WORLD BRIEFING: March 31, 2024
A three-ship convoy left a port in Cyprus on Saturday with 400 tons of food and other supplies for Gaza as concerns about hunger in the territory soar. World Central Kitchen said the vessels and a barge carried enough to prepare more than 1 million meals from items such as rice, pasta, flour, legumes, tinned vegetables and proteins. Also on board were dates, traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. It was not clear when the ships would reach Gaza. The first ship earlier this month delivered 200 tons of food, water and other aid - SCMP
Three United Nations observers and a translator were wounded on March 30 when a shell exploded near them as they were carrying out a foot patrol in south Lebanon, UN peacekeeping mission Unifil said, adding that it was still investigating the origin of the blast. Unifil said in a statement that the targeting of peacekeepers is “unacceptable”. Two security sources had earlier told Reuters the observers were wounded in an Israeli strike.
Deaths and injuries have been reported across Ukraine from the overnight Russian drone and rocket attacks. There’s also been some damage to critical infrastructure. Power outages reported in the Odesa region. In Lviv a critical infrastructure object has been hit for the third time. In all, 18 of 27 drones & rockets were intercepted, officials said
Israel’s Supreme Court ruling curtailing subsidies for ultra-Orthodox men has rattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition and raised questions about its viability as the country presses on with the war in Gaza. Netanyahu has until Monday to present the court with a plan to dismantle what the justices called a system that privileges the ultra-Orthodox at the expense of the secular Jewish public. If that plan alienates the ultra-Orthodox lawmakers on whose support he depends, his coalition could disintegrate and the country could be forced to hold new elections - AP
U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia is closing its Hong Kong operation out of concern for the safety of its staff and reporters, a move that comes after Hong Kong enacted a tough new national security law known locally as Article 23. Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang said in a statement Friday that the outlet's programming and content will continue without disruption. But, Fang said, actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a "foreign force," raise serious questions about its ability to operate in safety following the enactment of Article 23. The city's Beijing-backed legislature passed Article 23 legislation earlier this month and comes atop an already existing national security law that the central government imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. Article 23 refers to the part of Hong Kong's post-handover constitution, the Basic Law, that requires the territory to enact national security legislation. Hong Kong's most prominent pro-Democracy paper, Apple Daily, shut down in June 2021 after its accounts were frozen and its publisher, Jimmy Lai, arrested. The last pro-Democracy paper, Stand News, closed in December 2021 after it was raided and its leadership arrested. The new law adds to the government's arsenal, with a broad definition of state secrets and language targeting external forces - NPR
