The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip from ongoing Israeli attacks has risen to 30,534, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said in a press statement on Monday (March 4). According to the statement, the Israeli army killed 124 Palestinians and wounded 210 others during the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 30,534 and injuries to 71,920 since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7, 2023. It noted that some victims remain under the rubble amid heavy bombardment and a lack of civil defense and ambulance crews. Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.   Source: Shine

The price of LPG has been increased Tk 41 again at the consumer level. The new price of 12 kg cylinder has been ifixed at Tk1,474 from Tk1,433. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) said that the new price will come into effect from Sunday evening (Feb 4).   According to the BERC decision, the price of “auto gas” (LPG for motor vehicles) also increased to Tk 67.68 per litre (including VAT) from Tk 65.76 per litre. Due to increase in the prices of Saudi CP (contract price), LPG price witnessed an increase in the local market, a BERC officials statement said.   The operators of Bangladeshi LPG  normally import their products from the Middle-eastern market on the basis of Saudi CP. The price of LPG witnessed the highest at Tk 1,498 (12 kg cylinder) in the local market in February 2024.

Three more devotees died at the Ijtema venue in Tongi, Gazipur. Taking the death toll to 10 including a Sub-Inspector The 3 deceased were identified as Nousher Ali, 65, son of Shamser Ali of Sherpur district, A Kader, 55, son of Belayet Hossain of Bhola district and Swadhin, son of Hossain Ahmed of Netrakona district. Earlier, seven people had died on the Ijtema ground. However, three died on the way to the Ijtema venue. The 7 deceased were identified as Abdus Sattar, 70, son of Abul Hossain, Ekhlas Mia, 68, son of Abdus Sobhan of Netrakona, Shah Alam, 60, son of Najir Ahmed of Bhola district, Matiur Rahman, 60 of Jamalpur district, Yunus Mia, 60 of Brahmanbaria district, Zaman Mia, 40 of Chapainawabganj and Sub-Inspector Hasan Uzzaman (30) was killed by a bus on the way to Ijtema.   Habibullah Raihan, coordinator of Biswa Ijtema media cell as well as Jahangir Alam, supervisor of Tongi Shaheed Ahsanullah Master General Hospital confirmed the deaths to reporters. The deceased were identified as Abdus Sattar, 70, son of Abul Hossain, Ekhlas Mia, 68, son of Abdus Sobhan of Netrakona, Shah Alam, 60, son of Najir Ahmed of Bhola district, Matiur Rahman, 60 of Jamalpur district, Yunus Mia, 60 of Brahmanbaria district, Zaman Mia, 40 of Chapainawabganj and Hasanuzzaman, 30, sub-inspector.

More than 60 people have so far been reported dead in the wake of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake which struck Japan on New Year's Day. Authorities warned heavy rain could trigger landslides as rescue operations continue. Japanese rescuers searched for survivors of the New Year's Day earthquake on Wednesday ahead of predicted freezing temperatures and heavy rains that threatened to bring about landslides. The devastating quake rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the west coast of the main island of Honshu, killing at least 62 individuals and destroying hundreds of buildings and sparking fires. The destruction isolated the remote area, and rescuers have since struggled to find survivors. What is the scale of the destruction? The regional government said it expected the death toll to climb, with poor weather conditions and damaged roads complicating rescue efforts. Some 300 people have been injured, 20 of them seriously, with over 31,800 in shelters, the government said. At least 200 buildings had collapsed. "It's been over 40 hours since the initial quake. This is a battle against time, and I believe now is a crucial moment in that battle," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday after an emergency task force meeting. Authorities doubled the number of military personnel dispatched to join the rescue mission. Some 400 other tremors have hit the region since Monday's massive 7.6-magnitude quake, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. Rainfall, power cuts, water shortages reported Japan's national weather agency advised people to be on alert for landslides, with rainfall expected to continue until Thursday. Suzu area municipal mayor Masuhiro Izumiya said there were "almost no houses standing" in one of the area's towns on the hard-hit Noto peninsula. He described the situation as "completely catastrophic." Some 32,800 households remained without power in Ishikawa prefecture, according to local authorities. Many cities were still without running water, with food also in short supply.  Food and emergency supplies arriving in the region struggled to make their way to those in need, due to damaged and blocked roads.

Indonesian rescuers searching the slopes of Mount Marapi after the volcano's weekend eruption have found 11 more bodies. One person is still unaccounted for. The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano has risen to 22 after rescue teams discovered 11 more bodies, officials said Tuesday. "We don't expect to find any more survivors," said Abdul Malik, the head of the local rescue service. More than 50 people were rescued from the mountain on Sunday, while 11 others were initially confirmed dead.  "The safety of our team has to be our priority. It's been raining incessantly since yesterday evening, making paths slippery and hindering the evacuation team," Malik said. Rescuers had been focusing on a particularly popular rocky area where many climbers are thought to have camped.   Two bodies were found on Monday, and nine more were discovered on Tuesday. One person is still unaccounted for. What do we ?know about Mount Marapi Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra — not to be confused with the similarly named volcano Mount Merapi on the island of Java — is 2,891 meters (9,484 feet) high and one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. Experts had detected signs of increased volcanic activity over the past several months. Marapi erupted on Sunday, spewing an ash tower 3,000 meters high and raining volcanic debris onto nearby villages. Many of the dead showed signs of severe burns. "Some suffered from burns because it was very hot, and they have been taken to the hospital. Those who are injured were the ones who got closer to the crater," Rudy Rinaldi, head of the West Sumatra Disaster Mitigation Agency told AFP news agency.  Authorities set up a three-kilometer evacuation zone around the crater and ordered residents to wear face masks, hats and glasses to protect themselves from volcanic ash other debris. Dozens of smaller eruptions have been detected since the main eruption. Indonesia lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity. It has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Three people were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Israeli forces said they launched the drone strike after coming under fire from a group of people during a raid in the Jenin refugee camp.  The military said "hits were identified." The Palestinian Authority's official news agency, WAFA, reported that the drone fired at least two projectiles, citing sources in the camp. According to the health ministry, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in clashes with Israeli forces since October 7 as the Israeli military pursues Palestinian militants in the aftermath of the Hamas terror attack from Gaza.

At least 20 people were killed and many others injured as two trains collide near Bhairab Bazar Junction Railway Station. Rail Police said, A freight train from Chattogram didn't stop at a set of lights and smashed into three carriages of Egaro sindhur express on Monday, October 23.  Bhairab Bazar's fire fighter Russell said, "We got the news of the accident around 4 pm. Police and fire service personnel are working on the spot to rescue the injured. The number of people killed in the accident is yet to be confirmed. But at least 20 people have been killed so far. More casualties are expected."

The number of people killed by Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 2,670, the enclave's health ministry announced on Sunday. A further 9,600 people have been injured, it said. Over 1,300 Israelis were killed in attacks by Hamas militants last Saturday. Since then, Israeli forces have been bombing the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is based, ahead of an anticipated ground offensive. The Israeli military has urged around a million civilians in Gaza to evacuate southwards, something human rights and health organizations have suggested is very difficult, if not impossible. 

Flooding in eastern Libya has left more than 5,100 people dead, officials said on Wednesday. Thousands more people were missing in the eastern city of Derna, and tens of thousands displaced. Mediterranean Storm Daniel arrived in Libya on Sunday, and caused two dams outside Derna to burst. What is the current situation in Libya? More than 7,000 people were injured in Derna, aid worker Ossama Ali told the Associated Press (AP). Most of them were being treated in field hospitals set up by authorities and aid agencies. The city's mayor, Abdulmenam Al-Ghaithi, believes as many as 20,000 residents could be dead. The UN migration agency, the International Organization for Migration, said that at least 30,000 people in Derna had lost their homes to flooding. The agency said that the damage was so extensive that the city was almost inaccessible to aid workers. Derna lies on a narrow coastal plain on the Mediterranean under steep mountains. Only two roads from the south remain usable, hampering the movement of aid workers. Aid workers and officials have said that the death toll is likely to keep rising, as bodies continue to wash up ashore. "Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children," Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, told AP. "Entire families were lost." War and corruption exacerbate disaster A Libyan political analyst has called for the first general elections to be held in almost 10 years after the internationally-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) postponed accepting international aid. "Two rival governments that are perfectly happy to rule over the rubble whilst their citizens lay underneath it," Anas El Gomati, founder of Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute, told DW. He said the Red Crescent and Libyan civilians themselves have been responsible for the bulk of the disaster recovery. "And frankly, the local authorities there, the LNA or the rival administration in the west, they can step aside," Gomati added. "They've done enough." Gomati also called for an inquiry into how the disaster occurred, from the dam above Derna not being maintained under the Gadhafi regime, all the way to corruption and "criminal negligence" in the present day. "I certainly think there needs to be a postmortem — figuratively and literally — after the events," he said. Asma Khalifa from the German Institute for Global and Area Studies said Libya's years-long civil war weakened the country's institutions "and aided mass corruption and abuse of public funds." "It is the main reason for the chaotic response to the crisis," she told DW. EU pledges aid to Libya Also on Wednesday, the EU Commission said that the bloc would provide disaster response equipment and humanitarian funding worth €500,000 ($537,000). Among the equipment offered are tents, field beds, blankets, 80 generators, food items, hospital tents and water tanks. The humanitarian funding is to go to organizations "operating on the ground to deliver lifesaving health and water and sanitation supplies." Libya's representative to the United Nations in Geneva had requested help from the EU on Tuesday, the commission's press release said. The UN itself pledged $10 million to help survivors. Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, Turkey said it dispatched a ship carrying equipment to set up two field hospitals along with 148 medical staff. This comes in addition to the three planeloads of humanitarian workers it already sent.

Morocco's Interior Ministry updated the death toll to 2,012 late on Saturday as rescue efforts continued. Meanwhile, at least 2,059 were injured in the quake, including 1,404 people who are in a critical condition. A senior Red Cross official for the region, Hossam Elsharkawi, told DW earlier on Saturday that it could take the entire weekend, or even a little longer, to get a clear picture of the scope of the damage to people and property alike. European leaders offer assistance to Morocco The leaders of the European Union offered their condolences to Morocco's King Mohammed IV after the devastating earthquake. "As close friends and partners of Morocco, we are ready to assist in any way you may deem useful," the leaders said in a letter to the king. "We are deeply saddened by the devastating consequences of this tragic event. The European Union and its member states stand in full solidarity with the people of Morocco in this difficult moment," it read. In addition to the leaders of all 27 EU member states, the letter was also signed by European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.   Morocco declares three days of mourning Morocco's royal palace announced the decision late on Saturday. "Three days of national mourning have been decided, with flags to fly at half-mast on all public buildings," said a statement published by the official MAP news agency. King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting to discuss the disaster where he called for "accommodation, food and all other basic needs" to be made available to those who needed it — particularly orphans and the vulnerable. "The Sovereign also expressed the sincere thanks of the kingdom of Morocco to all brotherly and friendly countries that expressed their solidarity with the Moroccan people in this situation, and many of those who expressed their readiness to provide aid in these extraordinary circumstances," the statement said. People could be seen lining up in Marrakech throughout the day to donate blood. Moroccan footballer Abde Ezzalzouli was among those making a donation. Morocco's African Cup qualifier postponed due to quake Morocco's qualifying game for the African Cup of Nations has been postponed indefinitely as a result of the earthquake. The national team had been scheduled to play against Liberia in the southern coastal city of Agadir on Saturday.  Another qualifying game between Congo and Gambia in Marrakech on Sunday was scheduled to go ahead as planned, despite the quake. Both teams experienced the powerful tremor in Marrakech on Friday night. Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet told the BBC World Service that he initially thought an airplane had crashed into the team's hotel. "It seems it was only 30 seconds but it felt endless. It was really scary," Saintfiet said. "The walls were really shaking and things were falling down from the ceiling and the walls. I never in my life saw a building moving like that." Congo's coach Paul Put said his players were in shock. "Mentally it's difficult to keep up the concentration. We had to sleep outside, near the swimming pool. It was very scary and even now a complicated situation for the players," he told the Reuters news agency. Marrakech is hosting the game because Gambia do not have a stadium suitable for hosting international matches. The African Cup of Nations gets underway in the Ivory Coast in January. Morocco has already qualified for the 24-team tournament.