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Fifty Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, Khan Younis and Maghazi areas on Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said The Palestinian Red Crescent says at least 10 people have been killed and 12 injured in an attack near El Amal City Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli forces raid Ramallah and other cities across the occupied West Bank. The World Health Organization says tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing central Gaza and Khan Younis, attempting to escape Israeli attacks. In Gaza, at least 21,110 people have been killed and 55,243 injured in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at 1,139. Gaza’s health system needs an urgent international intervention: Doctor Dr Hani Hamada, director of operations at the Ministry of Health and Coordinator of Field Hospitals in Gaza, spoke to Al Jazeera about the health system breakdown in the Gaza Strip. “Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis is now besieged and cannot be reached to provide all services,” Hamada said from the Indonesian field hospital in Rafah. “And in the central area, there is only the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, while the European Hospital is all beds full of cases and waiting lists are high for this purpose.” He said that about 1.6 million people in Rafah need medical care and health services. He added that cancer patients have had scheduled operations interrupted. “The situation is very dangerous and needs rapid and urgent intervention, and we appeal to all international institutions and Arab and foreign countries to save the residents of the Gaza Strip from this fierce Israeli attack.” Click here to share on social media Israel offers new prisoner exchange deal: Report Israel, via the United States, has proposed a new prisoner exchange deal to mediator Qatar, according to Israel’s Channel 13. The deal would first see Israel withdraw its troops from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip and allow far more aid to enter the enclave, the channel reports. In the second phase, Hamas would release female Israeli captives, including female soldiers and the bodies of dead Israelis, as Israel retreats further into areas to be hashed out via Qatari and US mediation. The media outlet said Hamas has “so far rejected this proposal” as it does not call for a full ceasefire while hostages are exchanged. Click Key events on day 83 of the war on Gaza It’s day 83 of the war, and this is where things stand: A large fire broke out in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah after an Israeli strike targeted tents with displaced people in the Tal az-Zohour neighbourhood. Raids continued all over the occupied West Bank, with fierce clashes reported at al-Manara Square in the centre of Ramallah. At least seven civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in Israeli shelling on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The UN reported that 22 Israeli soldiers were killed over Tuesday and Wednesday in Gaza, bringing the total number of Israeli forces killed in the Palestinian territory to 162 since the outbreak of violence. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu with Adolf Hitler, drawing parallels between the Gaza war and the genocide in Nazi Germany. More on strike near El Amal Hospital A video from the Palestinian Red Crescent shows the aftermath of a strike near El Amal City Hospital in Khan Younis that killed at least 10. Among those wounded is a child who is seen being rushed into an ambulance for treatment. ‘End unlawful killings’ in occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem: UN tells Israel UN rights chief Volker Turk has said that the human rights situation in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is rapidly deteriorating, citing a new UN report that details Israeli violence in the Palestinian territory. “The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling,” he said in a statement. The statement also said the UN Human Rights Office had verified the deaths of 300 Palestinians from October 7 to December 27 – including 79 children – in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Of these, Israeli military forces killed at least 291 Palestinians, illegal Israeli settlers killed eight, and one Palestinian was killed either by Israeli troops or settlers. Prior to October 7, 200 Palestinians had already been killed in the area this year – the highest number in a 10-month period since the UN began keeping records in 2005. Click Wrong munition led to high death toll at Maghazi camp: Report Israel’s military used the wrong type of munition to strike the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza earlier this week, compounding the death toll, The Times of Israel quoted an Israeli military official as saying. “The type of munition did not match the nature of the attack, causing extensive collateral damage which could have been avoided,” said the official. At least 90 people were killed late Sunday when Israel struck the small refugee camp in Deir el-Balah, in one of the war’s deadliest attacks. Palestinians carry away a body out of the rubble of a destroyed building in Maghazi refugee camp [Adel Hana/AP Photo] Click here to share on social media At least one killed in al-Wafiya neighbourhood, Khan Younis An Al Jazeera correspondent has reported that at least one Palestinian has been killed and a number of others injured in an Israeli bombing in the al-Wafiya neighbourhood in Khan Younis. Meanwhile, huge explosions were heard in the northern suburbs of Gaza City amid continued Israeli artillery shelling, a correspondent said. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/12/28/israel-hamas-war-live-israel-kills-palestinians-in-central-gaza-attacks Click here to share on social media

French police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of killing his wife and four children in a scene of “very great violence” on Christmas Day in Paris, according to authorities. Police forced their way into an apartment on Christmas Day and found the bodies of a woman, a baby and three other children aged up to 10, the public prosecutor Jean-Baptiste Bladier said at a press conference on Tuesday. The younger children, both boys, had no knife wounds but looked as though they had been suffocated or drowned. The mother and her two older children, both girls, had been stabbed multiple times, The Guardian reported. The arrested man, who is reported by local media to be the woman’s husband and father of the children, was seen on a security camera footage leaving the apartment at Meaux in the Île-de-France region east of Paris. Meanwhile, a formal investigation has been launched into the incident on two charges, each carrying a life sentence if proven: the “deliberate killing” of youngsters under the age of 15 and the “deliberate killing” of a partner. Bladier said police found a scene with blood everywhere when they broke into the flat on Monday evening after being alerted by a neighbour who was a close friend of the mother, aged 35. None of the victims have been named and Bladier said it would be illegal to publish anything that could identify the children, who were aged 10, seven, four and nine months. According to medical documents found at the apartment, the suspect, aged 33, a qualified plumber of French nationality, suffered from depression and psychological problems. In November 2019, the man was arrested for allegedly stabbing the woman six weeks before their third child’s birth. The woman declined pressing charges and help from victim support organisations, leading to the case being dropped due to his frail mental state. Bladier said the woman told police in 2019 that she and her partner had met in school as teenagers and had been together for 14 years, before getting married in October this year. The incident follows the release of French Interior Ministry figures showing that on average one woman in France is murdered by her partner or former partner every three days. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1142207-french-police-arrest-man-suspected-of-killing-wife-four-children-in-paris

Pakistan-bound container ship from Saudi Arabia came under attack in the Red Sea, with Yemen’s Houthi militia claiming responsibility for targeting the vessel. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has confirmed that one of its container ships was attacked on Tuesday while transiting the southern Red Sea, according to TradeWinds. The Liberia-flagged ship was en route from King Abdullah Port, Saudi Arabia to Karachi, Pakistan. “Currently, all crew are safe with no reported injuries and a thorough assessment of the vessel is being conducted”, the shipping company said in a statement. It added that the company’s priority “remains protecting the lives and safety of our seafarers, and until their safety can be ensured, MSC will continue to reroute vessels booked for Suez transit via the Cape of Good Hope”. MSC said the ship notified a nearby coalition task force warship of the attack and engaged in ‘evasive manoeuvres’. In a statement, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said: “The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against the commercial ship, ‘MSC United’ with appropriate naval missiles.” “The targeting operation of the ship came after the crew refused, for the third time, calls from the naval forces, as well as repeated fiery warning messages”, the Houthi statement added. The development came as US military forces shot down more than a dozen attack drones and several missiles fired by Yemen-based Houthi rebels at shipping in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. “There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” the Pentagon´s Central Command said in a social media post, describing a barrage of 12 drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles over a period of 10 hours. Earlier, Huthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a vessel in the Red Sea and a drone attack toward Israel in solidarity with Gaza. In a statement, the rebels said they “carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship” they identified as MSC UNITED, and launched a number of “drones against military targets” in southern Israel. The attacks are the latest in a flurry of drone and missile strikes launched by the rebels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas fighters. Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1142191-houthis-attack-karachi-bound-ship-in-red-sea

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