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

An independent UN human rights expert, Siobhán Mullally, has expressed concern over the increased risk of recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups in Sudan, as the months-long war between rival militaries continues.

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.

Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on Friday said at least 13 hostages captured by Hamas were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in the past 24 hours.

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 central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 1 pip to 7.1775 against the dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.

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.

Finance leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies welcomed “advanced work” toward finalisation of a memorandum of understand for Zambia’s debt treatment and “ongoing progress” in the case of Ghana.