Israel-Palestine
Rights groups are slamming a decision by Israel’s high court that paves the way for the forcible expulsion of more than 1,000 Palestinian Bedouin people from the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank. Israeli rights group B’Tselem called on the international community to intervene, and the Norwegian Refugee Council said the decision was “a dangerous step” that would constitute a violation of international law. Eight small Palestinian villages would be demolished as part of the plan.
More from The New Arab here.
Iraq
Iraq has recorded its first official death from a wave of dust storms that have left thousands of people hospitalized with breathing problems. The country’s health ministry said today that a staggering 5,000 people were in hospital, 2,000 in the capital Baghdad alone. Experts say the dust storms, which envelop the country in thick orange clouds of particles, will become more frequent due to climate change.
More from The National here.
India
A strange story out of India today. Indian forestry officials are baffled after discovering three kangaroos bouncing along a highway in the state of West Bengal, near the Gajoldoba forest. “We have never seen a case involving kangaroos before. It was like a miracle when we saw them, like an impossibility, that these Australian creatures could be roaming in India,” Sanjay Dutta, a range officer, told Al Jazeera. One of the young kangaroos has died and the surviving two are in an emaciated condition. Footage of the animals has gone viral in India, provoking outrage.
More from Al Jazeera here.