Trucks carry aid and coffins into Gaza - but UN calls it 'drop in the ocean'
Summary
- Trucks carrying aid, and one loaded with coffins, have entered Gaza for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted
- The BBC counted 20 vehicles with white flags moving through the Rafah crossing into Gaza from Egypt - the UN called it a "drop in the ocean" of what's needed
- Yesterday, Hamas released its first hostages since its major surprise attack on Israel two weeks ago
- Mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan were among about 200 people abducted; Natalie's half-brother has told the BBC of his "overwhelming" joy at their release
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is trying to free more hostages, though his forces will also "fight till victory". Israel continues to bombard Gaza
- It's two weeks since Hamas launched its assault on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people. Palestinian officials say more than 4,000 people have died in Gaza since then
- And the leaders of Arab and European countries are meeting in Egypt to discuss the crisis, but expectations are low because key players like Iran - and Israel itself - aren't attending
UK foreign secretary calls for Israel to act with 'discipline'
The grandly named Cairo Peace Summit is a hastily arranged affair. As such, the chances of any kind of meaningful breakthrough seem remote.
The agenda is hazy and it seems differences over a final declaration may mean no text emerges, as is customary for such events.
The US is barely there, represented only by its chargé d’affaires in Cairo.
There’s a smattering of European leaders, while others (including the UK) have chosen to send foreign ministers.
Pakistan’s ex-PM Nawaz Sharif returns from exile ‘completely ready’ for election
Return of Sharif, who has conviction for graft, is likely to have been smoothed by deal with country’s powerful military, expert says
Nawaz Sharif, the three-time prime minister of Pakistan, arrived back in the country on Saturday after four years of self-imposed exile, poised to make a political comeback before the general election in January.
Sharif spent the past few days in Dubai and left on a chartered flight packed with journalists, touching down in the cap
Belgian minister quits over failure to extradite gunman
Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne announced his resignation on Friday after revealing that authorities failed to extradite a Tunisian national who killed two football fans on Monday.
Van Quickenborne told a press conference that Tunisia had sought the extradition of the suspected shooter in August last year but Belgian authorities did not act. The shooter had already spent time in prison in Sweden and his asylum claim was rejected by Belgian authorities in 2020.
"It's an individual, monumental and unacceptable error with dramatic consequences," Van Quickenborne said. "The magistrate in question did not follow up this demand and the dossier was not handled."
"I am not looking for any excuses. I think it's my duty" to resign, he added.
The eccentric ‘anarcho-capitalist’ who would be president
Which right will be right for Argentine voters?
Far-right maverick Javier Milei has promised to ‘take a chainsaw’ to public spending if he wins the presidency in October. With the vote a competition between different flavours of the right, Milei’s popularity with the young could be decisive.
Aman with rockstar sideburns and a piercing blue gaze walked up to the whiteboard with a row of stickers across the middle, one for each of Argentina’s ministries. His hair was tousled (he prides himself on not having combed it in three years). At the board, he gruffly read out the name of the ministry on each small strip before tearing it off: ‘Tourism and Sports, out! Culture, out! Environment and Sustainable Development, out! Women, Genders and Diversity, out! Public Works, out! Science, Technology and Innovation, out! Labour, Employment and Social Security, out! Education, out! Transport, out! Health, out! Social Development, out!’
Japan to begin living support program for war zone evacuees in April
Japan's immigration agency said Friday that it will begin a program in April to help foreigners fleeing conflict zones such as war-hit Ukraine to adjust to living in Japan.
Under revisions to the immigration law, individuals from conflict zones whose circumstances do not qualify them for refugee status will be eligible for the six-month or one-year program to study Japanese and learn about the country's laws and customs. The scheme also includes financial aid.
The scheme was designed mainly to help Ukrainian evacuees living in Japan, whose numbers top 2,500.
Opinion: Paris continues a shameful Olympic tradition
The breathless mission statement of the Paris 2024 Olympics tells us that, “Sport has the power to change everything, improving education, health, and social inclusion.” Sport’s potency does not, however, seem to stretch to problems of housing and homelessness.
This September, city authorities and police have been busy closing down homeless camps across Paris and moving unhoused people out of the French capital, while the first luxury apartments in the Olympic Village have already gone on sale.
The government housing department says the relocation plan is aimed at decreasing the burden in this urban area and ensuring the homeless have greater support in the provinces. Both it and Paris 2024 organizers say the scheme has nothing to do with the upcoming Games.
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