A delegation of former hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and their relatives met Thursday with Pope Francis and expressed hope that the incoming and outgoing US administrations would work together to bring the remaining hostages home. The freed hostages included Yelena Troufanov, who was released last November but whose son Sasha remains in Gaza and appeared in a video released Wednesday by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. 'You see in the picture how my child has changed over the course of this year,' Yelena Troufanov told a news conference in Rome after the papal audience. 'I am very worried about his condition, I see that he is not in a good mental state and not in a good physical state.' She and the other former hostages and relatives renewed their calls for a deal to bring the remaining hostages home, especially with winter approaching. They said they hoped the incoming Trump administration would work with the outgoing Biden administration to push the process forward. The war started when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250, with dozens still in Gaza. Israel's subsequent campaign has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, whose count doesn't distinguish between civilians and fighters, though they say more than half of the dead are women and children. The war has ignited a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, driven Israel into increasing international isolation, with two world courts examining charges of war crimes, and had sparked a wave of protests on American campuses that have fuelled debate over the US role as Israel's key military and diplomatic supporter. 'We hope that with the election of Trump, together with Biden ' this is not about left and right ' we hope that Biden and Trump work together now to get the hostages back before the winter,' said Sharone Lifshitz, who accompanied her mother, Yocheved Lifshitz, to the audience. Her mother, a longtime peace activist, was released Oct 23, 2023, but her father Oded remains in Gaza. Sharone Lifshitz, who wasn't kidnapped, thanked Francis for meeting with the delegation and said that he promised to pray for each of the hostages still being held. Israel says that Hamas is holding about 65 hostages and the remains of about 35 others either killed on Oct 7, 2023, or who died in captivity. 'The pope is a few years older than my father. Both of them are men who spent a lifetime making this world a place that cares for the weak, that cares for each other, that reaches across religions and creeds to make it a place where humans, real humans, can live in dignity,' she said. Louis Har, an Argentine-Israeli who was freed during an Israeli army raid in Rafah last February, said that he never imagined that he would meet the Argentine pope. He wept at one point recounting his ordeal to reporters gathered at the Rome headquarters of Italy's Jewish communities. He said that he had given the pope a necklace with a charm signifying hope. 'I felt his sincerity, his care, and that we didn't come in vain,' he said. 'There is someone listening to us. I hope that his prayers and his message will reach the whole world, because he has an impact on the whole world.' Francis has tried to strike a balance in his comments on the Hamas attack in 2023 and the Israeli response, and conflicts in Gaza and southern Lebanon that have ensued. He has called for an immediate cease-fire, for the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to get to Gaza. He has also suggested that Israel's actions in Gaza and southern Lebanon are disproportionate and immoral, and says that he calls a Catholic parish in Gaza every day to check in on the people it is sheltering. He has met twice before with relatives of the hostages, and once with Palestinians whose families were affected by Israel's operations in Gaza. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 09:50 AM IST | Rome | ANIMore than two dozen lawmakers and eminent Indian Americans celebrated Diwali at the Capitol, the first major event at the US Congress after last week’s presidential elections. The annual ‘Diwali at Capitol Hill’ on Tuesday was organised by the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in association with several other Indian American organisations including the Hindu American Foundation, Sikhs for America, Jain Association of North America, and Art of Living. President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume office after winning the presidential election last week. “This is an Indian festival which is embraced and celebrated the world over. Your presence here, the presence of so many congressmen and senators has made it all the most special. It is a reflection of their commitment to the relationship. Your presence there is a reflection of the important role that you at this festival place in the relationship,” India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said in his address. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:59 AM IST | Washington | AgenciesSouth Africa’s government says it will not help about 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province as part of an official policy against illegal mining. The miners in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport their supplies underground. It is part of the police’s Vala Umgodi, or Close the Hole, operation, which includes cutting off miners’ supplies to force them to return to the surface and be arrested. In the last few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in North West province, reportedly weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies. About 20 miners have surfaced from the mineshaft in Stilfontein this week as police stand guard to catch all those appearing from underground. Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the government would not send any help to the illegal miners because they are involved in a criminal act. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:56 AM IST | Johannesburg | AgenciesIsrael says 15 trucks carrying aid have been allowed into northern Gaza, where aid groups have warned that a monthlong Israeli offensive could cause a famine. The trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday with aid from the United Arab Emirates, said the military body handling aid deliveries into the territory, COGAT. It said the aid consisted of food and water as well as hygiene, shelter and medical supplies. UN agencies did not immediately confirm the delivery of the aid. Smoke plumes rise after an airstrike in Beirut. Pic/AFP Israeli forces have encircled the Gaza Strip’s northernmost areas for the past month, saying Hamas militants have regrouped there. Experts say the Israeli military campaign has caused a new wave of displaced civilians and warn that famine is imminent or may already be happening there. Meanwhile, the New York-based rights group, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, including massive forced displacements that amount to ethnic cleansing. Air strikes killed 200 Hezb terrorists in a week Israeli air raids have killed approximately 200 Hezbollah terrorists and destroyed 140 rocket launchers in the past week, the Israel Defense Forces disclosed on Thursday morning. The IDF said the launchers posed “an immediate threat” to the Israeli home front and soldiers operating in southern Lebanon. Targets included a launcher from which rockets were fired into the Western Galilee and central Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday, the army added. Among the terrorists eliminated in the strikes were the head of battalion operations and the head of battalion anti-tank weapons in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the coastal sector. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:53 AM IST | Jerusalem | AgenciesIndia has sent 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Nigeria as the country reels under devastating floods. The details of the humanitarian assistance were shared by the Ministry of External Affairs in a post on the social media platform, X. “In keeping with our commitment to humanitarian assistance for the people of Nigeria, India sent 15 tonnes of the total 75 tonnes of aid to Nigeria in the wake of the devastating floods in the country.” The post also noted, “The aid comprises of food items, sleeping mats, blankets, water purification supplies etc. and will support the rehabilitation efforts in the region.” Nigeria is reeling under severe stress as the country has faced devastating floods. Dominica to bestow Modi with highest honour The Commonwealth of Dominica will bestow its highest national award, the Dominica Award of Honour, upon PM Narendra Modi, in recognition of his contributions to Dominica during the COVID pandemic and his dedication to boost the partnership between India and Dominica. Sylvanie Burton, president of Dominica, will confer the award during the upcoming India-CARICOM Summit, scheduled to take place in Georgetown, Guyana from November 19 to 21. In February 2021, India supplied Dominica with 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, enabling it to extend support to its Caribbean neighbours. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
15 November,2024 07:49 AM IST | Abuja | AgenciesUS President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House. Biden welcomed Trump and congratulated him following his 2024 presidential election victory, saying that he looks forward to a smooth transition. "Congratulations, looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition -- do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need. And we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that today," Biden said in the meeting with Trump, according to a White House statement. Trump responded, "And politics is tough. And it's, in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. And I appreciate it very much -- a transition that's so smooth it'll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate that, Joe." The First Lady also joined Biden in greeting Trump upon his arrival at the White House. She gave Trump a handwritten congratulatory letter, which also conveyed her team's readiness to assist with the transition. White House Chief-of-Staff Jeff Zients and incoming White House Chief-of-Staff Susie Wiles attended the meeting, according to the White House. Following his victory over Democratic candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump is moving to finalize his foreign policy and national security team in preparation for his formal inauguration in January 2025. On Tuesday, Trump announced several key apppointments, including former Congresswoman and Governor from South Dakota, Kristi Noem, as the Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and 'X' along with Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense, William Joseph McGinley as White House Counsel, among others. In a historic political comeback, Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. Trump's return to the White House marks only the second time in US history that a president has served two non-consecutive terms. The first such instance was Grover Cleveland, who served as president in 1884 and 1892. Trump had earlier served as US President from 2016 to 2020. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 12:25 PM IST | Washington | ANIAt least one explosion on Wednesday outside Brazil's Supreme Court killed a man and forced the justices and staff to evacuate the building in the capital of Brasilia, police and firefighters said. A police statement said an artifact exploded outside the court without providing more details. Local firefighters later confirmed that one man died at the scene, but did not identify him. The court's justices and staff safely left the building after the incident, which took place at about 7:30 pm local time, shortly after Wednesday's session finished. Jorge Macedo, a staffer at Brazil's top court, confirmed the evacuation to The Associated Press. Local media showed footage suggesting two blasts outside the court, with 20 seconds between the first and the second explosions. The incident took place in Brasilia's Praca dos Tres Poderes, an area where Brazil's main government buildings are located. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not in the neighbouring presidential palace at the time of the blast, spokesman José Chrispiniano said. Police blocked all access to the area where Brazil's Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace are located. The presidential security bureau was conducting a sweep of the grounds around the presidential palace.Brazil's federal police said it is investigating and did not provide a motive. The Supreme Court in recent years has become a target for threats by far-right groups and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro due to its crackdown on the spread of false information. Justice Alexandre de Moraes has become a target of hundreds of threats since he started investigating riots in government buildings on January 8, 2023, led by supporters of Bolsonaro. Earlier, another explosion was heard outside Brazil's Congress, but it apparently did not cause damages. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 12:21 PM IST | Sao Paulo | APPresident Joe Biden will hold talks Saturday with China's Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an international summit in Peru, a face-to-face meeting that comes as Beijing braces for Donald Trump's return to the White House. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting will take place while the two leaders are in Lima for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. That will come just over two months before Trump's inauguration. Sullivan was opaque about how Biden and administration officials will answer expected questions from Xi and his aides about the incoming Trump administration. "Transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics. They're a time when competitors and adversaries can see possibly opportunity,' Sullivan said. 'And so part of what President Biden will communicate is that we need to maintain stability, clarity, predictability through this transition between the United States and China.' During his campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump promised to slap blanket 60 per cent tariffs on all Chinese exports to the US, a move that would jolt the already tumultuous relationship between Beijing and Washington. Washington and Beijing have long had deep differences on the support China has given to Russia during its war in Ukraine, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own. A second Trump administration is expected to test US-China relations even more than the Republican's first term, when the U.S. imposed tariffs on more than USD 360 billion in Chinese products. That brought Beijing to the negotiating table, and in 2020, the two sides signed a trade deal in which China committed to improve intellectual property rights and buy an extra USD 200 billion of American goods. A couple of years later, a research group showed that China had bought essentially none of the goods it had promised. The White House has been working for months to arrange a final meeting between Xi and Biden before the Democrat leaves office in January. Sullivan traveled to Beijing in late August to meet with his Chinese counterpart and also sat down with Xi. After that, Sullivan indicated that there could be a final meeting between Xi and Biden at APEC or at next week's summit of the Group of 20 top economies in Rio de Janeiro, which both leaders are scheduled to attend. Biden has sought to maintain a steady relationship with Xi even as his administration repeatedly has raised concerns about what it sees as malign actions by Beijing. US intelligence officials have assessed China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine. The administration last month imposed sanctions against two Chinese companies accused of directly helping Russia build long-range attack drones used against Ukraine. Tensions flared last year after Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States. And the Biden administration has criticized Chinese military assertiveness toward Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan. On the campaign trail, Trump spoke of his personal connection with Xi, which started out well during his first term before becoming strained over disputes about trade and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a congratulatory message to Trump after his victory over Harris, Xi called for the US and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era, according to Chinese state media. Biden, for his part, is expected in the meeting with Xi to focus on efforts to stem the flow of Chinese-manufactured chemicals used to make fentanyl, concerns about Beijing's indirect support for Russia's war in Ukraine, cybersecurity concerns and the importance of maintaining military-to-military communications. Sullivan added that he expected that Biden would also raise an ongoing US investigation into an alleged Chinese hacker operation targeting cellphones used by Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and people associated with the Harris campaign. Saturday's talks will be the third meeting between Biden and Xi during Biden's presidency. They met in Woodside, California, last November on the sidelines of the 2023 APEC summit, and the leaders last spoke by phone in April. Sullivan also announced that Biden while at APEC will hold a joint meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba. That meeting is a follow-up on the historic Camp David summit Biden hosted in August 2023 with Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Biden has nudged the United States' two closest Asian allies to further tighten security and economic cooperation with each other amid their shared concerns about North Korea's nuclear provocations as well as China's military and economic assertiveness in the Pacific. The historic rivals have been divided by differing views of World War II history and Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 12:18 PM IST | Washington | APThree Hezbollah field commanders have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Wednesday. The IDF said Ayman Muhammad Nabulsi, the incoming commander of Hezbollah’s ‘Nasser’ Unit’s anti-tank missile array in the southern Lebanese area of Hajir was killed on Sunday. Also confirmed killed in a recent strike was Hajj Ali Yussef Salah, who served as the Hezbollah commander of the Tebnit area along with another commander of the Ghajar area. The army also confirmed the elimination of Muhammad Musa Salah, Hezbollah’s commander of the Khiam area in October. Salah was responsible for the launches of more than 2,500 rockets at northern Israel and at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the IDF announced on Tuesday night that airstrikes destroyed “a majority” of Hezbollah’s weapons storage and missile manufacturing facilities located under the Dahieh district” of Beirut. Dahieh is a Shi’ite stronghold in the southern area of Lebanon’s capital city. Agencies 3 siblings among 6 killed in Gaza An Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-ravaged territory, Palestinian medics said on Wednesday. The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service said the three children were killed in a strike on a home near a clinic in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, where Israel has been waging an offensive for over a month. In the central city of Deir al-Balah, a strike hit a tent in the western side of the city, killing at least two people, including a 15-year-old boy. Another strike on a tent in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed a man. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 08:26 AM IST | Jerusalem | AgenciesRussia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a sophisticated combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday, authorities said, as the Pentagon said most of the North Korean troops sent to help Moscow’s war effort are fighting to drive Ukraine’s army off Russian soil in the Kursk border region. Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and 90 drones, the Ukrainian air force said. Air defences downed four missiles and 37 drones, and another 47 drones were stopped by electronic jamming, the statement said. The damage was being assessed. The air assault came as most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in the Kursk border region, according to the Pentagon.Agencies US to back Ukraine till Trump comes in President Joe Biden intends to bolster US military support to Ukraine in the final months of his administration, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. The US will “continue to shore up everything we’re doing for Ukraine to make sure that it can effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression”, Blinken told reporters. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 08:24 AM IST | Kyiv | AgenciesA Pakistani court on Wednesday acquitted the Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan and his close aides in a case involving Section 144 violations. A district and sessions court in Islamabad dismissed the charges, acquitting Khan, Sheikh Rashid, Asad Qaiser, Saifullah Niazi, Sadaqat Abbasi, Faisal Javed, and Ali Nawaz. The charges, which also included breaches of the Amplifier Act and other regulations, were dismissed by Judicial Magistrate Yasir Mahmood. The case was filed on August 20, 2022, alleging violations of public order during the PTI party-led protests. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 08:22 AM IST | Islamabad | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
