Papua New Guinea Says to Open Embassy in Jerusalem Next Week

FILE PHOTO: Jerusalem's light rail passes by in a central part of the city, July 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar AwadREUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Jerusalem's light rail passes by in a central part of the city, July 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar AwadREUTERS
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Papua New Guinea Says to Open Embassy in Jerusalem Next Week

FILE PHOTO: Jerusalem's light rail passes by in a central part of the city, July 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar AwadREUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Jerusalem's light rail passes by in a central part of the city, July 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar AwadREUTERS

Papua New Guinea will open an embassy in Jerusalem next week during a visit by Prime Minister James Marape, a spokesperson for his office said on Monday.

"Yes, that is correct," said a spokesperson from Marape's office, when asked whether the country is set to open the embassy and that Marape would visit Israel next week.

Israel's foreign ministry said in February Papua New Guinea would open its first embassy in the country some time in 2023.

Israeli media including Channel 14 and the Times of Israel reported the inauguration of the embassy would take place on September 5, according to Reuters.

The vast majority of countries with an official diplomatic presence in Israel have their embassies in Tel Aviv, with only the United States, Kosovo, Guatemala and Honduras currently basing theirs in Jerusalem.

Israel annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the city as its "eternal and indivisible" capital, but that is not recognised internationally.

Palestinians want to have the capital of an eventual Palestinian state there.



Russian Attack Wounds Three in Ukraine's Sumy Region

Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
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Russian Attack Wounds Three in Ukraine's Sumy Region

Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
Servicemen of 13th Operative Purpose Brigade 'Khartiia' of the National Guard of Ukraine fire an OTO Melara howitzer towards Russian troops at a position in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 3, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova

At least three people, including two children, were wounded in a Russian attack on the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, local authorities said.
Sumy region borders Russia's Kursk region and has been regularly shelled by Russian forces for months.
"Russians dropped a bomb on a residential building. Two children and one adult were injured. One entrance of the apartment building was destroyed," Sumy military administration said on the Telegram messenger.
A rescue operation was under way to find people who may be trapped by rubble, officials said. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, did not immediately comment on the events in Sumy.
Russia's defense ministry said on Saturday that Russian forces had taken control of the village of Nadiya in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region and had shot down eight US-made ATACMS missiles.
Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.
The ministry said its air defense systems had shot down 10 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory on Saturday morning, including three over the northern Leningrad region.
St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures on Saturday morning.