Eleven Palestinians killed during Israeli raid in Nablus

Pakistan’s all-weather ally China has approved a loan of $700 million and the funds will be transferred to the central bank this week, finance minister Ishaq Dar announced on Wednesday as the cash-strapped country tried to avert a financial crisis. The announcement by Dar on the loan by the Board of China Development Bank (CDB) came a day after Pakistan’s National Assembly unanimously passed a money bill aimed at raising tax revenues to fulfil the demands set by the IMF for seeking a $1.1 billion loan facility to avoid an economic meltdown.

Britain faces shortage of tomatoes

Britain is facing a shortage of tomatoes after supplies to supermarkets including market leader Tesco and No. 2 Sainsbury’s were hit by disrupted harvests in southern Europe and North Africa. Grocers said the situation was exacerbated by less winter production in greenhouses in the UK and the Netherlands because of high energy costs.

Israeli troops have killed at least 11 Palestinians and wounded dozens more during a raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials say. Explosions and gunfire sounded as troops entered the old city of Nablus on Wednesday morning, sparking armed clashes with Palestinian gunmen. The Israeli military said it killed three wanted militants holed up inside a house who refused to surrender.

Several of those killed outside were civilians, including two elderly men. The Palestinian health ministry said 72-year-old Adnan Saabe Baara was one of them. Video footage purportedly showed his body in a street next to bags of bread, in what is usually a busy market area. A 61-year-old man, Abdul Hadi Ashqar, and a 16-year-old boy, Mohammad Shaaban, were also shot dead, the ministry said.

Ex-ISIS loses appeal to regain citizenship

A Bangladeshi-origin British woman, who fled the UK as a 15-yearold schoolgirl to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist network, on Wednesday lost a legal bid before a specialist tribunal to regain her British citizenship and return to the country. Now aged 23, London-born Shamima Begum had challenged then Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s decision to revoke her British citizenship on national security grounds in 2019 at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).

Justice Jay found that there was “credible suspicion” Begum was a victim of trafficking to Syria.