Author name: admin

The Israeli army says it has hit 200 targets in Gaza from air, land and sea within the past 24 hours. Large numbers of residential homes in Khan Younis have been destroyed in overnight Israeli army attacks. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has appointed Sigrid Kaag as Gaza’s aid coordinator, but the path ahead for humanitarian relief remains difficult with no breaks in fighting. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, says the war on Gaza will continue for “many months”. In Gaza, at least 20,915 people have been killed and 54,918 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7. The revised death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139. Internet services being slowly restored in Gaza: Paltel “We would like to announce the gradual restoration of telecom services in the central and southern areas of Gaza Strip after a blackout caused by the ongoing aggression,” Palestine Telecommunications Company said in a post on X. On Tuesday, the company said there was a “complete interruption” of telecom services in the enclave. Humanitarian agencies and emergency responders have warned that communication blackouts further limit their already constrained life-saving assistance efforts in the war-torn territory. Click Right-wing settlers angry at Israel’s top commander in West Bank: Report The settlers are angry that the Israeli military has begun detaining some in their community and confiscating guns issued without authorisation, reports Israel’s Channel 12. Some settlers have reportedly suggested the Israeli commander responsible for the operations – Major General Yehuda Fox – can be targeted by invoking a din roder, which is a Jewish religious principle that permits the extrajudicial killing of individuals who imperil others, according to the Israel media. This “may create a concrete threat to the general’s life and allow him to be harmed”, warned the chief of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, Ronen Bar, in a letter to government leaders. Click here to share on social media Emirate of Sharjah bans New Year’s fireworks to show solidarity with Gaza Sharjah, the UAE’s third-largest emirate by size and population, has banned New Year’s Eve fireworks this year as an expression of solidarity with the people of Gaza. The decision was announced in a Facebook post by Sharjah police, who said the ban was “a sincere expression of solidarity and humanitarian cooperation with our siblings in the Gaza Strip”. They also warned that legal measures would be taken against those violating the ban. Click here to share on social media Israeli army demolishes home in occupied West Bank A Palestinian family’s home has been destroyed by Israeli forces in the village of Masafer Yatta in Hebron. In video footage shared online and verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking team Sanad, bulldozers can be seen demolishing the house of the Alaa al-Nawaja family, which housed seven people. Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank have been reported across the territory today, including in Bethlehem and Ramallah. Click here to share on social media Israeli Deputy attorney general says weapon permits unlawfully issued: Report Israel’s deputy attorney general has accused the National Security Ministry of unlawfully issuing weapons permits to Israeli citizens en masse, reports Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The claim follows reports that the ministry delegated unauthorised people, including cronies and employees of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to issue conditional permits. Within weeks, these “temporary licensing clerks” issued hundreds of thousands of permits, including to Israelis who do not qualify to be gun-owners, said Haaretz. “This behavior is a recipe for disaster,” said one senior security official cited by Haaretz. “They’re handing out guns like candy. Click here to share on social media More on deadly drone attack in occupied West Bank Imran Khan Nur Shams, occupied West Bank Reporting from Nur Shams in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan has more on the deadly overnight drone strike that took place during an Israeli raid. The strike reportedly hit six men, aged between 16 and 29 years old, who were standing, watching the raid. “The drone came from above, and the men simply didn’t stand a chance. This was a deliberate kill shot,” Khan said. “People tried to help them, but for at least an hour and a half, the Israelis wouldn’t allow ambulances to get in. Eventually, they had to pick up the bodies and take them down to where the ambulances were. Of course, at that stage. It was too late. These people were dead.” Al Jazeera also spoke to sources at the local hospital who said an Israeli soldier went into an ambulance and stabbed a man in the neck. He is now being treated in an intensive care unit. Palestinians inspect the remains of a burnt vehicle in the aftermath of an Israeli strike in the Nur Shams camp [Zain Jaafar/AFP] Click Jordan’s King Abdullah to visit Egypt Jordanian King Abdullah II is on his way to Egypt to meet President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Royal Hashemite Court announced on X. The pair are also expected to discuss the situation in Gaza and the path towards a ceasefire. On Monday, Egypt announced what is described as a plan to end the war in Gaza, which would see Israel entirely withdraw from the enclave, all captives held by Hamas released, many Palestinian prisoners freed, and a united technocratic Palestinian government installed. A dozen detained by Israeli army in occupied West Bank At least 12 people have been detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank in overnight raids, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club said in a statement. The raids took place across the occupied West Bank, including Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Tulkarem, the prisoner rights groups said. The total number of arrests made by Israeli forces since October 7 stands at 4,795, the statement added. Click here to share on social media Southern Lebanon feels like a ‘war zone’ amid daily Israeli attacks Ali Hashem Reporting from Bint Jbeil, southern Lebanon This is the first time Bint Jbeil has been hit since 2006. But seven other southern

At least 12 people were killed and 39 were injured on Sunday in an explosion at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant in eastern Indonesia, an industrial park official said. According to a statement by Dedy Kurniawan, a spokesperson for the complex, the accident took place around 5:30am at a plant owned by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel in the Morowali Industrial Park located in Central Sulawesi province. “The current number of victims is 51 people. 12 people died in the incident. There are 39 people with minor and serious injuries who are currently receiving medical treatment,” he said. The statement added that seven Indonesians and five foreign workers were killed. Later, Kurniawan told AFP all five foreign workers were Chinese nationals. The official, citing an initial investigation, revealed that the explosion occurred during repair work on a furnace when a flammable liquid ignited and the subsequent blast caused nearby oxygen tanks to explode as well. However, the fire was successfully extinguished on Sunday morning, according to the statement. The firm that runs the industrial park said it was “deeply saddened” by the disaster and said the remains of several identified victims had been flown home, AFP reported. The island is a hub for the mineral-rich country’s production of nickel, which is a base metal used for electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel. Additionally, Beijing’s growing investment has stoked unrest over working conditions at its facilities. Previously, in January, two workers including a Chinese national were killed at a nickel smelting plant in the same industrial park after a riot broke out during a protest over safety conditions and pay. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1141351-12-killed-39-injured-in-explosion-at-nickel-processing-plant-in-indonesia

RAWALPINDI: A huge fire engulfed a house in Rawalpindi’s Dhamial area after a pipeline of an oil refinery exploded in the residential area on Monday, Geo News reported. No death or injury has been reported so far as the area’s residents were safely evacuated from their homes. Thick smoke could be seen billowing from the affected house. Rescue officials said six emergency vehicles including three fire tenders arrived to douse the fire. More fire tenders were dispatched to the site of the incident, they said. The rescue officials said more than 12 rescue officials were busy in the firefighting operation. They were trying to contain the fire, they maintained. “The fire could not be controlled yet. Rescue and fire brigade personnel are present at the spot. Oil spilled due to a burst in the supply line, efforts to control the fire are underway,” rescue officials said. The officials said the firefighters had contained the fire, however, it re-erupted after it was doused. They said the relevant organisations were told to shut down the oil supply in the pipeline. The pipeline’s bursting has spilled oil in the area’s street spreading malodorous. An additional contingent of police has also been called in the area. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1141647-fire-engulfs-house-in-rawalpindi-village-after-oil-pipeline-explodes

At least 70 Palestinians have been killed in an air attack on the Maghazi refugee camp, which a Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson describes as a “massacre”. Israeli army admits it is fighting a “complex and complicated war” with many soldiers killed. It says at least five dead captives’ bodies retrieved from a tunnel in northern Gaza. More than 20,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The revised death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139. Many people under the rubble following central Gaza attacks Khalil al-Degran, a spokesman from al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, has spoken to Al Jazeera about the situation at the hospital following Israeli air attacks on central Gaza overnight, which also targeted al-Maghazi and al-Bureij refugee camps. Here are his translated comments: A large number of people, both killed and injured, are still under the rubble. The massacres come within the framework of a policy of genocide against our people. Several wounded people lost their lives because there were no supplies to treat them with. We appeal to the world to stop the aggression and send medical and food supplies. Click Recap of the latest developments It’s past 10am (08:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments in the past few hours: Some 100 people have been killed in the last 12 hours in Gaza, with the vast majority of them women and children. Israeli forces have bombed Aita al-Shaab and its surroundings in southern Lebanon. At least 20 people arrested after Israeli forces storm the village of Burqa, northwest of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s war cabinet is discussing Egypt’s proposed formula for a truce. Mourners react next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes at a hospital in the central Gaza Strip [Doaa Ruqaa/Reuters] Click Homes raided in Jenin refugee camp Imran Khan Reporting from Jenin refugee camp, occupied West Bank The Israeli army came down here and raided at least 10 houses. They said they were looking for Palestinians to arrest but interestingly enough, they didn’t make any arrests. Israeli forces did call for Palestinian fighters to come out and give themselves up but that didn’t happen either. Residents are telling us that this is simply a campaign of harassment. Jenin refugee camp is now the most raided camp in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces are destroying any symbol of resistance or nationalism in the camp. Israeli soldiers during a raid in Jenin, West Bank [File: Majdi Mohammed/AP Photo] Click Israel’s war cabinet to discuss Egypt’s truce proposal today Bernard Smith Reporting from Tel Aviv Egypt is reported to have proposed a formula for a truce. They’re proposing seven to 10 days where all civilians would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. There are a couple of extra elements that might be more challenging for the Israeli government to agree to. There’s another stage that suggests the release of all female soldiers in exchange for Palestinian prisoners – that would get another seven-day ceasefire. And then a month of negotiations to discuss the release of all military personnel held by Hamas in exchange for a lot more prisoners and Israel pulling back to Gaza’s borders. Israel’s war cabinet will continue to discuss that today. But there are a lot of political considerations here in Israel. The cabinet is not particularly united. There’s one minister criticising the government for having a large ground operation instead of air strikes, resulting in the deaths of 17 soldiers since Friday. Click Israeli forces raid town near Nablus, make arrests Israeli forces have stormed the village of Burqa, northwest of the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. At least 20 people have been arrested, including senior citizens. Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces carried out several overnight raids, including in the city of Jenin and the Balata refugee camp. Israeli forces have detained more than 4,600 people in the occupied West Bank since October 7. Click ICC slammed for blocking Australian cricketer’s show of support for Gaza The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been slammed for showing a “lack of moral standing” after it refused to allow an Australian cricketer to show on-field support for Gaza where more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks. Australia’s Usman Khawaja had “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” written on his boots in the colours of the Palestinian flag in a training session ahead of the first match against Pakistan earlier this month. He was not allowed to wear those during the match. “If it had been most other organisations that showed some semblance of consistency with their attitude and behaviour on issues I could claim surprise, but not them. Once again, they show their hypocrisy and lack of moral standing as an organisation,” said former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding. Usman Khawaja [Rui Vieira/AP Photo] Click here to share on social media Israeli air raids hit Aita al-Shaab, Lebanon Videos posted by Lebanese accounts on X show Israeli bombardment on the town of Aita al-Shaab and its surroundings in southern Lebanon a short while ago. Israeli Channel 12 reported that the Israeli army targeted several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon. Translation: “Raids on Aita al-Shaab … Markaba … Mays al-Jabal.” Translation: “This is what the morning looks like in Aita al-Shaab.” Click Women, children among victims of Israeli attacks on central Gaza Hani Mahmoud Reporting from Rafah, southern Gaza There was more death and destruction in the central Gaza Strip overnight concentrated in the Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps. Some 100 people have been killed in the last 12 hours, with the vast majority of them women and children. The bombs fell on homes and buildings … destroying neighbourhoods and infrastructure, such as roads leading in and out of the refugee camps. Since the UN Security Council resolution passed on Friday (boosting aid to Gaza), the scale of air raids has only

Police in Islamabad used force to disperse a protest by Baluchis in the early hours of December 21 after the protesters marched hundreds of kilometers to draw attention to excessive arrests of Baluch men and their mistreatment by police. The woman who led the march, Mahrang Baloch, said on X, formerly Twitter, that she was taken into custody along with other protesters, while several protesters were reportedly injured by police as the protest was dispersed and people were rounded up and placed into transport vehicles. The march “is under attack by the Islamabad police,” Baloch said on X. “I have been arrested along with several women and men by Islamabad police, but remember fascist state, we will defeat you.” Participants in the march posted videos on X showing people, mainly women, marching and decrying alleged brutal police beatings of their sons. Before her own arrest, Baloch said many youths had been arrested and many had been injured by tear gas and violence. “Right now, we are being treated worse than animals. Will the world raise its voice for us against this barbarism?” she said on X. The protesters reached Islamabad nearly a month after setting off from the Turbat district in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan Province to demand a judicial inquiry into the killing of Balach Maula Bakhsh, who relatives say died in police custody in November. The killing is just one of the crimes that protesters want authorities to investigate. They also accuse Pakistani security agencies of a string of abductions and extrajudicial killings of Baluch men. The authorities reject the allegations. The march passed through the provincial capital, Quetta, before heading toward Islamabad. Source:https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-balochistan-march-protest-police-violence-/32740747.html

  A shooter killed at least 14 people and wounded 25 others at a university in Prague on Thursday in the deadliest mass shooting the Czech Republic has seen in decades. Authorities believe the gunman, a 24-year-old man, died by suicide, Czech Police Chief Martin Vondrášek said Thursday evening, but added it had not yet been confirmed. The gunman, who police said was a student of the Faculty of Arts at Charles University, has not been formally identified because of the severity of his injuries, the chief said. Police have not named him. Authorities are still investigating a motive in the rampage, which took place at the Faculty of Arts building of Charles University, in the center of the capital city. The area is popular with tourists and close to major attractions, just across the Vltava River from Prague Castle. The shooter traveled to Prague from his hometown village of Hostouň, the police chief said. As the violence broke out, some students locked themselves in classrooms to avoid the gunfire, police said. A picture shared on social media showed several people hiding on an outside ledge high up in a building. The university was holding classes on Thursday and was due to go on Christmas break on December 23, according to a schedule on the university’s website. Students are seen hiding on a ledge at Charles University. From @elirozic/X Graduate student Jakob Weizman told CNN he was in a classroom with his professor when they heard what sounded like gunshots and screams. The 25-year-old locked the door and with his professor, began pushing furniture against it to create a barricade. “After I made the barricade and locked the door, I hid under the desk and I was preparing myself for anything that could happen,” Weizman said. “I did not know if (the shooter) was going to come through the door or from the window.” He took down the barricade only when police arrived, he said. Authorities escorted him down and out of the building, the student told CNN he saw blood on each floor. “It was very traumatizing,” he said. Weizman told CNN he and his professor barricaded a classroom door after they heard what sounded like gunshots and screams. Jakob Weizman In a later news conference Thursday night, Vondrášek revised the number of people killed to 14, after previously saying 15 people had died. Of the 25 people injured, 10 were in serious condition, the police chief said. The next update from authorities is expected Friday morning. Shooter may be linked to other killings The police chief said authorities had information about the shooter before the university killings, saying police received a tip he was traveling to Prague with the intention to take his own life. Enter your email to sign up for CNN’s “Meanwhile in China” Newsletter. close dialog Shortly afterward, they received information a deceased man was found in Hostouň, a town around 13 miles (21 km) west of Prague. The man is believed to be the shooter’s father. Vondrášek said the police were aware the shooter had a lecture at 2 p.m. CET and evacuated the building where the lecture was meant to take place. But authorities then received a call about a shooting in a different building, according to the police chief. Czech authorities are also working on a theory the gunman is connected to a double homicide in Klanovice, a Prague suburb, last week, Vondrášek said. Authorities are still conducting a thorough investigation in that case, the chief added. The shooter had a gun permit and owned several weapons, Vondrášek said. Country declares day of mourning The Czech Republic will observe a day of mourning Saturday for those killed, country officials announced at a joint news conference late Thursday. “I want to express my deep sadness and also helpless anger over the loss of so many young lives,” Czech President Petr Pavel said. The massacre is “the most tragic incident in the history of the Czech Republic,” he added. Flags will be flown at half-staff during the day of mourning and a minute of silence will be held nationwide at noon Saturday. Bells across the country will also toll for the victims of the attack, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. Earlier, Fiala said authorities believe the shooting was a lone incident and there was no remaining danger. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said the shooting was not an act of terrorism. Charles University said it tightened its security measures “with immediate effect” and canceled events at the university on Thursday and Friday. In a statement posted on X, it also “called for an adequate and sensitive approach to [Friday’s] possible exams or credit examinations.” “We now ask everyone to try to remain calm and composed, and we again extend our condolences to all those whose hearts have been broken by the loss of loved ones,” the university said. The Czech Republic has relatively liberal gun laws compared to the rest of the European Union, but gun attacks are rare. To obtain a gun legally, a person needs an official firearm license, which requires a medical examination, a weapon proficiency exam and no previous criminal record. According to official police statistics, more than 300,000 people have a legal permit to own a gun. As of 2022, almost 1 million legally owned weapons were officially registered in the Czech Republic. Students of Charles University are evacuated by police. Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images In December 2019, a 42-year-old man killed six people at a hospital waiting room in Ostrava in the east of the country before shooting himself. And in 2015 a man killed eight people in a shooting at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod before killing himself. Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/21/europe/prague-university-shooting-intl/index.html

At least five labourers were killed on Thursday night after unidentified assailants attacked an under-construction police station in a remote area of South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to police, the firing took place late Thursday night at the police station which also injured one of the labourers working at the station. The bodies and the wounded worker have been moved to a district hospital in Wana, the police added. Meanwhile, District Police Officer (DPO) Farmanullah said that complete details will be provided after investigating the incident. He added that no details can be shared at the initial level about the firing incident. On October 31, four labourers and a cop in an attack on a police station in the Nasirabad area of Balochistan’s Turbat by unidentified assailants which was labelled as a terror incident by the authorities. The labourers, according to an official, hailed from Punjab and were identified as Mohammad Uzair, Baqar Ali, Shehbaz Ahmed and Shehzad Ahmed. In the same month, at least 6 labourers were killed in their sleep and two were wounded after gunmen targeted them in an overnight attack in Turbat city. According to the police, unidentified gunmen attacked the labourers who were sleeping in an under-construction house. ‘Terror attacks claim 470 lives in KP this year’ The outgoing year witnessed an alarming rise in terror-related incidents in the country in general and in KP in particular as at least 470 security personnel and civilians were killed in the province, so for. According to statistics available with Geo News, 470 people were killed in 1,050 terror-related incidents in one year alone. As per the record of the provincial home department and tribal affairs, 698 security personnel and citizens were killed in 1,823 terror-related incidents during the past three years. Seven areas along the Pak-Afghan border in KP remained “terrorism hotspots” during the outgoing year. The areas include Peshawar, Khyber, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Dera Ismail Khan, Bajaur and Tank. Out of the 1,050 terror-related incidents, 419 were reported in Bandobasti, 631 in the erstwhile Fata, 201 in North Waziristan, 169 in Khyber, 121 in South Waziristan, 98 in DI Khan, 62 in Bajaur, 61 each in Tank and Peshawar. One hundred and six security personnel embraced martyrdom in Peshawar, four in Bajaur, 28 in Khyber, 36 in North Waziristan, and 29 in South Waziristan. Likewise, the terror-related incidents claimed 73 lives in Bajur, 28 in North Waziristan, five in DI Khan, seven in Tank, and two citizens each in Peshawar and Khyber. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1140715-five-labourers-gunned-down-in-attack-on-s-waziristan-police-station

UN Security Council again delays vote on resolution urging scaled-up humanitarian aid access to Gaza after another day of intense negotiations. More than 576,000 Palestinians in Gaza – about a quarter of the population – face “catastrophic hunger and starvation”, a UN-backed report finds. Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza, with more casualties reported in Rafah, Khan Younis and Nuseirat refugee camp. At least 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at nearly 1,140. ‘Battle of narratives’ ongoing between Israel and the UN Luciano Zaccara, associate professor of Gulf politics at Qatar University says “there is a battle of narratives” regarding the positions of Israel and the UN on aid entering Gaza’s southern border. “Israel keeps repeating that they are concerned about the killing of civilians, and they’re concerned about allowing aid to enter into Gaza. International agencies and other governments are blaming Israel for controlling the gate,” Zaccara told Al Jazeera. He added that he does not believe that the delayed vote on a UN Security Council on a resolution urging scaled-up humanitarian aid access to Gaza will change this. “I think there should be more diplomatic efforts conducted by both the UN and Israel to guarantee that the aid entering Gaza is not harming Israel in a way that Israel would withdraw from the support for this resolution,” Zaccara said. “Otherwise, we will come back to zero again.” Click Poll suggests Israelis prefer Biden to Trump as next US president: Report According to a new survey, 40 percent of the people in Israel want US President Joe Biden to be re-elected in 2024, compared to about 26 percent who prefer rival Donald Trump, the Times of Israel reported. The poll showed a big swing among Israelis compared to 2020. Back then, more than 60 percent of them preferred Trump as US president, compared to 17 who backed Biden. The steep decline in support for Trump may be linked to his criticism, among others, of the Israeli military and political leadership for its alleged failures in preventing the October 7. This is the first time in at least two decades where the Israeli public appears to favor a Democratic presidential candidate over a Republican, the Times reported. Click Israeli forces detain eight medical staff members: Red Crescent The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says Israeli forces have released a number of their paramedics, volunteers and women who were arrested yesterday evening in the Jabalia Ambulance Center. Some of them were “beaten and tortured”, it said on X, adding that Israeli forces continue to detain eight medical staff. “The occupation soldiers destroyed the central radio communication device and destroyed all ambulances present in the branch,” PRCS said. Click here to share on social media Ministry of Health director-general critically injured in Israeli attack Hani Mahmoud The northern part of Rafah was subjected to heavy, relentless bombardment where more residential homes have been targeted and destroyed. At least six people in these two residential homes were killed. There is fear people are still under the rubble, that’s why we are expecting the number to go higher within the coming hours. Both eastern and central Khan Younis are becoming the site of major bombardment of artillery shelling. There was constant bombardment last night of all the refugee camps in central Gaza Strip – Bureij, Maghazi as well as Nuseirat. The northern part of Gaza – Jabalia town and Jabalia refugee camp, along with the northern district of Gaza City – were targeted and destroyed. Ministry of Health Director-General Munir al-Bursh was sheltering in his sister’s house, which was targeted. He was critically injured, family members were also injured, but his daughter was killed in the attack on the residential home. Click Beyond Gaza: How Yemen’s Houthis gain from attacking Red Sea ships Justin Salhani Reporting from Beirut A 10-country coalition led by the United States is unlikely to be able to stop Yemen’s Houthi rebels from attacking ships in the Red Sea, but both sides have an interest in avoiding an escalation that could spiral out of control, analysts have told Al Jazeera. Their attacks on commercial and military ships potentially connected to Israel are, according to Houthi officials, aimed at pressuring Israel to end its war on Gaza. The Houthi attacks have been popular domestically in Yemen, allowing the group to recruit new fighters. Read the full story here. Houthi forces boarding the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, November 19, 2023, in the Red Sea [Houthi Media Center via AP] Click Israel used ‘one of its biggest and most destructive bombs’ in southern Gaza: Report A visual investigation by The New York Times shows that during the first six weeks of the war in Gaza, Israel used its “one of its biggest and most destructive bombs” in areas in the south of the Strip which the military had indicated as safe for civilians. “The findings reveal that 2,000-pound bombs posed a pervasive threat to civilians seeking safety across south Gaza,” read the report. It added that bombs of that size are “almost never dropped by US forces in densely populated areas anymore,” according to ammunition experts. Asked about the bombs’ use in southern Gaza, the Israeli army told The Times that Israel’s priority was to destroy Hamas and that “questions of this kind will be looked into at a later stage,” the newspaper reported a spokesperson as saying. Click here to share on social media Palestinians to be ‘prevented’ from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque again Friday prayer will start in just a few hours and, as for every weekend since the start of the war, thousands of Palestinians will be prevented from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al Jazeera’s Sara Khairat says. “Every week there is tear gas, and the reason why is that they are preventing the majority of worshippers from attending the holy prayer – they [Israeli forces] say to reduce clashes as it’s under

 Lava spewing from a volcano in Iceland appeared to be flowing away from the only nearby town and the intensity of the eruption was dropping, offering hope that homes would be safe even though seismic activity could last months, officials said on Tuesday. The government said flights were unlikely to be affected, quashing international travel concerns lingering after chaos that resulted from the ash cloud caused by an eruption on the north Atlantic island in 2010. The eruption late on Monday on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland spewed lava and smoke more than 100 metres (330 feet) into the air after weeks of intense seismic activity. “The eruption does not present a threat to life,” a government statement said. “There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open.” Authorities last month evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of Grindavik about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of capital city Reykjavik, allowing them back intermittently to check on homes put at risk by the tremors. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Kristin Maria Birgisdottir, 43, a Grindavik resident who has been evacuated since Nov. 10, at first had a hard time believing it when the volcano erupted. “Everything happened so fast,” said Birgisdottir. “I had already put my kids to sleep, and I was already in bed when I saw someone posted that it had erupted. I took a screenshot, and thought to myself that it was a bad joke.” “We are just waiting for somebody to wake us up or to say cut, the filming is over, because it’s so unreal. It’s hard to believe this is happening,” she later added. Live footage of the eruption showed bright yellow, orange and red lava in sharp contrast against the sky. Some tourists were in awe at the spectacle. “Our BnB hosts sent us a message that the volcano has erupted,” a tourist from the Netherlands who gave his name as Wouter said. “It’s a once in a lifetime for us so we don’t want to miss that … It’s a bit far from here, but you can still see some lava coming up, for us this is amazing.” The eruption opened a 4 km (2.5 mile) fissure. But at its southernmost point, the crack was still 3 km away from Grindavik, Iceland’s Meteorological Office said, and the power of the volcano was decreasing. “The eruption is taking place north of the watershed, so lava does not flow towards Grindavik,” geologist Bjorn Oddson told public broadcaster RUV. Gas pollution could still occur in the area of Reykjavik late on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, officials said. A volcano erupted late on Monday in southwest Iceland, spewing lava and smoke through a four-kilometer-long fissure. BLUE LAGOON A drone picture shows lava spewing from the site of the volcanic eruption north of Grindavik, photographed from Sylingarfell, Iceland, December 19, 2023. REUTERS/Sigurdur Davidsson Acquire Licensing Rights Located between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic hot spot because the plates move in opposite directions. The eruption is about 30 km from Reykjavik. Keflavik international airport is somewhat nearer but remains open. The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa popular with tourists, has been largely closed since the seismic activity was detected. “It could potentially go on for several months. It could also just stop later today or tomorrow,” said Halldor Geirson, an associate professor at Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland. Lava flows had decreased from 200-250 cubic meters per second in the first two hours of the eruption to around a quarter of that by Tuesday morning. Most of the lava was flowing into an area where there was little infrastructure, Geirson said. That could change. “There is still a threat to Grindavik, for sure. Now the lava is flowing mostly to the north, but it depends on the topography and where the openings are,” he said. In 2010, ash clouds from eruptions at the Eyafjallajokull volcano in the south of Iceland spread over large parts of Europe, grounding some 100,000 flights in Europe and beyond, and forcing hundreds of Icelanders to evacuate their homes. Weather forecasting service AccuWeather said this eruption was very different. “If little to no volcanic ash is lofted into the atmosphere, there may be no impact to aviation,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said. The 2010 impact on air travel was largely caused by the interaction of magma with the melting water from a glacier, a different scenario to what is happening now. Matthew Watson, professor of volcanoes and climate at the University of Bristol in Britain, said it was “not impossible that there may be some impact on air travel”, although it was unlikely. “This type of eruption doesn’t generally produce much ash, which is what tends to ground planes.” CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM HOME “Unfortunately, the hope that had ignited in the hearts of many about the possibility of celebrating Christmas at home in Grindavik was extinguished when the eruption began yesterday,” Grindavik Mayor Fannar Jonasson said in a statement addressing residents. Hans Vera, 56, originally from Belgium but living in a house just east of Grindavik since 1999, had hoped residents would be allowed to return for good, or as long as is possible on a volcanic island. That all changed when the eruption finally arrived. “I don’t see that in the near future they will let people get close to Grindavik. So we are back in the waiting game,” he said. He described his home near the sea as a winter paradise, and said the prospect of not being able to spend the Christmas holidays there with his family came as a blow. “We are not going to paradise this time around.” Reporting by Tom Little, Louise Rasmussen in Copenhagen, Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm and Terje Solsvik in Oslo; additional reporting by Antoine Demaison for Reuters TV; Writing by Niklas Pollard, Terje Solsvik and Johannes Birkebaek; Editing by David

Among the arrested, 93 were proclaimed offenders and three were included in Red Book which is made for most wanted human traffickers. The FIA shared that the arrested including 94 suspects and facilitators were involved in the Libya/Greece boat accident. This year, 858 cases were registered against human traffickers and 882 cases were investigated and Challans were submitted while 56 human traffickers were convicted. In a bribery case registered by the FIA Gujranwala, a court sentenced the accused to 5 years imprisonment and 29 lakh fine. Strict screening has been started at the Sialkot airport to prevent incidents like Greece. According to the FIA Gujranwala, special training was given to immigration officials regarding passenger profiling. Checking of passengers’ baggage was also ensured in collaboration with other law-enforcement agencies. This year, a crackdown was launched on the elements involved in illegal currency exchange and Hundi. The Gujranwala zone conducted 34 raids on the elements involved in illegal currency exchange. As a result of the raids, 34 cases were registered and 80 accused were arrested. During the raids, 32,191 dollars and other foreign currency worth more than 4 crore 39 lakh rupees were recovered. Rs 14.14 million were also recovered. The arrested were involved in currency exchange without licence. In various inquiries by the Evacuee Trust Property Board, properties worth more than Rs 5 crore 81 lakh were disposed of. This year, the FIA conducted an operation at the Sialkot airport and registered cases against human smugglers by offloading 43 passengers on fake documents. At least 73 accused wanted by law-enforcement agencies were handed over to them. All resources were being used to arrest all the accused, said the FIA spokesperson. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1140049-gujranwala-fia-arrests-814-suspects