Six In The Morning Sunday 17 March 2024

 

Children, women killed in Deir el-Balah attack

  • Israeli attacks on Deir el-Balah in central Gaza killed at least 12 people and wounded many more, including children, according to videos and witnesses.
  • Thirteen aid trucks arrived safely in Jabalia and Gaza City, marking the first convoys to travel from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip without incident in four months.
  • Ceasefire talks could resume in Qatar as early as Sunday, with an Israeli delegation led by Mossad’s spy chief expected in Doha to discuss Hamas’s proposal for a three-stage plan to end the war.
  • At least 31,645 Palestinians have been killed and 73,676 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack stands at 1,139 with dozens taken captive.

Egypt will not allow forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza: Sisi

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has said his country would not allo the forced displacement of the Palestinians from Gaza, according to a statement from his spokesman.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission.

Sisi stressed the necessity of reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and reaffirmed Egypt’s rejection of the forced displacement of the Palestinians outside their land.

EU leaders accused of ‘rewarding repression’ with €7.4bn Egypt deal

Agreement to be signed off on Sunday is part of bloc’s attempt to stop refugees crossing Mediterranean

European leaders are to sign off on a €7.4bn deal with Egypt just days after members of the European parliament accused Brussels of “bankrolling dictators”.

The EU-Egypt strategic partnership agreement forms part of the bloc’s latest attempt to stop refugees crossing the Mediterranean and comes less than a year after it signed a controversial €150m (£128m) migration and economic pact with Tunisia.

It is understood the deal that leaders are expected to sign off on Sunday, which dwarfs that of Tunisia in value, will include €5bn in soft loans to support economic reforms with €1bn of that as urgent aid for 2024.

The Election Farce in RussiaPutin’s Elaborate Effort to Make His Leadership Look Legitimate

Russia’s democracy may be dead, but the regime is sparing neither effort nor expense in staging the presidential election. Large voter turnout is supposed to give Putin’s rule the appearance of legitimacy.
By Ann-Dorit Boy und Christina Hebel in Hamburg, Germany, and Moscow

Yulia received her special bonus a few days ago. “For the election,” the supervisors stated bluntly. The Muscovite, in her early 40s, works in the administration of a state energy company. The bonus is linked to the so-called “presidential elections” that are slated to be held from Friday to Sunday, marking the first time polls in Russia will be open for three days.

Yulia is set to vote for Vladimir Putin together with her colleagues on Friday in their office using the government portal. Afterward, she’s supposed to send a screenshot to her bosses, she tells DER SPIEGEL. It’s an order that will be difficult to evade. Lists have been drawn up with the current telephone numbers of the employees, which they use to log into the portal, Yulia explains. She assumes that checks will be made to see who has logged in and when – and who has not.

Trump warns US voters of a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses presidential election

Former US president Donald Trump warned of a “bloodbath for the country” if he is not elected in November.  

Donald Trump told a (Nazi Rally) in Ohio on Saturday that November’s presidential election will be the “most important date” in US history, painting his campaign for the White House as a turning point for the country.

Days after securing his position as the presumptive Republican nominee, the former president also warned of a “bloodbath” if he is not elected – though it was not clear what he was referring to, with the remark coming in the middle of comments about threats to the US auto industry.

“The date – remember this, November 5 – I believe it’s going to be the most important date in the history of our country,” the 77-year-old told rally-goers in Vandalia, Ohio, repeating well-worn criticisms that his rival, President Joe Biden, is the “worst” president.

Japan lawyers’ group urges Tokyo to halt park development, calling its impact review unscientific

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 16, 2024 at 09:15 JST

The Japanese bar association is urging Tokyo’s metropolitan government to suspend a disputed redevelopment of the city’s beloved park area, saying that its environmental assessment by developers lacked objective and scientific grounds.

The metropolitan government approved the Jingu Gaien redevelopment project in February of 2023 based on the environmental assessment submitted by the developers, allowing the start of construction.

The plan involves razing a famous baseball stadium and rebuilding it, as part of a vast construction project that critics say would threaten thousands of trees in a city of meager green space.

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