An Israeli strike on an area in the Gaza Strip home to Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war killed at least 40 people and wounded 60 others, authorities said Tuesday. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the toll for the strike, citing medical officials, and suggested the figures could change. Details about the strike in the Mawasi coastal community just west of Khan Younis which the Israeli military has designated as a humanitarian zone remained unclear. The area is home to many Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war in which the Israeli military has devastated the wider Gaza Strip after Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. The Israeli military described the strike as hitting “significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control centre,” without immediately providing additional evidence. Hamas in a reported statement denied that, though Israel long has accused Hamas and other militants of hiding in civilian populations. Israel has launched strikes in and around Mawasi in the past, even as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians now live there. Footage circulating on social media showed deep craters at the site of the attack, the strewn ruins around it covered in shredded tents, a bicycle and other debris. Rescue workers used shovels to shift through the sand. Bystanders used their hands to dig, illuminated by mobile phone light. At least one crater at the site looked to be as deep as 10 metres. The Israeli military said it used “precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional means” it did not immediately describe to limit civilian casualties. Mawasi is an area 1 kilometre wide and 14 kilometres long. Palestinians who fled other areas have crowded into the sandy beach area against the Mediterranean Sea after Israel told them it would be safe. However, aid groups have struggled to provide care there among a sea of tents crowded with the belongings families were able to carry away with them when fleeing their homes. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Gaza's Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their October 7 attack. They abducted another 250 and are still holding around 100 after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages are believed to be dead. Meanwhile, the United Nations agency in charge of aid for displaced Palestinians said the Israeli military stopped a convoy for more than eight hours on Monday, despite it coordinating with the troops. The agency's head Philippe Lazzarini said the staffers who were held had been trying to work on a polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza and Gaza City. “The convoy was stopped at gunpoint just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff,” he wrote on the social platform X. “Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armoured vehicles.” He said the staff and the convoy later returned to a UN base but it was unclear if a polio vaccination campaign would take place Tuesday in northern Gaza. “UN Staff must be allowed to undertake their duties in safety + be protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law, he wrote. “Gaza is no different.” The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The vaccination drive, launched after doctors discovered the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years, aims to vaccinate 640,000 children during a war that has destroyed the healthcare system. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 09:17 AM IST | Jerusalem | PTIA South Korean commission found evidence that women were pressured into giving away their infants for foreign adoptions after giving birth at government-funded facilities where thousands were confined and enslaved from the 1960s to the 1980s. The report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Monday came years after The Associated Press revealed adoptions from the biggest facility for so-called vagrants, Brothers Home, which shipped children abroad as part of a huge, profit-seeking enterprise that exploited thousands of people trapped within the Busan. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 07:35 AM IST | Seoul | AgenciesPope Francis received a raucous welcome Monday as he arrived in East Timor to celebrate its recovery from a bloody and traumatic independence battle, even as he indirectly acknowledged an abuse scandal involving its Nobel Peace Prize-winning hero. Timorese jammed Francis’ motorcade route into town from the airport, waving Vatican and Timorese flags and toting yellow and white umbrellas—the colors of the Holy See—to shade themselves from the scorching midday sun. “Viva el Papa!” they shouted as he passed by. The 87-year-old Francis seemed to relish the greeting, smiling broadly. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 07:35 AM IST | Dili | AgenciesA bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding Monday as more rain fell following a typhoon Vietnam that has caused at least 59 deaths in the Southeast Asian country and disrupted businesses and factories in the export-focused northern industrial hubs, state media reported. Nine people died when Typhoon Yagi made landfall in Vietnam on Saturday before weakening to a tropical depression, and at least 50 others have died in the consequent floods and landslides, state media VN Express reported. The water levels of several rivers in northern Vietnam were dangerously high. A passenger bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province Monday morning. Rescuers were deployed but landslides blocked their path. In Phu Tho province, rescue operations were continuing after a steel bridge over the engorged Red River collapsed Monday morning. Reports said 10 cars and trucks along with two motorbikes fell into the river. Three people were pulled out of the river, but 13 others were missing. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 07:33 AM IST | Hanoi | AgenciesDefence personnel and artillery of over thirty nations will partake in Australia’s biggest warfare exercise Kakadu. This year’s exercise incorporates warships, helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft from attending countries. Constantly growing in size since its introduction in 1993, Exercise Kakadu 2024 will witness more than three thousand personnel in action. Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, AO Royal Australian Navy, greeting the participants said camaraderie will be forged via the activity. “Kakadu is an important exercise hosted by RAN as it deepens relationships and interoperability between participating armed forces. Australia is a maritime nation which like its neighbours, derives prosperity from access to the sea - backed by a strong Navy and ties,” Vice Admiral Hammond said. “Kakadu provides an excellent opportunity for army men to exercise their professionalism in a range of tactical maritime activities. This year the focus would be on interoperability with greater integration of Australia’s international partners in all aspects of the exercise,” he added. 1993Year Exercise Kakadu was introduced This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 07:30 AM IST | Darwin | AgenciesThe number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 14 with more than 40 wounded, Syrian state media said Monday morning. Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria late Sunday, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said. The initial death count reported by the Masyaf National Hospital in western Hama province was four. SANA, citing hospital head Faysal Haydar, said 14 were killed and 43 wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said at least four of those killed were civilians. One of the strikes targeted a scientific research centre in Maysaf and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 07:28 AM IST | Damascus | AgenciesA fuel tanker collided head-on with another truck in Nigeria on Sunday causing an explosion that killed at least 48 people, the country’s emergency response agency said. The fuel tanker was also carrying cattle in the Agaie area in north-central Niger state and at least 50 of them were burned alive, Abdullahi Baba-Arab, director-general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said. Search and rescue operations were underway at the scene of the accident, Baba-Arab said. Baba-Arab said initially that 30 bodies were found but in a later statement said an additional 18 bodies of victims who were burned to death in the collision were found. He said the dead had been given a mass burial. With the absence of an efficient railway system to transport cargo, fatal truck accidents are common along most of the major roads in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 September,2024 07:25 AM IST | Abuja | AgenciesSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials on Monday during his second trip to China in a year-and-a-half that comes amid a spat over electric cars. The centre-left Socialist leader will also attend a business forum in Beijing for Spanish and Chinese companies before travelling to Shanghai later Monday. The next day he will attend more business events and the inauguration of a Cervantes Institute, a centre that promotes Spanish language and culture. Prior to holding talks and dining with Xi, Sánchez will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang, and the head of the ceremonial legislature, Zhao Leji. Sánchez arrived late Sunday and departs Wednesday. Sánchez visited China in March 2023 when Spain held the rotating European Union presidency. Spain was among the EU members that expressed support earlier this year for a 36.7 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. The Chinese government responded by launching an investigation into EU pork imports. EU exports of pork products to China hit a peak at 7.4 billion euros (USD 7.9 billion) in 2020 when Beijing had to turn abroad to satisfy domestic demand after its pig farms were decimated by a swine disease. EU pork exports to China have dropped since then, hitting 2.5 billion euros (USD 2.6 billion) last year. Almost half of that total came from Spain. The tension over pork has not stopped Spain from welcoming the plans of Chinese carmaker Chery to open a plant for electric vehicles in Barcelona. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 September,2024 09:41 AM IST | Beijing | PTIThe United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter. They did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred, but they confirmed the U.S. intelligence finding. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been publicly disclosed. The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia. “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 September,2024 07:25 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesBangladesh will take necessary steps to extradite deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India to try her on charges of mass killings during the student-led mass movement against her government, the newly-appointed chief prosecutor of the country’s International Crimes Tribunal said on Sunday. Following unprecedented anti-government protests that peaked on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India. “We will file an application with the International Crimes Tribunal, when it resumes functions, to issue arrest warrants against all the absconding accused including Sheikh Hasina in connection with the cases filed for mass killing and crimes against humanity,” International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Md Tajul Islam said. Replying to a question, he said a decision would be taken after consulting with the government about amendments to the existing International Crimes Tribunal Act for holding trial of the new cases filed with IT. According to the interim government’s Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, more than 1,000 people have been killed and hundreds injured during the protests against the Hasina-led government. Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) last month launched an investigation against Hasina and nine others on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that took place from July 15 to August 5 during the students’ mass movement. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 September,2024 07:23 AM IST | Dhaka | AgenciesIsraelis again poured into the streets for another large protest over the government’s failure to secure the return of remaining hostages in Gaza, while hospital and local authorities said Israeli air raids in the territory killed more than a dozen people overnight into Sunday. Meanwhile, health workers wrapped up the second phase of an urgent polio vaccination campaign designed to prevent a large-scale outbreak. The drive, launched after the first polio case in the Palestinian enclave in 25 years, aims to vaccinate 640,000 children during a war that has destroyed Gaza’s health care system and much of its infrastructure. The third phase of vaccinations will be in the north. Israel kept up its military offensive. In central Gaza’s urban refugee camp of Nuseirat, Al-Awda Hospital said it received the bodies of nine people killed in two air raids. One hit a residential building, killing four people and wounding at least 10, while five people were killed in a strike on a house in western Nuseirat. Separately, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, central Gaza’s main hospital, said a woman and her two children were killed in a strike on a house in the nearby urban refugee camp of Bureij. In northern Gaza, an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced people in the town of Jabaliya killed at least four people and wounded about two dozen others, according to Gaza’s Civil Defence authority, which operates under the territory’s Hamas-run government. Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas command post embedded in a former school compound. 3 Israelis killed at border crossing Three Israelis were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan. Israel said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side and opened fire at Israeli forces, who killed the assailant. Hezbollah fires 50 rockets at Israel Hezbollah launched around 50 rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon overnight on Saturday night, mostly targeting the Kiryat Shmona area. Israel said most were intercepted though a few landed, causing some damage but no injuries. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
09 September,2024 07:20 AM IST | Deir Al-Balah | Agencies
