Tuesday, 5, Nov,2024 {HMC} Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 3,000 people in the 13 months of fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along the border, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has said.

The ministry said late on Monday that 3,002 people were killed and 13,492 injured since the beginning of Israel’s “aggression” against Lebanon. There were 589 women and at least 185 children among the dead, it added.

While Israel claims that hundreds of Hezbollah fighters have been killed in its attacks, witnesses and independent reports from bombed communities across Lebanon attest to the high number of civilian casualties from widespread and indiscriminate Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling.

The United Nations children’s agency said last week that at least one child per day had been killed in the country over the past month.

“Since October 4 of this year, at least one child has been killed and 10 injured daily,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director, said.

The UN agency for refugees (UNHCR) said an average of 400-600 people from Lebanon have been arriving in Iraq every day over the past week. Most of them are Lebanese, but there has also been an uptick in the arrival of Syrians and Palestinians.

At least 28,350 refugees from Lebanon arrived in the country since the escalation in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in September, the agency said. A majority of them are being hosted in Najaf and Karbala.

Meanwhile, an estimated 472,000 people from Lebanon crossed into Syria in recent weeks, the UNHCR said on Monday.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), emergency medical services in Lebanon have reported 201 attacks over the past year, resulting in 151 deaths.

At least 212 people have been wounded in the violence, which “is hindering the rescue and relief efforts, and ultimately contributing to high death rates”, the WHO said.

In Israel, 72 people have been reported killed in Hezbollah attacks since October last year. The number includes at least 30 Israeli soldiers killed in fighting with the Lebanese armed group. More than 60,000 people have been displaced from their homes in northern Israel.

A cessation in the fighting appears to be a long way off amid the rising number of deaths and destruction of Lebanese infrastructure and civilian property.

On Friday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati accused Israel of blocking any progress in the negotiations towards a ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Source Al-Jaziira 

Tuesday, 5, Nov,2024 {HMC} The head of Myanmar’s military government has embarked on his first visit to China since seizing power in 2021.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing departed on Tuesday morning, according to state-run MRTV television. The visit will involve several regional meetings in a country regarded as Naypyidaw’s most important international ally.

Min Aung Hlaing led a coup in February 2021 that took power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party.

However, his government has suffered recent setbacks on the battlefield as rebel fighters and armed ethnic minority groups fight against military rule, especially in areas near the Chinese border.

China is a major ally and arms supplier to the military government, but analysts say Beijing also maintains ties with ethnic armed groups which hold territory along its border.

A statement from the Myanmar government said Min Aung Hlaing “will meet and discuss with government officials of the People’s Republic of China on the friendship between the governments and people of the two countries, to develop and strengthen economic and multi-sectoral cooperation”.

China is a major arms supplier and also Myanmar’s biggest trading partner. It has invested billions of dollars in its mines, oil and gas pipelines, and other infrastructure.

However, while the Myanmar leader is embarking on his first trip to the country, he has visited Russia, another key ally, several times since the coup, including meeting with President Vladimir Putin in 2022.

Source Al-Jaziira 

Tuesday, 5, Nov,2024 {HMC} Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, has announced plans to relocate the Ethiopian Embassy, currently situated within the presidential compound, to a different location.

In a statement to the media on November 4, Minister Fiqi explained, “The decision was made following public protests over the presence of a foreign embassy within the President’s compound.” He acknowledged the widespread discontent, stating, “The Somali people’s concerns about the embassy’s location are valid. We will promptly take action to move it to a new site outside the presidential palace.”

The minister elaborated, “The previous location of the Ethiopian Embassy currently serves no beneficial purpose. We will renovate that area and relocate the embassy there.”

Should this relocation not proceed as planned, Minister Fiqi suggested a reciprocal move: “We will request that the Somali Embassy in Addis Ababa be granted space within the Ethiopian President’s compound.”

This decision is reported to have the approval of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s administration and follows the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which some sources indicate may underscore growing tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia.

The situation follows an incident a week prior involving Ali Mohammad Adam, a consultant at the Ethiopian Embassy, who was reportedly found engaged in activities breaching diplomatic protocol. Minister Fiqi ordered his departure from the country within 72 hours.

Source Hiiraan Online

Tuesday, 5, Nov,2024 {HMC} Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Monday appointed a state minister for the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and a deputy Minister for the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education, following the recent resignation of the previous ministers.

Ahmed Nor Sheikh Mohamed Loxox has been appointed as the state minister for Planning, while Abdirashid Mohamed Du’ale takes on the role of Deputy Minister of Education.

The appointments come a day after the former ministers resigned, citing concerns over alleged federal government discrimination against the Jubbaland, Puntland, and SSC Khatumo administrations.

The resigning officials, both from Jubbaland State, rejected what they described as a confrontational stance by the federal government toward certain the three administrations.

The dispute has intensified due to disagreements over the election process, with Jubbaland and Puntland continuing to boycott recent National Consultative Council meetings held in Mogadishu

Source Hiiraan Online