Foreign News
British Woman Reported Missing after Tonga Tsunami
Friends and family of a British woman living in Tonga have said she is missing after she was caught in Saturday’s tsunami.
In social media posts, they said Angela and James Glover were hit by the 1.2m (4ft) waves, but only her husband was able to cling on to a tree.
Searches continue for Angela, 50, who was swept away along with her dogs.
Brighton-born Angela co-managed a tattoo parlour and ran a dog rescue centre in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa.
Significant damage has been reported on the western coast of main island Tongatapu, which remains covered in a thick layer of ash.
But full information about the extent of the damage from the tsunami on the Pacific island nation remains scarce, with internet and telephone communications extremely limited.
Mrs Glover’s brother, Nick Eleini, confirmed to the BBC that she still had not been been located. He is leaving his home in Sydney, Australia, to go to the UK to be with their mother in Hove, East Sussex.
One person commenting on social media said the couple were his aunt and uncle. He said Angela and James had gone home to get their dogs when the wave hit.
Another person said she had spent Sunday morning with Angela’s mother, who had received a phone call in the early hours from James to say her daughter was missing.
She said: “We are hoping and praying that amongst the devastation she is found.”
Tonga is a group of more than 170 islands spread over an area of the South Pacific roughly the size of Japan.
The tsunami which hit Tongatapu was triggered by the eruption of a huge underwater volcano on Saturday. The eruption could be heard more than 1,000 miles away in New Zealand.
Its capital Nuku’alofa is just 65km (40 miles) south of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano.
Aid organisations say up to 80,000 people on the islands could be affected by the disaster, but so far no deaths have been confirmed.
A source at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was assisting British nationals and their families following the resulting tsunami in Tonga.
Angela previously worked in the advertising industry in London. Her social media profiles suggest she grew up in Brighton before beginning a new life in the Pacific island nation around 2015.
Past media reports identify her as the vice-president of Tonga Animal Welfare Society, which was founded in 2020 to offer basic animal care in a nation that has no qualified vets.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has accused Israel of barring medical specialists from entering Gaza to support clinics in the besieged enclave.
The WHO said since August, eight organisations and over 50 specialised personnel had been affected by Israel’s blockade.
The specialists were intended to provide crucial support for various medical services, as well as psychological support for healthcare workers at facilities including the European Gaza Hospital and the Nasser Hospital, the WHO said.
It was reported that among the organisations denied entry was the U.S.non-profit Palestinian American Medical Association, which supports Palestinians in need of medical care.
According to the WHO, this marks the first instance in which Israel has denied entire organisations the ability to participate in relief efforts for the Gaza Strip.
The WHO reported that in the past week, support teams conducted 25 per cent fewer operations than usual.
With only 17 out of 36 clinics and 43 medical practices remaining partially operational, the WHO emphasised the irreplaceable role of these external teams in providing essential medical services.
The WHO called for full access for emergency aid teams. (dpa/NAN)
It is Germany’s responsibility to make sure that a war between Russia and Ukraine does not become a war between Russia and NATO, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He said this as he repeated his “nein” to sending long-range weapons to Kiev.
“I don’t consider this to be a proper delivery and that’s how it will stay,” Scholz said after a European Union summit in Brussels.
Scholz rejected key points in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan” out of concerns of future escalation.
Zelensky presented his “victory plan” at the meeting and called on Scholz, again to send him Taurus cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian leader believes a deterrent missile arsenal could force Russia into peace negotiations.
Scholz also maintained his stance against a quick invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, as outlined in Zelensky’s plan.
The United States also opposes a fast-track NATO entry for Ukraine.
The chancellor referred to the resolutions of the most recent NATO summit in Washington, which offers Ukraine a general assurance that it could no longer be stopped on its way into the defence alliance.
He further said all allies must agree that NATO conditions are met for an invitation.
These include reforms in the areas of democracy, the economy and the security sector.
Scholz also used the occasion to take a swipe at his main opposition in the Bundestag or German parliament, Christian Democratic (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz.
He complained that Merz flip-flopped on Taurus deliveries, taking a no-delivery position before key elections in east Germany and changing his position after that. (dpa/NAN)
Israel’s Army Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi has referred to October 7, 2023, as the day “when we failed in our mission to protect the citizens of the State of Israel.”
In a letter to Israeli soldiers marking the anniversary of the brutal attack on Israel, he wrote that “Oct.
7 is not only a day of remembrance, but also a call for deep introspection” and “a recognition of our failures and a commitment to learning from them. ”On October 7, 2023, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and abducted about 250 more as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
This triggered the Gaza war, in which, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, some 42,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, mostly civilians.
Halevi said that Hamas’ military wing had been defeated, but that the fight against the organisation’s terrorist structures would continue.
With regard to the fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, he said that the militia had been dealt a serious blow.
“We will not stop,” Halevi emphasised.
“We are destroying our enemies’ capabilities, and we will ensure that these capabilities are not rebuilt, so that Oct. 7 is never repeated,” he added. (dpa/NAN)
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