ISRAEL
Aid resumes under pressure
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday acknowledged that his decision to resume aid to Gaza came from pressure from allies. In a video statement posted to social media, Netanyahu said that Israel’s allies had voiced concern about “images of hunger.” Israel’s “greatest friends in the world,” had said there is “one thing we cannot stand. We cannot accept images of hunger, mass hunger. We cannot stand that. We will not be able to support you,” he said, without mentioning specific nationalities. “Therefore to achieve victory, we need to somehow solve the problem,” he said. The aid that would be let in would be “minimal,” he said without specifying precisely when it would resume. The weekslong halt on aid deepened as already dire humanitarian crisis and prompted warnings of famine from food experts.
INDONESIA
Landslide kills six people
Torrential rains yesterday forced a halt to the search for 14 missing people in Papua after a landslide killed six workers at a gold mine and injured four, officials said. The rains had triggered Friday’s landslide, which hit a small mine run by residents of the Arfak mountains of West Papua province, National Authority for Disaster Management spokesman Abdul Muhari said, adding that the search is to resume today. The search effort was hampered by “damaged roads and mountainous tracks as well as bad weather,” said Yefri Sabaruddin, head of a team of 40 rescuers, including police and military officials, who retrieved five bodies. Yesterday’s tally was updated from an earlier figure of one dead and 19 missing.
NEPAL
Two foreign climbers die
An Indian climber and another from Romania died on Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth-tallest peak, hiking officials said yesterday, taking the season’s death toll to at least eight. Rakesh Kumar, 39, of India died on Sunday while descending from the 8,516m mountain’s summit, said Mohan Lamsal of Makalu Adventure, the local company that organized his climb. “He was coming down from the 8,000m-high fourth camp when he suddenly collapsed,” Lamsal said. “Efforts to revive him by his Sherpa guide failed.” Romanian Barna Zsolt Vago, 48, died the same day when he was going up to the Lhotse peak, Rajan Bhattarai of his Himalayan Guides company said. Further details of the incidents were not available. At least eight people have died on the Himalayas in Nepal, including two on Mount Everest during the current climbing season that ends this month.
INDONESIA
Twin-peaked volcano erupts
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the island of Flores erupted shortly after midnight yesterday, sending an ash cloud 1.2km above its peak. The volcano erupted once more at 9:36am, the volcanology agency reported. The latest rumblings follow authorities on Sunday evening raising the alert level of the 1,584m twin-peaked volcano to the highest in the nation’s four-tiered system. “Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s activities are still high,” geological agency head Muhammad Wafid said on Sunday. “The potential for a larger eruption than before can occur,” he said in a statement. Wafid urged residents to wear masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash, while telling people not to carry out any activities at least six kilometres from the crater. The volcano in November last year erupted multiple times, killing nine people, canceling scores of international flights to Bali and forcing the evacuation of thousands.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
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