Headline
Israel-Hamas: US, UK, India Evacuate Citizens, Deaths Hit 2,700
…12 UN workers, 13 French Citizens killed
The United States, the United Kingdom, India and France are working to evacuate their citizens from Israel following the attacks by Hamas.
CNN reports that India’s charter flight scheduled to land in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening will collect approximately 230 Indian nationals. This was disclosed by a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, at a news conference on Thursday. The flight will “likely” return to India on Friday morning.
Nepal’s foreign ministry has so far evacuated 253 Nepali students who were in Israel, saying on X, formerly Twitter, that a flight carrying the students took off from Tel Aviv on Thursday.
Ten Nepali agriculture students were killed when Hamas attacked a kibbutz in southern Israel, Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel Kanta Rizal told CNN. Three students were injured in the attack and are recovering in a hospital, while one student remains missing, the ambassador added.
A plane carrying 110 Colombian nationals has also left Tel Aviv, according to the country’s foreign ministry on Thursday.
READ ALSO: Israel-Hamas War: US Secretary Of State Blinken Arrives In Jordan
12 UN workers killed
At least 12 people working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency have been killed in Gaza since Saturday, a spokesperson for the UN’s secretary-general said on Thursday, as the humanitarian crisis there deepens.
CNN reports that all 12 of the UN workers killed were Palestinians, according to the spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, who disclosed this while speaking to reporters in New York on Thursday.
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in Gaza following the war. Dujarric said mass displacement continues to rise across the Gaza Strip as Israel pounds the territory with airstrikes, climbing 30 per cent over the last 24 hours to reach more than 338,000. Of that figure, two-thirds are taking shelter in 92 schools run by the UNRWA.
Death toll hits 2, 700
According to Al Jazeera, the death toll in Gaza now stands at 1,417 people, while the number of people killed in Israel has reached 1,300.
Also, the Israeli army has bombarded the Gaza Strip with approximately 6,000 bombs containing 4,000 tonnes of explosives since Saturday’s Hamas attack, according to Al Jazeera.
READ ALSO: Israeli Airstrikes Kill 558 People In Gaza
Israel has said there would be no humanitarian exceptions to its siege of the Gaza Strip until Hamas frees all the hostages captured on Saturday.
Israeli minister had said there will be no electricity, fuel or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas releases all captives taken in an unprecedented attack.
Officials in Gaza stated that the health system’s collapse has “truly begun” amid Israel’s heavy bombardment and “complete blockade”.
Meanwhile, the White House in the United States said Thursday it was working to organise charter flights to help US citizens leave Israel as the country reels from the massive attack by Hamas.
The number of Americans who have died after the Hamas terror attack in Israel now stands at 27, according to the White House.
READ ALSO: Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians In West Bank Raid
Meanwhile, 14 Americans are missing, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Thursday during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington.
The US State Department had noted that the known death toll of US citizens in the violence had risen to “at least 22.”
“Beginning tomorrow (today), the United States government will arrange charter flights to provide transportation from Israel to sites in Europe,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
According to France 24, Kirby added that officials were “still working through some of the details”.
UK evacuates nationals
The United Kingdom said it was set to fly British nationals out of Israel, with the first flight set to leave Tel Aviv later on Thursday, according to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
The UK government “will facilitate commercial flights to the UK to help British nationals wanting to leave Israel following the Hamas attack, the Foreign Secretary has announced,” the FCDO said in a news release according to CNN.
READ ALSO: Israel-Gaza War: Death Toll Rises Above 1,000 As Fighting Intensifies
Vulnerable British nationals “will be prioritised for these flights,” the FCDO added, advising that eligible people wait to be contacted and not make their way to the airport unless they are called.
A Rapid Deployment Team has also been sent to Israel to bolster the efforts of British consular officials, the FCDO said.
13 French citizens killed
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday vowed that France would do everything to ensure the release of the dozens of hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas after its attack on Israel.
“I want to say that we will do everything to ensure that these hostages, whatever their nationality, are released,” he said in an address to the nation, adding that France would work to this end both with “our partners” and the Israeli authorities, AFP reported.
The French president said that at least 13 French citizens were confirmed to have been killed in the attack by Hamas but 17 more “children and adults” were missing and “without doubt, some of them are held, hostage”.
“France will never abandon its children,” he said. Around 150 people are believed to be held hostage by Hamas.
Headline
Over 400 Earthquakes Rattle Japanese Island Chain
A remote island chain in southern Japan has been rattled by more than 470 earthquakes since Saturday, the national weather agency said on Thursday, calling for residents to stay alert.
No major damage has been reported from the series of quakes with a strength of at least one — slightly perceptible to people seated quietly indoors — on Japan’s seven-point seismic intensity scale.
As of Thursday morning, 474 such earthquakes had been observed around the Tokara island chain, south of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
“Seismic activity has increased. As this region has experienced extended periods of earthquake activity in the past, please be vigilant against earthquakes that cause strong shaking,” it said in a statement.
READ ALSO:
The largest tremors recorded since Saturday were two magnitude-5.1 quakes, one on Sunday and one on Tuesday.
They had a seismic intensity of four on the Japanese scale — described as an earthquake in which “most people are startled”, dishes rattle and “hanging objects such as lamps swing significantly”.
A similar period of seismic activity in the Tokara area was seen in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded within 15 days, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total.
READ ALSO:Japan Plane Turns Back After Man Bites Cabin Attendant
The islands, some of which have active volcanoes, are reached by a ferry that runs twice weekly in good weather.
“An earthquake of up to magnitude-6 strength could take place, so please be vigilant,” Hisayoshi Yokose, a marine volcanology specialist and associate professor at Kumamoto University, told NHK.
Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for around 18 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
READ ALSO:2023: UK, Japan, Others Urge Parties To Accept Election Results
The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they strike.
On New Year’s Day 2024, more than 400 people died after a massive earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan, including “quake-linked” deaths as well as those killed directly in the disaster.
The January 1 quake and its aftershocks toppled buildings, caused fires and knocked out infrastructure at a time when families were celebrating the new year.
AFP
Headline
Trade Volume Between Vietnam, Nigeria Surpasses $1bn – Envoy
The Vietnamese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Bui Quoc Hung, said trade between Vietnam and Nigeria reached an all-time high of 1 billion dollars in 2024, making it the first time the trade volume between the two countries exceeded 600 million dollars.
Bui stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
He expressed enthusiasm at the historical increase in trade volume, saying, “It’s a very remarkable achievement because, in the past, our trade volume typically ranged between 500 and 600 million dollars and last year, for the first time, it reached one billion dollars.”
The envoy noted the positive relationship enjoyed between Vietnam and Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, in various fields.
READ ALSO:Meet Nigerian-British Florence Eshalomi, New UK Trade Envoy To Nigeria
He highlighted areas of trade, indicating that Vietnam exports electronic products, garments, and textiles to Nigeria while importing raw materials, particularly cashew nuts.
Bui acknowledged the enormous opportunities for agricultural cooperation between the two countries, saying that Nigeria’s ongoing challenges with food security and Vietnam’s strengths in agricultural development could work for the mutual benefit of both countries.
“The opportunity for agri-cooperation is huge between our two countries.
READ ALSO:FG Spent N14bn On 16 Foreign Missions Without Envoys — Report
“Vietnam has a strong economy, particularly in agriculture, which can significantly contributes to addressing Nigeria’s food security challenges,” he said.
The ambassador underscored the importance of fostering cultural exchange between the two countries.
“We need to have more exchanges of delegations and programmes between our specific artist groups or delegations from various countries and in different fields, particularly concerning art and culture,” he added.
He affirmed that the two countries would celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and emphasized the need to capitalize on such momentum to further strengthen cooperation.
Headline
Popular American Actor, Joe Marinelli Dies Of Stomach Cancer
Joe Marinelli, popular American actor, known for his roles in ‘The Morning Show’ and other television series, is dead.
Joe Marinelli reportedly died last Sunday at age 68 after a long battle with throat and stomach cancer.
The actor’s wife, Jean Marinelli, confirmed his passage to The Hollywood Reporter.
READ ALSO:American Actor, Jonathan Majors, Found Guilty Of Assault On Ex-girlfriend
Reacting to his death, the actor’s colleague, Mark Duplass who worked with the deceased on ‘The Morning Show’, said.
“We have lost a great one. Joe Marinelli lived in the rare air.
“He was a generous performer, beautiful human, wide-eyed positivist. I will miss him dearly. I will try to live my life a bit more like his. We all should”.
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