GAZA -- At least 17 Palestinians were killed and more than 34 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, local medical sources told Xinhua on Wednesday.
The sources added that rescue efforts are still ongoing, and the casualties include women and children. (Gaza-Israeli Airstrike-Refugee Camp)
- - - -
LOS ANGELES -- NASA and Boeing are targeting mid-April to launch a crewed flight test mission to the International Space Station, NASA said on Wednesday.
The mission will be the first crewed launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. (U.S.-Boeing-Starliner)
- - - -
BEIRUT -- Employees working in Lebanon's public sectors on Wednesday announced an open strike to protest their low wages and ask the government for new financial incentives, Elnashra news website reported.
Employees from several public administrations said in a statement that the value of their current salaries is only 10 percent of their actual value, noting that all public sector workers should obtain financial incentives equally. (Lebanon-Public Sector Strike)
- - - -
VILNIUS -- The Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday to close the Lavoriskes and Raigardas border checkpoints on the border with Belarus from March 1, according to the Lithuanian Interior Ministry.
As a result, only two border checkpoints -- at Medininkai and Salcininkai -- out of the six will remain open on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. The border checkpoints at Sumskas and Tverecius have been closed since August 2023. (Lithuania-Belarusian-Border) ■
