INTERNATIONAL,

THENEWS

Sunday
July 19, 2026


Karachi Edition


MAJDEL SELM, Lebonon: The caskets of Hezbollah fighters kilfed during clashes with the israell army are pletured to the
mock coffin of Iran's slain Supreme leader, Ayatollah All Khamenel, during a mass funeral in the southern Lebanese village o:

Saturday. —AFP witepholo


Venezuela
quake death toll
exceeds 5,000

funds

CARACAS: The twin earth:
quakes that struck Ven-
ezuela last month killed
over 5,000 people, officials
said, while announcing they
drew hundreds of millions
of dollars from the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund (IMF)
for reconstruction,

+ The 7.2 and 7.5 ‘magni-
tude quakes struck within
a minute of each other on
June 24, decimating the
coastal state of La Guaira,
located north of Caracas,

The disasters killed

5,069 people, National] .

Assembly chief Jorge
Rodriguez posted on Tele.
gram, With most casualties
occurring in the coastal
region,

The number of people
injured remains unchanged
at 16,740, with the pariia-
mentary leader earlier stat
ing that most had already
been discharged from the
hospital.

Later on Friday, Interim
President Delcy Rodriguez
said the country tapped
$316 million from the IMF
for earthquake reconstruc-
tion.

IMF Managing Director  the hatter’s office said.

Kristalina Georgieva con-

ue fe

Se  a  Tak Ee

Hezbollah buries dozens of
fighters in south Lebanon.

as IMF releases   MAIDAL SELM, Lebanon:

Hezbollah held a mass
funeral for dozens of people,
most of them fighters kiled
in the most recent fight-
ing with Israel, in southem
Lebanon’s Majdal Selm on
Saturday.

The Iran-backed Shia’

group, which drew Lebanon
into the Middle East war by
attacking Israel on March 2,

operations, and one man
who died of natural causes.
An AFP correspondent
saw trucks carrying the
coffins to the burial site as °
weeping women held por-
traits of the dead and of
Iran’s late supreme leader,
Ali Khamenei, who was
Killed n a US Israeli strikes
on Tehran in February.
~ Many Lebanese have

martyrs,” read an announce:
ment to Hezbollah’s sup-
porters, with the names of
the dead.

ere

eng
ee
SOL

Hight and left of 2
Majdel Selm on


_ Wildfires in

northern West
Bank force;
‘settlement
evacuation

A previous announce. JERUSALEM: Multiple fires

ment widely shared online
had 120 names, but the Afaj-
dal Selm municipality dis-
missed the figure as “inac-
curate and baseless",

‘The funeral tock place a3

‘Lebanese President Joseph

does not reveal the number been unable to bury their Aoun headed to Washing-

of fighters it haslost, -
But it has organised sev-
eral funerals during the cur-

Tent lull in fighting, which”

followed the June 17 signing
of a US-Iran memorandum
of understanding.

In the heavily-<damaged
village, Hezbollah buried 44
people, 39 of them fighters

loved ones In their home
towns while the fighting was.
sull

ton where he is expected
to meet his US counterpart
Donald’             following the

broke out in the north of the
Isvacli-oceupled West Bank
on Saturday, forcing the evac-
uation of one settlement and
injuring at least two fircfight-
ers, according to police and
rescuers,

The blaze was first
reported in the early after-
hoon west of the Palestinian
elty of Nablus in the settle

Children among
10 killed in Israeli
strikes on Gaza

Palestinian teen footballer dies after being shot during settler attack

Boxe CITY,  Palestinian Ter-

No one knew, no one, no .

the military did not offer

129 | ritories: Gaza's civil defence waming, nothing.”  he told an immediate comment on

mmm | and hospitals said Israeli AFP.

altacks on Saturday killed 10

Wea people across the territory,
rg [among them three children dren,

and their parents.

A family of five ~ three
children and their parents
= were Killed when an Israeli

Hf | strike hit a residential apart-’
§ | ment in northwest Gaza City,

according to the territory's
civil defence agency, which

operates as a rescue service.

under Hamas. .
“The family’s only survive

“They hit it without caring
that there are civilians, chile

women, giis.”
Mohammed Kali, who
tives in the same building,
sald he saw several people

lying on the ground. -
“There were bodies scat-.
tered on the ground = women

and chiktren dead, and ekderly-
. dressed in black carried

people too,” he sald.

AFP footage from the
scene showed large sections
of the building's facade tom

> those aftacks,

Violence has persisted
despite the ceasefire, .
* Meanwhile, al7-year-old
Palestinian footballer died on
Saturdy a week after he was
shot and injured during an
altack by Isracli settlers in the
occupied West Bank, accord.
ing to officials and relatives.
Dozens of mourners

the body of Fadi Hamdal-
lah al-Nassan = a player for
AkMughayyir Club and a

ing member is one child, who away, as rescue teams helped member of the Palestinian

A | was not inside the house at
the time of the strike,” Mahe

the wounded.
Onlookers picked through

national youth team ~ from
the Palestine Medical Com-

moud Bassal, spokesman for shattered concrete blocksand plex in Ramallah to his village

4] the agency, told AFP,

twisted metal, searching for

for burial .

Gaza's AlShifa hospital  any belongings that couldbe . The Palestine Football

confirmed it had received the
fre bodies,

salvaged.

. Three more people were

Association accused Israeli
forces of shooting Nassan

An kgacii miliary spokes: Killed when an Isracli air- while settlers were attacking
woman salda strike had been ‘strike hit a group of civilians: the village on July 11.

carried out in Gaza City on

in the Zeltoun neighbour-,

The young player was

Saturday “targeting a Hamas hood of Gace City the seency reportedly shot in the thigh

terrorist’.

during the atlack. His leg was

She said the ‘mnflitary was *      npr Shia  ‘hospital  con- amputated, but he later died

‘Sill assessing the results...

Gaza resident Mousa
Al-Aimawi said the strike
came without wami

firmed it had received the

three bodies,         .
Health officials said two ;

other people were hilled cise

from his i injuries, the associ
alion said,

The Israeli military did

not immediately respond to

mg. -
*Suddenly there was a. where in Israeli attacks in  a AFP request for comment

missile hitting the building.

Gua

surday. —AFP


UN to list more sites     Indian activist
as ‘in danger’ from.
conflict or climate

change

moved to.
hospital after”
20-day hunger

strike "

NEW DELHI New Delhi

Shia Muslim rites pro latest round of Israel-Leba- | ment of Kedumim, where two ] PARIS: The United Nations the globe are listed as part of | police forcibly moved activist

vide for temporary burial non talks, which wrapped  neighbourhoods were evacu-/looks set to list a Biblical UNESCO World Heritage.      Sonam Wangchuk to a hos-

when circumstances pre-
yent a proper funeral or the ©
deceased cannot be buried
wher they wished. ~

“You are invited to

“up earlier this week +
Israel and Lebanon

began US-sponsored nego-

~ tiations in April aimed at

reaching a peace deal and

and four civilians said to participate in the blessed permanently ending the
have been killed in Israeli funeral of Majdal Selm’s Israci-Hezbollah war. —AFP


N Korean foreign minister on
official visit to Russia: Moscow

MOSCOW: The foreign min”

ister of North Korea, which

‘The two countries signed
a defence agreement when

Andrei Belousov and several
other high-ranking officials

supports Russia's war against: Russian President Vladimir visited Pyongyang in April for

Ulaalne, was due in Moscow

Putin visited Pyongyang in

on Saturday for talks with her 2004,

counterpart, Sergey Lavrov,
The Russian foreign min

firmed the release of funds, | istry said North Korea's Choe
saying on X that the institu-] Son Hui would “arrive in the
tion “worked with key coum. | Russian Federation on July 18 cial aid, military technology, pean Union have condemned

terparts to help Venezuela
access its own resources
at the Fund for urgent
humanitarian needs,” add-
ing that the funds had been
drawn “from their reserve
tranche.” —AFP

foranofficial visit’ at Laev’s
tawvitation.                      .
* Pyongyang and Moscow

North Korea has sent

* missiles, munitions and thou-

sands of troops to assist Rus-
a in Ukraine, and analysts

say Moscow is sending finan ©

food ard energy to the Gplo-
matically isolated country in
retum In April, North Korean

talks on strengthening mili-

tary ties,                .
Belousov saying Moscow
was ready to sign a coopera-
tion plan for the period 2027-
2031.
South Korea and the Euro-

the partnership between the
two countries, -
North Korea's  foreign

have strengthened ties since leader Kim Jong Un pledged ministry has hit back, saying
Russia launched its mililary  to help Russia win its “sacred”  cooperation with Russia is an

offensive against Ukraine in
22,

war,

Russian Defence Minister —AFP

“exercise of sovercign rights”.

site, Lebanese castles, an

Making the heritage list

mee fire later expanded  antelope migration path and often sparks a lucrative tour-
to the nearby settlement of | the world’s deepest lake as ism drive, and can unlock

Havat Gilad and intensified,
forcing its evacuation.

Firefighting and res-
cue teams from several
areas worked to extinguish
hotspots and two wo firefighters
were injured, Israeli fire and
rescue sonics sak,

The operation was sup-
ported by a reconnaissance
helicopter and eight firefight-
ing aircraft, and 13 homes and

a lumber warchouse were | Korea,

destroyed by the fire, the ser-
vice added.            .

The police sald they had
closed various roads to "keep
emergency routes clear",

* “Several people with
minor injuries and one person
with moderate injuries have
been evacuated for continued
medical trealment in haspi-

world treasures under threat,
inchading from war or climate

‘The 106 members states
of the United Nations Educa. ..
Gonal, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) are
to cast voles from Friday next
week on