TURKEY: A natural gas explosion in Istanbul’s central Fatih district brought down two buildings today.

Search-and-rescue personnel were immediately dispatched to the site of the noon explosion and determined nine people had been caught under the rubble.

Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said they had recovered seven people, who are undergoing treatment in nearby hospitals. News channel TRT reported an eighth has also been recovered and sent to hospital. 

OCCUPIED WEST BANK: Israeli settlers rampaged through multiple Palestinian villages early today, smashing cars, setting fires and wounding several men in the latest flare-up of violence in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported attacks in at least six communities on Sunday. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said at least three Palestinians in the village of Jalud had suffered head wounds from beatings and were hospitalised after confronting settlers, who were also reported injured.

BRICS: The Brics New Development Bank (NDB) will stimulate qualitative development of the bloc’s members, NDB president Dilma Rousseff said today.

Ms Rousseff said: “The NDP remains committed to supporting our members in high-quality development. This includes investment in infrastructure, energy transition, digital transformation, human development and connectivity as well as the expansion of local goods.”

UNITED NATIONS: The UN secretary-general called on Saturday for unity and action to address “the ancient poison of racism,” which he said is alive and kicking in every community, society, country and region of the world.

Marking the UN Day Against Racism, Antonio Guterres said racism lives on in the legacies of colonialism, enslavement and oppression, which drive so many problems of today.