Eighteen Israeli soldiers were wounded, one seriously, in a drone strike in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights, as reported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to an IDF statement on Sunday, the attack took place in the northern sector of the Golan Heights, although the origin of the drone was not specified.

The injured soldiers were swiftly evacuated to a nearby hospital for urgent medical care, Xinhua news agency reported.

In response to the incident, the Israeli Air Force conducted strikes on Sunday night targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.

The strikes included hitting a Hezbollah observation post near Markaba and a launcher near Ayta ash Shab, which had been used earlier on Sunday to launch a projectile toward northern Israel.

Additionally, the IDF artillery engaged multiple locations in southern Lebanon.

The latest incidents mark a continuation of the cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group and political party, which has been ongoing since October 2023. AGENCIES

Australian police said on Monday that a teenager has been arrested after a daylight stabbing severely injured one man in New South Wales (NSW).

The incident unfolded at approximately 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday when emergency services were called to Seymour Street in Bathurst following reports of a stabbing, reports Xinhua news agency.

Upon arrival, officers found a 28-year-old male sustaining a stab wound to his chest. Paramedics treated the man at the scene before he was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition.

With a crime scene established, the NSW Police Force launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Following inquiries, the officers attended a home in Gormans Hill and arrested a 13-year-old boy.

He was taken to Bathurst Police Station and faced the charge of wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The teenager was refused bail and is expected to appear before a children’s court on Monday.

Bathurst lies about 200 km west of the state capital, Sydney, with 7,001 residents living inside the urban area, according to Australia’s 2021 census. AGENCIES

Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), has released a video showing its members preparing explosive devices for use against Israeli military vehicles that penetrate Gaza Strip cities.

The 40-second video showed the group’s members painting the devices and placing them in portable bags inside a covered area with black cloth inscribed with the phrases: “He who seeks my demise is chasing a mirage” and “(Operation) Al-Aqsa Flood”.

Al-Qassam also announced the use of the “Fedayeen Operations” device for the first time during the ongoing war with Israeli forces in Gaza since last October, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

This came as both Al-Qassam and the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, claimed on Sunday targeting Israeli vehicles and soldiers in the Shujaiya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City and the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood in the south of the city.

Al-Qassam said in a statement that its members “destroyed an Israeli Namer APC (armoured personnel carrier) with a Yassin 105 rocket, killing and injuring its crew” south of Tal al-Hawa.

In a separate statement, the brigades mentioned that its members also targeted “a Shezaret APC and a D9 military bulldozer” in Tal al-Hawa.

In addition, it said in another press release that its members “targeted the gathering of Israeli forces in Shujaiya with mortar shells”.

The Al-Quds Brigades announced in a statement that its members are “engaged in fierce clashes” with Israeli soldiers using machine guns and anti-personnel weapons east of Shujaiya.

The brigades mentioned in a separate statement that its members “bombarded Israeli army gatherings” in the Shujaiya neighbourhood “with a barrage of mortar shells”.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. AGENCIES

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the death of R. Sampanthan, one of the seniormost Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka, and also the leader of Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

“My deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran TNA leader R. Sampanthan. Will always cherish fond memories of meetings with him,” the Indian PM wrote in a message posted on X.

“He relentlessly pursued a life of peace, security, equality, justice and dignity for the Tamil nationals of Sri Lanka. He will be deeply missed by his friends and followers in Sri Lanka and India,” added PM Modi.

External Affairs Minister of India, S. Jaishankar too sent his condolences on the demise of Sampanthan, who maintained close contacts with India and Indian leaders.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the passing away of Sri Lankan Tamil leader Shri R. Sampanthan,” said Jaishankar.

“Recall my many meetings and conversations with him over several decades. He dedicated his entire life fighting for the equality, dignity and justice for Tamils in Sri Lanka,” the EAM mentioned.

Sampanthan, 91, passed away on Sunday night while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Colombo.

One of the longest-serving lawmakers in Sri Lanka, Sampanthan was elected to the parliament from the Eastern district of Trincomalee in 1977.

With the TNA having the second-highest number of MPs, Sampanthan was the Opposition leader of the country’s Parliament from 2015 to December 2018. He remained an MP for 23 straight years since entering the Parliament in 2001. AGENCIES

 Indonesia has vehemently condemned Israel’s decision to legalise five Jewish settlement outposts in the West Bank, the country’s foreign ministry announced on Monday.

“Israel’s settlement and continuous occupation in Palestine’s territory are violations of international law and relevant UN resolutions”, the ministry said via their official social media channels, reported Xinhua news agency.

The ministry emphasised Indonesia’s commitment to advocating for the implementation of the two-state solution and holding Israel accountable in concert with the international community.

Indonesia steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s entitlement to an internationally recognised, independent, and sovereign state. AGENCIES

Australian Police are currently investigating the cause of a serious two-vehicle traffic crash after three female passengers aboard a bus were killed in Queensland during the weekend.

Around 11:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, a four-wheel drive towing a caravan and a bus crashed on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu, a coastal town located in the state’s north, reported Xinhua news agency.

“Three passengers on the bus died at the scene, including a woman in her 30s, a woman in her 20s, and a 56-year-old Townsville woman. Multiple other people were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries,” Queensland Police said in its latest statement on the accident.

Following the crash, the Bruce Highway was closed in both directions at Gumlu before reopening to traffic at midnight.

Queensland Police Superintendent Graeme Paine provided an update to the local media outlet ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning, saying that officers are working to confirm the identities of a female in her 30s and another in her 20s, with several people still receiving treatment in the hospital.

“One of those is in critical condition. So there are certainly some concerns held for the safety of that person,” Paine noted.

According to the superintendent, the incident occurred in a zone that has a speed limit of 100 km per hour. The bus was travelling northernly on the highway and the four-wheel drive was heading in a southern direction.

“The impact that had occurred, it pushed the bus across to the railway line, hence we had the closure of the railway line at the time,” he added.

Given that an incident of this nature appeared “very complex,” the officer didn’t touch upon the cause of the accident, but stressed the necessity of going through “a holistic investigation.”

“Our specialist crash investigators have forensically examined the scene. They are currently interviewing additional witnesses and there will be further analysis of evidence,” said Paine.

Reports from the Queensland Ambulance Service suggested that a total of 35 patients were assessed at the crash site.

“Two patients with life-threatening injuries were airlifted to Townsville Hospital, and two patients with life-threatening injuries were airlifted to Ayr Hospital and four stable patients were transported by road to Ayr Hospital. Sadly, three people were deceased at the scene,” said the local emergency agency.

In addition, 24 other patients were identified with minor injuries and declined hospitalisation.

With a population of 124, Gumlu is a remote locality in the Whitsunday region, lying 1,223 km north of Queensland’s capital Brisbane, with Bruce Highway as the major artery connecting a slew of towns along the state’s eastern coast.

Whitsunday Mayor Ry Collins described to ABC Radio that the section of the highway could be challenging as it “feels like a country road.”

“There’s no shoulder on the road. It is a fairly open section so I’d imagine the vehicles coming either way would have been able to see each other but there’s obviously been something happened here where one’s veered into the other’s lane,” said Collins. AGENCIES

 Iran’s Constitutional Council has validated the first round’s results of the country’s 14th presidential election, meaning candidates could now begin electoral campaigns for the run-off.

The announcement was made by Hadi Tahan Nazif, spokesman for the council, an institution that oversees the process and results of elections, in a televised interview with the state-run IRIB TV on Sunday.

He said the institution confirms the results following investigation and reviews, Xinhua news agency reported.

None of the four candidates vying in the first round had made any objection to the election results during the legal time frame for voicing complaints, he said, adding that the election campaigns could continue until Thursday morning, or 24 hours before the run-off.

In the first round of voting for the snap presidential race that started early on Friday and ended at midnight after being extended three times, no candidate obtained more than 50 per cent of the total votes needed to call a winner.

The country was thus sent into a run-off scheduled for July 5 between top contenders — reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s former Health Minister, who received more than 42 per cent of the votes in the first round, and principlist Saeed Jalili, the former chief negotiator in the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers, who garnered more than 38 per cent of the total.

Iran’s 14th presidential election, initially set for 2025, was rescheduled following the unexpected death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19. AGENCIES

 Iraqi explosive experts have defused six bombs, believed to have been planted by Islamic State (IS) militants years ago in the historic al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, a police source said.

“They were homemade bombs planted in a complex way, but the explosive experts have dismantled them without causing any casualty,” Major Ahmed Saber from Mosul police told Xinhua news agency.

He said the site is now ready to resume the restoration work undertaken by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which was halted after the reported discovery of bombs in the southern wall of the mosque’s prayer hall on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The IS blew up the al-Nuri Mosque and its iconic leaning minaret on June 21, 2017, with deliberately placed bombs.

UNESCO has been overseeing efforts to rebuild the mosque and other heritage sites in Mosul following the defeat of the IS. AGENCIES

Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital amid Russian missile attacks, a local official and media outlets reported.

The air defence was operating near the capital, and the debris from the destroyed missile hit an apartment block in Kyiv’s northern Obolonskyi district, said the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, on social media.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, reports Xinhua news agency, citing Klitschko.

According to the media reports, an air raid alert was declared in Kyiv and five regions in northern, central and northeastern Ukraine during the attacks. AGENCIES

Medical professors at three South Korea University-affiliated hospitals vowed on Monday to start an indefinite voluntary walkout later this month, amid a prolonged standoff between doctors and the government over its medical reform plan.

The emergency committee of the professors serving as senior doctors at the university announced the walkout starting July 12, excluding the operation of emergency rooms and intensive care units, calling for the government to “withdraw its pressure on medical students and trainee doctors” and engage in dialogue, Yonhap news agency reported.

“The medical community sought to launch a dialogue by offering solutions and compromises, but the government has flatly ignored all and abused its administrative orders,” the committee said in a statement.

The announcement came after professors at Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital and Yongin Severance Hospital also began suspending the treatment of outpatients, non-emergency surgeries, and other services from Thursday last week.

Senior doctors at Asan Medical Center are also anticipated to launch a one-week walkout starting Thursday.

Despite strong opposition from doctors, the government finalised an admissions quota hike of some 1,500 students for medical schools in May to address the shortage of doctors.

Last month, the government asked hospitals to swiftly accept the resignations of trainee doctors who have left their worksites in protest of the government’s medical reform, in an apparent move to appease the junior doctors.

About 12,000 trainee doctors have left their jobs since late February to protest against a hike in the number of medical students. In a punitive step, the government ordered hospitals not to accept the resignations of trainee doctors to prevent them from seeking jobs at other clinics.

Last week, a committee formed by the medical community to navigate joint responses to its monthslong standoff with the government over the medical reform plan, decided to convene a nationwide debate on July 26 regarding the government’s medical reform. AGENCIES