Oct 18,2023: The United Nations Security Council will now vote on Wednesday on a Brazilian-drafted resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.
The council is then expected to discuss – at the request of the United Arab Emirates and Russia – a Gaza hospital blast that killed hundreds of people on Tuesday, diplomats said.
Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour blamed Israeli forces for the “massacre” at the hospital, calling for an immediate ceasefire. Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan issued a statement accusing the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group of responsibility.
Islamic Jihad has denied the allegations. Reuters could not independently verify who was responsible for the blast.
The 15-member council had initially been due to vote Monday on the Brazilian draft, but it was postponed 24 hours to allow more time to negotiate. The United States then pushed for a further delay as President Joe Biden visits Israel on Wednesday.
It was unclear if the United States, a veto-power who traditionally shields its ally Israel from any Security Council action, would allow the resolution to pass. The draft text also urges Israel – without naming it – to rescind its order for Gaza civilians to move to the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Israel last week ordered some 1.1 million people in Gaza – almost half the population – to move south as it prepares for a ground offensive in retaliation for the worst Hamas attack on civilians in Israel’s 75-year-old history.
The Brazilian draft is essentially a more detailed version of a Russian text that failed to pass in a vote on Monday, except it specifically condemns “the terrorist attacks by Hamas”. Instead of calling for a ceasefire, it calls for humanitarian pauses in the conflict to allow aid access to Gaza.
Israel has put Gaza under a total siege and subjected it the most intense bombardment ever. It has vowed to annihilate Hamas after it killed 1,300 people and seized hostages in an October 7 attack on Israel. Some 3,000 Palestinians have been killed.
United Nations, Oct 18,2023: Marking six months since fighting began in Sudan on April 15, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday almost 4,000 people were killed and thousands of others injured.
UN humanitarians said the fighting also sent hundreds of thousands of people into neighboring South Sudan and Chad.
Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that the majority of the casualties between April 15 and August are believed to have been targeted mainly due to their ethnicity, particularly in West Darfur.
Dujarric said at least 29 cities, towns and villages were looted and razed across Darfur.
“UNHCR and partners provided displaced families in North and West Darfur with core relief items,” he said. “And of course, the agency, and all of us at the UN, continue to call on the parties to the conflict to guarantee the protection of civilians, including refugees and internally displaced human beings, and to ensure safe passage of humanitarian assistance wherever it’s needed.”
The fighting erupted first in the capital, Khartoum, between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the previously allied Rapid Support Forces and spread throughout the country.
The violence sent thousands fleeing to safer locations within Sudan and neighboring nations.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported thousands of people continue to arrive daily in South Sudan. As of Friday, 310,000 people crossed the border into South Sudan, most of them returning South Sudanese refugees. The number also included Sudanese refugees and third-country nationals.
The humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, Marie-Helene Verney, warns that as the weeks go by, people are arriving with fewer and fewer resources and in an increasingly poor state of health. Malnutrition is also rising among new arrivals as conditions in Sudan deteriorate further.
The International Organization for Migration and its partners helped 150,000 people reach their final destinations. South Sudan also transported thousands of people while many others found their own way.
The humanitarians said additional funding is needed to provide life-saving nutrition services to thousands of children arriving from Sudan. There is also an urgent need to provide adequate space in overcrowded transit centers to reduce the risks of disease outbreaks and gender-based violence.
“South Sudan continues to face overlapping crises, including floods, conflict and food insecurity,” OCHA said. “Some 9.4 million people – 76 percent of the population – need humanitarian assistance. The 1.7 billion U.S. dollar Humanitarian Response Plan for South Sudan is just more than half funded.”
The spokesman said on Monday that Violette Kakyomya, the humanitarian coordinator in Sudan’s neighbor to the west, Chad, reported the conflict triggered a refugee rush, initiating multiple humanitarian crises.
Speaking in Geneva, she said most of the nearly 490,000 refugees crossing the border into eastern Chad to seek safety and protection are mostly women and children.
The influx brought the total number of refugees living in Chad to one million, Dujarric said, meaning that one in 17 people who live in Chad is a refugee.
He said the conflict in Sudan also affects Chad’s supply chain, with the region’s prices of basic food commodities more than doubled. Food insecurity and malnutrition affect 5.7 million people.
” Kakyomya underlined the extreme generosity of the people in Chad who continue to welcome refugees and call for support to ensure a sustained humanitarian support as 7 million Chadians – out of 18 million – need humanitarian assistance this year,” Dujarric said.
The 921 million U.S. dollar Humanitarian Response Plan for Chad is a little more than 25 percent funded.
Jerusalem, Oct 18,2023: Hundreds of people were killed in an airstrike on the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital in the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday.
Gaza’s health ministry said the airstrike was carried out by Israel while the Israeli military said the Islamic Jihad organization is responsible for the “failed shooting” that targeted Israel.
“According to intelligence information from a number of sources we have, Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is responsible for the failed rocket launch that hit the hospital,” said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a statement posted on social media X.
Several Arab and regional countries including Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, Jordan and Türkiye have condemned Israel over the airstrikes.
After the attack, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas canceled his participation in a four-way summit to be held in Amman, the capital of Jordan on Wednesday and returned to Ramallah. He was expected to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, and U.S. President Joe Biden at the summit.
Biden is expected to arrive in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ceremonial President Isaac Herzog before heading to Jordan to attend the quartet summit. Biden’s schedule also includes a meeting with Israel’s new wartime Cabinet, according to state-owned Kan TV news.
The Israeli military was in preparations for continuing the fight against the Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), following the rampage by Hamas militants in Israel on Oct. 7.
“We are preparing for the next stages of war,” Richard Hecht, a spokesman for the Israeli army, told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday. “We haven’t disclosed what they will be. Everyone is discussing the possibility of a ground offensive, but it might be something different.”
Meanwhile, Netanyahu toured southern Israel and warned that “the battle (in Gaza) will be carried out with mighty force in the next few days.”
Fresh clashes broke out along the Israeli-Lebanese border on Tuesday. The Israeli military stated that observation troops noticed “a squad attempting to infiltrate the security border fence and plant an explosive device.” At least four of them were killed, the military said. An Israeli attack also targeted “a military infrastructure of Hezbollah” in response to fire directed at Israel on Monday.
Later, an anti-tank missile from Lebanon was launched toward the town of Metula on the Israeli side of the border, triggering Israeli tank strikes in response.
“If Hezbollah makes the mistake of attacking Israel, it will be destroyed,” Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi warned during a tour in the Northern Command.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Israel on Tuesday to show solidarity with Israel, saying in a statement alongside Netanyahu that he was on “a visit to friends in difficult times.”
The total number of fatalities in Gaza has reached at least 3,000 in the 11-day ongoing war, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The death toll in Israel remains at about 1,300, with most of them killed on Oct. 7 in the Hamas surprise attacks on southern communities.
Gaza, Oct 17,2023: More than 3,000 people have been killed and 11,000 injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, and more than 1 million have fled their homes in the north of the enclave, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal said on Tuesday.
“There are many dead and wounded in Gaza now. According to the latest statistics, there are more than 3,000 dead people, 11,000 injured and thousands of homes destroyed in the Gaza Strip. More than a million people have fled their homes in the northern Gaza Strip,” the ambassador told the Solovyov Live media outlet.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel to declare a state of war the following day and launch retaliatory strikes. On Monday, Israel ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. Israel has reported over 1,000 deaths as a result of the hostilities.
Over the weekend, the Israeli military urged Gazans to evacuate the north of the enclave and head south, warning of imminent attacks on Hamas targets. Numerous international organizations and rights groups condemned the ultimatum, saying the mass displacement would have grave humanitarian consequences.
Hyderabad, Oct 17, 2023: In a resolute demonstration of upholding the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the 2023 Telangana State Legislative Assembly election, the Telangana police have confiscated an astonishing Rs 101 crores worth of assets, including cash, liquor, gold/silver, drugs, and freebies, within just eight days of MCC implementation.
According to a press release issued by the Police on Tuesday, the MCC came into effect on October 9, in preparation for the forthcoming Telangana Assembly Elections, which encompass 119 Assembly Constituencies and are scheduled for November 30.
With the initiation of the Model Code of Conduct, and in strict adherence to the guidelines set by the Election Commission of India, the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana led the police in establishing a comprehensive system that included (373) Flying Squads (FS), (374) Static Surveillance Teams (SST), (95) State Internal Border Check posts, and the deployment of mobile units consisting of local police.
This collective effort aimed to combat illicit transportation of money, such as cash and precious metals, liquor, freebies, and other prohibited items.
During this extensive enforcement operation, the police successfully seized the following items between October 9 and 17, spanning the entire Telangana State:
Ne cash of Rs 55,99,26,994, liquor worth of Rs 2,60,57,004, Ganja (1234 kgs), 0.3 Ltrs – Weed Oil, 0.13 MDMA, all worth Rs. 3,42,84,275, Gold (72.06 kgs) , Silver (429 kgs) and Diamond (42.25 carrot), all worth of Rs. 38,45,44,526, Other Freebies with an estimated worth of Rs. 70,04,500.
Total Seizure with an estimated worth of (Including Cash, Liquor, Precious metals, Drugs & Freebies) Rs. 101,18,17,299.
As many as 5529 licensed arms deposited, 3 un-licensed Arms seized, Explosives — 18 Gelatin sticks, five detonators & 6 cordtex wire bundles also seized during the period.
Total Bind over cases were 5252. 17,128 persons were bound over , 845 persons were bound down.
This remarkable enforcement effort showcases the commitment of the Telangana Police in ensuring fair and transparent elections in the state.
Gaza, Oct 16,2023: The number of Palestinian deaths has risen to 2,670, with more than 9,600 injuries reported, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.
Ashraf Al-Qudra, a spokesman of the ministry, said the Israeli attacks “continue with all brutality,” noting that the attacks have targeted residential neighborhoods and destroyed homes “on the heads of the residents.”
He added that rescue operations “are facing great difficulties” as a result of the massive destruction in residential neighborhoods and the roads leading to hospitals.
The Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns adjacent to the Gaza Strip a week ago, killing more than 1,300 people in Israel and prompting Israel to launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza.
Kampala, Oct 16,2023: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday warned of retaliatory terrorist attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels following the military air strikes on their camps in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Museveni said in a statement that the military fighter-bombers on Saturday carried out the second airstrike on ADF rebels’ hideouts at four different points on the western border of Bundibugyo-Semiliki side, which killed a number of ADF members.
The previous airstrike was carried out earlier this month.
“As a consequence, the terrorists (ADF) are running from Congo, which they thought was heaven, and re-entering Uganda and trying to commit some random terrorist acts,” said Museveni.
According to the military, a group of about five armed ADF rebels on Friday attacked a civilian’s trailer truck carrying onions in Uganda’s western district of Kasese, leaving two occupants dead.
“The public is, therefore, alerted to look out for strange people that come to your area,” said Museveni. “Report them to the police that are nearest to you. Even relatives who have been away for a long time and suddenly return. They may be part of the terrorists.”
Ugandan troops, together with their DRC counterparts, have been jointly fighting the rebel group since November 2022.
New Delhi, Oct 15,2023: Former chief Election Commissioner of India Manohar Singh Gill passed away on Sunday at a private hospital in South Delhi.
The Election Commission of India issued a statement expressing condolences on the demise of MS Gill who was 11th Chief Election Commissioner.
MS Gill was an officer of the 1958 batch of Indian Administrative Services Punjab cadre was CEC during the period from December 1996 to June 2001, Election Commission said in a statement.
During his tenure as CEC, ECI successfully conducted the General Elections and General Elections to Legislative Assemblies in more than 20 states, it said.
MS Gill was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in the year 2000 for his exceptional and distinguished services as a civil servant, it said.
Bhadohi (UP), Oct 13,2023: Even as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) is yet to decide the seat sharing formula, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Rai on Friday claimed Congress will contest all the 80 seats in the state on its own strength in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
On his way to Prayagraj from Varanasi, Rai said that Congress is preparing to contest the elections alone on all the 80 seats of the state. “With the strength of our energetic workers, we will get good results on every seat in the state. Whether the responsibility is small or big, we have fulfilled it, we are ready to face every challenge,” he said.
He said that Bhadohi district has always been a stronghold of Congress. “Many stalwarts have made the district famous in the entire country by winning elections from here,” he said.
Oct 12,2023: Egypt has discussed plans with the United States and others to provide humanitarian aid through its border with the Gaza Strip but rejects any move to set up safe corridors for refugees fleeing the enclave, according to Egyptian security sources.
Gaza, a coastal strip of land wedged between Israel in the north and east and Egypt to the southwest, is home to about 2.3 million people who have been living under a blockade since Palestinian armed group Hamas took control there in 2007.
Egypt has long restricted the flow of Gaza Palestinians onto its territory, even during the fiercest conflicts.
Cairo, a frequent mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, always insists the two sides resolve conflicts within their borders, saying this is the only way Palestinians can secure their right to statehood.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US had been holding consultations with Israel and Egypt about the idea of a safe passage for civilians from Gaza, which was hit by a massive Israeli assault in response to a deadly incursion by Hamas fighters into Israel.
Those consultations were continuing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
One of the Egyptian security sources, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters news agency that Egypt rejected the idea of safe corridors for civilians to protect “the right of Palestinians to hold on to their cause and their land”.
Right to return
Several Arab states still have camps for Palestinian refugees who are descendants of those who fled or left their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s 1948 creation.
The Palestinians and other Arab states have said a final peace deal needs to include the right of those refugees to return, a move Israel has always rejected.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that crucial life-saving supplies, including fuel, food and water, must be allowed into Gaza.
Oct 06,2023: “Jon Fosse presents everyday situations that are instantly recognisable in our own lives. His radical reduction of language and dramatic action expresses the most powerful human emotions of anxiety and powerlessness in the simplest terms. It is through laureate Jon Fosse’s ability to evoke man’s loss of orientation, and how this paradoxically can provide access to a deeper experience close to divinity, that he has come to be regarded as a major innovator in contemporary theatre, the Nobel Prize’s official handle posted on X.
Who is Jon Fosse?
Fosse writes in Norwegian Nynorsk, the least common of the two official versions of Norwegian. After winning the Nobel, he said he regarded the award as a recognition of this language and the movement promoting it, and that he ultimately owed the prize to the language itself, reported Reuters.
Born in 1959, Fosse first started writing novels, switching to plays in his 30s. He went on to become one of Norway’s most-performed dramatists, and is in fact counted among the most performed of living European dramatists. His work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Fosse has written around 40 plays, apart from novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry and essays.
His “A New Name: Septology VI-VII”, about two painters, both named Asle but with different lives and demons and preoccupations, was a finalist for the International Booker Prize last year.
Other notable works by Fosse include I Am the Wind, Melancholy, Boathouse, and The Dead Dogs.
His writing style, characterised by simple, minimal, searing dialogue, is considered similar to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, both of whom have won the Nobel earlier.
Fosse’s play ‘Nokon kjem til å komme’ (1996; ‘Someone Is Going to Come’, 2002) has specially been compared with Becket’s Waiting for Godot.
His themes explore the absurdity, the futility and yet the power of the human condition; everyday confusions and irresolutions; and the difficulty to form actual connections, despite — and sometimes because of — conversation.
Fosse was considered a hot favourite for the Nobel 10 years ago too. After he did not win that year, he told The Guardian in 2014, “Of course [I would like to win]. But the simple truth is that I was very pleased when the news came that it wasn’t me. Normally, they give it to very old writers, and there’s a wisdom to that – you receive it when it won’t affect your writing.”
Why not very popular in the English-speaking world?
While Fosse has been celebrated in Europe for a long time, he is not that popular in the United Kingdom or in the UK, and that has impacted his visibility in the rest of the English-speaking world, like in India.
It has been said that the UK and the US find his themes difficult to relate to, and his plays difficult to connect with. In 2014, in a review of his ‘I Am the Wind’, about two men stranded on a boat, The New York Times wrote, “…you can understand why his work might not appeal to the Anglo-Saxon sensibility, which has never been celebrated for its embrace of ambiguity. And red lights are sure to flash in the minds of certain theatergoers when they hear that the characters in “I Am the Wind” are identified as the One and the Other.”
In recent years, however, his popularity has increased in these geographies too.