At least 24 Palestinians, including six children, have been killed in two days of firing, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The United States fully supported Israel’s right to defend itself, the US State Department said on Saturday, and it urged all sides to avoid further escalation as Israeli air strikes pounded Gaza while the militant Islamic Jihad group fired rockets into Israel.
At least 24 Palestinians, including six children, have been killed and 203 wounded during the two days of firing, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Palestinian militants fired over 400 rockets at Israel – most of them intercepted, setting off air raid sirens and sending people running to bomb shelters. There were no reports of serious casualties, the Israeli ambulance service said.
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Israel, Gaza militants trade fire as death toll climbs to 24
Israeli airstrikes flattened homes in Gaza and Palestinian rocket barrages into southern Israel persisted for a second day, raising fears of another major escalation in the Mideast conflict. Gaza’s health ministry said 24 people had been killed so far in the coastal strip, including six children. Far, Hamas, the larger militant group that rules Gaza, appeared to stay on the sidelines of the conflict, keeping its intensity somewhat contained.
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Tuneless Bangladeshi social media star grilled by police for singing Tagore
An out-of-tune Bangladeshi singer with a huge internet following was hauled in by police at dawn and told to cease his painful renditions of classical songs, sparking a furore on social media. Dhaka’s chief detective Harun ur Rashid told reporters that Alom had apologised for singing the cherished songs and for wearing police uniforms without permission in his videos.
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President Biden tests negative after second bout of Covid-19
US President Joe Biden on Saturday tested negative for Covid-19, days after coming down with a second bout of the illness. “The President continues to feel very well,” Biden’s physician Kevin O’Connor said in a statement. “This morning, his SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing was negative.” O’Connor said Biden will continue to isolate pending a second negative test “in an abundance of caution.”
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Elon Musk challenges Twitter CEO to public debate on bots
Elon Musk on Saturday challenged Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal to a public debate about the percentage of bots on the social media platform. “Let him prove to the public that Twitter has 5% fake or spam daily users! ,” Musk said in a tweet. Twitter on Thursday dismissed a claim by Musk that he was hoodwinked into signing a $44 billion agreement to buy the company.
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Bomb blast in Kabul kills eight, injures more than 20
A bomb blast hit Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Saturday and many people were feared injured, witnesses said. The blast hit a busy shopping street in the western part of the city where members of the Shi’ite Muslim community regularly meet. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came ahead of Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which is marked mainly by Shi’ite Muslims.