Associated Press: US Military Says Gaza Strip Pier Project Is Completed, Aid To Soon Flow As Israel-Hamas War Rages On

“The U.S. military finished installing a floating pier for the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials poised to begin ferrying badly needed humanitarian aid into the enclave besieged over seven months of intense fighting in the Israel-Hamas war. The final, overnight construction sets up a complicated delivery process more than two months after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered it to help Palestinians facing starvation as food and other supplies fail to make it in as Israel recently seized the key Rafah border crossing in its push on that southern city on the Egyptian border. Fraught with logistical, weather and security challenges, the maritime route is designed to bolster the amount of aid getting into the Gaza Strip, but it is not considered a substitute for far cheaper land-based deliveries that aid agencies say are much more sustainable.”

Associated Press: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Acknowledge Attacking A US Destroyer That Shot Down Missile In The Red Sea

“Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday claimed targeting a U.S. Navy destroyer and a commercial ship in the Red Sea. However, the attack on the warship apparently happened nearly two days earlier and saw the vessel intercept the missile targeting it. The latest statement from the Houthis comes as their attacks on shipping, which have disrupted trade through a vital corridor leading onto the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, have slowed in recent weeks. Though the rebels have not acknowledged the slowdown, the U.S. military has suggested its airstrikes and interceptions of Houthi fire have disrupted their assaults and chewed into their weapon stockpiles. Recently, the Houthis have been claiming days-old attacks.”

Pakistan

Voice Of America: China Presses Pakistan To Address Security Concerns Of Workers, Projects

“China on Wednesday hailed its "ironclad" relationship with Pakistan and vowed to further enhance economic and anti-terrorism security cooperation between the neighboring countries at a bilaterial strategic dialogue in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi renewed the pledge at a news conference after hosting formal talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, who concurrently serves as deputy prime minister. Broadcast live by Pakistan's state-run TV, the media talk comes just weeks after a suicide car bombing in northwestern Pakistan killed five Chinese engineers who were working on a hydropower project. Their local driver also was killed. The Pakistani military said this month that its probe into the March 26 attack revealed that an Afghan national carried it out and terrorists based in Afghanistan had planned it.”

Yemen

Associated Press: Yemeni Security Forces Deploy In Aden As Anger Simmers Over Lengthy Power Outages

“Yemeni authorities deployed security forces and armored vehicles across the port city of Aden Wednesday, as protesters were expected to take to the streets in the latest in a series of protests over hours-long electricity outages caused by a shortage of fuel for power stations. For several days, hundreds of demonstrators in three central districts of Aden blocked roads and set tires on fire, protesting electricity shortages as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). On Monday and Tuesday, security forces moved in to disperse the demonstrations, beating protesters with batons and barricading the entrances of some streets, three witnesses told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Aden, home to one million people, is governed by the Southern Transitional Council, a group backed by the United Arab Emirates that controls much of the south in the country fractured by nine years of civil war.”

Middle East

The New York Times: The Unpunished: How Extremists Took Over Israel

“By the end of October, it was clear that no one was going to help the villagers of Khirbet Zanuta. A tiny Palestinian community, some 150 people perched on a windswept hill in the West Bank near Hebron, it had long faced threats from the Jewish settlers who had steadily encircled it. But occasional harassment and vandalism, in the days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, escalated into beatings and murder threats. The villagers made appeal after appeal to the Israeli police and to the ever-present Israeli military, but their calls for protection went largely unheeded, and the attacks continued with no consequences. So one day the villagers packed what they could, loaded their families into trucks and disappeared.”

Associated Press: Netanyahu Fends Off Criticism At Home And Abroad Over His Lack Of A Postwar Plan For Gaza

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday fended off criticism that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it was impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from critics at home and allies abroad, especially the United States, to present a plan for governance, security and rebuilding of Gaza. He has indicated Israel seeks to maintain open-ended control over security affairs and rejected a role for the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. That position stands in contrast to the vision set forth by the Biden administration, which wants Palestinian governance in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a precursor to Palestinian statehood.”

Australia

Daily Mail: One Of Australia's Most Notorious Alleged Terrorists Neil Christopher Prakash Refuses To Respond To Judge As He's Ordered To Stand Trial - But Cops Claim He 'no Longer Holds' Extremist Views

“An accused Australian jihadi has refused to respond to a magistrate as he ordered the former rapper to stand trial for terrorism offences. Once branded as Australia's most-wanted alleged terrorist, Neil Christopher Prakash appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link on Thursday.  Wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, Prakash sat silently in the prison room and stared straight ahead as Magistrate Rohan Lawrence spoke. The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard 'Mr Prakash, can you see and hear me?' the magistrate asked. The accused did not respond despite doing so with his lawyers earlier.  The accused terror recruiter also did not respond when the magistrate asked him to enter a guilty or not guilty plea to the terrorism-related offences, which include engaging in hostile activity in a foreign state, being a member of a terrorist organisation and advocating terrorism.”

Technology

Reuters: Turkish Competition Board Fines Google Over Failure To Comply With Regulation

“The Turkish competition authority said on Thursday that it decided to fine Google over its failure to fulfil obligations regarding a part of its local search services. The authority said it will fine the company daily five ten thousandths of its 2023 revenues until it complies with the competition board's decisions, starting from April 15. The board said the fine was imposed as previously implemented measures by Google to address the competition authority's concerns over local search services failed to include hotel inquiries.”