Gaza faces severe hunger as ceasefire nears
The UN has declared Gaza the “hungriest place on Earth,” with all 2.3m residents facing catastrophic hunger, Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli forces killed two more people at an aid site in Rafah, southern Gaza.
US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is “very close” and may be announced today.
Gaza’s death toll has surpassed 61,700, including thousands missing under rubble. Over 1,100 people were killed in Israel during the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to Al Jazeera.
Quarry collapse kills ten in Indonesia
At least ten people were killed after a quarry collapsed on Friday at the Indonesia’s West Java province. Authorities say several others remain missing, and rescue teams are working around the clock to locate them, Al Jazeera reported.
Indonesia’s disaster agency reported that heavy machinery, including three excavators, was buried in the collapse. So far, at least a dozen injured individuals have been pulled from the rubble.
The cause of the collapse is still under investigation as search operations continue.
Supreme Court allows end of migrant parole protections
The US Supreme Court on Friday lifted a lower court order that had blocked the Trump administration from ending humanitarian parole protections for over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, according to Associated Press.
The Biden administration introduced the program in late 2022, allowing qualifying migrants to stay and work in the United States for two years. It aimed to relieve strain on the southern border.
President Donald Trump ordered the termination of all parole programs shortly after commencing his second term. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem carried out the directive in March.
The Court's judgment also allows the end of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans, putting roughly one million migrants at risk of deportation, Associated Press reported.
Bhotojatra festival to be observed on Sunday, public holiday in Kathmandu Valley
The Bhotojatra festival will be observed on Sunday.
The cultural festival includes the ritual of displaying the legendary gem-studded Bhoto or vest believed to belong to the Rato Matsyandranath, the deity of good harvest.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has, through a notice today, declared a public holiday in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur - for Sunday on the occasion of the Bhotojatra.
