Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
North Korea says tests underwater nuclear drone, criticises US-led joint drills
North Korea has conducted a test of its underwater nuclear weapons system in a protest against this week’s joint military drills by South Korea, the United States and Japan, state media KCNA said on Friday. The test of the “Haeil-5-23” system, a name North Korea has given to its nuclear-capable underwater attack drones, was carried out by the defence ministry’s think tank in the waters off its east coast, the report said, without specifying a date.
Iran-Pakistan flare-up rooted in restive borderlands, not Mideast strife
An Iranian strike on Pakistan this week that drew a rapid military riposte and raised fears of greater regional turmoil was driven by Iran’s efforts to reinforce its internal security rather than its ambitions for the Middle East, according to three Iranian officials, one Iranian insider and an analyst. Both the heavily-armed neighbours, oftentimes at odds over instability on their frontier, appear to want to try to contain the strains resulting from the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years, two analysts and two of the officials said.
UN rights official says Gaza detainees humiliated, dressed in diapers
A U.N. human rights official accused Israel on Friday of mistreating Palestinian detainees in Gaza, saying he had met men who had described being held for weeks, beaten and blindfolded, with some released in diapers. Ajith Sunghay, a U.N. human rights official in Gaza, told reporters it was not clear exactly how many men had been detained by Israel since it began its military operation in Gaza in response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 deadly attacks, but he said the number ran into the thousands.
Israeli tanks renew push towards biggest hospital still working in Gaza
Israeli tanks on Friday mounted a new push into southern Gaza’s main city, which is sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven there by Israeli bombardment, once more approaching the enclave’s biggest functioning hospital. People inside Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, forced to house displaced Gazans as well as patients, reported hearing shellfire from tanks advancing into the west of the city, while residents also reported fierce gun battles to the south.
Gaza doctor amputates niece’s leg at home, without anaesthesia
Palestinian doctor Hani Bseiso faced an agonising decision when his teenage niece was wounded by Israeli shelling of her Gaza City home: amputate her leg or risk her bleeding to death. Unable to reach a nearby hospital, and using little more than a pair of scissors and some gauze he had in his medical bag, he removed the lower part of A’Hed Bseiso’s right leg in an operation carried out on the kitchen table without anaesthetic.
Asylum seekers ‘missing’ after crossing Russia border to Finland
Some 160 people who applied for asylum at Finland’s eastern border last year have since disappeared, amid a sudden surge of asylum seekers arriving via Russia, Finland’s immigration authority said. Finland closed its eastern border with Russia late last year amidst a growing number of arrivals from countries including Syria and Somalia. It accused Moscow of funnelling migrants to the border, a claim the Kremlin has denied.
Pakistan says it doesn’t want to escalate Iran dispute
Pakistan said on Friday it did not want to escalate a standoff with Iran, as Islamabad’s top civilian and military leadership gathered to review the situation after both countries exchanged strikes on militant bases on each other’s territory. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar has begun a meeting of the high-powered National Security Committee, with all the military services chiefs in attendance, a source in the prime minister’s Office told Reuters.
Yemen’s Houthis say they do not seek to expand Red Sea attacks
Yemen’s Houthis have said they did not intend to expand their attacks on shipping in and around the Red Sea further, beyond their stated aims of blockading Israel and retaliating against the United States and Britain for air strikes. In an interview with Reuters, spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is also the chief Houthi negotiator in peace talks over the country’s decade-old civil war, told Reuters the group had no plans to target longstanding foes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Newborn baby found alive in shopping bag in freezing temperatures – London police
A newborn baby girl is in hospital after being found wrapped in a towel in a shopping bag on a London street, British police said on Friday as the capital was experiencing sub-zero temperatures. The baby was found by a person walking their dog in Newham, east London, just after 2100 GMT on Tuesday, London’s Metropolitan Police said. According to the national weather service, it was minus 3 degrees Celsius in London at that time.
Ireland launches legal case against UK over Northern Ireland amnesty law
The European Court Of Human Rights said on Friday that Ireland had launched a legal challenge against Britain over a new law that gives conditional amnesties to former soldiers and militants involved in decades of violence in Northern Ireland. The law has been condemned by victims’ families, human-rights groups and all major political parties on the island of Ireland, including British unionist and Irish nationalist. It came into force last September.
(With inputs from agencies.)
