NEW YORK: Kuwait has restated its support at the UN for the ending of the Israeli occupation of all the Palestinian territories.
In a statement before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, the country’s diplomatic attache of the permanent delegation to the UN, Mohammed Al-Sawagh, renewed his country’s firm stance on Palestinians gaining their political rights, including that of self-determination.

ANKARA: Turkey’s interior minister says a blast inside a coal mine in northern Turkey has left 14 workers dead.
Suleyman Soylu said at least 28 others were rescued with injuries from the coal mine in the Black Sea coastal province of Amasra.
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said the explosion is likely to have been caused by firedamp, a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines.
The explosion has left over 20 injured, the Turkish health minister Fahrettin Koca said earlier.

GAZA CITY: The sixth annual Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival in Palestine got underway on Thursday, providing a platform for local and international productions with a humanitarian message.

This year’s event will see 43 features and documentaries being screened at three venues in the Gaza Strip and one in the West Bank. They were selected from about 300 submissions received via the FilmFreeway International platform, which provides filmmakers from around the world with access to major festivals.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday failed to elect a successor to President Michel Aoun for a second time in less than a month.

Some MPs boycotted the vote, meaning a quorum was not reached, while others described the events surrounding the failed meeting as a farce.

Although 88 MPs were present at the parliamentary headquarters, only 71 attended the voting session.

The required quorum is 86 MPs, or two-thirds of the total number of 128 MPs.

ALGIERS/GAZA: Rival Palestinian factions signed an agreement in Algiers on Thursday aimed at resolving 15 years of discord by holding elections within a year after months of talks mediated by Algeria.
The deal aims to end a rift between President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement and Hamas that has split Palestinian governance in the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and hindered Palestinian ambitions of statehood.