Category: English

ROME — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to humanitarian aid in Gaza and the two-state solution during her meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas here Friday.

According to a statement released by Meloni’s government, during their discussions, Meloni underscored Italy’s strong support for mediators working toward ending hostilities in Gaza and securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Meloni reiterated Italy’s dedication to a durable political solution based on a two-state framework, “Israel and Palestine can co-exist side by side in peace, with security for both,” said the statement.

She also emphasized Italy’s readiness to play a leading role in stabilizing and rebuilding Gaza while supporting the reform and strengthening of Palestinian institutions.

XINHUA

JERUSALEM — Undercover forces from the Israel Border Police and the Israel Defense Forces killed a Palestinian in the southern West Bank, the Israel Police said Friday in a statement.

The man killed was wanted for involvement in “terrorist” activities, according to the statement.

He was shot dead after the forces perceived a threat during an operation directed by the Israel Security Agency to apprehend wanted Palestinians in the town of Beit Awa, near the city of Hebron, it said.

Another suspect was arrested during the operation and taken in for investigation, it added.

XINHUA

JUBA — The South Sudanese government has ramped up efforts to prevent the spread of cholera following the deaths of at least 60 people since the outbreak in late October, a government official said on Friday.

Minister of Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services Michael Makuei Lueth said that 60 deaths have been reported so far, along with 6,000 cases recorded nationwide.

Makuei told journalists in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that efforts are underway to procure more vaccines after the first batch, sufficient to treat 150,000 people, was dispatched to northern Renk County in Upper Nile State.

The first cholera case was reported on Oct. 28 at the Renk transit center for refugees and returnees fleeing conflict in neighboring Sudan.

Makuei said that most of the cholera cases have been reported among refugees in Renk County, Rubkona County in Unity State, and Aweil town in Northern Bahr El Ghazal State, as well as recently in Juba.

Minister of Health Yolanda Awel Deng recently announced that an additional one million vaccine doses are needed to target vulnerable populations across the country.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), refugees, returnees and residents are the most affected by the outbreak, particularly children under the age of five and the elderly.

The WHO said that contributing factors include limited access to clean water, poor sanitation, open defecation, and overcrowding in transit centers and camps.

South Sudan requires 32 million U.S. dollars to sustain the first three months of the emergency response to the cholera outbreak, the WHO reported. The funds will be used to strengthen current operations, deploy response teams to newly identified hotspots, maintain essential health services, and procure and distribute additional emergency supplies.

XINHUA

NEW DELHI — At least seven people, including a toddler, were killed after a fire broke out at a private hospital in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, police said Friday.

The fire broke out Thursday night in the hospital in Trichy Road in Dindigul district, about 430 km west of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu.

“Last night a fire broke out in the reception area of City Hospital, an orthopaedic care hospital and immediately engulfed the whole building. In the blaze, seven people, including a child, were killed due to suffocation,” a police officer said. “The fire possibly triggered by a short circuit spread to all four floors.”

Police said six people who were stuck inside a lift were rescued.

“They have suffered suffocation but were taken to hospital where they became stable after the treatment,” the officer said.

It took several hours for firefighters to douse the flame and bring it under control.

Chances of fire in Indian buildings are usually high as people often ignore safety standards.

XINHUA

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s Meteorological Services Department (MSD) on Friday announced that the country is on high alert for the potential impacts of Tropical Cyclone Chido, which is currently affecting the northeastern parts of Madagascar and is expected to bring rainfall to some areas of Zimbabwe starting Sunday.

Despite posing a significant threat to areas along its path, the cyclone is projected to have a reduced impact upon reaching southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, MSD Head of Forecasting James Ngoma said during a press conference in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

“The spin speed will decrease from 200 km/h to 50 km/h. The trajectory will also change once it reaches the Comoros. It could shift south, north or west,” he said.

Ngoma noted that rainfall is expected to begin Sunday in the provinces of Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Masvingo, Midlands and Harare, with widespread rainfall across the country anticipated by Monday.

As a precautionary measure, the Department of Civil Protection is advising residents in low-lying areas to prepare for potential evacuations if necessary.

In 2019, Tropical Cyclone Idai caused widespread destruction in Zimbabwe, with floods sweeping away scores of people and severely damaging infrastructure.

XINHUA

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani military said on Friday evening that 43 terrorists have been killed in separate military operations in different parts of the country.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, said that the terrorists were killed by security forces in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and southwest Balochistan province.

Since Dec. 9, a total of 18 terrorists have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 25 terrorists eliminated in Balochistan, it said.

XINHUA

VIENNA — Austria’s conservative-led government said on Friday it is offering Syrian refugees a “return bonus” of 1,000 euros ($1,050) to move back to their home country after the fall of Bashar Assad.

Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer reacted quickly to Assad’s overthrow on Sunday, saying the same day that the security situation in Syria should be reassessed so as to allow deportations of Syrian refugees.

Deporting people against their will is not possible until it becomes clearer what direction Syria is taking. For now, Austria’s government has said it will focus on voluntary deportations. It has also stopped processing Syrians’ asylum applications, as have more than a dozen European countries.

Like many conservatives in Europe, Nehammer is under pressure from the far right, with the two groups often seeming to try to outbid each other on tough-sounding immigration policies. Syrians are the biggest group of asylum-seekers in Austria, a European Union member state.

“Austria will support Syrians who wish to return to their home country with a return bonus of 1,000 euros. The country now needs its citizens in order to be rebuilt,” Nehammer said in an English-language post on X.

How many Syrians will take up the offer remains to be seen. With national flag-carrier Austrian Airlines having suspended flights to the Middle East because of the security situation, the Austrian bonus may not even fully cover travel.

An economy class one-way ticket in a month’s time to Beirut, a common starting point for those heading overland to Damascus, currently costs at least 1,066.10 euros ($1,120.58) on Turkish Airlines, according to the company’s website.

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party came first in September’s parliamentary election with around 29 percent of the vote but, as no potential coalition partner was forthcoming, Nehammer is leading coalition talks with the Social Democrats and liberal Neos.

AN-REUTERS

DAMASCUS — Syria’s new government thanked eight countries on Thursday for swiftly reviving their diplomatic missions after a lightning militant offensive ousted president Bashar Assad at the weekend.

The offensive, which took less than two weeks to sweep across Syria and take the capital Damascus, stunned the world and brought an end to more than a half a century of brutal rule by the Assad clan.

The militants, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), appointed an interim prime minister on Tuesday to lead the country until March.

The new government’s department of political affairs issued a statement thanking Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Italy “for resuming the activities of their diplomatic missions in Damascus.”

Italy had reopened its embassy in Damascus before Assad’s fall.

After the militants took Damascus, an “armed group” entered the residence of Italy’s ambassador in Damascus and stole three cars, the Italian government said on Sunday.

The new government also said it had received “direct promises” from Qatar and Turkiye “to reopen their embassies in Syria” adding it hoped to “build good relations with all countries that respect the will of the people, the sovereignty of the Syrian state.”

Many embassies had shut their doors as militants advanced toward Damascus.

Gulf states had severed diplomatic ties with Syria, closing their embassies in the aftermath of Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 that triggered the civil war.

Most have restored relations since 2018, with the exception of Qatar.

Qatar announced on Wednesday it would “soon” reopen its embassy in Damascus, closed in 2011.

The move aimed to “strengthen the close historical fraternal ties between the two countries,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

The Gulf country also sought to “enhance coordination with relevant authorities to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid currently provided by Qatar to the Syrian people” via an air bridge, it added.

Doha had supported opposition factions early in the war and remained a fierce critic of Assad while also calling for a diplomatic solution.

Turkiye has backed some Syrian militant groups since the start of the civil war.

The war killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the population to flee their homes, with six million of them seeking refuge abroad.

AN-AFP

LONDON — The Irish government will ask the International Court of Justice to expand its definition of genocide over Israel’s “collective punishment” of civilians in the Gaza Strip, Sky News reported on Thursday.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin said his government is “concerned” that a “narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide” is leading to a “culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized.”

He added that there has been “collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza,” and that the Irish government “prioritizes the protection of civilian life.”

Ireland is set to link the request to the case brought by South Africa to the ICJ under the UN Genocide Convention, as well as a case brought by Gambia against Myanmar.

“By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a state,” Martin said.

“Intervening in both cases demonstrates the consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention.”

The convention identifies the practice as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” by killing, inflicting physical and mental harm, and imposing destructive conditions. Collective punishment is not currently part of the criteria.

Israel has also been accused of committing genocide by Amnesty International, which said the country has repeatedly attacked Palestinians, destroyed infrastructure and limited civilians’ access to food, water and medicine.

Amnesty’s executive director in Ireland, Stephen Bowen, called Dublin’s actions a “glimmer of hope,” adding: “Those like Ireland who have called for a ceasefire must join with other like-minded states to create this common platform to end the genocide.

“They must be resolute; they must be relentless; they must be loud, clear, visible. This is genocide. This must stop.”

AN