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Jakarta (AFP) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo announces the dispatch of 51.5 tonnes of aid to Gaza, stating that the assistance is “Indonesia’s demonstration of solidarity” with Gaza. President Widodo also calls for an end to the humanitarian crisis in the besieged strip, which he describs as “unacceptable.” On November 3, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel with the intention of convincing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enact humanitarian pauses and to allow aid to be distributed to Gaza’s beleaguered population.

Tel Aviv (AFP) – “There will be no partners for peace if they’re consumed by humanitarian catastrophe” says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as the Israel-Hamas war continues, nearly a month after the militant group’s attack on October 7. Speaking in Tel Aviv during his second visit to Israel, Blinken stresses that a “two-state solution” is the “only guarantor of a secure Jewish and democratic Israel”. Hamas’ attack on Israel left at least 1,400 people dead, most of them civilians, in what was the deadliest attack in the country’s history. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s military response has resulted in more than 9,200 deaths in Gaza.

At least ten people have died in Western Europe as Storm Ciaran brings record-breaking winds and rainfall to the region. Three of those deaths were in Tuscany, Italy, where homes were submerged in flash flooding. “I looked out and saw the water coming down like a river” says a resident of Campi Bisenzio, north of Florence.

Andat Datau used to deliver babies by torchlight, but now the nurse, who works in the Nigerian village of Sabon Gida, enjoys constant electricity courtesy of a solar-powered mini-grid. For a country in which 40 percent of the population lives without access to electricity, often relying on expensive and polluting alternatives, these mini-grids have immense potential. A number of African countries, like Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia have made moves to encourage investment in such systems, which have been made more affordable as solar technology costs come down.

A thick cloud of smoke hangs over northern Gaza as Israel continues to pound the territory in response to the bloody Hamas attack on October 7. For nearly four weeks, Israeli forces have launched air raids on the densely populated area where the Hamas-run health ministry says more than 9,200 people have died. The Hamas assault on Israel killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in what was the deadliest attack on the country in its history.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Shopkeepers in Jerusalem’s typically bustling Old City struggle with the downturn in tourism since the war began. “Something like this I did not see in all my life,” says one souvenir shop owner, adding that the decline is worse than during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shopsellers say it has been quiet since October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed at least 1,400 people and Israel’s relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 9,000 people, mainly civilians.

London (AFP) – “The potential is there for artificial intelligence to have a positive effect” says Elon Musk, the Space X, Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) CEO. Speaking to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the first AI safety summit at Bletchley Park, Musk also warns that “if a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they just one day get a software update and they’re not so friendly anymore?”

Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Rescuers search through the rubble of the home of Palestine TV journalist Mohamed Abu Hatab, who was killed along with family members during Israeli bombardment on Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 2. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza.

Falls Church (United States) (AFP) – With a year left until the 2024 presidential election, Arab and Muslim American support for Biden threatens to plummet over his Middle East policy — a factor that could swing certain states.

Jerusalem (AFP) – Shopkeepers in Jerusalem’s typically bustling Old City struggle with the downturn in tourism since the war began. “Something like this I did not see in all my life,” says one souvenir shop owner, adding that the decline is worse than during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shopsellers say it has been quiet since October 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed at least 1,400 people and Israel’s relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 9,000 people, mainly civilians.