19 March 2024; MEMO: In a first since 7 October, a Chinese Foreign Ministry envoy met with the head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Qatar, Beijing said today.

In a brief statement, the Foreign Ministry said Ambassador Wang Kejian met with Haniyeh on Sunday and the pair “exchanged views on the Gaza conflict and other issues.”

19 March 2024; MEMO: European Union foreign ministers yesterday agreed in principle to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and to add further sanctions on members of Hamas, Reuters reported.

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday attacked the government over a report on income and wealth inequalities in India over a century, alleging that "Narendra Modi's Billionaire Raj" is now more unequal than even the British Raj.

Party general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that on March 18, leading global economists, including Thomas Piketty, published the report titled "Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj." with some extremely concerning findings.

Islamabad, Mar 20 (PTI) Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court to form a judicial commission comprising serving judges to probe the authenticity of last month's elections marred by allegations of rigging.

The general elections were held on February 8 but Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf refused to accept the outcome by alleging that the results were manipulated.

19 March 2024; MEMO: The British government said today that it would refer the UAE-led takeover of the Telegraph Media Group for a lengthy review, a move that will effectively kill the deal because a law banning foreign governments owning newspapers is due to come into force in coming months, Reuters has reported.

19 March 2024; MEMO: Israel’s Labor Party has submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice, urging Israel’s hard line National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to rescind gun licences issued in violation of the regulations process.

19 March 2024; MEMO: The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, commented on Tel Aviv’s decision to prevent UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, from entering Gaza by saying, “Israel wants no witnesses, no truth-tellers.”

18 March 2024; MEMO: Israel has lost its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a former Israeli military commander said yesterday.

“You can’t lie to many people for a long time,” Yitzhak Brick, a former major general, said in an article in Maariv newspaper, according to Anadolu.

“What is happening in the Gaza Strip and against Hezbollah in Lebanon will blow up in our faces sooner or later,” he warned.

18 March 2024; MEMO: The EU foreign policy chief today warned that Gaza is already “in a state of famine”, saying the situation is “entirely man-made” by Israel.

“In Gaza, we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine affecting thousands of people,” Josep Borrell told the opening ceremony of the two-day European Humanitarian Forum 2024 in Brussels.

“This is unacceptable,” he stressed, adding: “Starvation is used as a weapon of war.”

19 March 2024; MEMO: The General Directorate of Highways has unveiled plans to enhance Turkiye’s transportation infrastructure through the implementation of smart technology initiatives by 2028, aimed at optimising routes and bolstering efficiency, the Daily Sabah newspaper reports.

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Asserting that the country is seeking a change, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said the 'guarantees' touted by the present government would meet the same fate as the 'India Shining' slogan of 2004.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), party leaders K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh said the CWC has authorised Kharge to give final approval to the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls and decide a date for its release.

DUBLIN, March 20 (Reuters) - Leo Varadkar will step down as Ireland's prime minister and the leader of the governing Fine Gael party in a surprise move, Irish media reported on Wednesday.

He will hold a press conference at 1200 GMT on Wednesday, the government said.

Varadkar's departure as head of the three-party coalition does not automatically trigger a general election and he could be replaced by a new Fine Gael leader.