United Nations, July 30: UN humanitarians and partners are stepping up efforts to help Gazans reduce major public health risks, including rodent infestation, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Widespread rodent and ectoparasite infestations were reported in 83 per cent of displacement sites assessed earlier this month, alongside sewage in streets, stagnant water and poor sanitation conditions, said OCHA on Wednesday (local time).

In response, humanitarian partners are scaling up rodent control this week. The UN Development Programme and other partners are distributing nine metric tonnes of rodenticides daily, brought into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, said the office.

“To reduce public health risks, sustained access to critical equipment and supplies such as spare parts and engine oil is urgently needed,” OCHA said. “It is also critical that partners managing solid waste in Gaza are permitted to reach landfills in areas where access is restricted by Israeli forces, about 65 per cent of the strip.”

The office said that access to water also remains a daily challenge for families. The United Nations and its partners are trying their best to support hundreds of thousands of children and their families by providing access to essential water, sanitation and hygiene services, reports Xinhua news agency.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said at a regular briefing on Wednesday that in Khan Younis, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the construction of a central water well expected to benefit about 7,000 people. In Gaza City, UNICEF is joining efforts to clean up the Sheikh Ajleen wastewater treatment plant, which served 700,000 people before it was damaged in hostilities.

Haq said the UN Operational Satellite Applications Programme and partners estimated earlier this week that about 430,000 kindergarten and school-aged children, about 56 per cent of the estimated student population, were enrolled in more than 600 temporary learning spaces across Gaza.

In some of these learning spaces, programs are underway to help children catch up ahead of the new school year, although nearly half of school-aged children still lack adequate access to learning opportunities, he said.

Tehran, July 29: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday claimed that its Aerospace Force has attacked a US air base and the US Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters of the American military in Jordan, local media reported.

Highlighting that the action was taken in response to attacks carried out by the US military against Iran, the IRGC statement mentioned that its Aerospace Force attacked the US air base and the US military’s CENTCOM headquarters in Jordan using ballistic missiles. The IRGC vowed to continue resistance until Iran faces “threats, illegal and hostile moves” from the US forces, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

The latest attack comes amid renewed tensions in West Asia following the military exchanges between Iran and the US.

Meanwhile, the US military said that it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched from Iran in what it described as an attempted “surprise attack” on American forces in the Middle East.

“At 5:45 p.m. ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X.

“All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted,” it said, adding “US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.”

On July 24, IRGC said that its forces carried out retaliatory strikes against the US bases and assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. In statements carried by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the strikes were conducted in response to what it described as US “crimes” against Iran.

The IRGC said its forces had targeted and completely destroyed a “very large” US ammunition depot at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait using “advanced and ultra-heavy” kamikaze drones, Xinhua News Agency reported. It further said that its forces targeted facilities housing US forces at the base.

The IRGC said its forces completed their earlier military operation against the data centre of a US firm in Bahrain, destroying its remaining building. It further said that it has destroyed three US ammunition and equipment depots at the Al-Adiri Camp in Kuwait, and targetted the watchtower of the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.

The IRGC also said US fighter aircraft suffered damage after its aerospace forces struck Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan. It further mentioned that barracks housing US forces at the base were also targeted.

According to the statement, the IRGC’s forces destroyed a Patriot air defence system and an espionage balloon and hit the US troop accommodation facilities after it carried out operations against US military positions in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

New Delhi, July 29: Indian travellers can now use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to make online bookings for At the Top, Burj Khalifa, with the iconic attraction becoming the first in the UAE to accept the payment system for e-commerce transactions, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) said on Wednesday.

The international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said the launch of the facility is in partnership with NEOPAY and Emaar Entertainment.

The move enables Indian visitors to book tickets and experiences at the world’s tallest building through the attraction’s official website using UPI-enabled payment apps before travelling to the UAE.

The latest integration builds on NIPL’s existing partnership with NEOPAY.

Since the introduction of QR code-based UPI merchant payments in the UAE in 2022, Indian travellers have been able to use UPI for payments at merchants across NEOPAY’s network. With the new rollout, UPI acceptance has now been extended to online bookings.

“Indian travellers are increasingly seeking payment experiences that are simple, familiar and seamless when they travel abroad. By enabling UPI acceptance for online bookings at At the Top, Burj Khalifa, we are making it easier for them to use a payment method they know and trust while planning their visit, even before they arrive in the UAE,” said Ritesh Shukla, Managing Director and CEO of NPCI International.

According to the company, the initiative addresses the growing demand for convenient and trusted cross-border digital payments while strengthening the digital payments bridge between India and the UAE.

Vibhor Mundhada, CEO of NEOPAY, said the integration marked a significant milestone in digital commerce between the two countries and made NEOPAY the first company in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to enable UPI acceptance for e-commerce transactions.

An Emaar Entertainment spokesperson said the introduction of UPI for online bookings would make the customer journey simpler and more convenient for Indian visitors, who constitute one of the attraction’s largest international visitor segments.