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24-05-2024 RAFAH: Israeli tanks advanced to the edge of a crowded district in the heart of Rafah on Wednesday during one of the most intense nights of bombardment of the southern Gaza city since Israel launched its offensive there this month. Israel’s assault on Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge has …

24-05-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: India’s election panel ordered the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition Congress to exercise restraint in their campaigns, after both had reported the other for making divisive speeches during India’s vote. The panel said the parties’ defences for the speeches by Prime Minister …

24-05-2024 UNITED NATIONS/ RAFAH: Food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah has been suspended due to a lack of supplies and insecurity, the UN says. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, warned its distribution centre and a World Food Programme warehouse were now inaccessible because of the …

24-05-2024 TALLINN/ RIGA/ VILNIUS: There have been calls for calm in Finland and the Baltic States after a draft Russian decree proposed revising its borders in the Baltic Sea. Latvia said it was trying to clarify the situation, but Lithuania warned that the Kremlin was aiming to intimidate its neighbors …

24-05-2024 VIENNA: A man who was renovating his wine cellar in Austria has made an extraordinary discovery. It wasn’t a vintage red or white but the remains of prehistoric mammoths. The find has been called an “archaeological sensation” by researchers from the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of …

24-05-2024 UNITED NATIONS/ PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haiti’s health system is “on the verge of collapse”, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has warned, saying six out of 10 hospitals in the country are barely operational. “The combination of violence, mass displacement, dangerous epidemics, and increasing malnutrition has bent Haiti’s health system,” said Bruno …

24-05-2024 BEIJING: A Chinese blogger jailed for four years for her reporting on the first COVID outbreak in Wuhan has been released from prison, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has confirmed. The media watchdog shared a video of Ms Zhang saying she had been released on schedule, thanking everyone for their …

23-05-2024 DUBLIN/ OSLO/ MADRID: Ireland, Norway, and Spain have announced they will recognize a Palestinian state from 28 May. Spain says the decision is “not against Israel” and “is not in favor of Hamas… it is in favor of peace.” Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz summons the three countries’ ambassadors, …

23-05-2024 TAIPEI: Thousands of people thronged the streets around Taiwan’s parliament on Tuesday, protesting against measures to give lawmakers more oversight over the government, pushed by opposition parties over the ruling party’s objections. The protests outside parliament, and a raucous session inside, demonstrated the febrile political atmosphere facing new president …

23-05-2024 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: Traders in India’s stock markets are turning to illegal election betting platforms for clues to combat the uncertainty facing citizens and markets alike regarding the outcome of a long general election. Weeks before vote counting set for June 4, stock markets are closely …