Qatar cautiously optimistic as Israel and Hamas continue ceasefire talks
- But there are conflicting reports emerging about how the talks are progressing for both Israel and Hamas in regional media
- Elsewhere, Palestinians describe returning to homes with "hardly anything left" in the devastated city of Khan Younis
- Israel says it is reducing the numbers of soldiers in southern Gaza but stresses a "significant force" will remain in the north
- The pull-out is being interpreted as tactical, rather than a sign the war may be moving closer to its end
- Khan Younis has been under Israeli bombardment for months - the city and surrounding area are largely destroyed
- One child, now living in Rafah, tells BBC News "we sleep here with our eyes open"
A man in Khan Younis has told the BBC that the southern Gaza city is in "a state of complete destruction".
As Israeli forces retreat, residents have been returning to find destroyed homes and shattered infrastructure.
Speaking to BBC Arabic about his family's return to the city, the man says his son was shocked to see the ruins everywhere, asking him: “Where is our house, father?”
He describes Khan Younis as "uninhabitable", adding: "The infrastructure has been completely destroyed, and even animals cannot find anything to eat."
"I used to weigh 80 kilos, and now I weigh 55 kilos. Show a little bit of mercy on us, people."
Three boys to face trial over child’s murder in case that shocks China
Suspects, all under 14 at time, are accused of bullying classmate over long period before killing him in Hebei last month
China will put three boys on trial for allegedly murdering another child, a provincial prosecutor has said, in a case that has shocked the country and sparked public debate over the treatment of juvenile offenders.
The three suspects, all aged under 14 at the time of the murder, are accused of bullying a 13-year-old middle-school classmate surnamed Wang over a long period before killing him last month in Hebei.
The details of the case, in which the killers reportedly buried Wang’s body in an abandoned greenhouse, drew public attention to how the law deals with juveniles accused of serious crimes.
Germany sends first soldiers for permanent Lithuania force
Germany is setting up a military base in Lithuania intended to deter Russia from further attacking its neighbors. The base is set to be fully operational with nearly 5,000 troops by 2027.
The first group of German soldiers arrived in Lithuania on Monday as part of a new brigade that will be permanently stationed on NATO's eastern flank.
The advance team of about 20 staff will begin setting up the base. They will eventually be joined by around 4,800 German soldiers.
The brigade, to be named Panzerbrigade 45, will be fully operational by 2027.
"This is the first time that we have permanently stationed such a unit outside Germany," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at a farewell ceremony in Berlin on Monday.
Japan, U.S. must rethink Okinawa base plan, says Iwate governor
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 8, 2024 at 18:42 JST
Takuya Tasso is an outlier among prefectural governors in advocating a renegotiation of the controversial project to relocate a U.S. military base within Okinawa Prefecture, as the land reclamation work is steadily proceeding.
He was the only one among the 46 governors surveyed who said the government's plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to Henoko Point in Nago, also in the prefecture, is “inappropriate, if anything.”
“As a sovereign nation, there should be no way to allow a new U.S. military base to be built in Japan,” Tasso, governor of the northeastern Iwate Prefecture since 2007, said in a recent interview. “The presence of U.S. bases should be reduced in Okinawa Prefecture.”
In India’s richest state, exam scams kill escape from farm crisis
Ganesh Kale took three dozen exams but was robbed of a fair shot because of corruption. So he tried to take his life.
Had it not been for his grandfather, Ganesh Kale might have been dead today.
In January this year, the 40-year-old woke at 6am in his remote village in India’s western state of Maharashtra and quietly walked to his 2-hectare (5-acre) farm – on which the millet crop was about to be harvested – to end his life.
Just as he was about to swallow a bottle of pesticide, his grandfather shouted at him, making Kale pause. The old man then rushed towards Kale and snatched the bottle from his hands.
‘We have reached the limit.’ Clash with Elon Musk prompts calls for social media controls in Brazil
In a statement, Brazil’s Supreme Court described Musk’s defiance as a “flagrant” obstruction of justice and said he should be investigated by the police. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes announced Sunday that he would open an inquiry into the billionaire businessman who owns X.
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