Tuesday, March 19, 2024

World

Biden warns Netanyahu military operation in Gaza’s Rafah a “mistake”

US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that a major ground offensive in Gaza's Rafah would be a "mistake", as the two leaders spoke on the phone for the first time in a month amid growing tensions.

Officials say China to boycott Ukraine peace talks without Russia

China will boycott the negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict unless Moscow has a seat at the table, the Politico magazine has reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.

UN warns famine imminent in north Gaza

Half of the population in the Gaza Strip are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory by May unless there is urgent intervention, a United Nations-backed food security assessment warned.

World labor body says over half a million Palestinian jobs lost due to war

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has reported the Palestinian unemployment rate is set to soar to a staggering 57 percent in the first quarter of 2024, citing 507,000 job losses due to the Gaza war.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government accuses Pakistan of bombing civilians

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has accused Pakistan of killing eight civilians in an air raid on Monday. The group responded by opening fire on Pakistani targets, allegedly wounding seven people.

“Afghanistan has turned into major producer of methamphetamine”

An Iranian official says neighboring Afghanistan is now a major producer of methamphetamine in the region, voicing Tehran's readiness to tackle the problem.

Iran condemns Israel attack on Gaza hospital, warns of crimes

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani strongly condemned as “barbaric” Israel’s new attack on and the occupation of Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, and the “crimes of the Israeli forces” against the medical staff, patients and the wounded at the hospital.

Israeli soldiers storm Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital, killing and injuring several

Israel’s military forces have stormed al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza City with tanks and heavy gunfire, leaving several deaths and injuries, Palestinian officials have confirmed.

Gaza “graveyard” for most important principles of humanitarian law: EU top diplomat

The Gaza Strip has become a "graveyard" for the most important principles of humanitarian law, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has stated.

Putin warns Russia-NATO conflict just one step from World War Three

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that a direct conflict between Russia and the NATO military alliance would mean the planet was just one step away from World War Three but stressed hardly anyone wanted such a scenario.

US officials say Ukraine almost run out of air defense missiles

Ukraine has told its western backers that munitions for some of its air defense systems could be almost used up by the end of March, the Washington Post has reported, citing American officials.

Biden angry after poll numbers drop over his handling of Gaza war: Report

US President Joe Biden began to shout and swear after learning that his poll numbers in the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia had dropped over his handling of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, according to NBC News.

Hamas says war not confined to Gaza

The Palestinian movement Hamas says Israel has come to face an “extensive front” far greater than the Gaza Strip and that the field battle is not confined to the besieged enclave.

EU: Rafah military operation must be avoided at all costs

Speaking at a joint news conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU does not want to see an Israeli invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.

More than 13k children killed in Gaza since outbreak of war: UNICEF

Israel has killed more than 13,000 children in the Gaza Strip since October 7 while others are suffering from severe malnutrition and do not “even have the energy to cry”, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported.

Russia’s election commission says Putin set for landslide win in presidential election

Incumbent President Vladimir Putin is expected to win the presidential election, garnering over 87% of the votes, Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has reported.

Military operations in Rafah will take “several weeks”: Israeli PM

A military operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, will take "several weeks", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, adding he will push ahead with an offensive that has sparked international alarm and outrage.

Hamas says put forth realistic truce proposal in Gaza

A senior Hamas official has stated the Palestinian group has put forward a “realistic” ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip that involves the release of Israeli captives and the withdrawal of "occupation soldiers" from the besieged enclave.

French president again declines to rule out western ground operations in Ukraine ‘at some point’

French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that western ground operations in Ukraine might be necessary “at some point”. He made the remarks days after meeting with German and Polish leaders.

One-third of children under 2 years acutely malnourished in northern Gaza: UNRWA

The situation in the Gaza Strip is “catastrophic and deteriorates by the minute”, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned. It added one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza are now acutely malnourished.

Iran says ready to help Syria enhance its defense power against US, Israel

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani has stated that Tehran is prepared to utilize its full capabilities to assist Damascus in boosting its defense and deterrent power against Washington and the Zionist regime.

US, UK conduct new airstrikes against 2 Yemen’s provinces

The United States and the United Kingdom have launched a string of air raids against targets in Yemen's southwestern province of Ta'izz and the strategic western province of Hudaydah as the Houthi movement continues its maritime operations against Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea.

Israelis demand hostage swap deal during mass rallies

Thousands of people held protests across the occupied Palestinian territories against the current Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded a captive swap agreement with Hamas.

Kiev’s draft leaving several Ukrainian villages, towns without men: Report

Some Ukrainian villages and small towns are left with hardly any adult men amid aggressive and indiscriminate mobilization tactics by the army recruiters, who are desperate to refill the ranks of the depleted forces, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Italy warns NATO presence in Ukraine could trigger WWIII

Deploying troops of the NATO bloc to the battlefields in Ukraine might result in an all-out global conflict, effectively a Third World War, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has cautioned. He has ruled out any possibility that his country’s forces will somehow end up deployed to support Kiev’s fight against Moscow.

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