US, S Korea sign nuclear deterrence guidelines
Seoul, July 12: The US and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines for the first time, a basic yet important step in their efforts to improve deterrence toward North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats. Meeting Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commended what they called “the tremendous progress” that their countries’ alliance have made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Consultative Group. The two leaders authorized “the US-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula” that was signed by their defence officials earlier Thursday, according to South Korea’s presidential office. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name. (AP)
Emergency crews recover bodies in Gaza
Deir al-Balah, July 12: Dozens of bodies collected throughout Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood arrived at Al-Ahli Hospital on Friday morning while civil defence workers said they continued to recover the dead from destroyed streets and buildings. Hospital director Fadel Naem said that people both dead and wounded had been brought from Tel al-Hawa to the hospital less than a day after it resumed operations following the evacuation earlier in the week due to the fighting in the area. About 60 bodies have been recovered, including entire families who appeared to have been killed by artillery fire and aerial bombardment, Mahmoud Basal, the director of Civil Defence in Gaza said. The Israeli military said it could not comment on Tel al-Hawa. The scenes mirror those in another Gaza City neighbourhood, Shuja’iyyah, from which Israel’s military has withdrawn in recent days. On Thursday, civil defence workers found an additional 60 bodies in Shuja’iyyah under similar circumstances, with more believed to be buried under rubble. Basal said bodies in Tel al-Hawa were found decomposing or partially mauled by dogs. (AP)
Russian passenger jet crashes, 3 die
Moscow, July 12: A Russian passenger jet crashed Friday while flying without passengers, killing its crew of three, officials said. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 went down in the Moscow region, according to Russian emergency officials. The authorities said the plane belonged to Gazprom Avia, a carrier owned by the Russian state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom. It was heading to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport when it crashed. (AP)