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Maduro slams Milei after US seizes Venezuelan plane

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro lashed out at his Argentine counterpart Thursday, three days after the United States completed the seizure of a Venezuelan plane held in Buenos Aires since June 2022.

"They stole our plane... Milei the bandit stole the plane from Venezuela. Javier Milei, the hero of the extreme right," Maduro said in a televised statement about the Argentine president.

"He acts crazy or he is crazy or both at the same time," he added.

The Boeing 747-300 previously belonging to Venezuela's Emtrasur cargo airline at the international airport in Cordoba, Argentina, on June 6, 2022, before taking off for Buenos Aires

Gaza medics speak of 'dire' conditions at hospital raided by Israel

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said patients and medics were enduring "dire and frightening conditions" at a major hospital raided by Israeli soldiers on Thursday.

Hundreds of medics and patients remain inside the Nasser Hospital in the main southern city of Khan Yunis after thousands of displaced civilians who had sought refuge in its grounds were forced to leave by Israeli troops.

"Nasser medical complex is witnessing a catastrophic and alarming situation, as a result of the lack of medical resources," the health ministry said.

People inspect damage to a room following Israeli bombardment at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis on December 17, 2023

Kuwait dissolves parliament as political crisis persists

Kuwait dissolved parliament on Thursday after a protracted stalemate between cabinet ministers and lawmakers dragged on despite the accession of a new emir in December.

The official KUNA news agency said a "royal decree was issued to dissolve the national assembly" elected last June following a proposal by the prime minister that was approved by cabinet.

The royal decree carried by KUNA accused parliament of constitutional violations, including using "offensive and inappropriate" language.

Wartime medicine shortage deepens Gazan suffering

Mohammed Khader goes from one pharmacy to another in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, desperately searching for his relatives' medicines amid a deepening shortage after months of war.

"This is the fifth pharmacy I've looked in," said the young man who was displaced from Jabalia refugee camp to Rafah.

He is just one of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians driven into the territory's southernmost city by Israel's relentless military campaign against the militant group Hamas.

Rafah is crowded with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians

Yemen rebels say fired at 'British ship' as US keeps up campaign

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels said they fired missiles at a "British ship" off the country's coast on Thursday, the latest in a series of incidents that have disrupted global shipping.

The announcement followed reports by two maritime security agencies of an attack east of Yemen's Aden and came after the United States said on Thursday it had seized an Iranian weapons shipment in January destined for Yemen's rebels.

India's Modi commits to 'expanding' Qatar ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday committed to strengthening ties with Qatar during his first visit to the gas-rich Gulf emirate since 2016.

During a meeting with Qatar's ruler, Modi gave a "commitment to further expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation with Qatar", a statement from India's foreign ministry said.

The premier also thanked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for hosting the 800,000-strong Indian community in the tiny Gulf state.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspects a Qatari guard of honour during a ceremonial reception in Doha

99 journalists killed in 2023, 77 in Gaza war: report

Seventy-seven of the 99 journalists killed in 2023 were killed in the Israel-Hamas war, making the last 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in that conflict, the CPJ said, although fatalities were stable in Somalia and the Philippines.

The toll is the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent on 2022's figures.

Israeli has kept up its bombardment of Gaza, with strikes on both Rafah and the southern city of Khan Yunis

Israeli army says bodies of hostages likely held in Gaza hospital

The Israeli army alleged on Thursday that bodies of hostages could be held at a hospital in southern Gaza, after troops raided the facility which medics say has been "besieged" for a month.

The military said troops were involved in a "precise and limited operation" inside Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis city, after intense fighting between troops and Hamas militants around the facility.

People inspect damage to a room following Israeli bombardment at Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis on December 17, 2023

Brazil's Lula, in Egypt, denounces Gaza war

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva denounced Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip Thursday as "collective punishment" after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

On his second trip to Egypt and his first during his current term, Lula spoke to an Arab League meeting discussing the situation in the Palestinian territory which has been devastated by more than four months of war.

"We must put an end to this inhumanity and cowardice. Stop the collective punishment," the Brazilian leader said in a speech to the gathering.

"We must put an end to this inhumanity and cowardice," Lula told the Arab League

Eurovision rejects Israel ban over Gaza

Israel can compete in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, organisers said Thursday, despite calls for it to be excluded over the Gaza war like Russia was after invading Ukraine.

Petitions have been circulating calling for Israel to be kicked out of the world's biggest live music event, which is being held in Malmo, Sweden, in May.

The European Broadcasting Union said it had conducted a review and decided Israel could participate in the kitsch annual pop extravaganza.