THE UN envoy to the Middle East has warned of the “last chance” to prevent an all-out conflict between Israel and Gaza.
Nikolay Mladenov said the “risk of war remains imminent”, a week after a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers ended the worst fighting since in 2014. The spate of violence killed 25 Palestinians, including 10 militants, and four Israeli civilians.
Mladenov, speaking as he launched a solar power plant for a Gaza hospital, said parties must “consolidate the understandings” of the ceasefire. The deal, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the UN, promises to let in fuel and humanitarian aid and ease the movement of people from the blockaded territory.
It has been reported that aid sent by the Qataris, meant for thousands of needy families as part of the ceasefire understandings, arrived in the region yesterday.
Elsewhere, Filipinos are voting in mid-term elections amid a showdown between allies of President Rodrigo Duterte and opposition candidates fighting for checks and balances under a leader they regard as a looming dictator.
Many see the elections as a crucial referendum on Duterte’s rise to power with a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs that has left thousands dead, as well as his unorthodox leadership style, combative and sexist joke-laden outbursts, and his contentious embrace of China.
Meanwhile, Syrian troops have captured five small villages and a nearby hill on the edge of the north-western province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in the country.
So far, dozens have been killed and more than 150,000 have been displaced.
The pro-government Syrian Central Military Media said government forces captured the villages on the southern edges of Idlib.
The area is near the strategic village of Kfar Nabuda that Syrian troops entered last week.
Opposition activists reported government air strikes and the shelling of different areas in Idlib.
Much of Idlib is controlled by an al Qaeda-linked insurgent group.
Finally, measles continues to spread across the USA, with the total number of cases reported so far this year already the nation’s highest in 25 years.
A total of 839 cases were reported as of last week. That total is the most since 1994, when 963 were reported for the entire year.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said 23 states have reported cases this year.
That pattern continued last week, with most of the 75 new cases in New York.
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