JERUSALEM -- Israel's security cabinet has approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, bringing the number of settlements legalized or approved over the past three years to 69, an official said on Sunday.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a pro-settler politician, said in a statement that Israel's security cabinet approved the proposal that he "advanced together with Defense Minister Israel Katz to declare and authorize 19 new settlements," without specifying when the approval was granted.
The approvals cover both entirely new settlements and the retroactive authorization of settlements built without permits from Israeli authorities. (Israel-Settlements-Approval)
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KHARTOUM -- At least ten people were killed on Saturday in a drone strike that targeted a crowded market in the city of Al-Malha in North Darfur State, according to a volunteer group and eyewitnesses.
"The drone strike killed ten people and injured many others, causing partial fires in a number of shops and significant material damage," the North Darfur Emergency Rooms Council, a volunteer-led humanitarian group, said in a statement. (Sudan-Drone Strike-Casualty)
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ADEN, Yemen -- Yemen's presidency on Sunday strongly rejected statements by ministers and government bodies based in the southern port city of Aden that expressed support for the pro-secession Southern Transitional Council (STC).
Citing a source in the presidency, the state-run Saba news agency said Rashad Al-Alimi, chief of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), had reviewed recent statements by ministers and other officials that "exceeded their functional responsibilities" and ran counter to the constitution and the agreed references governing the transitional period. (Yemen-Pro-secession Statements-Rejection)
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TEHRAN -- At least eight people, including a rescuer, have died in floods that hit Iran's southern provinces over the past week, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).
In a statement published on its website on Sunday, the IRCS said it had provided rescue, relief and support services to 42,112 people in 25 Iranian provinces affected by heavy rainfall and snow since Dec. 15. (Iran-Floods-Death Toll) Enditem
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