October 11, 2024

Daily News Brief

*) Israel attacks UN peacekeepers in Lebanon Global leaders have expressed outrage and called for accountability after Israel attacked the UN peacekeeper's headquarters in south Lebanon. The mission said at least two peacekeepers were wounded when an Israeli military’s Merkava tank directly hit an observation tower at its headquarters in Naqura. The UN peacekeepers have accused Israel of "repeatedly" hitting their positions deliberately. *) Israeli launches deadly strikes in occupied West Bank Meanwhile, Israeli drones have fired missiles that killed two Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank. According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the Jabal al Salihin area, east of Tulkarem. Israeli forces immediately stormed the area after the strike, retrieved the bodies of the men, and withdrew from the location. *) UN accuses Israel of destroying Gaza health care system A UN inquiry has found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza's health care system in its war on Gaza. This amounts to both war crimes and crimes against humanity. A statement by the ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accused Israel of "relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities" in its war on Gaza. According to the report that will be presented to the UN General Assembly on October 30, children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks. *) Mpox continues to be major health issue: African health body Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (ADC) has said mpox is still a major public health issue in Africa, A total of 3,186 new cases were reported in the past week, with 489 confirmed and 53 deaths. According to ADC, there is a need to accelerate several interventions, including vaccination, to stop the spread, amid surging cases. *) Unilever finally exits Russia, sells subsidiary British consumer goods giant Unilever has completed the sale of Unilever Russia, finally joining many other multinationals in exiting the country following the Ukraine war. Unilever said in a statement that it had offloaded the subsidiary to Arnest Group, a Russian manufacturer, for an undisclosed amount. Unilever said its business in Russia's close ally Belarus was included in the sale.