TV News LIES

Desperate Afghans clawed through rubble in search of missing loved ones after a strong earthquake killed some 800 people and injured more than 2,500 in eastern Afghanistan, according to figures provided Monday by the Taliban government.

The 6.0 magnitude quake late Sunday hit towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighboring Nangarhar province, causing extensive damage.

The quake at 11:47 p.m. was centered 27 kilometers (17 miles) east-northeast of Jalalabad, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was just 8 kilometers (5 miles) deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage. Several aftershocks followed.

Footage showed rescuers taking injured people on stretchers from collapsed buildings and into helicopters as people frantically dug through rubble with their hands.

The Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at a press conference Monday that the death toll had risen to at least 800 with more than 2,500 injured. He said most of the casualties were in Kunar.

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Israeli officials have approved a plan for the military to scale up its deadly occupation in Gaza, despite increased global condemnation of the government’s killing and starving of the territory’s Palestinian population over the last 22 months.

The plan involves Israeli forces capturing Gaza City in the north and forcibly displacing its hundreds of thousands of residents to the south, which has been flattened by the military. Israel said it has called up 60,000 reservists and extended the service of an additional 20,000 in order to carry out the operation.

Israel maintains the military operation is meant to wipe out Hamas, the Gaza-based militant group that carried out the deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. About 50 hostages taken by Hamas at the time remain in captivity, roughly half of whom Israel believes are dead.

Arab mediators say Hamas leaders have agreed to the latest ceasefire proposal, though similar developments in the past have not led to a permanent truce. Israel has not agreed to the deal.

Both the international community and some Israelis themselves have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages and a potential ceasefire in favor of destroying the Palestinian people. The Gaza Health Ministry estimates Israeli forces have killed at least 62,000 people, with the real toll expected to be much higher.

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A federal judge has temporarily halted the planned U.S. deportation of Guatemalan children amid President Trump’s intense crackdown on immigration.

In a court filing Sunday, lawyers for the children said they were “ten (10) unaccompanied minors from Guatemala between the ages of 10 and 17 whom Defendants are seeking to remove from the United States in clear violation of the unambiguous protections that Congress has provided them as vulnerable children.”

The lawyers requested that the court “grant a temporary restraining order to preserve the status quo pending further proceedings.” 

A later order from U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan reads that “given the exigent circumstances” the court “has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set.”

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Israeli forces have killed at least 77 Palestinians across Gaza, including 47 people in northern Gaza City, as the military intensifies its campaign to seize the city and displace about one million people living there.

The killings on Saturday included 11 Palestinians who were shot dead while queueing for food aid, and came as the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 10 more people had died of malnutrition in the last 24-hour period . The victims included three children. 

In Gaza City, Israeli forces launched three strikes in quick succession, tearing apart an apartment block and killing at least seven people. Several more were wounded, including children.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said the attack caused “mahem and chaos” and damaged the surrounding areas.

“Many children were wounded. They arrived to the hospital fully soaked in their own blood. We saw one child transferred to the hospital who had the flesh of others who were wounded sticking to his back.”

Mahmoud said the attack was the latest since Israel declared Gaza City a combat zone.

“The military has increased its aerial bombings on densely populated areas, pushing people into further displacement. We are seeing people scrambling for shelter,” he added.

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American private military firms could be deployed to Ukraine as part of a long-term peace plan.

Donald Trump is in talks with European allies about allowing armed contractors to help build fortifications to protect American interests in the country.

The plan is being devised as a workaround after the US president promised that American troops would not be stationed in Ukraine.

US contractors could be deployed to help rebuild Ukraine’s front-line defences, new bases and protect US businesses.

The presence of private soldiers would act as a deterrent to discourage Vladimir Putin from breaking an eventual ceasefire.

The plan is being discussed alongside a range of other so-called security guarantees – drawn up by the coalition of the willing led by the UK and France – that will form the basis of a long-term peace plan.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been blocked from attending the UN General Assembly session in New York next month, after he and 80 other Palestinian officials had their visas revoked, the US State Department has said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed them for undermining peace efforts and for seeking "the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state".

The decision, welcomed by Israel, is unusual as the US is expected to facilitate travel for officials of all countries wishing to visit the UN headquarters.

The ban comes as France leads international efforts to recognise a state of Palestine at the session - a move Donald Trump's administration has opposed.

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