze a fire which will sooner or later consume the generals and their families, too. They do not realise that destroying the judiciary is going to unleash large-scale violence and guerrilla wars all over Pakistan, causing massive horrors and deaths.

I shudder to say this, but the speech made by Mark Antony before Caesar’s body in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar portents the days which are coming in Pakistan:

''A curse shall light upon the limbs of men; domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Italy; blood and destruction shall be so in use and dreadful objects so familiar that mothers shall but smile when they behold their infants quarter’d with the hands of war; all pity choked with custom of fell deeds: and Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge, with Ate by his side come hot from hell, shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice cry “havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war; that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial.”

Julius Caesar: Act 3 Scene 1

Justice Markandey Katju retired from the Supreme Court in 2011.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

us-tornadoes-19-dead-as-powerful-storms-ravage-texas-oklahoma-and-arkansas

Mon May 27 22:29:04 IST 2024

The death toll in power storms that hit the central United States rose to 19 on Monday. Hundreds were left without power and several houses were damaged in the powerful storm that swept through Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

According to officials, seven fatalities were reported in Cooke County in Texas, near the Oklahoma border. "It's just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe," Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said.

The dead included two children, aged two and five, and three members of a family, the sheriff said.

According to officials, the death toll is likely to rise as the relief and rescue efforts are underway. Several people were reported missing as well.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday said that about 100 people were injured by the Saturday tornado. The exact toll was “hard to tell with certainty,” reported CBS News.

Over 200 houses as well as other buildings were destroyed and more than 100 others were damaged, Abbott said. "I'd be shocked if those numbers do not increase," the governor added.

The powerful tornado had overturned vehicles and shut down a stretch of highway in the greater Dallas area.

Many people, who suffered injuries, were transported to hospitals via air ambulance.

More than 4,70,000 people were left without power in states stretching from Texas to Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

At least eight people were reportedly killed in Arkansas, according to Daniel Bolen of the county's emergency management office.

Three people died in Benton County of Arkansas, the Arkansas Office of Emergency Management confirmed to CBS News.

Widespread damage was reported in Claremore as well, where 23 people were injured.

At least two deaths have been confirmed in Kentucky, according to a statement on social media by Governor Andy Beshear.

Red Flag fire warnings were also in place in West Texas, all of New Mexico and parts of Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado in the wake of the extreme US weather.

The system causing the latest severe weather was expected to move east over the rest of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Also, more severe storms were predicted in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. A tornado emergency was in effect in Kentucky on Sunday night.

The risk of severe weather moves into North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.

irans-acting-president-addresses-new-parliament-after-helicopter-crash-killing-president-others

Mon May 27 21:25:04 IST 2024

Iran's acting President Mohammad Mokhber addressed the country's new parliament Monday in his first public speech since last week's helicopter crash that killed his predecessor and seven others.

His speech comes as Iran prepares for a presidential election to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi in just a month, a vote that could see the previously behind-the-scenes bureaucrat potentially run alongside others. Meanwhile, Iran's new hard-line parliament is expected to select its new speaker Tuesday.

In his remarks, Mokhber praised Raisi's time in office, noting that Iran's crude oil production- a key source of hard currency for the country - climbed to more than 3.6 million barrels a day. That comes after Oil Minister Javad Owji said Sunday that Iran was now exporting around 2 million barrels a day, despite Western sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic.

Mokhber also asserted that the country's economy remained stable under Raisi when Iran took military actions in Iraq, Israel and Pakistan in recent months.

Three countries were hit. We hit Israel, people find that figures and indexes are the same in the morning when they wake up, price of hard currency is the same, inflation is the same, liquidity is the same and the market is full of people's needs, Mokhber claimed. This strength, this settlement and this power is not a usual thing, they all were because of guidance by the supreme leader and the sincere efforts of Ayatollah Raisi.

The Iranian rial has tumbled from a rate of 32,000 rials to $1 at the time of Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Today, it stands around 580,000 to $1 in the wake of the US' unilateral withdrawal from the accord and a series of attacks on shipping in the Mideast, first attributed to Iran and later involving Yemen's Houthi rebels as Israel's war against Hamas on the Gaza Strip began over seven months ago.

Also on Monday, during his weekly press briefing, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said despite Raisi's death, his country's support of "the oppressed people of Palestine and resistance groups (pursuing) the unalienable rights of the Palestinians to the liberation of their land and standing against the usurping Zionist regime would carry on as usual.

Kanaani also said efforts to lift sanctions against the Islamic Republic would continue.

There has been no change in the approach or the structure of our indirect talks (with the US) within the framework of negotiations to remove unfair sanctions. We will continue diplomatic effort within the same framework and with the same approach.

Hundreds of entities and people in Iran accused of materially supporting Iran's Revolutionary Guard and foreign militant groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are sanctioned mainly by the US.

On May 20, rescuers recovered the bodies of Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others in a mountainous region in northwestern Iran following a fatal helicopter crash.

Iran will hold presidential elections on June 28 to replace Raisi. On Thursday, a five-day registration period for candidates will open. Analysts have suggested that Mokhber could be one of those to register.

Meanwhile, Monday marked the first day for Iran's newly elected parliament, following a March election that saw the country's lowest turnout since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Of those elected to the 290-seat body, hard-liners hold over 230 seats, according to an Associated Press survey.

Iran's parliament plays a secondary role in governing the country, though it can intensify pressure on a presidential administration when deciding on the annual budget and other important bills. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, has the final say in all important state matters.

israels-counter-strike-on-rafah-toll-rises-to-45-complicates-truce-talks-hostage-negotiations

Mon May 27 22:34:55 IST 2024

The death toll from the Israeli strike on a camp for displaced Palestinian people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah rose to 45 on Sunday.

The attack, which took place in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, was condemned by world nations urging Tel Aviv to put an end to targeting the civilians in Rafah.

According to the Gaza health ministry, more than half of those who were killed include women and children. The toll is likely to rise as more people caught in the blaze were in critical condition with severe burns. Reportedly, Rafah civilians died from the fire that broke out after the Israeli strike on Hamas chiefs.

Israel's top military prosecutor said an investigation was underway relating to the incident.

“We pulled out people who were in an unbearable state," Mohammed Abuassa, who rushed to the scene, was quoted by the Associated Press. “We pulled out children who were in pieces. We pulled out young and elderly people. The fire in the camp was unreal,” he added.

Amid international outrage, Netanyahu has described the Rafah strike as a "tragic mishap". “We are investigating the case, that is our policy,” Netanyahu said in a speech at the Knesset on Monday, Haaretz reported.

Netanyahu added that “for us, every uninvolved [being hurt] is a tragedy,” it added. He claimed the incident occurred “despite our best efforts not to hurt them”.

World leaders condemn the attack

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief said that he is "horrified by news coming out of Rafah on Israeli strikes killing dozens of displaced persons, including small children.”

“I condemn this in the strongest terms,” he said, adding: “There is no safe place in Gaza. These attacks must stop immediately. ICJ orders & IHL must be respected by all parties,” said Borrell.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also condemned the incident. The foreign ministry in a statement stressed the importance of implementing the International Court of Justice's ruling. The top UN court ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive.

Italy, an ally of Israel, also said that the attack against civilians in Gaza was no longer justifiable. "There is an increasingly difficult situation, in which the Palestinian people are being squeezed without regard for the rights of innocent men, women and children who have nothing to do with Hamas and this can no longer be justified,” the country’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, told SkyTG24 TV.

The French President Emmanuel Macron was "outraged" by the Israeli air strikes. “These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian citizens. I call for full respect for international law and an immediate ceasefire,” he wrote in a tweet on X.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Egypt's military said one of its soldiers was shot dead during an exchange of fire in the Rafah area, without providing further details. Israel said it was in contact with Egyptian authorities, and both sides said they were investigating.

Israel’s latest strike on Rafah comes after Hamas launched a series of rockets targeting Tel Aviv on Sunday. However, no injuries were reported as several rockets were intercepted.

The recent strikes are likely to complicate the cease-fire talks and the release of hostages held by Hamas. Qatar, a key mediator between Israel and Hamas, said that the strike could complicate talks, and negotiations, which were to restart this week.

Israel was blamed for committing a “war crime” by Jordan. Earlier, Israel denied allegations of genocide brought against it by South Africa at the ICJ. However, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Hamas leaders, over alleged war crimes.

amid-global-uproar-netanyahu-says-rafah-camp-strike-tragic-mishap-but-the-war-will-continue

Tue May 28 14:57:18 IST 2024

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war will continue till the completion of the military's goals, though the Rafah camp strike was a "tragic mishap". His statement comes amid an international outcry over the Rafah camp strike that killed 45 people.

"Despite our best effort, not to harm those not involved, unfortunately, a tragic mistake happened last night. We are investigating the case," Netanyahu said about the strike in a speech at the Israeli Knesset on Monday.

He, however, added that Israel would not surrender or end the war before all its objectives were completed. "The pressure directed at home and abroad towards the Israeli government, which is fighting with all its might to return the hostages, only hardens the positions of (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar, who demands from Israel surrender conditions that endanger its existence, and therefore we cannot agree to them," Netanyahu said.

The Israel Defence Forces also said that the Israeli military’s General Staff's Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism is investigating an airstrike carried out in Rafah on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the tent camp strike has triggered a massive outrage against Israel, with the UN calling on Israel to stop the horror. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said "the horror had to stop" and that there was "no safe place in Gaza". The UN Security Council will also hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the strike in the city at the request of Algeria.

The strike also triggered reactions from the Western nations, including the US which urged Israel to take more care to protect civilians. Washington stopped short of calling for a halt to the Rafah incursion. "Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians," a National Security Council spokesperson said. "But as we've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians."

French President Emmanuel Macron too said he is "outraged" over Israel's latest attacks. "These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians," he said on X.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the International Court of Justice ruling must be respected. "International humanitarian law applies for all, also for Israel's conduct of the war," Baerbock said.

watch-trekkers-queuing-up-on-mt-everest-goes-viral-sparking-concerns-fears

Mon May 27 17:36:37 IST 2024

A video showing long queues of climbers at the summit of Mount Everest has gone viral, raising widespread concerns and fears. According to the New York Post, the climbers were stranded following Tuesday's incident, where a British climber and his sherpa were hit by falling ice as they climbed down from the summit.

An Indian, Rajan Dwivedi on May 20, shared a clip on Instagram, that revealed the long queue in a single line as climbers were trying to climb the summit.

"Mt. Everest is not a joke and in fact, quite a serious climb," Dwivedi wrote in a post.

While elaborating on his post, Dwiedi said three sections-- 1) Khumbu Icefalls 2) C3 to C4 and 3) C4 to Summit during the entire night in the death zone in the frigid air! is quite a serious climb, said Dwivedi.

“Approx 500 climbers, amateurs and inexperienced ones all over the world attempt it for its glory! Probably 250-300 succeed...Many end up with frostbites, snow blindness and various types of injuries that are not counted in any database,” he said.

The video shared by Dwivedi shows the long wait on one rope line and negotiating interchanges during the traffic upstream and downstream. “The main reason is the weather window to avoid the fierce cruising jet streams that could be 100-240mph!! For me, coming down was a nightmare and exhausting while huge lines of climbers were coming up to maximize the weather window,” added Dwivedi.

Sharing another video of the long queue, Massimo wrote on X that the causes of the jams are all related to the short weather windows, the date when ropes are fixed and the slow, inexperienced climbers.

Many environmentalists and climbers have expressed concern about overcrowding on Everest. Despite the many accidents and deaths on the mountain, hundreds prepare to climb the world’s highest peak.

The British climber Mar Paterson (39) along with his Nepali Sherpa Pastenji (23) collapsed while they were climbing down the Hilary Step.

papua-new-guinea-landslide-over-2000-feared-buried-under-the-mud-says-govt

Mon May 27 16:48:10 IST 2024

The Papua New Guinea government said a landslide on Friday buried more than 2,000 people and has formally asked for international help.

The government figure is around three times more than a United Nations' estimate of 670.

In a letter seen by The Associated Press to the United Nations resident coordinator dated Sunday, the acting director of the South Pacific island nation's National Disaster Center said the landslide buried more than 2000 people alive and caused major destruction.

Estimates of the casualties have varied widely since the disaster occurred, and it was not immediately clear how officials arrived the number of people affected.

Australia prepared on Monday to send aircraft and other equipment to help at the site of a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea as overnight rains in the South Pacific nation's mountainous interior raised fears that the tons of rubble that buried hundreds of villagers could become dangerously unstable.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said his officials have been talking with their Papua New Guinea counterparts since Friday, when a mountainside collapsed on Yambali village in Enga province, which the United Nations estimates killed 670 people. The remains of only six people had been recovered so far.

The exact nature of the support that we do provide will play out over the coming days, Marles told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

We've got obviously airlift capacity to get people there. There may be other equipment that we can bring to bear in terms of the search and rescue and all of that we are talking through with PNG right now, Marles added.

Papua New Guinea is Australia's nearest neighbour and the countries are developing closer defence ties as part of an Australian effort to counter China's growing influence in the region. Australia is also the most generous provider of foreign aid to its former colony, which became independent in 1975.

Heavy rain fell for two hours overnight in the provincial capital of Wabag, 60 kilometers (35 miles) from the devastated village. A weather report was not immediately available from Yambali, where communications are limited.

But emergency responders were concerned about the impact of rain on the already unstable mass of debris lying 6 to 8 metres (20 to 26 feet) deep over an area the size of three to four football fields.

An excavator donated by a local builder Sunday became the first piece of heavy earth-moving machinery brought in to help villagers who have been digging with shovels and farming tools to find bodies. Working around the still-shifting debris is treacherous.

Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the International Organisation for Migration's mission in Papua New Guinea, said water was seeping between the debris and the earth below, increasing the risk of a further landslide.

He did not expect to learn the weather conditions at Yambali until Monday afternoon.

What really worries me personally very much is the weather, Aktoprak said. Because the land is still sliding. Rocks are falling, he added.

Papua New Guinea's defense minister, Billy Joseph, and the government's National Disaster Center director, Laso Mana, flew on Sunday in an Australian military helicopter from the capital of Port Moresby to Yambali, 600 kilometers (370 miles) to the northwest, to gain a firsthand perspective of what is needed.

Mana's office posted a photo of him at Yambali handing a local official a check for 500,000 kina (USD 130,000) to buy emergency supplies for the 4,000 displaced survivors.

The purpose of the visit was to decide whether Papua New Guinea's government needed to officially request more international support.

Earth-moving equipment used by Papua New Guinea's military was being transported to the disaster scene 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the east coast city of Lae.

Traumatised villagers are divided over whether heavy machinery should be allowed to dig up and potentially further damage the bodies of their buried relatives, officials said.

israel-retaliates-after-hamas-attack-in-tel-aviv-35-killed-in-rafah

Mon May 27 08:27:52 IST 2024

Israel retaliated with airstrikes on Sunday night hours after Hamas claimed that it had fired rockets at Tel Aviv. According to Palestinian health workers 35 people were killed in Rafah after the Israeli missiles hit refugee tents in the region.

Israeli Defence Forces claimed that its airstrikes on a Hamas compound in Rafah eliminated Yassin Rabia, the Hamas Chief of Staff in Judea and Samaria, and Khaled Nagar, a senior Hamas official. IDF said it is looking into claims that civilians were killed in the attack.

The attacks were carried out two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah.

Hours before the Israeli attack, Hamas reportedly fired a barrage of long-range rockets from Gaza targeting Tel Aviv for the first time in several months. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side after eight projectiles entered the country.

According to Gaza's health ministry, around 36,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and killed around 1,200 people. The militants also took 250 people as hostages among whom 100 are still held captive.

at-least-9-dead-in-texas-oklahoma-and-arkansas-after-severe-weather-roars-across-region

Sun May 26 20:45:09 IST 2024

Powerful storms killed at least nine people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central US.

Five of the deaths were in Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night plowed through a rural area near a mobile home park, officials said. Storms also caused damage in Oklahoma, where guests at an outdoor wedding were injured. Tens of thousands of residents were without power across the region.

It's just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe, Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told The Associated Press.

Officials said multiple people were transported to hospitals by ambulance and helicopter in the Texas county of Denton, but they did not immediately know the full extent of the injuries. Sappington said the dead in Texas included three family members who were found in one home near the small community of Valley View.

At least two people were reported killed in Arkansas, including a 26-year-old woman who was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, according to Daniel Bolen, with the county's Office of Emergency Management.

Another person died in Benton County, Arkansas. Melody Kwok, a county communications director, said multiple other people were injured and that emergency workers were still responding to calls.

We are still on search and rescue right now, she said. This is a very active situation.

Officials also confirmed two deaths in Mayes County, Oklahoma. Details about the dead were not immediately available, said Mike Dunham, the county's deputy director of emergency management.

The destruction continued a grim month of deadly severe weather in the nation's midsection.

Tornadoes in Iowa this week left at least five people dead and dozens injured. The deadly twisters have spawned during a historically bad season for tornadoes, at a time when climate change contributes to the severity of storms around the world. April had the second-highest number of tornadoes on record in the country.

In Texas, a tornado crossed into Denton County, north of Dallas, overturning tractor-trailers and halting traffic on Interstate 35, county spokesperson Dawn Cobb said. A shelter was opened in the rural town of Sanger.

Sappington said at least 60 to 80 people were inside a highway truck stop, some of them seeking shelter, when the storm barreled through, but there were no serious injuries.

Daybreak began to reveal the full scope of the devastation. Aerial footage showed dozens of damaged homes, including many without roofs and others reduced to rubble.

Residents woke up to overturned cars and collapsed garages. Some residents could be seen pacing around and sorting through scraps of wood, assessing the damage. Nearby, neighbors sat on the foundation of a wrecked home.

At the height of the storms, more than 24,000 homes and businesses lost power in Oklahoma, according to the state Office of Emergency Management. The agency also reported extensive damage from baseball-sized hail and multiple injuries at an outdoor wedding that was being held in rural Woods County.

Meteorologists and authorities issued urgent warnings to seek cover as the storms marched across the region overnight. If you are in the path of this storm take cover now! the National Weather Service office in Norman posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In Texas, the Denton Fire Department posted on social media that emergency crews near Dallas were responding to a marina for multiple victims, some reported trapped. Inaccessible roads and downed power lines in Oklahoma also led officials in the town of Claremore, near Tulsa, to announce on social media that the city was shut down due to the damage.

April and May have been a busy month for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Iowa was hit hard last week, when a deadly twister devastated Greenfield. Other storms brought flooding and wind damage elsewhere in the state.

The system causing the latest severe weather was expected to move east over the rest of the Memorial Day weekend, bringing rain that could delay the Indianapolis 500 auto race Sunday in Indiana and more severe storms in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kentucky.

The risk of severe weather moves into North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.

qatar-airways-doha-dublin-flight-hits-turbulence-12-injured

Sun May 26 21:54:12 IST 2024

Just days after a Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence, another incident occurred on Sunday. This time, a Qatar Airways Doha-Dublin flight experienced turbulence, resulting in injuries to 12 people.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey, the operator of Dublin Airport, the DAA, said.

Emergency services rushed to the Qatar Airways flight QR017 upon landing shortly before 13:00 local time. Six passengers and six crew members have reported injuries.

"Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including Airport Police and our Fire and Rescue department, due to 6 passengers and 6 crew [12 total] on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkey," Dublin Airport said in a statement.

"The Dublin Airport team continues to provide full assistance on the ground to passengers and airline staff," a DAA spokesperson said.

Qatar Airways in a statement that a small number of passengers and crew sustained minor injuries in flight and are now receiving medical attention.

The spokesperson also said that the operations at the airport remain unaffected.

A 73-year-old British man died on a Singapore-bound flight after experiencing severe turbulence. Over 100 people were injured and around 20 of them are still in intensive care in Bangkok hospital. According to the hospital authorities, many suffered head and spine injuries. Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, director of Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin hospital, said his staff were treating six people for skull and brain injuries, 22 for spinal injuries, and 13 for bone, muscle and other injuries.

According to a study conducted by the US National Transportation Safety Board in 2021, turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type.

as-putin-signals-ceasefire-former-ukrainian-president-viktor-yanukovichs-plane-lands-in-belarus

Sun May 26 15:16:57 IST 2024

Amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Belarus, reports have emerged that a plane belonging to Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine who fled the country after the Euromaidan revolution in 2014, has landed in Belarus.

Yanukovych's arrival seems to coincide with Putin's statement that Russia was willing to consider a ceasefire provided Kyiv and the West recognise the current battlefield lines.

According to a report by Kyiv-based Ukrainska Pravada, Yanukovych's Dassault Falcon 900C (RA-09617) landed at Gomel airport on Friday. The report quoted Belaruski Hajun, an independent Belarusian military monitoring media outlet. Though Belaruski Hajun did not indicate who might be on board, it noted that Yanukovych last visited Belarus in March 2022, when there were reports that the Kremlin could prepare Yanukovych for a special operation and could attempt to declare him "President of Ukraine".

Putin, who arrived in Minsk to hold talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, reacted to Reuters's exclusive report about the ceasefire stating the peace talks should resume. He added that negotiations should be based on "the realities on the ground" and "not based on what one side wants." According to CNN, the "mere possibility of his presence while Putin and Lukashenko met led to speculation Moscow was again hoping to engineer the return of a proxy to power in Ukraine."

The Russian President also used the opportunity to question the legitimacy of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whose official term ended on May 20. Zelenskyy decided to do away with elections despite the expiry of his five-year term this week, citing the war.

Putin didn't forget to cite Zelenskyy's status as problematic as he discussed the ceasefire. "But who to negotiate with? That's not an idle question... Of course, we realise the legitimacy of the incumbent head of state is over," he said, adding that though West would endorse Zelenskyy's legitimacy, these were "PR steps" with no legal meaning.

"Peace should be worked out through common sense, not ultimatums. It should be based on draft documents that were worked out between the two sides in the early weeks of the war, and on today's realities on the ground. If it gets to that point, we will need of course to understand who we should and can deal with, to arrive at signing legally binding documents. And then we must be fully sure we are dealing with legitimate (Ukrainian) authorities," Putin said.

who-was-yassin-rabia-idf-claims-hamas-chief-of-staff-in-judea-and-samaria-killed-in-rafah-strike

Mon May 27 09:40:27 IST 2024

The Israeli Defence Forces claimed that two senior Hamas officers were killed in Sunday's Rafah attack. The Israeli airstrikes came hours after Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets into the Jewish country.

IDF stated that it eliminated Hamas Chief of Staff in Judea and Samaria and an additional senior Hamas official in the precise airstrike in northwest Rafah. They were identified as Yassin Rabia and Khaled Nagar. At least 35 people were killed during the missile strike, according to Palestinian health workers.

Who was Yassin Rabia?

According to the IDF, Yassin Rabia managed all the operations of Hamas in Judea and Samaria. He allegedly transferred funds to terrorist targets and planned Hamas terrorist attacks throughout Judea and Samaria. The Israeli military also claimed that he carried out numerous attacks targeting IDF soldiers.

Another Hamas militant killed in the airstrike was Khaled Nagar, a senior official operating from the Judea and Samaria headquarters of the militant group. IDF claimed that Nagar directed shooting attacks and other terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria besides transferring funds intended for Hamas operations in Gaza. He was also allegedly responsible for several deadly attacks that killed Israeli soldiers.

Israel claimed that its airstrike was carried out as per international law, aimed at legitimate targets based on precise intelligence.

IDF said that it is aware of reports that several civilians were 'harmed' in the area and that it is reviewing these claims.

zelenskyy-says-ukraine-has-taken-back-control-in-areas-of-kharkiv-region

Sat May 25 22:46:47 IST 2024

Ukrainian forces have secured combat control of areas where Russian troops entered the northeastern Kharkiv region earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, two people were killed Saturday in an aerial attack on the city of Kharkiv, which is the region's capital, according to local officials.

Kharkiv is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border. Moscow's troops have in recent weeks captured villages in the area as part of a broad push, and analysts say they may be trying to get within artillery range of the city. Ukrainian authorities have evacuated more than 11,000 people from the region since the start of the offensive on May 10.

Our soldiers have now managed to take combat control of the border area where the Russian occupiers entered, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Friday evening.

Zelenskyy's comments appeared to be at odds with those made by Russian officials.

Viktor Vodolatskiy, a member of Russias lower house of parliament, said Russian forces now controlled more than half of the town of Vovchansk, 3 miles (5 kilometers) inside the border, Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday.

Vovchansk has been a flashpoint for fighting since Russia launched the offensive in the Kharkiv region. Vodolatskiy was also quoted as saying that once Vovchansk was secured, Russian forces would target the cities of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk in the neighboring Donetsk region.

Independent confirmation of the claims wasn't immediately possible.

Russia's Kharkiv push appears to be a coordinated new offensive that includes testing Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk region further south where Russia's Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces had taken over the village of Arkhanhelske while also launching incursions in the northern Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Kremlin's army is attempting to create a buffer zone in the Kharkiv region to prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks.

The Russian push is shaping up to be Ukraine's biggest test since Moscow's full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, with outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces being pressed at several points along the about 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line that snakes from north to south in eastern Ukraine.

In addition to the ground offensive operation along Ukraine's northeastern border, Russia is continuing to bombard the Kharkiv region with missiles, guided aerial bombs and drones.

Regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said that two people were killed and 24 others wounded when an aerial bomb hit a large construction supplies store in the city of Kharkiv on Saturday afternoon, causing a huge fire to break out. He said that more than 200 people could have been inside the store. A second bomb hit the city's central park, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Ukraine's problems have been mounting in recent months as it tries to hold out against its much bigger foe, and the war appears to be at a critical juncture.

scuffles-erupt-between-police-protesters-demanding-the-return-of-israeli-hostages

Sun May 26 13:25:25 IST 2024

Scuffles between Israeli police and protesters erupted in Tel Aviv after thousands gathered to demonstrate against the government and demand that it bring back the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Meanwhile, a small US military vessel and what appeared to be a strip of docking area washed up on a beach near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, not far from the US-built pier on which the Israeli military said humanitarian aid is moving into the Palestinian territory.

Also on Saturday, Israeli bombardments were reported in northern and central Gaza.

Some protesters in Tel Aviv carried photos of the female soldiers who appeared in a video earlier in the week showing them soon after they were abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 started the war between Israel and Hamas. Some held banners reading Stop the war and Help. They called on the government to reach a deal to release the dozens of hostages still in captivity.

The protesters also called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded new elections. "We all saw the video, we could not stay at home after the government abandoned all these people," said Hilit Sagi, from the group Women Protest for the Return of All Hostages.

Divisions among Israelis have deepened over how Netanyahu has handled the war against Hamas after the attack that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage. Israel says around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more.

"Basically they are not doing enough in order for the hostages to come back, either with military force, with hostages' deal, negotiating. Nothing is being done," said Snir Dahan, uncle of hostage Carmel Gat, still in captivity in Gaza.

Earlier in the week, the bodies of three hostages killed were recovered from Gaza, Israel's army said Friday. The army said they were killed on the day of the attack and their bodies were taken to Gaza. The announcement came less than a week after the army said it found the bodies of three other Israeli hostages killed on October 7.

Around half of the 250 hostages taken by Hamas and other militants have been freed, most in swaps for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

Netanyahu's government has faced increasing pressure, both at home and abroad, to stop the war and allow humanitarian aid into the enclave that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, almost 80 per cent of whom have been displaced.

Also this week, three European countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials.

On Friday the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and to open the nearby border crossing for crucial humanitarian aid. The top United Nations court also said Israel must give war crimes investigators access to Gaza.

However, the judges stopped short of ordering a full cease-fire across the entire Palestinian territory, and Israel is unlikely to comply with the court's ruling. South Africa accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians during the war in Gaza, which Israel vehemently denies.

"We were hoping the war would end," said Islam Abu Kamar, who moved from Gaza City to Rafah following the ground operation launched by Israel after the Hamas attack in October.

In the past two weeks, more than a million Palestinians have fled Rafah as Israeli forces pressed deeper into the city. Israel's takeover this month of the Rafah border crossing, a key transit point for fuel and supplies for Gaza, has contributed to bringing aid operations to near collapse, the UN and relief groups say.

Israel says it needs to invade Rafah to destroy Hamas' last stronghold. Egypt said it agreed to send UN humanitarian aid trucks through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Israel's main entry point into southern Gaza. But it remains unclear if the trucks will be able to enter because fighting still rages in Rafah.

Israel said aid is moving into the Palestinian territory through northern Gaza and via the US-built pier. On Saturday, a small US military boat and what appeared to be a strip of docking area washed up on a beach near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod.

The US Central Command said four of its vessels supporting the humanitarian aid mission were affected by rough seas with two of them anchoring near the pier off the Gaza coast and another two in Israel.

US officials said no injuries were reported and the US is working with the Israeli army to recover the vessels, Central Command said.

American officials hope the pier at maximum capacity can bring the equivalent of 150 truckloads of aid to Gaza daily. That's a fraction of the 600 truckloads of food, emergency nutritional treatments and other supplies that USAID says are needed each day to bring people in Gaza back from the brink of famine and address the humanitarian crisis brought on by the seven-month-old Israel-Hamas war.

Israeli bombardments continued in the enclave on Saturday with reports of strikes northern and central Gaza. Witnesses said people were killed in strikes on the cities of Jabaliya and Nuseirat.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians.

hamas-attack-israel-again-fires-big-missiles-towards-tel-aviv

Sun May 26 19:42:12 IST 2024

Hamas on Sunday said that it has launched rockets towards the Tel Aviv area in central Israel for the first time in nearly four months. Hamas armed wing al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement that it launched a 'big missile' attack on Tel Aviv.

In the statement on its Telegram channel, al-Qassam Brigades said the rockets were launched in response to what it called "Zionist massacres against civilians".

At least eight rockets were fired from the Rafah area in southern Gaza and several were intercepted, said the Israeli military.

No injuries have been reported so far.

Rocket sirens were sounded in other cities and towns, including Herzliya and Petah Tikva.

Israel media published footage of missile fragments in the garden of a building in Herzliya. Another footage showed shrapnel damage to a bedroom in a house.

The Gaza war has been going on for nearly eight months now after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, according to the health officials. Around 80% of the population's 2.3 million people have fled their homes, severe hunger is widespread and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

During the October 7 attack, around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas. The Palestinian militant group has also captured around 250 hostages. According to the IDF, around 100 hostages are still held captive in Gaza.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and bring back the hostages held captive by them. Israel has of late intensified its attack on Rafah, where hundreds of Palestinians have settled after fleeing their homes.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah. However, despite the top UN court's ruling, Israel pressed deeper into Rafah on Saturday killing around 30 Palestinians.

The latest Hamas strike comes at a time when the truce deal negotiations were set to resume in Cairo next week. So far Israel has not agreed to Hamas's demand to end the Gaza war in return for the release of all the hostages. The latest attack is a blow to the truce negotiations and efforts carried out by Egypt, the US and others to halt the Gaza war.

Aid trucks enter Gaza

Meanwhile, aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel through a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt after Israeli troops seized the Palestinian side of it.

Egypt has refused to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is handed back to Palestinians. It agreed to temporarily divert traffic through Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza's main terminal. But the crossing has been largely inaccessible because of fighting linked to Israel's offensive in the nearby city of Rafah.

Israel said that it had allowed hundreds of trucks to enter, but the United Nations aid agencies said it was too dangerous to retrieve the aid on the other side.

Also, northern Gaza is still receiving aid through two land routes that Israel opened in the face of worldwide outrage after Israeli strikes killed seven aid workers in April.

bangladesh-evacuates-over-8-lakh-people-as-cyclone-remal-approaches

Sun May 26 22:11:53 IST 2024

Over 800,000 people from vulnerable areas have been evacuated to shelters on Sunday as Bangladesh prepares for severe cyclonic storm 'Remal' forecast to make landfall by midnight with a potential high tidal surge and heavy rainfall in the country's coastal districts of Satkhira and Cox's Bazar.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) said Remal would make landfall between 6:00 pm and midnight.

The Met Office issued "great danger signal no 10 on a scale of 10 for southwestern greater Barisal and its shoals and great danger signal no nine for the southeastern coastlines including the port city of Chattogram.

"Under the peripheral effect of the severe cyclone and steep pressure gradient, the low-lying areas of the coastal districts...and their offshore islands and chars are likely to be inundated by a wind-driven surge of 08-12 feet height above normal astronomical tide, the BSS news agency reported, citing the latest met office bulletin.

State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Md Mohibur Rahman told a press briefing that over eight lakh people were evacuated to cyclone centres and other safer places.

"We have taken all necessary measures on an urgent basis to tackle the severe cyclonic storm...all relevant organisations have been asked to work in a coordinated manner to face the cyclone, he said.

The minister said that the authorities have launched an intensified evacuation campaign to take all vulnerable people to safety as the met office asked Payra and Mongla ports to hoist great danger signal number 10, while it issued nine for Cox's Bazar and Chattogram ports this morning.

We are hoping that we will be able to bring all vulnerable people living in 19 districts to the cyclone centres before the landfall of the cyclone, he said.

Leaves of officials of all ministries, divisions and subordinate offices have been cancelled to tackle the possible aftermath of Cyclone Remal, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

The Chattogram Port Authority has suspended all operations in the port as cyclone Remal heads towards the coast, it said.

According to the Dhaka Tribune newspaper, flight operations at the Chittagong airport have been suspended for eight hours.

National carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines announced the suspension of its flights to Cox's Bazar for Sunday due to Cyclonic storm Remal. Besides, flights of BG395 and BG391 to Kolkata will remain suspended today and tomorrow, respectively, said Bosra Islam, general manager of the Public Relations Wing of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, local media reported.

According to a BMD special news bulletin issued at noon on Sunday, Remal was located 335 km southwest of the Chattogram maritime port, 315 km southwest of the Cox's Bazar port, 220 km south of the Mongla port and 200 km south of the Payra port.

"Wind speed is 90-120kmph within 62km of the cyclone centre, as a result of which there is a risk tidal surge of up to 12 feet along the coast, an official meteorologist said.

"A large-scale evacuation started after the Met Office issued danger signal number 10 and nine. All vulnerable people are presumed to be moved to safer places at the shortest possible time," Disaster Management Director General Mizanur Rahman was quoted as saying by BSS.

Alongside evacuation of the people, domestic animals have been taken to designated cyclone shelters, he said, adding that a total of 8,464 cyclone shelters, including Mujib Kella, have been kept ready to provide refuge to the people living in 19 coastal districts, which might be affected by the cyclone Remal.

Sufficient food has been stocked for the people living in the cyclone centres alongside the people of 19 coastal districts, Mizanur said. He said all upazila and district administrations have adequate cash to provide prompt response to the people who will be affected by the cyclone.

"We have also kept ready 1,185 medical teams to offer urgent healthcare support to the people as cyclone Rimel may hit the coastal belts of Bangladesh with massive strength," the disaster management chief said.

As cyclone Remal has turned into a severe one, it was taking more time to make landfall, he said. "We have to manage the cyclone cautiously to minimise its damage."

The coastal districts which are under cyclone threat are Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Jhalakathi, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Comilla, Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Chandpur.

The Disaster Management and Relief Ministry officials said 78,000 volunteers from the Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) have been kept ready to deal with 'Remal' in the coastal district.

It added some 8,600 Red Crescent volunteers and others joined a campaign asking people at risk to move to safety alongside the government officials while the district administration mobilised transport to carry them to the cyclone shelters.

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal in this pre-monsoon season and is named Remal (meaning sand in Arabic) according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region.

israel-strikes-deeper-into-gaza-despite-top-un-court-ruling-to-halt-rafah-offensive

Sat May 25 20:43:21 IST 2024

Even after the UN top court ruling, Israel pressed on with its Rafah offensive in southern Gaza on Saturday. Over 30 people were killed in the recent Israeli attack. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ruled Israel to halt its offensive on Rafah.

The Israeli military said it had carried out "operational activity in specific areas of Rafah", including killing militants, dismantling part of Hamas' tunnel system and locating arms and weapons.

According to witnesses, Israeli tanks entered deep into the area of Jabalia, destroying dozens of houses, shops and roads.

Amid the intensifying strikes, Israel-Hamas mediations are due to restart next week. The decision on talks was taken after the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency met the head of the CIA and the prime minister of Qatar, reported Reuters.

"At the end of the meeting, it was decided that in the coming week negotiations will open based on new proposals led by the mediators, Egypt and Qatar and with active US involvement," a source was quoted by Reuters.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, as many as 35,903 Palestinians have been killed and 80,420 injured since the Israel-Hamas war on October 7 attack.

Meanwhile, after the ICJ ruling, the Spanish government on Saturday demanded Israel to comply with the order and halt its offensive on Rafah. “The precautionary measures set out by the ICJ, including that Israel should cease its military offensive in Rafah, are compulsory. Israel must comply with them,” Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares wrote on X.

“The same goes for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and access for humanitarian aid [to Gaza]...the suffering of the people of Gaza and the violence must end."

However, the UK government had criticised the ICJ over its ruling. “The reason there isn’t a pause in the fighting is because Hamas turned down a very generous hostage deal from Israel. The intervention of these courts – including the ICJ today – will strengthen the view of Hamas that they can hold on to hostages and stay in Gaza,” a UK foreign ministry spokesperson said.

uvalde-families-sue-meta-call-of-duty-maker-on-second-anniversary-of-school-attack

Sat May 25 18:52:04 IST 2024

Families in Uvalde took more legal action Friday on the second anniversary of the Robb Elementary School attack, suing Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram, and the maker of the video game Call of Duty over claims the companies bear responsibility for products used by the teenage gunman.

They also filed another lawsuit against Daniel Defense, which manufactured the AR-style rifle used in the May 24, 2022, shooting - and has already been sued.

It added to mounting lawsuits over the attack and came as the small Texas city gathered to mourn the anniversary of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. The gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. Officers finally confronted and shot him after waiting more than an hour to enter the fourth-grade classroom.

There is a direct line between the conduct of these companies and the Uvalde shooting, said Josh Koskoff, an attorney for the families. This three-headed monster knowingly exposed him to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems and trained him to use it.

Some of the same families on Wednesday filed a $500 million lawsuit against Texas state police officials and officers who were part of the botched law enforcement response that day. More than 370 federal, state and local officers responded but waited more than an hour to confront the shooter inside the classroom as students and teaches lay dead, dying or wounded.

Friday's lawsuits are not the first to accuse technology companies of having a role in radicalizing or influencing mass shooters. Families of victims in a May 2022 attack on a Buffalo, New York, supermarket sued social media companies, including Meta and Instagram, over content on their platforms.

The lawsuit against Georgia-based gun-maker Daniel Defense was filed in Texas by the same group of 19 families who sued on Wednesday. The lawsuit against Meta and Activision Blizzard - the maker of Call of Duty - were filed in California with additional families of victims from the attack.

Activision called the Uvalde shooting horrendous and heartbreaking in every way, and we express our deepest sympathies to the families and communities who remain impacted by this senseless act of violence. Millions of people around the world enjoy video games without turning to horrific acts.

A video game industry trade group also pushed back on blaming games for violence, arguing research has found no link.

We are saddened and outraged by senseless acts of violence. At the same time, we discourage baseless accusations linking these tragedies to video gameplay, which detract from efforts to focus on the root issues in question and safeguard against future tragedies, the Entertainment Software Association said.

The amount of damages sought in the new lawsuits was not immediately clear.

According to the lawsuits, the Uvalde shooter had played versions of Call of Duty since he was 15, including one that allowed him to effectively practice with the version of the rifle he used at the school. The families also accused Instagram of doing little to enforce its rules that ban marketing firearms and harmful content to children.

The Uvalde shooter opened an online account with Daniel Defense before his 18th birthday and purchased the rifle as soon as he could, according to the lawsuit.

Simultaneously, on Instagram, the shooter was being courted through explicit, aggressive marketing. In addition to hundreds of images depicting and venerating the thrill of combat, Daniel Defense used Instagram to extol the illegal, murderous use of its weapons, the families' attorneys said in a statement.

Daniel Defense and Meta each did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment.

In a congressional hearing in 2022, Daniel Defense CEO Marty Daniels called the Uvalde shooting and others like it pure evil and deeply disturbing.

A separate lawsuit filed by different plaintiffs in December 2022 against local and state police, the city, and other school and law enforcement, seeks at least $27 billion and class-action status for survivors. At least two other lawsuits have been filed against Daniel Defense.

In Uvalde, community members planned a vigil to remember those killed. Other events included a bell ringing and butterfly release at a local church.

As we mark this solemn day, may we pray for those we lost, their loved ones, and all those who were wounded, President Joe Biden said in a letter to the community.

over-300-buried-as-landslide-hits-papua-new-guinea-rescue-ops-underway

Sat May 25 17:19:57 IST 2024

A massive landslide had swept the remote village in northern Papua New Guinea with over 300 people trapped under the rubbles on Saturday.

Hundreds are feared dead in the landslide that hit Kaokalam village in Enga Province, about 600 km (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby on Friday.

According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), more than six villages had been impacted by the landslide in the province's Mulitaka region.

"Australia’s High Commission in Port Moresby is in close contact with PNG authorities for further assessments on the extent of the damage and casualties," a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement.

Prime Minister James Marape has said that rescue and relief works were being carried out in the landslide-affected areas. Disaster officials, the Defence Force and the Department of Works and Highways were jointly assisting with relief and recovery efforts.

Initially, the government officials said that around 100 people were killed in the landslide, while the local media reported the death toll at 300. Later, Serhan Aktoprak, the chief of the International Organization for Migration's mission in the South Pacific island nation said that the death toll could be higher.

Only three bodies had been recovered by early Saturday from the vast swath of earth, boulders and splintered trees that struck Yambali, a village of nearly 4,000 people that is 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby.

The relief effort was delayed by the landslide closing the province's main highway, which serves the Porgera Gold Mine and the neighbouring town of Porgera.

(With PTI inputs)

top-un-court-orders-israel-to-halt-military-operation-in-rafah-israel-unlikely-to-comply

Fri May 24 22:29:39 IST 2024

The top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. While Israel is unlikely to comply with any such order, it will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country.

Criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza has been growing even from its closest ally, the United States, which warned against an invasion of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought shelter from fighting elsewhere. And this week alone, three European countries announced they would recognise a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for another UN court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under heavy pressure at home to end the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people, most civilians, and taking some 250 captive. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home, fearing that time is running out.

While the ruling by the International Court of Justice is a blow to Israel's international standing, the court does not have a police force to enforce its orders. In another case on its docket, Russia has so far ignored a 2022 order by the court to halt its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Israel signalled it, too, would brush off an ICJ order to stop its operations. No power on earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza, Avi Hyman, the government spokesperson, said in a press briefing Thursday.

The court's president, Nawaf Salam, read out the ruling, as a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside.

Fears expressed earlier with respect to the developments in Rafah have materialised and that the humanitarian situation is now to be characterised as disastrous, the ruling said.

The court did not call for a full cease-fire throughout Gaza as South Africa had requested at hearings last week.

The cease-fire request is part of a case filed late last year by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide during its Gaza campaign. Israel vehemently denies the allegations. The case will take years to resolve, but South Africa wants interim orders to protect Palestinians while the legal wrangling continues.

At public hearings last week at the International Court of Justice, South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to totally and unconditionally withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

The court has already found that Israel's military operations pose a real and imminent risk to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The operation has obliterated entire neighbourhoods, sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes, and pushed parts of the territory into famine.

This may well be the last chance for the court to act, Irish lawyer Blinne N Ghrlaigh, who is part of South Africa's legal team, told judges last week.

Israel rejects the claims by South Africa, a nation with historic ties to the Palestinian people.

Israel takes extraordinary measures in order to minimise the harm to civilians in Gaza, Tamar Kaplan-Tourgeman, a member of Israel's legal team, told the court last week.

In January, ICJ judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive. In a second order in March, the court said Israel must take measures to improve the humanitarian situation.

The ICJ rules in disputes between nations. A few kilometres (miles) away, the International Criminal Court files charges against individuals it considers most responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

On Monday, its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said he has asked ICC judges to approve arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and three top Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Israel is not an ICC member, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad.

china-sends-bombers-with-live-missiles-to-taiwan-drills-designed-to-test-ability-to-seize-power

Fri May 24 14:12:12 IST 2024

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) carried out mock missile drills on Friday, the second day of its two-day Taiwan military exercise which saw its troops moving mobile artillery and missile systems into position.

The drills began on Thursday when the PLA sent warships and fighter jets around the island, which China considers its breakaway province. This came just three days after Taiwan swore in its new president Lai Ching-te. China's Communist regime calls Lai a "dangerous separatist", claiming the drills were "a strong punishment for separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces." In his inauguration speech, Lai had urged Beijing to stop its threats and said the two sides of the strait were "not subordinate to each other".

On Friday, the PLA conducted mock missile strikes and dispatched bombers carrying live missiles, state television CCTV said, adding that the bombers set up several attack formations in waters east of Taiwan in coordination with naval vessels.

The drills, dubbed "Joint Sword - 2024, were designed to "test the ability to jointly seize power, launch joint attacks and occupy key areas," the PLA said.

A senior Taiwanese official told Reuters that the drills included the mock bombing of foreign vessels. He added that several Chinese bombers conducted mock attacks on foreign vessels near the eastern end of the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines.

China also deployed several coast guard boats to conduct "harassment" drills off Taiwan's east coast, including mock inspections of civilian ships.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry condemned China’s military exercises, calling them "irrational provocations". The Taiwanese military also scrambled its sea, air and ground forces in response to the drills.

The ministry added that it detected 49 Chinese aircraft, including 35 that crossed the Median Line, between Thursday morning and Friday morning. This is besides a total of 19 Chinese warships and seven Coast Guard vessels that were detected near the Taiwan Strait.

The island has also put on alert marine and Coast Guard vessels, air and ground-based missile units, particularly around the Taiwan-controlled island chains of Kinmen and Matsu. Both islets are located just off the China coast and are far from Taiwan's main island, roughly 160 kilometres (100 miles) across the Taiwan Strait.

A statement by the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet said it was paying attention to "all of the activities" in the Indo-Pacific. "The U.S. Navy 7th Fleet remains committed to upholding the rules-based international order that underpins regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," a public relations officer at the 7th Fleet told Reuters.

Animated video

The Chinese theatre command showed an animated video on Friday on its WeChat social media account of missiles being launched at Taiwan from the ground, air and sea. The missiles were then seen hitting the cities of Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hualien. "Sacred weapons to kill independence," read words in red, written in the traditional Chinese characters Taiwan uses, at the end of the animation.

gaza-war-3-more-hostages-bodies-recovered-icj-to-rule-on-request-to-halt-israels-rafah-offensive

Fri May 24 17:41:54 IST 2024

The bodies of three more hostages killed by Hamas during the October 7 attack were recovered by Israeli troops overnight from Gaza. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday said that the bodies were recovered from the northern Gaza Strip.

The bodies were identified as Orión Hernández Radoux (30), Hanan Yablonka (42), and Michel Nisenbaum (59). The deceased were kidnapped from the Mefalsim area. According to the Times of Israel, they were killed on October 7.

Hernández Radoux and Yablonka were at the Supernova music festival when they were kidnapped, it said.

IDF said the bodies of the three hostages were recovered in a joint operation carried out by the military and Shin Bet.

Around 100 hostages are still captive in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 30 more, said IDF. As many as 250 hostages were kidnapped and held captive by Hamas. Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, as part of the truce deal, around half of the hostages were freed in return for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to eliminate Hamas and bring all the hostages back. However, he faces immense pressure to resign amid hostage families protests across the nation. The Hostages Families Forum on Thursday released a three-minute video of woman IDF soldiers captured by Hamas. The video shows them “bruised and bloodied”. The video was released by the families to pressure the government to take serious measures to bring back the hostages.

ICJ to rule on Israel to halt its Rafah offensive

The World Court is set to rule on Friday South Africa's request to order Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and withdraw from Gaza. The country had asked the court to impose emergency measures to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.

The rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are binding and final, but it has not been implemented by Israel so far.

Israel has repeatedly dismissed the accusations of genocide as baseless. It had justified the attack as self-defence and targeted Hamas militants.

Israeli military spokesperson said the army is operating "carefully and precisely" in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from Israeli bombing and operations.

Several European countries on Wednesday said they would recognise a Palestinian state and the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Monday that he had filed an application for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as leaders of Hamas. ICC prosecutes for alleged war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

italian-teen-to-become-catholic-churchs-first-millennial-saint

Fri May 24 14:54:33 IST 2024

With Pope Francis recognising a second miracle attributed to him, 16-year-old Italian teenager Carlo Acutis will become the first millennial saint. The 16-year-old boy used his computer skills to spread the Catholic faith before he died of leukaemia in 2006, aged 15.

Acutis, informally known as "God's influencer", was born in London but grew up in Milan where he took care of his parish website and later of a Vatican-based academy. The teenager was beatified in 2020 after one miracle was attributed to him, and the attribution of a second miracle means he can now be elevated to sainthood, possibly during the Catholic Church's 2025 Jubilee Year.

Acutis, who reportedly showed signs of intense religious devotion during childhood, taught himself to code when he was still in elementary school. He then used this knowledge to build websites for Catholic organisations spreading the word of God.

Acutis was also named as a patron of last year’s World Youth Day in Lisbon, owing to the key role he played in evangelisation through the internet.

Pope Francis beatified Acutis in 2020 after he had performed his first miracle. A seven-year-old boy from Brazil who had been suffering from pancreatic malfunction had been cured of his ailment after coming in contact with Acutis' shirt. This was later verified by Pope Francis who confirmed the event as a miracle.

The second miracle happened when a woman from Costa Rica with a daughter, who was fighting for her life after a bicycle accident, prayed at Carlo’s tomb at the Sanctuary of the Renunciation. The daughter, Valeria, who had been struggling for her life, started to show improvements soon after her mother began praying to Acutis.

In a meeting held at the Vatican on Thursday with the head of the Vatican’s saint-making department, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the Pope verified the second miracle hence paving the way towards Acutis attaining sainthood and becoming the 'first millennial saint'.

singapore-airlines-deadly-turbulence-several-passengers-hospitalised-undergo-spinal-surgery

Thu May 23 21:48:00 IST 2024

The majority of the passengers and crew onboard the Singapore Airlines flight, that hit severe turbulence, suffered head and spinal injuries. Around 20 people still remain in the intensive care unit in Bangkok, where the passengers were rushed to after the flight made an emergency landing on Tuesday.

Two Singaporeans, six Malaysians, three Australians, six Malaysians and one person each from Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the Philippines were in ICU care, said the head of a Bangkok hospital.

The aircraft Boeing 777-300ER with a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar, leaving a person dead and injuring over 30 passengers.

Adinun Kittiratanapaibool, director of Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin hospital, said his staff were treating six people for skull and brain injuries, 22 for spinal injuries, and 13 for bone, muscle and other injuries.

"We have never treated people with these kinds of injuries caused by turbulence,” he told reporters.

So far, seventeen surgeries have been performed, including nine spinal and eight other injuries, he added.

The injured at the hospital range in age from 2-83 years old.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian ambassador to Thailand said that nine of the 16 Malaysians who were on the flight were being treated in a hospital in Bangkok.

“Five of them are in ICU and under observation and one victim is in the normal ward. They are all in stable condition...But one is in critical condition but stable. He has multiple injuries to his head, back and leg. He is one of the crew.” said Jojie Samuel.

Passengers recall the shock and chaos when the flight dropped 6,000 feet minutes from its cruising altitude after crossing the Bay of Bengal.

“I fell onto the floor. I didn’t realise what happened. I must have hit my head somewhere. Everyone was screaming on the plane. People were scared,” Josh Silverstone, a 24-year-old Briton on his way to the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, told reporters.

“So many injured people. Head lacerations, bleeding ears. A lady was screaming in pain with a bad back. I couldn’t help her – just got her water,” one passenger, Andrew Davies from London, wrote on social media. There had been very little warning, he said. “The seatbelt sign came on, I put on my seatbelt straight away then the plane just dropped.”

A relief flight took 131 passengers and 12 crew to Singapore’s Changi airport on Wednesday to continue their journeys or return home.

commonwealth-day-2024-theme-history-and-significance-everything-you-need-to-know

Thu May 23 20:26:14 IST 2024

Commonwealth Day is a celebration with a rich history of great significance woven from the tapestry of diverse cultures. It's an annual celebration dedicated to the Commonwealth of Nations. It's a day to honour shared values, the exquisite and diverse cultures of the member countries and humanity itself.

As nations celebrate the 63rd Commonwealth Day, let's delve deeply into the history of the Commonwealth, why it is celebrated, what it means to be a part of the Commonwealth, its relevance in modern-day society, the theme for this year, and the inevitable connection of India with the Commonwealth nations.

What is the Commonwealth?

With 2.5 billion people as members across 56 countries, which is one-third of the global population, the Commonwealth is one of the oldest intergovernmental political associations of states where the head of the Commonwealth of Nations is chosen by the Commonwealth members.

The British monarch is considered as the symbolic head of the Commonwealth of Nations where the former head was Queen Elizabeth II.

Which are the Commonwealth Nations?

The organisation consists of 56 member states across the globe from all the continents and they include Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia from Africa, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka from Asia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago from Caribbean and Americas, Cyprus, Malta and United Kingdom from Europe and Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu from Pacific.

The member states comprise a diverse group, including developed and developing countries, large and small nations and all of them working on shared goals and functions like democracy, human rights, and sustainable development.

Each year, on Commonwealth Day, the head of the commonwealth delivers a message addressing the citizens and highlights the pressing social issues faced by the society as a whole.

What is the theme this year?

The theme of 2024 is "One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth". The theme highlights the identification and development of the strengths of each country by utilising the unique network and the resources of the commonwealth for mutual benefit, fostering a connected and digital commonwealth. Along with this, the commonwealth serves as an invocation for the 56 member countries to work together to build resilience and tackle challenges like climate change, economic instability, and pandemics therefore paving the way for an exemplary future.

History of Commonwealth

Tracing the history of the Commonwealth, the roots of the Commonwealth go back to the reign of the British Empire, when most of the countries were under the rule of Britain. Commonwealth Day, originally known as Empire Day, was commemorated on the day of Queen Victoria’s birthday to ensure unity between the colonies of Britain and to honour the British Empire.

At the 1926 imperial conference, Britain and other dominions like Australia, Canada, India, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa agreed that they were all equal members of a community within the British Empire and showed their allegiance to the British king or queen, at the same time negating the rule of United Kingdom over them. It was initially called the British Commonwealth of Nations.

The birth of the modern-day commonwealth was facilitated by the London Declaration which affirmed the legitimacy of the membership of the republics and other countries apart from the colonies of Britain, in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Day was originally celebrated on May 24th (Queen Victoria’s birthday) but due to decolonisation and other factors, it was later changed to the second Monday of March. From initially celebrated for paying tribute to the British empire, the focus later shifted towards a more inclusive celebration, canonizing the spectrum of cultures, shared values and histories of the member countries.

However, certain countries like India, and Belize still celebrate Commonwealth Day on May 24th.

What it means to be a part of the community?

Being a part of the Commonwealth community is a way to build partnerships, fostering a common future that benefits the whole world along with the member states. The Commonwealth acts as a medium to channel the grievances of its member states as well as a platform for mutual development and growth. The member states work together to address democracy, and human rights and to tackle the challenges encountered by them with unified aid and technical assistance and even by launching joint initiatives. The platform also grants access to a vast network of opportunities to nourish trade and commerce, cultural exchange, and educational programmes.

India, the largest member state of the Commonwealth

India is the largest member state of the Commonwealth, with nearly 60% of the total population of the association. It is the fourth largest contributor to the Commonwealth budgets and programmes. India shares a broad history with the Commonwealth, as it was a former colony of Britain.

India’s connection to the Commonwealth is marked by both historical ties and a desire to forge a new path. In 1949, India declared itself a republic, rejecting the British monarch as head of state, which meant leaving the Commonwealth. However, the declaration of the new model of the Commonwealth to include republic nations also enabled the re-joining of India to the community. This paved the way for other republics to join, owing to the birth of the modern-day Commonwealth.

While the public celebration of Commonwealth Day might be limited, India remains a central member of the Commonwealth and the association has enacted as a framework to maintain positive ties with the former colonial partners and enhance the economic benefits.

On a deeper level of understanding about Commonwealth Day and the organisation, its acceptability in India is still debatable. A stratum of society is sceptical of the potency and relevance of the Commonwealth. The major concerns that they raise are the power dynamics and favouritism that exist within such organisations and the inability of the Commonwealth to adapt to changes in the contemporary scenario. Amidst these uncertainties, the majority undoubtedly acknowledge and credit its worth considering it as a potential platform capable of bringing changes.

mexico-strong-winds-topple-stage-at-campaign-rally-killing-at-least-9-people

Thu May 23 18:45:07 IST 2024

A strong gust of wind toppled the stage at a campaign rally on Wednesday evening in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, killing at least nine people including a child and injuring 63, the state's governor said.

The collapse occurred during an event attended by presidential long-shot candidate Jorge lvarez Mynez, who ran to escape. Videos of the collapse on social media showed people screaming, running away and climbing out from under metal polls.

The victims will not be alone in this tragedy, Mynez told reporters on Wednesday night, adding that he had suspended upcoming campaign events.

Afterward, soldiers, police and other officials roamed the grounds of the park where the event took place while many nearby sat stunned and haunted by the tragedy.

Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador said he sends a hug to family members, friends of the victims and political supporters.

Condolences poured in from across Mexico, including by other presidential candidates.

In a video message, Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel Garcia, a leading member of Mynez's Citizens Movement party, asked residents to shelter in their houses for the next two hours. He provided the death toll of at least five and dozens injured.

Mynez wrote in his social media accounts that he went to a hospital after the accident in the wealthy suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia, near the city of Monterrey. He said he was in good condition.

The only important thing at this point is to care for the victims of the accident, he wrote.

Miguel Trevio, the mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, wrote in his social media accounts, My prayers are with the victims.

Campaign events are being held this week and next in anticipation of the June 2 presidential, state and municipal elections.

Videos of the accident showed Mynez waving his arm as the crowd chanted his name. But then he looked up to see a giant screen and metal structure toppling toward him. He ran rapidly toward the back of the stage to avoid the falling structure, which appeared to consist of relatively light framework pieces as well as what appeared to be a screen with the party's logo and theater-style lights.

Mynez has been running third in polls in the presidential race, trailing both front-runner Claudia Sheinbaum of the ruling Morena Party and opposition coalition candidate Xchitl Glvez. Both sent their condolences.

"My condolences and prayers with the families of the dead, and my wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured," wrote Glvez in a social media post.

The campaign has so far been plagued by the killings of about two dozen candidates for local offices. But it has not been marred by campaign accidents.

bruised-and-bloodied-hostage-families-forum-releases-video-of-women-soldiers-captured-by-hamas

Thu May 23 17:25:50 IST 2024

Israel hostage families on Wednesday released the footage of seven female Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. The Hostages Families Forum in Israel released the video hoping it would pressure the government to make serious efforts to bring back the hostages still in Hamas captivity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had so far not agreed to any truce deal with Hamas amid the ongoing Rafah offensive.

The three-minute video showed the women, Israel Defence Force (IDF) personnel, sitting on the ground bloodied and bruised with their hands tied behind. They were captured from the Nahal Oz base in southern Israel.

The video, taken by Hamas militants during the attack, was released earlier but was withheld by the government. The video was released to the families by IDF after editing the disturbing parts.

An Israeli government spokesperson told reporters, "These girls are still in the captivity of Hamas. Please don't look away." "Watch the film. Support Israel in bringing our people home," he added.

However, Hamas has called the release of the video a bid to "manipulate" public opinion.

In the video, the Hamas fighters were heard shouting and calling them names in Arabic. "I have friends in Palestine," one of the conscripts, 19-year-old Naama Levy, pleads in English. Another gunman can be heard shouting back in Arabic: "You are dogs! We will step on you, dogs!" reported Reuters.

The Hostages Families Forum represents around relatives of around 124 people captured by Hamas. After the video was released Netanyahu convened a meeting with senior officials to discuss new terms of negotiations. Hamas had demanded the end of the Gaza war in turn of all the hostages. However, Israel is yet to decide on the new truce terms.

Around 240 hostages were captured by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel. According to authorities, around 30 among them had died. The families forum said that at least 128 people are still held captive.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Israel's two-week-old ground offensive in Rafah, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is expected to worsen. Deliveries of aid and fuel to the Palestine enclave had been slow since the offensive.

A two-day Israeli raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Thursday killed at least 12 Palestinians including health authorities, reported AFP.