South Africa on Monday called for the United Nations to deploy a rapid protection force to protect civilians in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza from further bombardment.

Officials on Wednesday said Pakistani authorities have launched a search operation to trace and recover two polio vaccination workers abducted by unknown armed men.

The Ukrainian military said on Monday that it had hit a Russian air defence base on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in an attack with naval drones and missiles.

South Africa said its foreign minister held a call with the leader of Hamas about getting aid into Gaza and other Palestinian territories and denied a report of offering support to the militant group in its conflict against Israel.

 The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reiterated the call for immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war ongoing between Israel and militant group Hamas.

A  strike on a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians, deepening tensions in the Middle East and raising the stakes for U.S. President Joe Biden as he flies to Israel on Wednesday to signal support for its war against Hamas.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reiterated the call for immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war ongoing between Israel and militant group Hamas.

The Central Parity rate of the Chinese currency Renminbi, or the Yuan, strengthened one pip to 7.1795 against the dollar on Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.