Israel has said that one of the aims of its military operation in Gaza is to get rid of Hamas' leaders. But who are they? Yehya Sinwar is thought to be the mastermind behind the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, when countless fighters of the militant group Hamas crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and abducting around 240. The most senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip is currently one of Israel's most wanted men. The Israeli army has vowed to eliminate him and crush the group, of which he is but one of several top commanders 'The butcher of Khan Younis:' Yehya Sinwar Considered charismatic and highly intelligent, as well as brutal and ruthless, Yahya Sinwar rules with an iron fist. He was born in the refugee camp of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip in 1962 and was one of the early members of Hamas when it formed in 1987. A few years later, he was also involved in setting up its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, which has carried out suicide attacks in Israel. He was nicknamed the "Butcher of Khan Younis" after taking brutal action against Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. In 1988, an Israeli court sentenced him to four life sentences after he was convicted of killing two Israeli soldiers and murdering several Palestinians. Sinwar learned Hebrew in jail and reportedly studied the mindset of the "enemy" by reading books by famous Israeli personalities. Israeli doctors are said to have saved his life after an abscess was removed from near his brain. In 2011, Sinwar was released after 22 years in jail, alongside more than 1,000 Palestinians, as part of a prisoner exchange deal that led to Hamas letting the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit go. Sinwar returned to Gaza and became responsible for liaising between the military and political arms of Hamas. In 2017, he became the group's leader in the Gaza Strip. The 'cat with nine lives': Mohammed Deif Mohammed Deif has led Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, since 2002. Israel says he is responsible for several suicide attacks and the death of dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians. He is also thought to be one of those behind the extensive Hamas tunnel system in Gaza, and he too is accused of having planned and led the October 7 attack. The Israeli army has said it wants to kill him during its current military operation. Deif has been one of Israel's most wanted men since 1995. He was temporarily imprisoned in Israel in 2000 but was able to escape during the turmoil of the second intifada, an armed Palestinian uprising that lasted from 2000 to 2005. There has hardly been a trace of him since. He is thought to have survived seven assassination attempts, which left him seriously injured and killed several members of his family. Deif is said to have lost an eye, a foot and part of his arm. He never appears in public. It is rumored that he spends each night in a different building. Deputy commander-in-chief of Qassam Brigades: Marwan Issa Issa too was born in a refugee camp in Gaza. Little is known about his youth, but he is said to have belonged to the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization from which Hamas later emerged. He served a five-year prison sentence in Israel during the first intifada (1987-1993). In 1997, the Palestinian Authority arrested and jailed him, but he was released after the second intifada began in 2000. Today, he is the deputy commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades and Deif's right-hand man. Issa has also survived several targeted assassination attempts by Israel and he remains high on the state's wanted list.  Hamas leaders in Qatar: Ismail Haniyeh und Khaled Mashaal Since two of its most important leaders are not in Gaza but in the Gulf emirate of Qatar, it would be difficult for Israel to completely extinguish Hamas. Ismail Haniyeh, who is generally considered to be the organization's supreme leader, was also born in a refugee camp in Gaza. He attended a United Nations school and went on to study at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he reportedly first came into contact with Palestinian independence movements. He was appointed dean of the philosophy department in 1993, and in 1997 he became the personal secretary of Hamas founder, Ahmed Yassin. Haniyeh was appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority by President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas won a majority of seats in the 2006 legislative elections. However, he was dismissed just one year later after Hamas unleashed a wave of violence to oust Abbas' Fatah party from the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh refused to step down and Hamas continued to rule the Gaza Strip, while Fatah remained responsible for the occupied West Bank. In 2017, Haniyeh was elected head of Hamas' political bureau, succeeding Khaled Mashaal. Mashaal was born in the West Bank in 1956 and studied physics at Kuwait University. He later lived in Syria and Jordan and was also a founding member of the Hamas political bureau, the chairman of which he became in 1996. He called for terror attacks against Israel and in 1997 survived an assassination attempt by Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. In 2012, he travelled to Gaza via Egypt to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas. It was reportedly the first time he had set foot on Palestinian territories in 45 years. In 2017, he stepped down as Hamas' leader to make way for Haniyeh. He is now head of the organization's political bureau.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie recently announced the end of their 18-years marriage. Recently he saw Greta Gerwig's Barbie with his son Xavier. The picture with Xavier and the Barbie screening with "Barbie costume" had gone viral!  After that On Tuesday, he took his daughter Ella to a screening of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer also shared a picture with Ella from the screening, wearing a black shirt with blue jeans and a cap. Ella channelled perfect GenZ fashion in her brown tank top, camo brown pants and a white hoodie. Sharing the photo, Trudeau wrote, “Balancing things out: Oppenheimer with Ella.”

Dozens people have died in floods which hit several cities in the north of Sao Paulo state. Pre-lenten Carnival festivities were canceled as the governor requested the army's support. Torrential rains hit coastal areas of Brazil's south east, triggering floods and landslides which killed dozens and left hundreds more homeless. The rains struck the north of Sao Paulo state on Sunday. Two of the hardest hit cities, Sao Sebastiao and Bertioga, canceled their pre-lenten Carnival festivities. Tarcisio de Freitas, the state governor of Sao Paulo, declared a state of emergency in five towns along the coast. At least 36 people have died as a result of the floods so far, Sao Paulo state authorities said in a statement. The floods left over 200 people homeless, with 338 more evacuated in the coastal region north of the city of Sao Paulo, according to the state government. Heavy rains are projected to continue in Sao Paulo's coastal areas, weather forecasts predicted, which means the death toll is likely to climb. Wealthy tourists usually flock to the northern coast of Sao Paulo state during Carnival season to escape the big cities' massive street parties.

For only the third time in its history, New Zealand has declared a national emergency. It comes as Cyclone Gabrielle causes flooding and landslides across North Island. New Zealand declared a national emergency on Tuesday as Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc across the country's North Island. The emergency — only the third in New Zealand's history — comes as the extreme weather pattern causes flooding, landslides and ocean swells. Lives under threat Authorities have conducted evacuations across the island amid power outages and damage to properties. The flooding has cut off access to several towns. "This is an unprecedented weather event that is having major impacts across much of the North Island," Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty said. "This is a significant disaster with a real threat to the lives of New Zealanders." Gabrielle expected to head on to South Island The cyclone is centered around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the city of Auckland and is expected to move east-southeast down the coast, possibly bringing its severe weather to the South Island. Authorities have asked people who live near the coast to leave their homes amid fears of swelling rivers and rising sea tides. Many roads have been closed and mobile phone services are down in across parts of the island. New Zealand previously declared a national emergency on only two occasions. First after the 2011 earthquakes that struck Christchurch. And the second during the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration gives the government emergency powers to better manage and control the crisis. Fears mount over missing firefighter No deaths have been reported, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said it was too early to tell how many people had been injured or displaced. "It has been a big night for New Zealanders across the country, but particularly in the upper North Island ... a lot of families displaced, a lot of homes without power, extensive damage done across the country," he told reporters. Particular attention was being given to the case of a volunteer firefighter who went missing after a house collapsed near Auckland on Monday night. Authorities said that another firefighter had been rescued already, but search efforts had to be called off amid safety concerns. "One was rescued early this morning and is in a critical condition in hospital. The search for our second firefighter was suspended in the early hours of the morning due to the instability of the land," Fire and Emergency chief Kerry Gregory said.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that China is ready to work with India for the “steady and sound growth” of bilateral ties and the two countries are committed to upholding stability at the border areas where tensions have prevailed since 2020. Addressing a symposium on the international situation and China’s foreign relations in 2022, Wang said, “China and India have maintained communication through the diplomatic and military-to-military channels, and both countries are committed to upholding stability in the border areas.” Wang was elevated to the ruling Communist Party of China’s (CPC) high-power political bureau during the recent party Congress. “We stand ready to work with India in the direction toward steady and sound growth of China-India relations,” he said at the symposium. Wang, along with national security adviser Ajit Doval, is the special representative of the India-China boundary mechanism which has remained dormant in the present set of border standoffs. In his lengthy address on China’s diplomatic work, Wang focused more on China’s troubled ties with the US and burgeoning relations with Russia, despite the Ukraine war. He briefly touched on India-China relations that have been bogged down since April 2020 when China tried to move a large number of its troops to the disputed areas in eastern Ladakh, resulting in a prolonged military standoff. The two countries have held 17 rounds of talks so far to resolve the standoff, the last round coming days after Indian and Chinese troops clashed at Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh.

Authorities in South Korea and Japan detected two North Korean missiles on Sunday morning. It's the latest in a spate of North Korean missile launches. North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Sunday morning, according to South Korea's military and Japan's coast guard. "Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance while closely cooperating with the United States and maintaining a full readiness posture" South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Japan's defense ministry added that one of the missiles covered a distance of 500 km (310 miles) towards the Sea of Japan and flew at an altitude of 550 km. "It threatens the peace and security of our country, this region, and the international community, and it is absolutely unacceptable," said the country's senior vice defence minister Toshiro Ino. He added that the missiles appeared to have landed outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Advanced technologies in development The missiles detected on Sunday appear to have been launched from the Tongchang-ri area, which is home to North Korea's Sohae Satellite Launching Ground. The United Nations recently said Pyongyang's launches of satellite-carrying long-range rockets were a disguised test for intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology. Sunday's missile launches also come just three days after North Korea said it tested a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" for a new strategic weapon at the same facility. All of North Korea's currently-known ICBMs use liquid fuel. North Korea has ramped up missile tests this year amid large-scale American and South Korean joint training exercises off the Korean peninsula. Pyongyang views these drills as a rehearsal for invasion. Some of North Korea's recently-tested missiles included mock nuclear warheads. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared he wanted to build the world's most powerful nuclear force after the launch of the Hawsong-17 "monster" missile last month.

The six-month UN-backed ceasefire that had brought the longest period of relative peace to war-torn Yemen came to an end on Sunday evening after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on extending the truce for another six months. The news came in an announcement from the UN's special envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg. "The UN special envoy regrets that an agreement has not been reached today, as an extended and expanded truce would provide additional critical benefits to the population," his office said in a statement. Grundberg was quoted as calling on both sides — the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels — "to fulfill their obligation to the Yemeni people to pursue every avenue for peace." Why did the truce extension in Yemen fail? Clashes between the two sides were already reported on Sunday as the truce extension deadline passed. Negotiations were still ongoing to return to the ceasefire with Grundberg saying he will "continue to work with both sides to try and find solutions." He did not lay the blame on any particular side for the failed extension, but gave particular thanks to the Yemeni government for "engaging positively with my proposal." This had included increasing the number of flights from Sanaa airport and allowing more fuel ships to enter the Houthi-held port of Hodeida, currently under blockade. He also pushed for a commitment for both sides to release prisoners and resume an "inclusive" political process.A statement from the Houthis on Saturday said the ceasefire was at "a dead end." Despite residents in Houthi-controlled areas saying their lives had markedly improved under the truce, the Houthis blamed the government side for failing to agree on measures to "alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people."​​​​​​​ World's worst humanitarian crisis The first two-month ceasefire was agreed in April and subsequently extended two more times. The conflict broke out in 2014 when the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa and large swathes of northern Yemen, forcing the government to flee into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, with support from the UAE, then joined on the side of the government. The Houthis have since targeted Saudi and UAE oil production facilities with drone strikes. The six-month lull in fighting eased access to humanitarian aid upon which some 23.4 million Yemenis are reliant. The fighting in Yemen has killed hundreds of thousands of people, including many civilians, and created what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.