Top stories from DAWNS Digest, a global news mobile app and aggregation service.
Several Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza as Ceasefire Negotiations Press Forward
An Israeli bomb destroyed a home in Gaza, killing several children as the Israeli bombardment of Gaza entered a fifth day with no signs of abating. Ban Ki Moon is due in Cairo to help with the mediation efforts. “International mediation efforts gathered steam Monday as Israel bombed dozens of suspected guerrilla sites in the densely populated Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in its campaign to quell militant rocket fire menacing nearly half of Israel’s population. Overnight, an airstrike leveled two houses belonging to a single family, killing two children and two adults and injuring 42 people, Gaza heath official Ashraf al-Kidra said. Rescue workers frantically searched for 12 to 15 people under the rubble. Shortly after, Israeli aircraft bombarded the remains of the former national security compound in Gaza City. Al-Kidra said flying shrapnel killed one child and wounded others living nearby. (NBC http://nbcnews.to/ZYbmo2)
Rebels Threaten to Sack Major City in Eastern Congo
UN Peacekeepers and the Congolese army have been unable to stop the advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel movement toward the city of Goma. If the city falls, a major humanitarian catastrophe could ensue. “The M23 rebel spokesman Col. Vianney Kazarama said he had ordered his fighters to retreat to Kibumba, a village around 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Goma, after having come within 3 kilometers (2 miles) of the city. On Sunday the group had marched within a hair of the provincial capital, a major population center as well as the home of an international airport and a large United Nations base. The demands set forth by the M23 rebel group calls for the immediate demilitarization of the city and the airport in Goma. It also calls for the opening of the frontier at the town of Bunagana within the next 48 hours.” (WaPo http://wapo.st/ZYcRmj)
President Obama Visits Myanmar, Says His Visit is Not An Endorsement of the Government
For the first time, a US President is visiting Myanmar on Monday as part of a three country tour. Obama’s visit lasted 6 hours, but was jam packed. “He met at the government headquarters with President Thein Sein, who has ushered in change, and then made a personal pilgrimage to the home of the opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, where she was confined for most of two decades before her release from house arrest two years ago. Overlooking the manicured lawn and well-tended garden outside the elegant two-story lakeside house, the president celebrated the Nobel-winning dissident as an “icon of democracy” who inspired the world, then kissed and embraced her.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/ZYahwA)