Palestine
Israel Opens Access Road To Northern Gaza
Israel has opened the Zikim Access Corridor to Northern Gaza.
The development implies that humanitarian aid can now reach northern Gaza through the route.
It is the third route through which aid is now being delivered in the Gaza strip.
Israel made the unexpected announcement this morning and locals say that trucks are already accessing the North of the strip via the route .
The development comes against the backdrop of consistent complaints by the United Nations (UN) and humanitarian groups that Israel was grossly impeding access to the strip and deprivibg Palestinians badly needed aid .
Under the terms of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 600 aid trucks are to be allowed into Gaza daily ,but actual deliveries had averaged only 178 trucks per day, with some bearing commercial wares, rather than humanitarian supplies.
Israel had said that its actions were a direct response to the piecemeal release of bodies of Israeli hostages in its custody.
Hamas has released 23 of the 28 bodies of the hostages since the ceasefire began on October 10.
Turkiye
20 Soldiers Die In Turkish Cargo Plane Crash
A Turkish cargo plane belonging to Turkiye has crashed at the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The aircraft was returning from Azerbaijan when it suffered its poor fate.
All 20 troops on board died in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
The C-130 transport plane was making a return journey to Turkiye when it came down for as yet unknown reasons.
It subsequently caught fire and burnt out.
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a probe into the crash.
Pakistan
Funerals Hold For Blast Victims
Funerals are being held today in Pakistan for the 12 victims of yesterday’s bomb blast in the capital city, Islamabad.
Aside from the dead, the blast, at the precincts of a crowded court in the city, injured more than 20 others, some severely.
The blast was the first major explosion in the city in the past three years, and came a day after a smaller blast rocked a cadet college in the country’.
Investigations are ongojng in respect of the blast, which authorities are categorizing as terrorism.
An armed group linked to the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Palestine
Hamas, Red Cross Search For Bodies of Israeli Hostages Behind Yellow Line
Operatives of the Al- Qassam Brigade, the armed wing of Hamas, and the Red Cross have entered the Israeli- controlled parts of Gaza in search of the bodies of four remaining hostages in its custody.
The move followed an agreement with the government of Israel which controls 53 per cent of Gaza strip, tagged the Yellow Line.
The operation is being facilitated by Egypt which has provided technical equipment and personnel.
Hamas, under the aegis of the ceasefire between it and Israel, was obliged to hand over the remains of dead hostages to Israel.
It has so far handed over 23 bodies.
Palestine
Israel Arrests Four West Bank Settlers Arson
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) says it has arrested and detained four suspects of arson in the occupied West Bank.
The suspects are settlers who yesterday attacked Palestinians in settlements between Tulkarem and Nablus in the occupied West Bank , burning houses, vehicles and factories.
Locals said that troops of the IDF did nothing to prevent the arson attacks and even when they began, preferred to look away.
However, the IDF, today confirmed that it had arrested four suspects and that it was continuing investigations into the attacks.
Last week, some of the settlers attacked and wounded some journalists who had gone to cover the olive harvest season of Palestinians.
More than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and some elements of the IDF who backed them,since October 2023 when the Palestinian group, Hamas, attacked Israel and killed more than 1,200 Israeli troops and others and took hostage around 200 others.
Israel had threatened to annex the West Bank but The President of America, Donald Trump, had said it was a red line that Israel must never cross.
Israeli right wing politicians, especially the Finance Minister, Gvir Smotrich, have consistently dared the rest of the world on the annexation issue.
The United Nations UN estimates that settlers carried out an average of eight attacks daily on Palestinians in October.
Myanmar
Military Junta Cracks Down On Activists, Actors
The military junta in Myanmar, has begun a crackdown on actors, rights activists and other celebrities in the country for not endorsing it’s democratization process.
The junta plans to hold general elections later this year, but with a distraught political opposition and a citizenry not warming up to it, the administration has begun to arrest its critics.
It said the polls, scheduled for later this year, would mark a threshold in the history of the country, but critics say there is no integrity in the lead up processes to the polls, and therefore, have little faith in its outcome.
Since its 2021 coup, the junta has struggled to earn public confidence.
The junta is currently involved in a civil war against a rebellious youth -led militia.
Brazil
Protesters Besiege Cop30
Hundreds of persons have staged a protest against proceedings at the 30th edition of the global Conference on Climate Change.
The conference is holding in Belem,in the Amazon basin of the country.
Locals said that two security personnel were wounded in the protests by indigenous people who said their voices were not being heard on the Climate Change issue.
The Amazon is one of the largest forests in the world and Brazil is also historic to the Orinoco basin, one of the largest on Earth.
Iraq
Preliminary Results of Parliamentary Polls
The preliminary results of the Tuesday parliamentary polls in Iraq Ard expected to be out later today.
However, the full outcome of the ejections would take at least a week to be announced.
A total of 329 seats were vied for by 7,700 candidates, including 2,300 women.
Under Iraqi law, 25 per cent of the available seats are reserved for women, and none percent left exclusively for religious minorities.
The polls ran on the proportional representation module.
America
Congress Votes On Interim Shutdown Counter Measure
The America. Congress is due to vote later today on a package of interim measures to e d the longest shutdown in American history.
The vote, holding today, us expected to return an affirmation for the measures which will last till January next year. The vote by Congress follows an earlier one by the Senate which, on Monday, okayed the measures by a vote of 60 to 40.
Right Democrats had broken ranks with the party to vote along with Republicans for the passing .
The shutdown, now in the 43rd day, has led to the non- payment of more than 670,000 Fegedral Government workers and impaired the delivery of humanitarian supplies for around 42 million persons.
