Gaza, glimmer of hope for humanitarian aid entry at Rafah crossing
Today's news: Pakistan aims to repatriate all Iranian and Afghan nationals illegally present in its territory; Student shot by Hong Kong police in 2019 protests convicted in court; Japan cuts deficit by more than 75%; In Minsk Lukasenko negotiates with Tehran's top leadership to deliver assault drones; After the arrest of the first three, Aleksej Naval'nyj's fourth lawyer, Aleksandr Fedulov, leaves Russia.
ISRAEL - PALESTINE
US President Joe Biden has succeeded in securing the reopening of the Rafah crossing that connects Egypt to Gaza from Egyptian President Sisi. It had been open for three days but was inaccessible due to road problems and the Netanyahu government's desire no one to leave the Strip. 20 humanitarian aid trucks will enter the enclave, where people are short of food, water, fuel and other basic necessities. Biden did not provide a timeline, but US homeland security spokesman John Kirby believes it will happen in the next few days after road repairs are completed.
IRAN - BELARUS
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko received a visit in Minsk from Iranian First Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Mohber, who had already agreed with Moscow a year ago on the deliveries of Iranian weapons, surface-to-surface missiles and additional batches of assault drones.
PAKISTAN
Pakistan's acting information minister, Jan Achakzai, said illegal migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and other foreign individuals staying without proper documents in the country would be repatriated to their respective nations by November 1: “This is our final decision regarding the repatriation of all illegal foreign citizens - Achakzai said -. Our goal is to guarantee their return to their countries of origin by October 31st."
HONG KONG
Tsang Chi-kin, a 22-year-old student who was shot by Hong Kong police during anti-government protests in 2019, was jailed for three years and 11 months for rioting, assaulting an officer and perjury. The deputy district court judge on Wednesday told the defendant, who was 18 at the time of the protests, that the gunshot wound would not be a mitigating factor in his sentencing because the officer used "lawful force" after Tsang ignored repeated warnings.
INDIA
Hurting religious sentiments: this is the charge against Rahul Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress. The reason would be that he had given a dog named Noorie to his mother Sonia Gandhi. The complaint comes from Mohammad Farhan, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), who claims that the dog's name has hurt his religious feelings since the word "Noorie" is mentioned in the Quran.
JAPAN
Japan - the G8 country, together with Italy, with the highest debt to GDP ratio - reduced its deficit by 75.1% to 2.72 trillion yen (18 billion dollars) in the first half of 2023. , while imported energy costs have fallen after a surge amid Russia's war in Ukraine and the yen's collapse. Exports grew at a record level, despite the crisis with China triggered by the Fukushima radioactive water spill into the ocean.
CHINA
An innovative system of self-driving, artificial intelligence-based drones was presented in Beijing. They are designed to put out fires in the upper floors of skyscrapers, but also in remote forests. The drone is mounted on a fire brigade vehicle and operates with compressed air foam. Firefighters in Nyingchi, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, used these systems to put out a forest fire in an impervious canyon. The drones will remain experimental with the aim of coming into operation next year in cities and forested regions of China.
RUSSIA
Alexei Naval'nyj's fourth lawyer, Alexander Fedulov, left Russia after the arrest of the first three, announcing it on Instagram only after his arrival in a safe place. Meanwhile, Naval'nyj will be forced to attend the court sessions via video from the harsh prison where he is being held, without having been able to obtain a postponement of the trial, as the lawyers "did not make official requests and it was not possible to contact them" , the court wrote after the arrest of the lawyers.
15/07/2023