UNICEF ‘outraged’ after Israeli forces kill water truck drivers in Gaza
UN Children’s Fund calls on Israeli authorities to investigate and ‘ensure full accountability’. Published On 18 Apr 202618 Apr 2026 The United Nations Children’s Fund says it is “outraged” after Israel killed two drivers it had contracted to deliver clean water to families in Gaza. UNICEF said in a statement the incident occurred during routine water trucking on Friday morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza, which supplies Gaza City. Two other people were wounded in the attack. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The agency said it had suspended activities at the site and called on Israeli authorities to investigate and “ensure full accountability”. “Humanitarian workers, essential service providers, and civilian infrastructure, including critical water facilities, must never be targeted,” it said. It said that “the protection of civilians and those delivering life-saving assistance is an obligation under international humanitarian law”. More than 750 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the US- and Qatar-brokered “ceasefire” in Gaza took effect last October, according to Palestinian health authorities. More than 72,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza on October 7, 2023, following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Khirbet Salama, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. Muhammad Ahmad Suwaiti, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene, WAFA said. Israel’s military said a person carrying a knife in the illegal settlement of Negohot was killed. It did not say who was responsible. Advertisement Using the biblical term for the West Bank, the Israeli military said in a statement that “a terrorist who infiltrated the community of Negohot in Judea and Samaria was identified and eliminated in a rapid response”. Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,060 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Adblock test (Why?)
As fentanyl crisis evolves, experts say US is still ‘behind the eight ball’
Dallas, United States – Michael Watkins wipes sweat from his brow as he steps up to a stranger’s door. It’s a scorching day in Dallas, Texas; the sun has been hammering the pavement for hours. Watkins, a 50-year-old man with glasses, a goatee and a gauge in both earlobes, doesn’t know what to expect beyond the door of the single-storey house. He doesn’t even know if the person on the other side will answer. But these door knocks are a critical part of his job. Within 72 hours of a reported overdose from the dangerous opioid fentanyl, Watkins shows up on a stranger’s doorstep with a brochure full of substance abuse resources and some of the life-saving medication known as Narcan. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list He works for the Recovery Resource Council, an addiction treatment nonprofit that’s been tackling the fentanyl crisis in North Texas since it began more than 10 years ago. Their grassroots approach has yielded great results: In 2023, Dallas County — the largest county in North Texas — recorded 280 deaths from fentanyl. Last year, that number was 203. This is in line with a nationwide decrease in fentanyl overdoses that began several years ago, after the rate of overdose deaths in the United States doubled between 2015 and 2023. However, some show the number of overall overdose deaths once again climbing, as experts warn a disruption in the fentanyl market has been repaired. Dallas, like all major US cities, has been ravaged by fentanyl overdoses. Because of its relative proximity to the US-Mexico border, and its extensive highway infrastructure, Dallas also has the unfortunate distinction of being a major hub in the drug smuggling routes stretching from Mexico to other major US cities. Advertisement Becky Devine, the director of Recovery Resource Council, says her team calls these door-knocks “uninvited interventions”. “We show up wanting to bridge the gap between where they are in this moment of desperation and isolation to all of the services that are available in our community,” she said. “The majority of the people we encounter are receptive to us showing up, but they just don’t know what they want yet. We get phone calls weeks, months down the road that say, ‘Hey, I met you on my doorstep six, seven, 10 months ago, and I wasn’t ready then, but I’m ready now.’” Recently, their work, like the work of similar nonprofits across the country, has been hindered by the administration of US President Donald Trump, just as the country was making consistent progress in the fight against fentanyl. Despite declaring fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction”, the Trump administration has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars in addiction services and drug-related research across multiple federal agencies. Elon Musk’s DOGE team fired a team that rigorously tracked Americans’ drug use for decades, and in January, officials abruptly cancelled roughly $2bn in grants through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), only to reverse course within days. The whiplash left providers scrambling and deepened uncertainty across the treatment system. What’s more, in the past year, the Trump administration has reduced SAMHSA’s staff by half. Estimates vary as to how much money in total has been cut from essential treatment programmes, but in late 2025, the health news website STAT reported that at least $1.7bn in block grants for state health departments had been cut, as had about $350m in addiction and overdose prevention funding. All this comes at a time when the fentanyl threat is evolving, with the market for the chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl largely shifting from China to India. Chrissie Julianno is the executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, which represents health departments in major cities across the US. According to her, the Trump administration has created rampant chaos with far-reaching consequences. “I think one piece that people don’t necessarily think about is, particularly in large jurisdictions, large counties and large cities, a lot of the dollars that they get from the federal government are then contracted out to community partners,” she said. “It’s not just the health department that can’t do something. It’s not just the health department that’s forced to lay off staff. It’s all of the other pieces that come together in these jurisdictions where there’s partnerships.” Weapon of mass destruction Last year, Watkins’s organisation tried to establish an addiction resource team devoted to Plano, one of the largest suburbs in Dallas. The team was put on hold because of a spate of federal funding cuts, including the elimination of $345m in addiction and overdose prevention. Advertisement Watkins, for his part, is trying to be the kind of person he needed when he was at the lowest point of his own addiction journey. He once called the police on himself because, in his words, “If I go to jail, maybe I won’t drink any more.” Instead of lock-up, he wound up in a hospital, where he received an offer for a state-funded treatment programme. He took the rep’s business card, went home, and drank for four days straight. “But after those four days, all of a sudden it just dawned on me, ‘Yes, I’m going to die, and I really don’t know what to do,’” he said. He called the number on that business card and entered the treatment programme. Now, 13 years later, he’s the one handing out cards and offers of help. “I just want to be there for people,” he said. “I want to be there to help them connect the dots.” Experts say initiatives like this are critical to the US continuing a trend that began in 2023, when fentanyl overdoses started falling nationwide for the first time in a decade. Instead, the Trump administration has focused on a militaristic approach that’s frustrated healthcare professionals and policy experts. Trump and his cabinet members claim recent military actions against Venezuela, including the boat strikes that have drawn war crime accusations, are part of the fight against
French soldier serving with UNIFIL killed in Lebanon attack
The deadly incident comes just days after Israel and Lebanon announced a 10-day ceasefire. Published On 18 Apr 202618 Apr 2026 A French soldier serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been killed, and three others were wounded in an attack that UNIFIL and French officials said was likely carried out by Hezbollah. Three other members of the peacekeeping mission were wounded in the attack in the village of Ghandouriyeh in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL said on Saturday, two of them seriously. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list UNIFIL noted that initial assessments indicated they came from non-state actors, allegedly Hezbollah, and that an investigation had been launched into what it called “a deliberate attack”. In calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unacceptable attack”, his office said in a statement on Saturday. Macron also said the evidence so far pointed to the Lebanese armed group and urged the Lebanese government to act against those responsible. The Iran-aligned armed group rejected the allegations, calling for “exercising caution in issuing judgements regarding the incident”. “We deny any connection to us with the incident that occurred with UNIFIL forces in the Ghandouriyeh area in Bint Jbeil,” Hezbollah said in a statement. French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin said the patrol was ambushed while on a mission to open a route to a UNIFIL post that had been isolated by fighting in the area. The soldier was killed by direct small-arms fire, she said. Lebanon’s army condemned the shooting and said it had opened an investigation. Advertisement President Aoun has also offered condolences and ordered an immediate probe, while Prime Minister Salam condemned the attack. Fragile ceasefire The deadly incidents come just days after an Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire took effect and days before a truce in the United States-Israel war on Iran was set to expire. Lebanon was drawn into the war in early March after Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel in response to the US-Israeli killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28. Israel responded with a devastating bombing campaign and a ground invasion that killed more than 2,000 people and forced more than 1.2 million others from their homes. The declaration of a ceasefire in Lebanon was seen as a boost to efforts for an agreement to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said fighting between Israel and Hezbollah had been a key sticking point in US-Iran talks last weekend in Islamabad. It was not clear whether Hezbollah would abide by a truce it did not play a role in negotiating, especially when it leaves Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon. Attacks on peacekeepers UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, was first deployed in 1978 along the border between Israel and Lebanon and has remained through successive conflicts, including a 2024 war during which its positions came under repeated fire. Last month, two UN peacekeepers were killed in southern Lebanon amid Israel’s ground invasion of the country. UNFIL said they were killed when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle. World leaders have condemned the escalating violence and attacks on peacekeepers. Last month, in a post on X, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to the war to abide by international law and ensure the security of all UN personnel. “This is just one of a number of recent incidents that have jeopardized the safety & security of peacekeepers,” Guterres had said. Adblock test (Why?)
TCS Nashik Case: Where is Nida Khan now? Tip-off from accused’s husband leads police to locked residence
Nida Khan, linked to the TCS Nashik controversy involving alleged forced religious conversion and harassment, has been missing for a week as police investigate.
‘Opposition would never allow women in Lok Sabha’: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday accused the opposition of attempting to prevent women from entering legislative bodies. She said that Opposition would never allow women to reach the Lok Sabha.
‘Audit points deducted for wearing kalawas’: Lenskart employees make shocking claims amid ‘hijab vs bindi’ controversy
Lenskart faces backlash after employees alleged discrimination over religious symbols like kalawas, bindi and tika.
Centre increases DA: What does it mean for govt employees? Know its date of implementation, how much your salary may go up
The Centre has raised Dearness Allowance by 2 percent to 60 percent for government employees and pensioners, effective January 2026, with arrears included.
PM Modi set to adress nation tonight at 8:30 PM; focus likely on Women’s reservation bill
PM Modi is set to address the nation tonight at 8:30 PM. PM Modi is likely to speak on the issue of the Women’s reservation bill which failed to pass in Parliament after the opposition blocked it. Two-thirds majority was required for the passage of the crucial bill.
TCS Nashik Scandal: Who is Moin Naveed Iqbal khan? Key accused Nida Khan’s husband, who works in Amazon; accused of misleading police
Tata Consultancy Services Nashik scandal has emerged as one of the most shocking ‘forced religious conversion’ and ‘sexual harassment in office’ scandal that has shocked the entire nation. Around 8 people have been arrested so far, including senior staff members Mohammad Danish Shaikh, and his assosciate Tausif Attar.
‘No bindi, no sindoor’: After Lenskart, Air India’s cabin crew rule faces backlash, airline responds
After Peyush Bansal-owned Lenskart, now Air India has found itself at the centre of social media outrage after a cabin crew handbook allegedly mentioning the ‘no bindi, no sindoor’ rule goes viral.