Passage 1
Israel and South Africa face off at the UN’s top court from Thursday, after Pretoria accused Israel of “genocidal acts” in Gaza, charges the Israelis have dismissed as “blood libel”.
In an 84-page submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa urged judges to order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations” in Gaza.
South Africa alleges that Israel “has engaged in, is engaging in, and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
Israel has angrily hit back at the accusations, with government spokesman Eylon Levy vowing to fight the South African case he described as “absurd blood libel”.
“How tragic that the rainbow nation that prides itself on fighting racism will be fighting pro bono for anti-Jewish racists,” Mr. Levy added.
“No, South Africa, it is not we who have come to perpetrate genocide, it is Hamas,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Passage 2
Elections to panchayats, urban local bodies and the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will likely be conducted only after the general elections, set to be held after a few months this year.
After towns and cities, the rural areas in Jammu and Kashmir will cease to have the traditional grassroots-level elected representatives as the five-year term of 4,892 elected village panchayats came to an end Tuesday.
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A new governance structure — District Development Councils, elected directly by people — however, continues to be in place since the standalone elections held in 2020.
Just about two months ago, the term of urban local bodies, including two municipal corporations, 19 municipal councils and 57 municipal committees, ended on November 14, 2023. These were constituted through elections held on party symbols after 13 years.
Source- https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/jk-panchayat-assembly-polls-likely-after-lok-sabha-elections-9102487/
