Day: 5 April 2024

The detachments of the First Regiment of the Fifth Brigade, the Rapid Response Division of the Ministry of Interior, arrested 14 defendants in accordance with the provisions of Article (28-32 of drugs) in Al-Khairat district of Karbala Governorate.

A police source said that they were seized with light weapons and drug paraphernalia, indicating that the accused were handed over with the seized materials to the competent authorities.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The UN announced Thursday the resumption of its relief operations in the Gaza Strip after a 48-hour suspension in the wake of the Israeli forces killing of seven World Central Kitchen staff in air strikes on their convoy in the Strip.

The World Health Organization reached two hospitals in Gaza and handed out medications to them, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Dujarric said that because of what happened to World Central Kitchen “we had to pause to regroup and reassess”, adding that a convoy will deployed tonight, “hopefully making it to the north”.

The team spoke with patients who were able to leave the health facility after the siege, with one saying “doctors resorted to putting salt and vinegar on people’s wounds for lack of antiseptics, which are nonexistent,” Dujarric said. In addition, a WHO team reported dire conditions following Israel’s two-week-long siege of the Al-Shifa Hospital, he said.

“They d
escribed dire conditions during the siege, with no food, water or medicine available,” he said.

OCHA suspended its relief operations for 48 hours to allow conducting further assessments of security issues affected workers on ground and civilians, he added.

For his part, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “The situation in Gaza is disastrous”.

“Once again, WHO demands a ceasefire. Once again, we call for all hostages to be released, and for lasting peace,” he said.

Almost six months into the war, humanitarian conditions are worsening, according to UN agencies on the ground.

On his way to Gaza on Thursday, Jamie McGoldrick, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, reiterated that there is no safe place in the enclave.

The Occupied Palestinian Territory “has become one of the world’s most dangerous and difficult places to work”, he wrote on social media before his departure

Source: Kuwait News Agency

A security source announced the arrest of one of those involved in the ‘theft of the century’ in Diyala Governorate.

The source told the correspondent of the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that ‘a joint security force arrested one of those involved in the theft of 9 billion dinars from the financial allocations for compensation in a specific operation that took place in Baquba late yesterday evening, following the issuance of an arrest warrant from the concerned judicial authority based on an urgent request from the Governor of Diyala Agency.’

The source added that ‘ money inside locked iron safes, large sums of money packed in plastic bags and travel bags, as well as antiquities were found in his possession.’

He pointed out: ‘The detainee is an employee in the Diyala Governorate Office, and the security forces are tracking the movement of his partners.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Minister of Information and Culture, Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi, praised on Friday efforts exerted by employees in the Ministry of Information and Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), for their coverage of the National Assembly elections (Nation 2024), and the level of professionalism and dedication since the announcement of the election date.

The Minister expressed, through his account on the social Media platform (X), his thanks and great gratitude to all local, international, and private media outlets for their coverage of the election.

Polling stations for the National Assembly elections (Nation 2024) for the 18th legislative term were closed at 12 o’clock A.M. (local time) on Thursday night.

The voting process lasted 12 hours, starting at 12 noon in five electoral districts and was conducted according to the single electoral vote system to choose 50 members of the National Assembly from among 200 male and female candidates.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The main electoral committee in the 1st constituency announced the 10 winners of National Assembly membership for the 2024 18th legislative term, which took place Thursday.

The results in the following order:

1-Osama Zaid Al-Zaid (4,936 votes)

2-Abdullah Jassim Al-Mudhaf (4,729 votes)

3-Mohammad Johar Hayat (4,134 votes)

4-Ahmad Haji Lari (4,108 votes)

5- Issa Ahmad Al-Kanderi (3,678 votes)

6-Basel Hussain Al-bahrani (3,631 votes)

7-Adel Jassem Al-Damkhi (3,530 votes)

8-Khaled Marzouq Al-Ameera (3,502 votes)

9-Saleh Ahmad Ashour (3,399 votes)

10-Mohammad Barrak Al-Azmi (3,249 votes)

Polling stations closed at 12:00 a.m. (local time), seeing 200 candidates competing for 50 seats in the parliament.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

US forces deployed in the Red Sea region have knocked out an anti-ship missile unleashed by the Houthi militia in Yemen, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported late on Thursday.

At approximately 2:20 p.m. (Sanaa time) on April 4, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully engaged and destroyed one anti-ship missile (ASM) in a Houthi-controlled territory of Yemen. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships.

It was determined that the missile presented a threat to U.S. and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region. CENTCOM is dedicated to protecting the freedom of navigation and making international waters safer and more secure for Coalition and merchant vessels.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

About 120,000 Palestinians performed the last Friday prayer of Ramadan in Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, amid extreme security measures imposed by Israeli occupation force.

The security measures prevented tens of thousands from reaching the city, although the Israeli occupation force claimed that it had provided facilitations to Palestinians in the West Bank to perform their prayers during Ramadan.

Those who couldn’t reach the mosque prayed near the military check points, while a group of Palestinian youth were attacked by Israeli occupation soldiers and 11 were arrested at one of the mosque’s gates.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The US Central Command (Centcom) announced on Thursday that it had conducted an additional airdrop of humanitarian aid into the northern Gaza Strip to provide basic relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict.

Centcom said in a statement that the operation included four American C-130 planes and American army soldiers, where 50,680 meals were dropped on needy Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza.

The statement indicated that humanitarian airdrops contribute to the ongoing efforts made by the United States and Jordan to provide life-saving humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, stressing that other operations will be organized in the future to provide aid to the Palestinian people.

It added that these operations are part of an ongoing effort to deliver more aid to Gaza by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors.

It is noteworthy that the American administration has repeatedly confirmed that it wants to bring more humanitarian aid into Gaza, but the occupying entity has continued to
obstruct the arrival of aid to the population who are facing the risk of famine, according to the United Nations.

Source: Kuwait News Agency