Ash columns erupt from active volcano
Moscow, Nov 1: Huge ash columns erupted from Eurasia’s tallest active volcano on Wednesday, forcing authorities to close schools in two towns on Russia’s sparsely populated Kamchatka Peninsula. The eruptions from the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano sent ash as high as 13 km above sea level, officials said. There were no reports of injuries, but officials ordered schools in Ust-Kamchatsk and Klyuchy closed as a precaution. Each town has a population of about 5,000. Klyuchy is located about 30 km from the volcano and Ust-Kamchatsk 50 kilometers away. The 4,650-metre stratovolcano has been active in recent years and released lava in June. (AP)
Indian-origin Israeli soldier killed in Gaza
Jerusalem, Nov 1: A 20-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier was among the Israeli combatants killed while fighting in Gaza, community members and the Mayor of the town said on Wednesday. Staff-Sgt. Halel Solomon was from the southern Israeli town of Dimona. “It is with great sorrow and grief that we announce the death of a son of Dimona, Halel Solomon, in the battle in Gaza,” Dimona’s Mayor, Benny Bitton said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “We share in the grief of the parents, Ronit and Mordechai, and the sisters: Yasmin, Hila, Vered, and Shaked …. Halel aspired to do a meaningful service and enlisted in the Givati (Brigade). Halel was a devoted son and had respect for his parents always in his eyes. Possessing immense good qualities he believed in endless giving, modesty, and humility. The whole city of Dimona is grieving his passing,” Bitton wrote. Dimona is a town in the south of Israel identified with Israel’s nuclear reactor but some also describe it as “little India” given the large concentration of Jews from India in the township. Indian community members told PTI that he was “a young man with pleasant manners and a very bright future ahead.” They expressed huge sorrow at his passing away and at the loss of lives of other young Israelis “fighting a just war for Israel’s existence.” At least 11 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the battle in Gaza in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “difficult war” with “painful losses,” but vowed to continue “until victory.” “We are in a difficult war. This will be a long war,” Netanyahu said. (PTI)
Two killed in Russian attacks in Ukraine
Kyiv, Nov 1: A Russian attack on Kherson in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday killed one person and caused serious damage in the city’s centre, the region’s governor said, and a Russian drone strike killed another civilian in the frequently targeted city of Nikopol. The attack on Kherson, which Russian forces seized early in the war but then abandoned a year ago, also wounded two people. Despite the withdrawal, Russian attacks from the other side of the Dnieper River persist. “Again an apocalyptic scene,” regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. “Broken glass, torn window frames, ruined homes. People with trembling voices telling about what they have been through.” (AP)