Effort to get aid to Gaza by sea is moving ahead
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza Strip), March 10: A US Army vessel carrying equipment for building a temporary pier in Gaza was on its way to the Mediterranean on Sunday, three days after US President Joe Biden announced plans to increase aid deliveries by sea to the besieged enclave where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are going hungry. The new push for aid came in the final hours before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which could start as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon. Hopes for a new cease-fire by Ramadan faded days ago with negotiations apparently stalled. The opening of the sea corridor, along with airdrops by the US, Jordan and others, showed growing alarm over Gaza’s deadly humanitarian crisis and a new willingness to bypass Israeli control over land shipments. Israel said that it welcomed the sea deliveries and would inspect Gaza-bound cargo before it leaves a staging area in nearby Cyprus. (AP)
Maldives buys drones from Turkey
Male, March 10: Maldives has for the first time acquired surveillance drones from Turkey for patrolling its vast exclusive economic zone, according to media reports on Sunday. Efforts have begun by the state to establish a drone base in Noonu atoll Maafaru to operate the military drones brought from Turkey to conduct monitoring of Maldives’ ocean territories, Editon.mv news portal reported. Turkey was the first foreign country visited by Mohamed Muizzu after he was sworn in as president in November. During his visit, he had seen the various military vehicles produced by the country and formed an agreement with a Turkish company to import military drones into his country, the report said. However, the Maldives government has not disclosed the details of the agreement so far. The surveillance drones from the Turkish company Baykar TB2 drones were delivered on March 3, reports said. (PTI)
At least 19 dead as flash floods hit Indonesia
Padang, March 10: Torrential rains have triggered flash floods and a landslide on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 19 people and leaving seven others missing, officials said Sunday. Tons of mud, rocks and uprooted trees rolled down a mountain late Friday, reaching a river that burst its banks and tore through mountainside villages in Pesisir Selatan district of West Sumatra province, said Doni Yusrizal, who heads the local disaster management agency. Rescuers by Saturday pulled out seven bodies in the worst-hit village of Koto XI Tarusan, and recovered three others in two neighbouring villages, Yusrizal said. Rescuers retrieved six bodies in Pesisir Selatan and three more in the neighbouring district of Padang Pariaman, bringing the death toll to 19, the National Disaster Management Agency said on Sunday. The agency in a statement said at least two villagers were injured by the flash flood and rescuers are searching for seven people who are reportedly still missing. It said more than 80,000 people had fled to temporary government shelters after the flood and landslide hit. (AP)