Netanyahu says Israel will establish a new security corridor across Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip. He suggested in an announcement Wednesday that the corridor would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the territory. The announcement came after Netanhayu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones. In other developments, Palestinian health officials said a wave of Israeli strikes killed more than 40 people. Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory.

Myanmar’s military declares a ceasefire to ease quake relief as the death toll tops 3,000

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s ruling military has declared a temporary ceasefire in the country’s civil war to facilitate relief efforts following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people. The announcement by the military’s high command was reported late Wednesday on state television MRTV, which said the truce would run until April 22 and was aimed at showing compassion for people affected by Friday’s quake. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule. MRTV also announced that the death toll had risen to 3,003, with 4,515 injured.

Congo’s leader commutes death sentences of 3 Americans convicted in failed coup plot

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s president has commuted the death sentences of three Americans convicted on charges of participating in a botched coup attempt in the country’s capital of Kinshasa last year. A presidential spokesperson said Wednesday that a presidential pardon commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment. It came six months after they were sentenced to death for participating in the failed coup in May last year. Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga. The three Americans whose death sentences were commuted included Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, his friend Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36.

Thousands protest in Haiti to denounce a surge in gang violence and demand security

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Thousands of protesters in Haiti’s capital have clashed with police as they denounce a surge in gang violence and demand that the government keep them safe. Some demonstrators brandished machetes while others clutched tree boughs or waved palm fronds as they weaved their way through the streets of Port-au-Prince on Wednesday. One of the organizers, who declined to give his name for fear of reprisal, said the purpose of the protest was to “take over the prime minister’s office and burn down the CPT,” referring to the offices of Haiti’s transitional presidential council. It is the first major protest to hit the administration of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.