Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan, Philippines.
Today's three stories you should know.
Israel-Palestine
Two people have been wounded in a shooting attack in occupied East Jerusalem a day after seven people were shot dead by a Palestinian gunman near a synagogue in the city. Israeli police said that a 13-year-old Palestinian boy carried out today’s attack. The incidents came after an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Thursday during which nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, were shot dead. Israel has been carrying out near-daily raids on the camp in what it says is an effort to root out members of armed groups planning attacks on Israelis. At least 30 people have been killed in the raids since the start of the year.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Afghanistan
Half of Afghanistan’s population “endures severe hunger” throughout the year, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said today. I’ll say it again: half of the country endures severe hunger. Millions were impoverished after the Taliban took control in August 2021 because Western countries halted aid and froze billions of dollars of the country’s foreign currency reserves, which were held in the US - essentially punishing the Afghan people for the sins of the Taliban. The situation has been made worse by this month’s Taliban ban on women working for aid agencies, which has forced many aid groups to stop operating. “There are four million children (under the age of 5) and mothers who are malnourished,” Phillipe Kropf, a spokesman for WFP, said.
More from The Diplomat here.
Philippines
The Philippine government has said it will review the conditions of Filipino workers in Kuwait to prevent abuses, including rape and mistreatment. It comes after a 35-year-old housemaid, Jullebee Ranara, was reportedly murdered by her employer’s son, her body then burnt and dumped in the desert. The Filipino government said it is trying to confirm reports she was raped and pregnant. Abuse of foreign workers, particularly housemaids, is common in Kuwait and several other Middle Eastern nations. The Philippines in 2018 banned Filipinos from working in Kuwait over such incidents but the ban was later lifted. More than 260,000 Filipinos currently work in Kuwait and the money they send home helps to keep the Philippine economy afloat.
More from AP here.