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The Israel-Hamas war|The reactions 

The Pope is to meet Palestinians and Israelis on Wednesday  

 

Pope Francis is to meet a Palestinian delegation, including from Gaza, and families of Israeli hostages in the Vatican on Wednesday. The Vatican confirms this to Reuters. The Pope will meet the two groups separately.  

 

The Pope wants to hold the meetings as a "humanitarian gesture to hear about the suffering of both sides," a Vatican source told Reuters. 

 

Vatican second-in-command Cardinal Pietro Parolin said on Friday that the release of the hostages and a ceasefire are two central points in resolving the crisis.

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Israel-Hamas warVotes on 

Erdogan: "I lead the fight against anti-Semitism"  

 

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier underlined Israel's right to exist and defend itself at a tense meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Berlin on Friday, AFP reports.  

 

This after Erdogan said that Israel's attacks on Palestinian land must stop and that it is not written in the Torah to kill children, according to AFP. Before the visit, he has called Israel a terrorist state and Hamas freedom fighters.  

 

The German opposition has called on the foreign minister to cancel the state visit with the man the prime minister's spokesman has called a "difficult" partner.  

 

In a meeting with Prime Minister Olaf Scholz later on Friday, Erdogan countered accusations of anti-Semitism by saying he is a leader in the fight against anti-Semitism.  

 

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Political situation in the Maldives  

Maldives' new leader throws out Indian contingent  

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In his first speech as president of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu promises to throw out the around 75 

Indian soldiers stationed in the island nation, AFP reports. It must be done diplomatically, according to Reuters. 

 

- There should be no foreign military personnel in the Maldives, he said immediately after he was sworn in.  

 

India has seen the Maldives as part of its sphere of interest, but Muizzu wants to forge closer ties with China, according to what he said ahead of the election. The two countries have both invested heavily in the Maldives.  

 

The country is geopolitically important due to its location on the equator on the route that many cargo ships take between Asia and Europe. 

 

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UN demand for free return to Nagorno-Karabakh  

 

The International Court of Justice in The Hague orders Azerbaijan to allow the Armenian residents to return to Nagorno-Karabakh, AFP reports. 

 

The disputed territory was captured by Azeri forces in September.  

 

The UN Court calls for a "safe, unimpeded and speedy" return. 

 

Armenia asked the court in October for help to protect ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic cleansing following the Azeri blitzkrieg in the area, according to Radio Free Europe.