CNN
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Pope Leo XIV “is deeply saddened,” after the three were killed on a strike at Gaza’s only Catholic Church, he said in a Vatican telegram Thursday.

Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has called the strike a “military attack.”

The Latin patriarchy in Jerusalem has jurisdiction over prominent Catholics of the Latinos in Gaza, but the Holy Family Church said it was struck by Israel on Thursday morning. The church became a shelter for the small Christian community of the enclave amid ongoing war.

The Israeli military said it was “aware of the damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza city and reports of victims at the scene,” adding that “the situation in the incident is under review.”

“The (Israel Defence Force) has made every viable effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regret the damage caused to them,” he said.

The patriarchy appointed three people who were killed as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad and Najwa Abu Dawood. Several others were injured as well.

“We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this wild war. We cannot justify the targeting of innocent civilians,” the statement read.

Pope Leo used his statement to repeat his plea for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Cardinal Pizzabara, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Pizzabara, told Vatican News that the church was attacked “in-person” on Thursday morning.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, a priest of the parish, was injured in the attack, the patriarchy said, along with many others. Romanelli is Argentina, which has served in Gaza for nearly 30 years.

Images validated by CNN show that the church was damaged in the attack, but the cross on the church roof was visible as is.

The church was attacked once during the Israeli war in Gaza. According to the Latin patriarchy in Jerusalem, in December 2023, an Israeli military sniper shot two women evacuated inside.

The church is internationally known for its close ties with the late Pope Francis, who summoned the parish almost every day since the beginning of the Israeli Hamas war.

Only about 1,000 Christians lived in Gaza before the attack on October 7th. This is overwhelmingly Muslim territory.

Meanwhile, the ceasefire continues to speak to an end to the war in Gaza, where Palestinian officials have killed more than 58,000 people.

Israel may show flexibility at a key fixed point of Gaza’s ceasefire talks, sources told CNN as negotiators try to close the gap to prevent the first pause in months of the fight.

Specifically, there may be some flexibility from Israel regarding the possibility of troops withdrawing from the Morag Corridor, a key Israeli security zone in the South Gaza Strip.

The positioning of Israeli forces in Gaza around the Morag Corridor during the proposed 60-day ceasefire was a major stumbling block of talks.

The corridor was established in April by the Israeli army with the explicit intention of splitting Gaza and putting great pressure on Hamas. The name refers to the Jewish settlement of Morag, once south of the territory between the cities of Khan Yunis and Rafa.

The US was talking about the prospect of a swift agreement for consultations. This gained momentum last month after ending a brief conflict between Israel and Iran. However, the day of the lecture did not provide a breakthrough.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN
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The UK is calling landmark efforts by governments to “protect democracy in the future” and could become one of the first European countries to reduce the age of voting to 16 in all national elections.

If passed by Parliament, the proposed reforms announced on Thursday will bring national votes along with elections in Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, where young voters have already voted.

“The younger people deserve to have a stake in the future of our democracy and have a say in the House of Representatives’ local government,” said Rushanara Ali on Thursday.

“When we came to power over a year ago, the government, through its manifesto, committed to strengthening valuable democracy and advancing measures to protect election integrity.”

The UK’s moves that could be led for the next general election continue to follow a global trend towards a young environment.

Darren Hughes, CEO of the Election Reform Association, welcomed the proposed reforms and said lowering the voting age would “help more young people throw that very important, habit-forming vote at the point where they can support civic education.”

“Participation is an important sign of democratic health. If fewer people vote, our democracy will be weaker,” he added.

In 2008, Austria became the first European country to reduce the referendum age to 16, and 10 years later Malta adopted the change. In South America, countries including Brazil, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Argentina have been allowing votes for many years, starting from the age of 16.

However, for most of the world, 18 years old remains the standard lowest voting age. In Asia, countries such as Indonesia and East Timor have set a threshold of 17, while Singapore, Lebanon and Oman have requested that citizens wait until 21 to vote.

In the UK, government intentions are under scrutiny.

James Ussel, head of the campaign since the central right think tank, told CNN that the proposal was “some noble promotion to democracy,” but instead “political engineering aimed at supporting noble (workers).”

In both opinion polls and votes, younger voters tend to be more distorted by labor than major opposition conservatives.

The proposed reforms sparked criticism from the Conservatives on Thursday, with lawmakers and shadow cabinet member Paul Holmes telling the House:

The reform will also expand acceptable voter IDs to include digital formats of existing IDs, such as driver’s licenses and military “veterans” cards. Bank cards issued in the UK are also accepted.

Reuters
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The UK government said Thursday it planned to grant children, ages 16 and 17, the right to vote in all UK elections in a massive overhaul of the country’s democratic system.

The government said the proposed changes targeted for parliamentary approval are taking place across the UK to match voter rights to Scotland and Wales, with younger voters taking part in already delegated elections.

“We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that ensure that more people have an opportunity to engage in UK democracy,” Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said in a statement.

According to a report from Congress, voter turnout in the 2024 general election was 59.7%, the lowest general election since 2001.

According to the House Library, studies from countries that reduced the voting age to 16 have not affected election outcomes, indicating that 16-year-olds are more likely to vote than those who first qualified at 18.

Workers who were elected for landslides a year ago and whose popularity fell sharply in the government, said that if they were elected, they would lower the voting age.

The reform will also expand acceptable voter IDs to include UK-issued bank cards and digital formats of existing IDs, such as driver’s licenses and veteran cards.

To tackle foreign interference, the government also said it plans to tighten rules on political contributions, including checking donations of more than £500 ($670) from unincorporated associations and closing loopholes used by shell companies.

Kyiv
CNN
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Advances the possibility of second-rate sanctions on US President Donald Trump’s 50-day suspension on Russia, we present the Kremlin with a window into leveraging its incremental profits over the last few weeks.

Russia is believed to be days or weeks away from rising summer attacks, probably using an army of 160,000 people that Ukrainian officials say are accumulating near the frontline. However, over the past two weeks, Russia has also put its strength in a better position to bring small but important advances and cut off the Ukrainian troops in three important towns, Pokrovsk, Kostiantinibka and Kupiansk, which are on the forefront of the eastern region.

The Kremlin appears to have not been hit by the new Trump deadline, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. “50 days – it used to be 24 hours. Previously it was 100 days.

Analysts said the new time frame was successful for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goals. Kiel Giles of Chatham House wrote Tuesday that during the diplomatic stage he also provided space to Moscow. “The 50-day deadline gives Russia plenty of time to develop its own alternative plan, and repeats Washington again through diplomatic ploys that Trump may be willing to accept… The latest extension of Trump’s latest extension to Putin will extend Ukraine’s suffering for the same any period.”

John Laff, head of foreign policy at the new Eurasian Strategic Centre think tank, said the summer attacks have already been ongoing for months and “Russians are undoubtedly bolstering their efforts both on the ground and in the air.” He said the recent onslaught of Ukrainian cities probably reflects slow progress at Moscow’s frontline, aiming to “support morale the population and zap the will to fight.”

“Putin is very confident that for several months Ukrainians are aware of the shortage of personnel in progress in this campaign, and there is a shortage of certain weapons systems,” Raf said, adding that Moscow wanted to make Ukraine’s defenses too thin. “I’m going to see it continue in at least 50 days.”

The incremental advances that Moscow made in these three towns were quite expensive. However, frontline mapping by Ukrainian surveillance service Deep State, as well as reports from the region, shows Russia’s progress to line up all three.

In the past 72 hours, Russian forces have approached Rosinke, a key settlement to the northeast of Pokrovsk, the main hub of Ukrainian forces, besieged by Moscow for several months.

This advance coincides with the west of Pokrovsk, where Russian troops are moving to surround the village of Udacine, allowing them to increase efficiency and challenge the supply route to Pokrovsk.

The Ukrainian commander, who passes through Call Sign Musicians and leads the drone company for the 38th Marine Corps Brigade, has been working near Pokrovsk since October. He told CNN that the Russian attack had been ongoing for a while. “We probably haven’t reached the peak yet,” he said. “But they’ve been moving forward for a while and they’re doing very well.”

The musician said that Rodynske’s defense was important. “The enemy understands this and relies on it. If they move forward from Rodynske, the situation becomes important. There is one or two roads out there, and they can control it, and logistics are blocked. That’s a logical move on the enemy’s side.”

He said reinforcements were urgently needed there or they were at risk for the repeated siege and retreats seen around the town of Avdivka in early 2024. The Ukrainian army was detained in Avdivka for several months until there was a lack of numbers and resources to maintain grip in the town.

Ukrainian military blogger Bodan Miloshnikov wrote that if Rodinke was captured, this would “complete the siege of the entire left flank” around Pokrovsk, adding an equally pessimistic rating on the right flank and south. “If this continues, there are few options left. There will be either a forced garrison to retreat under the threat of siege, or a fierce battle with a semi-siege with an unclear outlook.”

Russian military telegram channel “Voennaya Khronika”, translated into “military record”, said before that Pokrovsk would fall like Avdiivka and Bakhmut, “a frontal halt after consecutive flanks, pressure on the supply line, and strategic fatigue.”

Deepstate’s mapping also shows progress towards Kostyantynivka (another important hub in the eastern region), which Russia has approached quickly over the past two weeks From the southeastern and southwest, they are now mercilessly attacked by attack drones.

Ukrainian blogger And then go with serviceman stanislav buniatov, call sign Osman The advancement further brings Moscow’s troops to the Dnipropetrovsk region, an area that was originally not part of Putin’s territorial targets. Daily conflicts “will destroy 70-90% of the enemy’s personnel and equipment, but the enemy is moving forward and everyone understands why,” Osman writes.

Misleading reports from Ukrainian commanders to their superiors have been hindering their defense, Deep State posted Wednesday. “The majority of the enemy’s success is lying to reporting on the real-world status quo. This makes it difficult to assess risks and respond to changes in the situation from above. This is a major problem with devastating consequences. Lies destroy all of us.” The post highlighted the region south of Pokrovsk, as it is particularly vulnerable to the failure of this internal Ukrainian.

While Russian progress is heading north of Kupiansk, it presents another challenge to Kiev’s often over-stretched army. With Moscow’s advance from Holubivka since June 23rd, the settlement of Radkivka is now heading towards the management of key access roads north of Kupiansk.

Kupiansk is one of the main towns east of Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, and by managing it, it will help secure an estimated 1 million cities.