February 23, 2024

The newly-elected members of the Punjab Assembly, who clinched victory in the February 8 elections, took oath on Friday in the maiden session. The Punjab Assembly is the first house to convene its inaugural session, out of five assemblies that went to the elections on February 8. The session was scheduled to start at 10am, however, it faced a delay of more than two hours. The session was attended by 313 lawmakers out of which 215 belonged to the PML-N and its allied parties while 98 members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) also took oath. The secretary of the assembly said that the speaker and deputy speaker will be elected tomorrow (Saturday) via secret ballot. “Nomination papers for speaker and deputy speaker will be collected till 5pm and scrutinised today,” he added. At the outset of the delayed session, members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and SIC candidates chanted slogans against each other. Scores of newly-elected members arrived at the assembly including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President and CM nominee Maryam Nawaz. Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan presided over the session. Talking to media persons outside the Punjab Assembly earlier, Speaker Muhammad Sibtain Khan said the elected MPAs should not be prevented from attending the assembly session. He admitted that some members got a level playing field while others were deprived of it. To a query, he said he came too early as sessions had been delayed in the past up to six hours. The speaker also said the election for the provincial assembly’s speaker and deputy speaker would be held on Saturday (tomorrow). Members not being allowed to enter: SIC During the session, members of PML-N and SIC exchanged barbs with the latter saying that their members were not being allowed to enter the assembly. The SIC has around 97 members inside the assembly while PML-N has 215 members. SIC members tried talking to the assembly speaker, however, they were told that they would be heard once they took an oath. “The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not yet [issued a list] of reserved seats,” said Speaker Sibtain. PML-N leader Uzma Bokhari said that none of the members can speak unless they take an oath. “The decision on some reserved seats is still not taken due to their ineligibility. We currently have a two-thirds majority after forming an alliance,” she said. Bokhari said that her party respects the decision and wants to work with them. “Sindh Assembly session is convened tomorrow and National Assembly session will also be called in a couple of days,” she said. Punjab police stopping members from entering assembly: PTI On the other hand, PTI has claimed that the Punjab police was stopping its elected members from participating in the session and from taking the oath. “All these police officers are standing here so they can attempt arrest on our CM candidate Mian Aslam Iqbal,” it claimed. Speaking to media persons outside PA, PML-N leader Ishaq Dar said if the PTI founder has written anything against the country’s interest then it is condemnable. “The letter by the PTI founder has no importance,” he said. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1160661-newly-elected-members-reach-punjab-assembly-as-maiden-session-faces-delay

At least four people were killed and up to 14 others remain missing after a large blaze ripped through an apartment building in Valencia on Thursday, according to authorities in the Spanish city. Jorge Suárez, the city’s deputy director of emergencies, said firefighters struggled to contain the blaze and were working “exclusively” on cooling the building’s exteriors. Given the “characteristics of the building,” firefighters had not been able to enter to address the fire from inside, he added. At least 14 people were injured in the blaze, with most taken to local medical centers, Suárez said. Among those treated for injuries are at least six firefighters, Valencia’s Emergency Services said on social platform X. Footage from the scene shows the entire complex ablaze as flames tear through apartments and thick smoke billows overhead. In one video, fire crews can be seen rescuing people from a balcony as the fire rages behind them. The fire started around 5:30 p.m. local time [11.30 a.m. ET] in the Campanar neighborhood, and 16 firefighting units were sent to the scene, emergency services told CNN en Espanol. Suárez said firefighters were analyzing the building to assess if there’s a risk of it collapsing. The fire raged into the evening as nearby residents looked on in horror, with one telling Reuters the scenes were “tremendous, unbelievable – I can’t believe it.” Valencia Mayor María José Alcalá told residents in a post on X to avoid the scene to help rescue services. Hotel rooms were being organized for people whose homes were affected by the fire, emergency services said. Three days of official mourning have been declared starting Friday, the mayor said. “There are no words that describe the enormous pain that the city of Valencia is feeling right now,” she said. “All our support and deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims.” Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/22/europe/spain-valencia-apartment-fire-intl/index.html

Israeli army shelling of residential homes in central Gaza kills at least 40 Palestinians, local authorities say. The UN’s top court is hearing arguments from more than 50 states following a request by the UN General Assembly to issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation. With Western donors freezing funds, UN agency UNRWA says it has reached “breaking point” during a time of “unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza”. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that Israeli forces have re-entered the besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after withdrawing from it briefly amid deteriorating conditions at the medical centre. At least 29,514 Palestinians have been killed and 69,616 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from the October 7 attacks stands at 1,139. Israeli strike kills two paramedics in southern Lebanon Lebanon’s civil defence says two of its paramedics have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a healthcare centre in Lebanon’s southern town of Bint Jbeil. Lebanon’s Health Ministry strongly condemned Thursday’s deadly attack, which also resulted in the complete destruction of the civil defence facility, along with damage to a number of ambulances belonging to the centre. Click Namibia remembers painful colonial history in ICJ remarks on Israel’s occupation Namibia’s Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab has taken the floor at the ICJ, demanding the court recognises Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories as illegal. She made the following points: “Namibia considers it a moral duty and a sacred responsibility to appear before this court” and address the question of the “indefensible occupation of Palestine by Israel.” The parallels between Palestine and Namibia are “striking and painful”. Instead of exerting their right to govern themselves, “Palestinians and Namibians suffered the loss of human dignity … and the outright theft of their land and natural resources”. Namibia still suffers from the effects of a long and unlawful occupation. The ICJ “played a vital role in our liberation struggle”. In its 1971 opinion, the court confirmed the right to self-determination as a “legal imperative”, paving the way to Namibia’s independence in 1990. Because of Namibia’s experience with apartheid, “we cannot look the other way in the face of the brutal atrocities committed against the Palestinian people”. We ask the court “not to look away either”, she added. Click What is Netanyahu’s post-war Gaza plan? Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has presented the security cabinet with a document regarding the “management” of Gaza after the war, the Times of Israel has reported. Here are its main points: The Israeli army will continue the war in Gaza until it achieves its goals: the dismantlement of military capabilities and infrastructure operated by Hamas and Islamic Jihad; the return of all captives abducted on October 7; and the removal of all security threats originating from Gaza. Once the war ends, Gaza will be run by “local officials” who are not tied to “countries or entities that support terrorism”. It is unclear whether representatives of the Palestinian Authority will be involved. Israel will promote a “de-radicalisation plan … in all religious, educational and welfare institutions in Gaza” with the involvement of “Arab countries that have experience in promoting de-radicalisation”. The plan envisions Gaza’s “complete demilitarisation … beyond what is required for the needs of maintaining public order”. Israel will only allow the reconstruction of Gaza to begin after the completion of the Gaza’s de-militarisation and the commencement of a “de-radicalisation process”. The Israeli army will maintain indefinitely the freedom to intervene in Gaza to prevent the resurgence of “terror activity”. Israel will continue to establish a security buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Strip’s border that will remain in place “as long as there is a security need for it”. Israel will enforce a “southern closure” on the border between Egypt and Gaza with assistance from the US and in cooperation with Egypt “as much as possible”. Israel will maintain security control “over the entire area west of Jordan” from the land, air and sea to “thwart threats” from the occupied West Bank. The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, will be shut. Israel rejects any international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, which should only be reached through direct negotiations between the parties, and will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, which it views as a “reward for terror”. Click here to share on ‘Beaten, stripped, used as human shield’: Gaza victim recalls terror Maram Humaid Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Gaza Blood all over his face, eyes swollen, Ramadan Shamlakh arrived at a hospital after passersby found him struggling to walk southwards from northern Gaza. The 21-year-old man said he had endured beatings, a stripping and a war crime – he was used as a human shield – by Israeli soldiers when they raided his family home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood. “We were telling them that we are civilians and it is not our fault, but to no avail,” the young man said, while receiving treatment at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. After a period of torture and interrogation, the soldiers who had raided his home ordered Shamlakh to take off his clothes, remain in his underwear, and head south. “I was walking with great difficulty, my body bleeding and my face coated in blood. The cold chilled me to the bone, and I shivered uncontrollably.” Gaza resident brutally assaulted by Israeli soldiers [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] Click At least 29,514 Palestinians killed in Gaza: Ministry At least 29,514 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks since October 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry which added that another 69,616 people have been injured. More than 100 people have been killed in the past 24 hours. Click Palestinian presidency rejects Netanyahu’s post-war Gaza plan The Palestinian presidency has rejected Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for the future of Gaza, saying it continues Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and prevents the