July 29, 2024

*) Powerful Turkish defence can stop Israel’s war on Palestinians: Erdogan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Türkiye would prevent Israel’s brutal attacks on Palestinians in the event of Ankara being “very strong” in the defence industry. Speaking in his hometown in the northeastern province of Rize, the Turkish president emphasised Türkiye’s advancements in the defence industry and expressed confidence in further progress. Erdogan said, “Just as we entered Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we can do the same to them. There is no reason not to do it. We just need to be strong so that we can take these steps.” *) UK’s Starmer urges Israel to take steps towards Gaza ceasefire British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told Israeli President Isaac Herzog there needed to be “immediate steps” towards a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. “The Prime Minister said there must be immediate steps towards a ceasefire, so that hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid can get in for those in desperate need,” Starmer’s office said in a statement. *) Venezuela’s Maduro wins re-election with 51.2% of vote: electoral council Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has won re-election to a third six-year term with 51.2 percent of votes cast Sunday, the electoral council announced. Elvis Amoroso, president of the CNE electoral body loyal to the government, told reporters 44.2 percent of the vote had gone to opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia who had been leading in polls. *) Bangladesh students vow to resume protests unless leaders freed A Bangladeshi student group has vowed to resume protests that sparked a lethal police crackdown and nationwide unrest unless several of their leaders are released from custody. Members of Students Against Discrimination, whose campaign against civil service job quotas precipitated the unrest, said they would end their weeklong protest moratorium. The group’s chief Nahid Islam and others “should be freed and the cases against them must be withdrawn”, a member told reporters in an online briefing late on Saturday. *) Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention prefer death over jail brutality Seven Palestinian detainees have attempted to kill themselves at Israel’s Ofer military prison in the occupied West Bank due to the “brutality of jailers”, Palestinian authorities have said. “Prisoners are subjected to beatings during arrest and in detention,” the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs said in a statement. It added that “if a prisoner is late for the count or late waking up at 4 am, (they are) beaten and abused”.