Israel death toll rises to 600 after Hamas attacks
The Israeli Defense Forces has just given a short press conference with spokesman Daniel Hagari.
“We will do whatever it takes to protect our people and restore security,” he says.
“We are looking to the north as well, with full readiness.”
Hagari adds that the IDF believes Hamas militants are hiding amongst Gazan civilians in schools and hospitals.
The media briefing ended abruptly with Hagari saying those “who attack us will face a decisive attack back”.
China Tiananmen critic stuck in Taiwan transit lounge granted asylum in Canada
Chen Siming spent two weeks living in the transit area in Taipei’s international airport waiting to resettle
A Chinese dissident who was stuck inside a Taiwanese airport transit area after he refused to fly on to China says he has arrived in Canada after being granted asylum.
Chen Siming arrived in Taipei on 22 September, after travelling through Thailand and Laos. When he landed at Taipei’s international airport he refused to reboard, requesting assistance to resettle in a third country.
Unrest in the Balkans
Why the Serbian Minority in Kosovo Feels Threatened
A clash last week between Kosovo police and Serbian fighters resulted in four deaths and growing fears of renewed conflict. Can the worst still be avoided?By Muriel Kalisch in Mitrovica, Kosovo
The autumn sun is shining brightly on the forest path, along which some two dozen men, armed with assault rifles, are carefully climbing over roots. A barking pack of feral dogs is hot on their heels, but the men are only interested in what might be hidden in the bushes.
One week has passed since heavily armed Serbian militia fighters attacked a Kosovo-Albanian police patrol here in Kosovo, in the nearby village of Banjska. One officer was killed in the attack, another wounded. The Serbian assailants, around 30 men, barricaded themselves in the monastery that keeps watch over the village, the bent-up entrance gates testifying to the violence. In the end, three Serbian men were also dead, and four others arrested. The rest of the unit escaped.
Gabon’s coup leader Nguema appoints new parliament
Gabon’s coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema on Saturday appointed members of a new national assembly and senate for a transitional period ahead of promised elections on an unknown date.
Military and police chiefs joined forces on August 30 to carry out a bloodless coup widely backed by politicians, civil society and the public in general after more than years of 55 years of rule by the Bongo family.
The new regime has pledged to hold free elections and hand power back to civilians at a date due to be agreed at a “national dialogue”.
The military said it hopes elections will take place between April and June 2024.
In the name of the transitional head of state, a regime spokesman read out on national television the 98 names of new parliament members, including opposition party figures and some who supported ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba.
Afghanistan earthquakes kill more than 2,000, Taliban says
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake, and a series of powerful aftershocks, hit western Afghanistan, destroying villages and leaving hundreds dead. Tremors could also be felt in neighboring Iran.
More than 2,000 people were killed by several strong earthquakes that struck westernAfghanistan, the Taliban administration said Sunday.
The tremors hit Saturday morning and were mostly focused in the country’s western region, with many felt in neighboring Iran.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quakes — one of which measured 6.3 magnitude — hit some 35 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the city of Herat, causing panic in the city.
What do we know about the quakes?
The earthquake and its subsequent, strong aftershocks left 2,053 people dead and 9,240 more injured, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority said.
IAEA team to visit Japan in late October to review Fukushima water release
The International Atomic Energy Agency will send a task force to Japan late this month for a safety review of the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex into the sea, the Japanese government said.
The planned visit by the IAEA team from Oct 24 to 27 will be the first review by the U.N. nuclear watchdog since the water discharge began in late August, according to the Foreign Ministry.
It will come at a time when China remains strongly opposed to the discharge, citing health concerns.
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