South Asia

Beijing, Dec 25 (IANS) The death toll from the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that jolted northwest China on Dec. 18 has risen to 32 in Qinghai Province, while two people are still missing, according to the Qinghai emergency management department on Monday.

The department said these casualty figures applied as of 11 p.m. on Sunday, while also confirming that the search for the two missing people was continuing, Xinhua News Agency.

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Gaza, Dec 25 (IANS) At least 70 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, reported the state-run Palestine TV.

Ashraf Al-Qedra, spokesman for the Gaza-based Health Ministry, said in a statement that the death toll is likely to rise as the airstrike on Sunday hit a crowded residential area. He added that Israeli forces are bombing the central region's main roads between camps, which obstructs ambulances and civil vehicles from reaching targeted locations, Xinhua news agency reported.

Local sources told the news agency that most of the killed were women and children, and it is currently difficult for local hospitals to receive more injured people.

The sources added that in addition to the al-Maghazi refugee camp, the Israeli army also attacked central Gaza's al-Bureij refugee camp and the southern city of Khan Younis.

The latest tally by the Gaza-based Health Ministry showed on Sunday that the Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks has reached 20,424, and 54,036 others were wounded since the conflict broke out on October 7.

Meanwhile, a total of 15 Israeli soldiers were confirmed killed in Gaza over the past weekend, said the Israeli army, bringing to 154 the overall number of slain Israeli soldiers during its ground offensive in Gaza, which was launched in retaliation for a Hamas assault on October 7 that left about 1,200 Israelis killed and more than 200 captivated.

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Tel Aviv, Dec 25 (IANS) A high-level delegation of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) led by its exiled leader Ziyad Al-Nakhalah has reached the Egyptian capital Cairo, indicating that the truce talks with Israel are continuing.

PIJ is an offshoot of Hamas and is holding some of the hostages from Israel.

The recent talks in Cairo were mediated by Egypt and Qatar and also attended by Ismael Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas.

The Hamas and PIJ groups are adamant that they would not discuss any release of hostages unless Israel would end its war in Gaza. However, the Israeli side is saying that they are willing to discuss only a temporary pause in fighting.

Sources in Cairo told IANS that the PIJ leadership will be insisting on the release of all Palestinians jailed in Israel.

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Hong Kong, Dec 24 (IANS) China’s PC (desktops, notebooks and workstations) market is likely to see a decline of 18 per cent in 2023 and a modest 4 per cent growth next year, according to a new report.

The growth is expected to materialise in Q2 2024 and beyond, benefiting from the further recovery of the commercial sector, driven by significant IT investments from large enterprises in strategic industries, according to a Canalys report.

In Q3 2023, the PC market in Mainland China gradually recovered, with shipments experiencing a 16 per cent year-on-year decline but undergoing a promising 15 per cent sequential increase to reach 11 million units.

In contrast, the tablet market sustained positive momentum, recording a 16 per cent year-on-year growth to 7.4 million units.

“IT investment from enterprises is only improving marginally alongside the overall Chinese economy recovery, while SMBs still face many operational challenges,” said Emma Xu, analyst at Canalys.

In Q3 2023, Lenovo maintained its top position despite a 15 per cent year-on-year decline in the PC shipments.

HP took the second position with an 11 per cent market share as the vendor strengthened its commercial product portfolio offerings with its acquisition of Poly.

Huawei increased its market share despite a 5 per cent unit drop year-on-year. Dell and Asus secured the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, though both encountered a substantial 36 per cent year-on-year decline.

In the tablet market, Canalys anticipates a 5 per cent growth for the full year 2023, reaching 28 million units before it stabilises in 2024.

Apple and Huawei maintained their dominance in CHina’s tablet market, with Apple's market share contracting to 31 per cent from 38 per cent.

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The AQI at Dhirpur was recorded at 300 falling under "poor" category.

Notably, the AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

In Pusa, the AQI recorded PM 2.5 at 128 "moderate" category. At Lodhi Road, the AQI with PM 2.5 concentration was at 149 under the moderate category and the PM 10 stood at 135 also under the "moderate" category.

At IIT Delhi station, the PM 2.5 was at 173, "moderate" category while the PM 10 reached 162, in "moderate" category.

The AQI at the city's Mathura Road was under moderate category with PM 2.5 at 152 with PM 10 concentration at 101.

According to the forecast from the SAFAR, the air quality of the city will deteriorate further under "poor" category with PM 2.5 reaching 218 and the PM 10 concentration at 167 under "moderate" category on Thursday.

The AQI of Delhi's neighbouring cities of Noida stood at 208 and the PM 10 concentration at 218 both under "poor" category, while it was reported at 169 and the PM 10 concentration at 133 under moderate category.

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Speaking on Tuesday at the Security Council’s high-level meeting on Palestine held in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on Israel, he said: “Our Prime Minister was one of the first global leaders to have conveyed his condolences for the loss of lives and prayers for the innocent victims and their families. He stood in solidarity with his Israel in their moment of crisis when they were facing these terror attacks.

“The October 7 terror attacks in Israel were shocking and we condemn them unequivocally."

On the October 17 Gaza hospital blast that killed more than 425 people, he said: “We have also expressed deep shock at the tragic loss of life."

Stepping away from the blame game for the explosion, Ravindra said: “Our Prime Minister clearly spelt out that those involved must be held responsible."

Israel has blamed a failed rocket launch aimed at Israel by the Islamic Jihad terror group for the explosion, which the US has said was likely.

On the other hand, the Palestinians have said it was destroyed by a missile from Israel, a claim echoed by several countries at the Council meeting.

Ravindra said that "civilian casualties in the ongoing conflict are a matter of serious and continuing concern. All parties must protect civilians, especially women and children”.

Looking towards a solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis, he reiterated India’s support for a two-state solution.

“India backed the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side in peace with Israel, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of Israel."

To achieve this goal, “every effort must be made to create conducive conditions for resumption” direct talks between Israel and Palestine, he added.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)

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Just as the released hostage, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz said, the underground tunnel network is being considered as a major source of support for the Hamas militant group to hide and spring surprises on the advancing IDF troupes.

According to an assessment of the IDF, Hamas has a tunnel network of 1,300 tunnels spread across 500 km distance.

The military knows that this is one of the largest network of underground tunnels in the world and that this would be the biggest challenge for the forces.

Experts believe that the hostages Hamas has taken are being housed in these tunnels which, according to studies conducted are only 2 metres wide and 2 metres high.

An Israeli military intelligence report states that these tunnels were constructed initially for smuggling goods from Egypt but after the surveillance increased ,especially aerial surveillance, it led to Hamas using these tunnels to hide its operatives, top leaders as well as to store weapons and food items.

The IDF however has 'bunker buster bombs’ that can destroy these underground tunnels but the human density in the Gaza Strip, it is difficult to use these bunker buster bombs without affecting civilian population.

The Israeli military, according to experts, is well trained in underground warfare and is one of the most capable forces in the world in this mode of war.

The IDF has been using special units for this wardare since 2014 trained in simulated tunnels and also learned to use sensors that are specific to understand the structure of the tunnels.

The army has also robots that can be deployed inside the tunnels to sense human presence and to act accordingly.

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Speaking at the Security Council meeting on Palestine on Tuesday, he said that terrorist acts are “unlawful and unjustifiable whether they target people in Nairobi or Bali, in Luxor, Istanbul, or Mumbai, in New York or Kibbutz Be’eri”.

“They’re unlawful and unjustifiable whether they are carried out by IS, by Boko Haram, by al-Shabaab, by Lashkar-e Taiba, or by Hamas. This Council has a responsibility to denounce member states that arm, that fund, and train Hamas or any other terrorist group that carries out such horrific acts."

Rejecting attempts to equivocate on the Hamas terrorism that killed over 1,400 people in Israel and had more than 200 kidnapped on October 7, Blinken said: “As this Council and the UN General Assembly have repeatedly affirmed, all acts of terrorism are unlawful and unjustifiable."

Outlining the worst of the Hamas attack like the execution of children before their parents, the beheading of young people and the burning of families alive, Blinken said that “we have to ask – indeed it must be asked – where is the outrage? Where is the revulsion? Where is the rejection? Where is the explicit condemnation of these horrors?".

“We must affirm the right of any nation to defend itself and to prevent such horror from repeating itself. No member of this council – no nation in this entire body – could or would tolerate the slaughter of its people."

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Munir Akram reacted swiftly to the mention of 26/11, LeT and Hamas, and said without directly naming the US:“Some in this Council have offered protection to their allies who are oppressing occupied people in Palestine and in Kashmir."

Blinken defended the right of Israel itself in the face of the brutal attack by Hamas, but added: “It means Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians."

As for Hamas, he said that it should not use civilians “as human shields”.

Some have suggested that Western countries have double standards in how they view Palestinian and Israeli lives.

Blinken said: “There is no hierarchy when it comes to protecting civilian lives. A civilian is a civilian is a civilian, no matter his or her nationality, ethnicity, age, gender, faith.

“That’s why America mourns the loss of every single innocent life in this crisis, including innocent Israeli and Palestinian men, women, children, elderly people, Muslims, Jews, Christians, people of all nationalities and faiths, including at least 35 UN staff members."

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)

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Maccabi's upcoming home game against Real Madrid in Round 6, originally scheduled for Nov. 2, was postponed to an unspecified date, Xinhua reports.

The Israelis' following four home games, against Bayern Munich, Olympiacos Piraeus, Barcelona, and Alba Berlin will be played on their scheduled dates later in November at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Serbia's capital.

"Maccabi has received the support of the Belgrade Municipality and the Serbian Government and will engage in conversations to plan the necessary security measures," said the EB decision.

"EB will continue to monitor the evolution of the situation, staying in contact with all related parties, and will announce any modifications, if necessary," it concluded.

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En route to the knockouts, Sunil Chhetri and Co. lost to China 5-1 in the opener before beating Bangladesh 1-0 and holding Myanmar to a 1-1 draw. India finished second in Pool A behind China to seal a pre-quarterfinal spot.

India's plan, right from the get-go was to turn the game into a physical, gritty, scrappy battle. Igor Stimac had stressed on the importance of fighting it out on the pitch and it was no surprise to see the Blue Tigers put bodies behind the ball and rely on the counter to surprise their opponents.

Despite holding possession for large periods of the first half, Saudi Arabia didn't really have too many clear-cut chances to go ahead, and for the first quarter, were reduced to taking potshots at goal from distance, Chinglensana Singh and Sandesh Jhingan marshalling the defence beautifully to keep them at bay.

India had their first chance of the game in the 14th minute, Chhetri the architect and the artist, cutting past three Saudi players, before a lucky bounce presented him with a chance to shoot at goal from outside the box. Shoot he did, albeit straight into the arms of Ahmed Fahad.

From thereon, Saudi recognised India's threat on the counter and pressed higher and harder to negate it. Every clearance or loose ball was immediately snatched upon, and the Indian team were forced back into their own half for most of the half.

In the 22nd, Saudi Arabia came close to opening the scoring, Haitham Asiri curling a shot from just outside the box onto the crossbar. From an ensuing melee, the ball dropped to Awad Al Nashri, whose shot from a narrow angle, drifted wide.

Deep into the half, Dheeraj Singh made a smart save dropping low to his right to save from an Asiri freekick, and Jhingan blocked from Zakaria Al Hawsawi in injury time, to ensure India went into the break level.

Saudi came quickly out of the blocks in the second half, and six minutes in, Marran Mohammed headed in a cross by Abu Al Shamta to give them the lead. He got a second in the 57th minute, calmly collecting Saad Al Nasser's through ball, cutting past Dheeraj and slotting it into the net.

From there it was all about game management, for both sides. Saudi Arabia were keen to not let their levels drop, and for the Blue Tigers, it was crucial to not open up at the back in the search for a goal and concede more.

Dheeraj made some brilliant saves — the standout being one where he went diving backwards to save a header from Rayan Hamed — to ensure the deficit wouldn't increase. In the end, the Blue Tigers' first appearance in the knockouts in over a decade ended valiantly, though without any dividends.

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