At least 72 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia on Sunday, according to local authorities. Gaza’s government media office said Israeli warplanes targeted several residential buildings and homes in the town in the morning. “The occupation army was aware that dozens of displaced civilians were inside these buildings, and that the majority of them were children and women who had been displaced from their neighborhoods,” it added in a statement. A medical source earlier told Anadolu that Israeli fighter jets hit a five-story building in the Beit Lahia Project area on Sunday, killing about 50 people and leaving several others trapped under the rubble. Witnesses said that over 70 displaced civilians had sheltered inside the targeted building. An Israeli strike targeted another house in the area, killing 15 people and injuring several others, another medical source said. Two more Palestinians were killed when Israeli warplanes struck another residence in Beit Lahia, the source added. Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents. Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of imminent famine. More than 2,000 people have since been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities. The onslaught was the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since October last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire. Nearly 43,800 people have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 103,600 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

The US is lobbying for a UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti to address escalating gang violence and political instability.

More than 103,600 Palestinians injured in Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7, 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry says

Israeli army issues orders residents of buildings in Haret Hreik to evacuate immediately in preparation for planned airstrikes

Victory improves Paul’s professional record to 11-1, while loss brings Tyson’s legendary career record to 50-7

 At least 10 infants were killed when a fire broke out at a hospital in northern Indian Uttar Pradesh state, officials said Saturday. The fire erupted at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Jhansi Medical College in the state’s Jhansi district late Friday. Health official Sachin Mahor told reporters that more than 50 babies were admitted to the unit and confirmed that 10 died. He said others were rescued. Uttar Pradesh’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the administration and officials have been instructed “to carry out relief and rescue operations on a war footing.” Footage on television showed anguished relatives wailing for infants in the hospital. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said a probe would be conducted to find the cause of the fire.

Tourism Investment Forum (TIF) 2024 will bring together international investors, financial firms, hotel brands, innovators, and real estate developers, says association

Egypt and Russia called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon and emphasized the need for unconditional humanitarian aid.

A 27-year-old French Ph.D. student was arrested in Tunisia and detained for several weeks.

More than 22M children missed their first dose of measles vaccine last year, says UN health agency

‘We’re going to work on the Middle East, and we’re going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine,’ says US president-elect

Agreements signed by Morocco and Saudi Arabia will facilitate the exchange of information and cooperation in investigations, prosecutions.

Health concerns surrounding Tyson were notably absent in the discussion

The new defense system is expected to intercept both short- and long-range missiles

 The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday as part of his visit to Iran for talks on the country’s nuclear program. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the talks between the two sides as “very important.” The Iranian nuclear program “has always been peaceful,” the spokesman said, stressing Iran’s willingness to “genuinely” work with the UN nuclear watchdog to resolve any misunderstanding regarding its nuclear program. Grossi arrived in Tehran Wednesday evening for a two-day visit during which he is expected to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The visit comes amid a dispute between Iran and the West regarding its nuclear program. In 2018, former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. Trump was reelected as US president earlier this month.

Developed by Vektor laboratory in Siberia, the vaccine, named Orthopoxvac, was registered by Russia’s health ministry in 2022 after clinical trials

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has issued a statement emphasizing that no area in Gaza is safe for civilians amid the conflict

Russia-Africa Partnership Forum has highlighted the importance of addressing the root causes of conflicts and promoting sustainable development in Africa.

Dutch police arrested three people suspected of causing unrest in Amsterdam following last week’s clashes between Israeli fans and pro-Palestinian demonstrators ahead of a soccer match. Police officers pursued groups of people who lobbed stones at them, the daily Het Parool reported late on Monday. Several parked cars were damaged in the unrest, while some groups launched fireworks, erected barricades, and set fire to an empty tram in the city’s western part. The three suspects were arrested in those areas, Het Parool reported. A wave of violence erupted before and after Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match against Ajax late last Thursday, causing widespread outrage, with reports of Israeli fans fighting bystanders, vandalizing property, and setting a Palestinian flag alight. Videos shared widely on social media depict Maccabi fans not only vandalizing private property but also attacking a local taxi driver and even confronting law enforcement officials. Amsterdam authorities imposed a three-day ban on demonstrations last Friday, with over 60 arrests made.

Canary Islands under heavy pressure with some 32,000 arrived in first 10 months of 2024

‘Companies transporting oil through BTC pipeline for export to global markets…have respected Turkey’s recent decision not to engage in trade with Israel,’ says country’s Ministry of Energy

US foreign policy in Africa faces hurdles as embassies lack resources leaving gaps in intelligence while China’s popularity grows across the continent.

The number of journalists killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023 has soared to 188, media office in the blockaded enclave said on Saturday. While Israeli forces killed on Saturday two journalists in Gaza City, another two targeted earlier were identified by the authorities, the media office said in a statement. Al-Zahraa Abu Sukheil and Ahmed Abu Sukheil, who worked for the News Media Network, were killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a school sheltering the displaced in Gaza City. The other two were identified as Mustafa Bahar and Abdulrahman Bahar, who worked for local news agency Ajel Palestine. Mustafa, a reporter was killed on March 31 near the Kuwait Roundabout south of Gaza City, while Abdulrahman, a photographer, was killed on Oct. 6 in the Al-Karama neighborhood, northwest of Gaza City. The media office condemned the targeting of Palestinian journalists, holding Israel fully responsible. It urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop the killing of media personnel. Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine, displacement of population and destruction of buildings. According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, the Israeli war on Gaza has killed more journalists over the past year than any other conflict over the past three decades. Overall, Israel has killed more than 43,000 people since the Hamas attacks last October, and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable. It faces charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the territory.

Racist text messages invoking slavery have raised alarms across the country this week after being sent to Black men, women, and students—including middle schoolers—prompting investigations by the FBI and other agencies. The anonymous messages, reported in multiple states including New York, Alabama, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, generally shared a similar tone but varied in their wording. Some directed recipients to show up at a specific address with their belongings, while others did not include a location. Several of the messages also referenced the incoming presidential administration. It remains unclear who is behind the messages, and there is no comprehensive list of all the areas where they were sent, though high school and college students were among the recipients. The FBI has said it is coordinating with the Department of Justice on the matter, while the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it is investigating the texts “alongside federal and state law enforcement.” The Ohio Attorney General’s office also confirmed it is looking into the issue. Fisk University, a historically Black university in Nashville, Tennessee, released a statement condemning the messages, which targeted some of its students, calling them “deeply unsettling.” The university urged students to remain calm, suggesting that the messages were likely the work of bots or malicious actors with “no real intentions or credibility.” In Missouri, Nimrod Chapel, president of the NAACP’s state chapter, reported that Black students in the organization’s Missouri State University chapter received messages citing Donald Trump’s 2020 election win, with some texts singling out students by name and making offensive references to slavery, including a message that told them they were “selected to pick cotton” the following Tuesday. Chapel stated that local police in Springfield, Missouri, where the university is located, have been notified and are investigating.