United News of Bangladesh

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Sunday he will travel to Iran in the coming days to hold talks regarding the country's nuclear program. The visit comes amid wider tensions gripping the Mideast over the Israel-Hamas war and uncertainty over how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will approach Iran after his inauguration in January. Specifically, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mariano Grossi, will have high level meetings with the Iranian government and will hold technical discussions on all aspects related to the joint statement agreed with Iran in March 2023. It is intended as a path forward for cooperation between the IAEA and Iran on how to expand inspections of the Islamic Republic’s rapidly advancing atomic program. The 2023 statement included a pledge by Iran to resolve issues around sites where inspectors have questions about possible undeclared nuclear activity, and to allow the IAEA to “implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities.” The meetings in Tehran will build on Grossi's discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, a statement by the IAEA said. “It is essential that we make substantive progress in the implementation of the joint statement agreed with Iran in March 2023," Grossi said. “My visit to Tehran will be very important in that regard.” Iran is rapidly advancing its atomic program and continues to increase its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels in defiance of international demands, according to recent reports by the IAEA. Grossi, has warned that Tehran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels to make “several” nuclear bombs if it chose to do so. He has acknowledged the U.N. agency cannot guarantee that none of Iran’s centrifuges may have been peeled away for clandestine enrichment. Iran’s 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers had put limits on its nuclear program — which the West fears could be used for making nuclear weapons although Tehran insists is only for peaceful purposes — while lifting punitive economic sanctions imposed on Iran. But the deal collapsed after the Trump administration in 2018 pulled the United States out of the agreement, leading Iran to abandon all limits the deal had put on its program and enrich uranium to up to 60% purity. That is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. By IAEA’s definition, around 42 kilograms (92.5 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60% is the amount at which creating one atomic weapon is theoretically possible. As Trump is to take office again in a few weeks, Iranians are divided on what his next presidency will bring. Some foresee an all-out war between Tehran and Washington, particularly as other conflicts rage in the region. Others hold out hope that America’s 47th president might engage in unexpected diplomacy as he did with North Korea.

King Charles III laid a wreath honoring fallen service personnel in central London on Sunday as the Princess of Wales looked on, in a further sign the royal family is slowly returning to normal at the end of a year in which two of the most popular royals were sidelined by cancer. Remembrance Sunday is a totemic event in the U.K., with the monarch leading senior royals, political leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his eight living predecessors, and envoys from the Commonwealth countries in laying wreaths at the Cenotaph, the Portland stone memorial that serves as the focal point for honoring the nation’s war dead. It is held on the second Sunday of November to mark the signing of the armistice to end World War I “on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918. After leading the nation in a two-minute silence, Charles, dressed in his Royal Navy uniform of the Admiral of the Fleet, laid a wreath of poppies at the base of the Cenotaph, honoring those who have died in conflicts since World War I. His eldest son and the heir to the throne, William, left his own floral tribute — featuring the Prince of Wales’ feathers and a new ribbon in Welsh red. Dressed in somber black, his wife, Kate, watched on from a balcony of the nearby Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, as is tradition. Queen Camilla, who would normally be standing next to the princess, was not present as she is recovering from a chest infection. It is the first time since the start of the year that Kate is carrying out two consecutive days of public official engagements. On Saturday, she attended the Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. Following the wreath-laying, around 10,000 veterans, including those who have fought in wars this century, notably in Afghanistan and Iraq, marched past the Cenotaph. With the passage of time, there were only a handful of World War II veterans present. Charles’ ceremonial role as commander in chief of the armed forces is a holdover from the days when the monarch led his troops into battle. But the link between the monarchy and the military is still very strong, with service members taking an oath of allegiance to the king and members of the royal family supporting service personnel through a variety of charities. Charles and William both served on active duty in the military before taking up full-time royal duties. “They are showing respect to us, as we’ve shown to them by serving,” said Victor Needham-Crofton, 91, an army veteran who served during the Suez Crisis of 1956 and later in Kenya. Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February, forcing him to step away from public appearances for two months as he focused on his treatment and recovery. Just a few weeks later, Kate announced her own cancer diagnosis, which sidelined her for much of the year as she underwent chemotherapy. The king has been in good form in recent months and recently completed a taxing trip to Australia and Samoa. Kate, who made her first post-diagnosis public appearance during the monarch's birthday parade in June, is slowly returning to public duties. Prince William reflected this week on the strain that the cancer scare has placed on the royal family. “I’m so proud of my wife, I’m proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done,” William told reporters on Thursday as he wrapped up a four-day trip to South Africa. “But from a personal family point of view, it’s been, yeah, it’s been brutal.” While the Cenotaph was the focus of the national remembrance service, communities throughout the U.K. held their own ceremonies on Sunday. Needham-Crofton, who served with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers before a truck accident ended his military career, planned to attend a local service in Eastbourne on the south coast of England. He has spent much of his time honoring veterans and trying to help them, including 20 years as a volunteer for the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans. Like some of his army tasks, raising cash was rather grueling as it involved standing in front of London subway stations collecting coins to help fund the group’s efforts. “I like to respect all the veterans and do what I can for them,’’ he told The Associated Press. “It’s a brotherhood really. Even if you don’t know a veteran that you meet, you feel a kinship toward them. That is very important to me. I shall be like that for the rest of my life.’’

The Taliban will attend a U.N. climate conference for the first time since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the country's national environment agency said Sunday.   The conference, known as COP29, begins Monday in Azerbaijan and is one of the most important multilateral talks to include the Taliban, who do not have official recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan.   The National Environmental Protection Agency posted on social media platform X that a technical delegation had gone to Baku to participate. Matiul Haq Khalis, the agency’s head, said the delegation would use the conference to strengthen cooperation with the international community on environmental protection and climate change, share Afghanistan’s needs regarding access to existing financial mechanisms related to climate change, and discuss adaptation and mitigation efforts.   Experts told The Associated Press that climate change has led to numerous and negative impacts on Afghanistan, creating serious challenges because of the country’s geographical location and weak climate policies. “ Climate change has resulted in higher temperatures, which reduce water sources and cause droughts, significantly affecting agricultural activities,” said Hayatullah Mashwani, professor of environmental science at Kabul University. “The reduction in water availability and frequent droughts pose severe threats to agriculture, leading to food insecurity and challenges to livelihoods.” In August, the international aid agency Save the Children published a report saying that Afghanistan is the sixth most vulnerable country to the impacts of climate change and that 25 of its 34 provinces face severe or catastrophic drought conditions, affecting more than half the population. Afghanistan also had the highest number of children made homeless by climate disasters of any country as of the end of 2023, according to the report. Professor Abid Arabzai, from Kabul University, said the climate conference would help to secure international assistance and funding to address Afghanistan’s climate challenges. “Afghanistan can clarify its climate actions and commitments to the global community, enhancing its international reputation,” said Arabzai.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP/UNB) — An Israeli strike early Sunday on a home sheltering displaced people in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people, according to the director of a nearby hospital that received the bodies. Dr. Fadel Naim, director of the Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, said the dead include nine women, and that the toll was likely to rise as rescue efforts continue. He said they were killed in a strike on a home in the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya, where Israel has been carrying out an offensive for over a month. The military said it targeted a site where militants were operating, without providing evidence. It said the details of the strike are under review. Separately, Lebanon’s Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed at least 20 people in the village of Aalmat — north of Beirut and far from the areas in the south and east where the Hezbollah militant group has a major presence. Israeli forces have encircled and largely isolated Jabaliya and the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun for the past month, allowing in only a trickle of humanitarian aid. Hundreds of people have been killed since the offensive began on Oct. 6, and tens of thousands of people have fled to nearby Gaza City. On Friday, experts from a panel that monitors food security said famine is imminent in the north or may already be happening. The growing desperation comes as the deadline approaches for an ultimatum the Biden administration gave Israel to raise the level of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on U.S. military funding. The northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, was the first target of Israel's ground invasion and has suffered the heaviest destruction of the 13-month-old war, which was triggered by Hamas' attack into southern Israel. As in other areas of Gaza, Israel has sent forces back in after repeated operations, saying Hamas has regrouped. The military says it only targets militants, whom it accuses of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters. Israeli strikes often kill women and children. The war began when Hamas-led militants blew holes in the border fence and stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. They killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead. Israel's offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who do not distinguish between civilians and militants in their count but say over half the fatalities were women and children. Israeli bombardment and ground invasions have left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in crowded tent camps with few if any public services and no idea of when they might return to their homes or rebuild. Cease-fire talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have repeatedly stalled since the start of the year. Qatar, which has served as a key mediator with Hamas, said over the weekend that it had suspended its efforts and would only resume them when “the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians.”

President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump for a traditional postelection meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said Saturday. Such a meeting is customary between the outgoing president and the incoming president, and is meant partly to mark the start of a peaceful transfer of power under America's democracy. But then-President Trump, a Republican, did not host Biden, a Democrat, for a sit-down after the 2020 election, when Trump lost his reelection bid. Trump sought the presidency again four years later, and on Tuesday he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. Trump is the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. The White House said Biden called Trump this past Wednesday to congratulate him and invite him to meet in the Oval Office. Their meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. In a speech Thursday, Biden said he had assured Trump “that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That’s what the American people deserve.” Asked about Trump as he left church Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he was spending the weekend, Biden said, “I'm going to see him on Wednesday.”

Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in the eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the regional president in charge of the emergency response to last week’s catastrophic floods that left more than 200 dead and others missing. A group of protestors clashed with riot police in front of Valencia's city hall, where the protestors started their march to the seat of the regional government. Police used batons to beat them back. Regional leader Carlos Mazón is under immense pressure after his administration failed to issue flood alerts to citizens’ cellphones until hours after the flooding started on the night of Oct. 29. Many marchers held up homemade signs or chanted “Mazón Resign!” Others carried signs with messages like “You Killed Us!” Upon arrival at the regional government seat, some protesters slung mud on the building and left handprints of the muck on its facade. Earlier on Saturday, Mazón told regional broadcaster À Punt that “there will be time to hold officials accountable,” but that now “is time to keep cleaning our streets, helping people and rebuilding.” He said that he “respected” the march. Mazón, of the conservative Popular Party, is also being criticized for what people perceive as the slow and chaotic response to the natural disaster. Thousands of volunteers were the first boots on the ground in many of the hardest hit areas on Valencia’s southern outskirts. It took days for officials to mobilize the thousands of police reinforcements and soldiers that the regional government asked central authorities to send in. In Spain, regional governments are charged with handling civil protection and can ask the national government in Madrid, led by the Socialists, for extra resources. Mazón has defended his handling of the crisis saying that its magnitude was unforeseeable and that his administration didn’t receive sufficient warnings from central authorities. But Spain’s weather agency issued a red alert, the highest level of warning, for bad weather as early as 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning as the disaster loomed. Some communities were flooded by 6 p.m. It took until after 8 p.m. for Mazón’s administration to send out alerts to people’s cellphones. Mazón was with Spain’s royals and Socialist prime minister when they were pelted with mud by enraged residents during their first visit to a devastated area last weekend. Sara Sánchez Gurillo attended the protest because she had lost her brother-in-law, 62-year-old Candido Molina Pulgarín. She said his body was found in a field of orange trees after he was trapped by the water in his home in the town of Cheste, west of Valencia. She wanted Mazón to go, but also had harsh words for the country's leaders. “It’s shameful what has happened,” Sánchez said. “They knew that the sky was going to fall and yet they didn’t warn anyone. They didn’t evacuate the people. We want them to resign!” “The central government should have taken charge. They should have sent in the army earlier. The king should have made them send it in. Why do we want him as a symbolic figure? He is worthless. The people are alone. They have abandoned us.” The death toll stood at 220 victims on Saturday, with 212 coming in the eastern Valencia region, as the search for bodies goes on. Thousands more lost their homes and streets are still covered in mud and debris 11 days since the arrival of a tsunami-like wave following a record deluge.

 While inflation and immigration emerged as the dominant themes in this year's presidential race, another issue was prominent in the minds of voters for both major candidates: the stakes for democracy. Half of voters identified democracy as the single most important motivating factor for their vote. That was higher than the share of voters who answered the same way about inflation, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, abortion policy or free speech, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. Notably, backers of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, the president-elect, saw the issue from different perspectives. About two-thirds of Harris voters said the future of democracy was the most important factor for their votes. No other topic — high prices, abortion policy, free speech or the potential of the first woman to be elected as president — was as big a factor for her supporters. Harris especially leaned into this messaging toward the end of her campaign: She said Trump was a threat to undermine the country's founding ideals and she called him a fascist. The sentiment was supported by former members of the first Trump administration who warned about his fitness for office. Trump refused the peaceful transfer of power while lying about his loss in the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. And on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump also directed a mob of his supporters to the Capitol after telling them to “fight like hell.” Audrey Wesley, 90, of Minneapolis cited Trump’s legal cases and his disregard for the law as one of the reasons she supported Harris. “Our system is broken,” she said. Wesley said one of the things that troubled her most was Project 2025, a detailed conservative blueprint for the next Republican administration. Trump has said he had not read the report, even though many members of his first administration had a hand in creating it. "That’s very scary as to what he wants to do,” Wesley said. The idea that democracy is under attack also motivated Trump voters, but in starkly different ways. About one-third of his supporters said democracy was the most important factor for their vote. A further breakdown of the survey found that 9 in 10 Harris voters who indicated democracy was the single most important factor in their vote were somewhat or very concerned that electing Trump would bring the country closer to authoritarianism. About 8 in 10 Trump voters felt electing Harris would bring the country closer to authoritarianism. “Democracy voters” who supported Harris and Trump were equally concerned that the opposing candidate's views were too extreme. The findings followed a consistent pattern in recent surveys by AP VoteCast and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. While democracy's future has been one of the few crossover concerns among a fractured electorate, people have differed on why they are worried about it and who is responsible for the threat. Debbie Dooley, 66, and a co-founder of the tea party movement, had several important factors in her voting decision, all leading to concern over what would happen to the country under another Democratic administration. “I think it was Thomas Jefferson who said when people fear their government, there is tyranny,” she said. “We had tyranny under the Biden-Harris machine.” Dooley, a longtime Trump supporter, cited the nation's “open border” and concerns by many conservatives about crimes caused by migrants who had circumvented the law. The resident of Cumming, Georgia, also agreed with Trump's contention that the Biden administration had unleashed the Department of Justice on political adversaries. “That’s something they do in Russia. That’s something they would do in China, not the United States, not here in the beacon of freedom for the world,” Dooley said. Republicans have held congressional hearings for nearly two years but have provided little substance to the claim that Biden has “weaponized” the department. Like many other conservatives, Dooley also felt social media companies had silenced their voices, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. ”Thank God for Elon Musk," she said. "Twitter or X is a totally different place now than it was before he took over, so we have First Amendment rights. It's free speech.” The survey found that nearly all “democracy voters” who supported Trump said freedom of speech was at least a factor in their vote. It was a less prominent issue for Trump voters who said democracy was a minor factor or not at a factor in their choice. Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College, said the opposing views about which side posed a threat to democracy are understandable because both campaigns had spoken about the other in those terms. And because democracy is an abstract issue, what constitutes a threat can vary. “Harris talked a lot about democracy, and the Democratic coalition talked a lot about the threats to democracy,” he said. “So it's not surprising that many Democrats correctly perceived Trump as a threat and name it as one of the most important issues.” The fact that Republicans echoed the claim against Harris would seem unusual, but one of Trump’s political strategies is to appropriate an attack against him and turn it around against his opponent. Nyhan said Trump did that successfully with the democracy argument. Border protection, for example, could mean one thing to a Harris backer and something quite different to a Trump voter who might support the idea of the great replacement conspiracy theory — the notion that the influence of whites is being diminished through illegal immigration. In her concession speech at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, Harris alluded to the importance of accepting election results even in a loss and peacefully transferring power, which Trump has conditioned on whether he would view the election outcome as fair. “That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny,” Harris said. Leah Wright Rigueur, a history professor at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said the processes of democracy as expressed through the presidential vote won, for now. “The 2024 presidential election was fundamentally, as far as I understand, an example of democracy in action. Trump won the Electoral College. Trump won the popular votes," she said. The question is whether the country would be as peaceful if the outcome were different and how does the nation close that fissure in the future when a “very vocal cross section” of the American public sees democracy working only “when my side wins, but tyranny when your side wins?”

Qatar has suspended its key mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, it said Saturday, after growing frustration with the lack of progress on a cease-fire deal for Gaza. It wasn't immediately clear whether the remaining Hamas leadership hosted by Qatar must leave, or where it would go. Hamas has good relations with Iran and Turkey, and some of its leaders are now in Lebanon. However, Qatar is highly likely to return to mediation efforts if both sides show “serious political willingness” to reach a deal, according to an official with Egypt, the other key mediator. Qatar told Israel and Hamas it can't continue to mediate “as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith” and "as a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose” in Qatar, a diplomatic source briefed on the matter said. Qatar told Hamas it will have to leave if it isn't ready to engage in serious negotiations, the source said. In Washington, a U.S. official said the Biden administration informed Qatar two weeks ago that the Hamas office's continued operation in Doha was no longer useful and the Hamas delegation should be expelled. A senior U.S. official said that after Hamas rejected the last proposal for a cease-fire, Qatar accepted the advice and informed the Hamas delegation of the decision 10 days ago. A senior Hamas official said they were aware of Qatar’s decision to suspend mediation efforts, “but no one told us to leave.” Hamas has repeatedly called for an end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza as a condition for any cease-fire deal. Israel seeks the return of all hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and insists on a presence in Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The Israeli prime minister’s office had no comment. Late Saturday, the state-run Qatar News Agency published comments attributed to Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, confirming that Doha informed parties in the talks 10 days ago that it “would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round.” “Qatar will resume those efforts with its partners when the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians," the report said. There continued to be no end in sight to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, where Israel’s military said it struck command centers and other militant infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs and elsewhere. An Israeli airstrike on the southern port city of Tyre late Friday killed at least seven, officials and a resident said. Hezbollah “should continue (the fight) and we will continue to back them up even if we lose our families, our homes, and end up in the dirt,” said one Beirut resident, Mohammed Mekdad, as people searched the smoking rubble. In Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people on Saturday, Palestinian medical officials said, while Israel announced the first delivery of humanitarian aid in weeks to the territory's hungry, devastated north. One strike hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City’s eastern Tufah neighborhood, killing at least six people, the territory's Health Ministry said. Two local journalists, a pregnant woman and a child were among the dead, it said. Israel's army said the strike targeted a militant belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, offering no evidence. Another Israeli strike killed seven people, including two women and a child in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital. Israel's army didn't respond to a request for comment. And an Israeli strike hit tents in the courtyard of central Gaza’s main hospital, killing at least three people and wounding a local journalist, Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah said. It was the eighth Israeli attack on the compound since March. Israel says aid trucks reach northern Gaza The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, said 11 aid trucks containing food, water and medical equipment reached the enclave's far north on Thursday. It's the first time any aid has reached there since Israel began a new military campaign last month. But not all the aid reached the agreed drop-off points, according to the the U.N. World Food Program. In the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya, Israeli troops stopped one convoy bound for nearby Beit Lahiya and ordered the supplies to be offloaded, WFP spokesperson Alia Zaki said. Israel’s offensive has focused on Jabaliya, where Israel says Hamas had regrouped. Other areas affected include Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun just north of Gaza City. U.S. deadline is looming for Israel The aid announcement came days before a U.S. deadline demanding that Israel improve aid deliveries across Gaza or risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding. The U.S. says Israel must allow a minimum of 350 trucks a day carrying food and other supplies. A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, issued Thursday said there's a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza, the territory's most isolated area. COGAT rejected those findings and said the report relied “on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests.” No emergency services functioning north of Gaza City The U.N. estimates that tens of thousands of people remain in northern Gaza. Earlier this week, the Health Ministry said there were no ambulances or emergency crews operating north of Gaza City. The conflict has left 90% of Palestinians in Gaza displaced, according to U.N. figures. More than a year of war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They don't distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children. The war began after Palestinian militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third believed to be dead. “It has been 400 days and the hostages are still in Gaza. There is a war without a direction. It’s so sad,” said Eial Tiskim, who attended the latest protest in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand a cease-fire deal.

Geneva, Nov 9  (Xinhua/UNB) -- The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported that about 70 percent of the casualties in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 have been women and children. Highlighting the severe humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and other areas, the OHCHR report on Friday confirmed that, as of Sept. 2, 2024, it had verified the identities of 8,119 Palestinians killed in Gaza, including 2,036 women and 3,588 children, who together account for approximately 70 percent of the total fatalities. The report condemns the brutal targeting of civilians in Gaza and the severe breaches of international law, noting that many of these acts may qualify as war crimes. It emphasizes that if these acts are part of a large-scale or systematic attack against civilians tied to state or organizational policy, they could amount to crimes against humanity. Furthermore, the report warns that if the intent of these acts is to partially or entirely destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, they may constitute genocide. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated in the report that the International Court of Justice has repeatedly stressed Israel's international obligation to prevent and punish acts of genocide, urging Israel to fulfill these obligations fully and immediately. He noted that this is especially urgent in light of the recent military operations in northern Gaza and Israeli legislation affecting the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Israel has yet to respond to the report's findings. The report also condemns violent actions by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups targeting Israeli and foreign civilians. It calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and a focused effort to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

The death toll from a powerful bombing at a Quetta rail station in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday rose to 17, officials said. The attack also left 30 others wounded, some critically. A bomb exploded when passengers were waiting for a train to travel to the garrison city of Rawalpindi from Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province, said Mohammad Baloch, a senior police officer. A separatist group, the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed the attack in a statement, saying a suicide bomber targeted troops present at the railway station. Police said they are investigating the claim. Pakistan shuts primary schools for a week in Lahore due to dangerous air quality TV footage showed the platform littered with passengers’ luggage. Ayesha Faiz, a Quetta police official, said some of the critically wounded passengers died at a hospital, raising the deaths. Earlier, Shahid Rind, a government spokesperson, said the death toll from the attack was likely to rise as some of the wounded passengers were listed in critical condition. Local media reported that at least 20 people died in the bombing. The oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but also least populated province. It is also a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government. Along with separatist groups, Islamic militants also operate in the province. BLA often targets security forces and foreigners, especially Chinese nationals who are in Pakistan as part of Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which is building major infrastructure projects.