Saudi Arabia to reform kafala worker sponsorship system in 2021

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that at least 74 children were killed in Israel’s relentless violence in the Gaza Strip during the first week of 2025, marking a grim start to the New Year for children in the besieged territory.

In a recent report released on Wednesday, UNICEF said that the fatalities occurred within just eight days, emphasizing that the lack of adequate shelter, compounded by winter weather, poses severe risks to the children in Gaza.

“For the children of Gaza, the New Year has brought more death & suffering with at least 74 children reportedly killed,” Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell said, calling for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence.

She expressed deep concern over the number of children who have either been killed or have lost loved ones during the tragic beginning of the year.

Numerous fatalities have occurred during mass casualty events, including nighttime assaults in Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and al-Mawasi, which has been designated a "safe zone." The most recent attack claimed the lives of five children in al-Mawasi on Tuesday, according to UNICEF.

The situation is dire, with reports indicating that eight infants and newborns have died from hypothermia since December 26, highlighting the severe risk facing young children who are unable to regulate their body temperature amid the harsh conditions as Israel weaponizes cold against children in the Gaza strip.

“UNICEF has long warned that inadequate shelter, lack of access to nutrition and healthcare, the dire sanitary situation, and now the winter weather put the lives of all children in Gaza at risk. Newborns and children with medical conditions are especially vulnerable,” Russell emphasized.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached alarming levels. The number of aid trucks entering the region remains grossly inadequate to meet the basic needs of families, while civil order has largely unraveled, leading to the looting of humanitarian supplies.

According to UN reports, over a million children are currently living in makeshift tents, with almost all of the 2.3 million population displaced several times over the last 15 months.

Moreover, the few operational hospitals are overwhelmed, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure has severely hampered access to essential services, including food, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare.

Kamal Adwan Hospital, previously the only functioning medical facility in northern Gaza with a pediatric unit, has ceased operations following a raid last month, exacerbating the already critical healthcare situation.

A recent report from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics noted a 6% decline in Gaza's population in 2024, indicating that Israeli forces are intentionally targeting specific demographic groups, such as children and youth, resulting in a significant “distortion of the population.”

Since the onset of the genocide, Israel has killed 45,936 Palestinians, including over 17,600 children, as reported by the Health Ministry in Gaza, indicating a tragic loss of one child approximately every hour.

Mangaluru: The long-awaited DC office complex in Padil is nearing completion, with plans underway to inaugurate the facility during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s visit to Mangaluru for the State Olympics meet on January 17. Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader inspected the site and emphasized the urgency of completing the ₹75 crore project within the set deadline.

“We aim to finish the work by January 10 so that the inauguration can align with the Chief Minister’s visit. However, the final decision will depend on the project’s readiness by then,” Khader stated during his site inspection.

The ambitious project, reflecting the rich Tulu Nadu heritage in its design, received administrative approval on April 28, 2015. Following delays, the work order was issued on February 3, 2018, and construction began on March 17, 2018. Khader assured that the building's traditional architecture will extend to its surroundings, including an aesthetically designed entrance gate.

Spread across 5.89 acres, the complex boasts a total plinth area of 21,054.88 sq m, encompassing multiple levels:

Basement: 4043.88 sq m
Ground Floor: 7553.36 sq m
First Floor: 4158.94 sq m
Second and Third Floors: 2561.28 sq m each
Roof 1 and 2: 88.07 sq m each

The facility aims to centralize government services by housing most departments—except Revenue and RDPR—under one roof. This initiative, Khader highlighted, will streamline operations, save time, and enhance convenience for both officials and the public.

"Officials have been directed to expedite the remaining work, ensuring its timely completion," he added, reaffirming the government’s commitment to creating a functional and visually iconic administrative hub for the region.

Journalist Mohammad Hijazi has been killed in an Israeli attack, raising the number of media workers killed by Zionist forces since the start of the war on Gaza to 220.

The Israeli regime forces killed the Palestinian writer, poet and journalist in an airstrike on northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, according to his family.

He was among nearly 90 other Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardment across the besieged territory in the last 24 hours, according to a Gaza Health Ministry statement on Sunday.

“I don’t know if I will write to you again. I keep what I have written and am writing. Maybe it will come to light one day. I refuse a cheap death. I curse the murderer,” Hijazi wrote in a post on social media in August 2023.

“Let us in this bottom that we have finally reached, arm ourselves with patience and prayer, and count the days we have lived as a historic achievement while awaiting what is coming with a broken heart, an extinguished eye, a head held high, and a spirit that fights until the end of the road.”

Since the Israeli killing machine imposed a military siege of northern Gaza in early October intensifying its bombing attacks on the the Jabalia camp, hundreds of people have been killed.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Sunday that at least 88 Palestinians had been killed and 208 others injured in the past 24 hours alone.

According to media reports from central Gaza, among those killed in the latest Israeli strikes across Gaza on Sunday were three Palestinians who were living in a tent in Deir el-Balah.

A family of 15 people was also buried under the rubble in Gaza City, following a separate strike, media reported.

The Israeli regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a surprise operation by the Palestinian  Hamas resistance movement in October last year, killing more than 45,805 Palestinians and wounding 109,064 others.