January 30, 2023

Daily News Brief

*) Deadly Russian shelling hit Ukraine's Kherson, Kharkiv cities Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern city of Kherson has left at least three people dead, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy said in his evening address that the Russian army has been shelling Kherson “all day" and that "there are reports of six wounded and three dead." Meanwhile, in eastern Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, the governor of the regional military administration said a Russian strike hit "a four-storey residential building". He said an elderly woman died from the attack and the building was partially destroyed. *) Dozens killed as militant launches attack in eastern DRC A wave of attacks on villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo attributed to Daesh-affiliated ADF militants have killed at least 15 people. This is according to a local official who said there were seven fatalities in Manyala and "at least eight" in Ofay following “simultaneous attacks”. He said the final toll might be higher. Sunday's killings come a week after a similar attack left at least 23 people dead. *) Israeli-Palestinian cauldron tests US as Blinken visits An alarming spike in Israeli-Palestinian tensions is testing the Biden administration as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sets out to visit Israel and the occupied West Bank. Blinken’s trip begins on Monday after he completes a brief visit to Egypt. US officials say the main theme of Blinken’s conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will be “de-escalation.” Yet Blinken will arrive in Israel just a day after Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet announced a series of punitive measures against Palestinians following deadly raids in the occupied West Bank. *) Low turnout hobbles Tunisia’s second round of parliamentary polls Provisional figures showed the turnout in the second round of Tunisia's parliamentary election on Sunday was 11.3 percent. This is according to the head of the electoral commission who announced the figure at a news conference. A turnout of 11.2 percent had been registered in the first round of the election in December. A total of 262 candidates are competing for 131 seats from Tunisia's 161-member legislature, which was largely stripped of its powers following a series of measures by President Kais Saied in 2021. And finally… *) Djokovic wins 10th Australian Open title, ties Nadal’s 22nd grand slam title Novak Djokovic has resumed his reign over Melbourne Park by winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open title. Djokovic swept to victory at Rod Laver Arena to reclaim the world number one ranking on Sunday. In a rematch of the 2021 French Open decider, he again denied Greece's trailblazer Stefanos Tsitsipas a maiden major title. Djokovic's triumph was the ultimate redemption a year after his deportation from Australia on the eve of the Grand Slam due to his lack of Covid-19 vaccination. With the win, he also ties Rafael Nadal’s 22 grand slam titles.