October 21, 2024

Daily News Brief

*) ​​Israel shells Lebanese town with banned phosphorus munitions The Israeli army has bombed the southern Lebanese town of Kafr Shuba with internationally banned phosphorus munitions. Reports of the Israeli army firing artillery shells containing white phosphorus in Lebanon emerged last year as well when rights groups presented concrete evidence of the use of banned munitions. Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched a series of new air strikes on Beirut, targeting the Lebanese capital's southern suburb. *) Hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers storm Al Aqsa Mosque Around 1400 illegal Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem said the settlers entered the flashpoint site through the Mughrabi Gate in the western wall of the mosque under the protection of Israeli police. According to witnesses, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir joined the illegal settlers in performing Talmudic rituals at the site amid restrictions on the entry of Muslim worshippers into the complex. *) Israel kills four aid workers in Gaza Israel continues unabated massacres in Gaza as it killed four water engineers and workers from the Khuzaa municipality in Gaza. The workers, collaborating with Oxfam's strategic partner, the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), were killed in a bombing incident despite their vehicle being marked and their movements coordinated with Israeli authorities. The four men were travelling east of Khan Younis to carry out urgent repairs on Gaza's water infrastructure when they were hit by an Israeli strike. *) Pakistan passes constitutional amendments to prevent court 'interference' Meanwhile, political churning continues in Pakistan as the government has narrowly passed a package of constitutional amendments that would stop the country's courts from issuing rulings that are considered to "interfere in parliament". Under the judicial reforms passed during a late-night session of parliament, the chief justice of Pakistan will now be selected by a parliamentary committee and have a fixed term of three years. According to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, the goal of the amendments is to block the judicial verdicts that interfere in parliament. *) UN chief urges 'significant investment' in fund to save nature UN chief Antonio Guterres has appealed to nations gathered at a biodiversity summit in the Colombian city of Cali to help conserve and restore nature. The secretary-general not only called for significant investment in the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) but also for mobilising other sources of public and private finance.