Israel's Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the demolition of a Palestinian Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank, following growing international concerns over the move. The order, issued on the night of July 5, stops Israeli authorities razing Khan al-Ahmar until at least July 11 to give the state time to respond, according to a copy of the document posted on July 6 on the court website. “A temporary injunction is hereby granted forbidding the implementation of the demolition orders,” it said.
Attorney Shlomo Lecker, representing villagers, told AFP that the respite followed a new petition by residents who submitted a planning application to rebuild the village at its present location. The present village consists mainly of makeshift structures of tin and wood, as is generally the case with Bedouin sites.
In May, the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal against the demolition. Activists say the villagers had little alternative but to build without Israeli construction permits that are almost never issued to Palestinians in the parts of the West Bank where Israel has full control over civilian affairs.
Pamplona festival opens in Spain
A municipal brass band makes its away through a crowd of revellers during the launch of the ‘Chupinazo’ rocket, to celebrate the official opening of the 2018 San Fermin fiestas with daily bull runs, bullfights, music and dancing in Pamplona, Spain, on July 6, 2018.
A traditional firework known as the “Chupinazo” kicked off Pamplona’s famed San Fermin running of the bulls festival on July 6.
Two members of a local music band, both with Down syndrome, launched the rocket from the northern Spanish city’s town hall balcony at noon, prompting cries of joy from thousands packed in the square below.
Amid shouts in Basque and Spanish of “Long life to San Fermin,” the saint honoured by the festival, people in the crowd wore the festival’s typical red scarf and sprayed each other with wine, staining the traditional white attire.
The nine-day fiesta was immortalised by American novelist Ernest Hemingway and draws around one million visitors.
For eight consecutive mornings starting Saturday, daredevils race with bulls along an 850-metre street course to the city’s bullring.
Japan witnesses cult leader’s execution
TV screens at an electrical appliance store show the image of doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara in news reports, in Urayasu, near Tokyo on July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed on July 6 for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan’s Justice Ministry said.
Cult leader Shoko Asahara and six of his followers were executed on July 6 for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan’s Justice Ministry said. The hanging of Asahara, 63, closes a chapter on one of Japan’s most shocking crimes in the 20th century. During the morning rush hour of March 20, 1995, members of the his Aum Shinrikyo cult punctured plastic bags to release sarin nerve gas inside subway cars, killing 13 people and sickening more than 6,000.
Thailand boys rescue efforts
The boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their assistant coach were found inside the cave on Monday, after nine days underground, hungry but in good spirits. They went missing after they set out to explore the cave on June 23.
A diver carries an oxygen tank as he leaves the Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, on July 6, 2018.
Rescuers, including international teams, are considering alternative ways to bring the group out before heavy rains hit the country's north next week which could further hamper the rescue operation.
Tribute to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speakar Sumitra Mahajan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, senior BJP Leader L.K. Advani and others at the floral tributes function for Shyama Prasad Mukherjee at the Parliament House in New Delhi on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder and former parliamentarian Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary. Mr. Mukherjee, who was a barrister and academician, served as Minister for Industry and Supply in the first cabinet post-Independence.
He founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 which later became the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.
Search continues for the missing boys in Mumbai
Navy and CG Chetak take off from INS Shikra, Colaba around 0800 hrs to continue the search and rescue of the missing boys off Juhu coast.
Five boys from D.N. Nagar, Andheri went missing in sea near Juhu Chowpatti on Thursday evening. One was rescued by lifeguards after the incident. Three bodies have been recovered till now.
In memory of the departed souls
Newsrooms usually abuzz with approaching deadlines fell oddly silent as journalists nationwide paused to honour five people shot dead a week before at a Maryland newspaper.
Employees stand for a moment of silence in the Baltimore Sun newsroom, in Baltimore, Md., for the five colleagues of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, who were killed a week ago in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history.
The American Society of News Editors and The Associated Press Media Editors asked newsrooms around the globe to join in a remembrance of the dead, and many did.
The remembrance also touched journalism schools. No classes were in session at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, but more than a dozen faculty members and students bowed their heads in memory of the slain newspaper workers.
No to privatization
A woman participates in a protest against privatisation of water in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on the streets of El Salvador to protest against the possible privatization of drinking water. Last month, the right-leaning ARENA tabled the Comprehensive Water Law to replace the General Water Law, which the protesters fear “would give control of the country´s water resources to the business elite.”
Venezuela Independence Day
Kids pose for a photo with soldiers on top a military tank after a military parade to celebrate the 207th anniversary of Venezuela's independence in Caracas, Venezuela.
Venezuela celebrated its Independence Day on July 5. This day, in 1811, Venezuela became the first South American nation to declare independence from Spain.
