G7 foreign ministers sought Wednesday to hammer out a common line on the Israel-Hamas war while vowing there would be no let-up in their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The ministers were expected to call in a joint statement to be issued later in Tokyo for “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza, while stopping short of urging a ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, arriving for the talks from his latest whirlwind Middle East tour, called Tuesday for the G7 to speak “in one clear voice” on the conflict.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamiwaka said late Tuesday that the G7 ministers “need to call on the relevant countries to take humanitarian pauses and ensure humanitarian access, which is a pre-condition for sufficient and continued humanitarian assistance”.

A diplomatic source said after a working dinner the same day focusing on Gaza that there was “great unity that in view of the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, humanitarian care for the Palestinian civilian population needs to be urgently expanded”.

The source added that there were “constructive exchanges” about humanitarian pauses, as well as the need for discussions among the G7 and other countries in the region about the future of Gaza and how to stop the conflict from spreading.

‘Overall security’ 

The Israeli military has relentlessly bombarded Gaza since October 7, when Hamas operatives launched an attack that left 1,400 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

The Hamas-run health ministry says the death number in Gaza has surpassed 10,300 people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday there would be no fuel delivered to Gaza and no ceasefire unless the more than 240 Israeli hostages seized by Hamas were freed.

He also said Israel would assume “overall security” in Gaza after the war ends while allowing for possible “tactical pauses” before then to free captives and deliver aid to the besieged territory of 2.4 million people.

However, Washington said Tuesday it opposed a new long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel.

“Our viewpoint is that Palestinians must be at the forefront of these decisions and Gaza is Palestinian land and it will remain Palestinian land,” said State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

“Generally speaking, we do not support the reoccupation of Gaza and neither does Israel.”

While agreeing Palestinian leadership was part of the “route towards a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution,” British foreign minister James Cleverly on Tuesday also conceded a military presence would remain after the fighting, at least temporarily.

“At some point after the immediate conflict and before the creation of civilian leadership, it is inevitable that the military forces on the ground would have to take over security control,” he said.

Ukraine fatigue 

On the Ukraine war, Japan said Wednesday after their talks that the G7 was “united” in their resolve to continue providing “strong support” to Kyiv and imposing “severe sanctions” on Russia.

Kamikawa added that “even as tensions increase in the Middle East, it is important for the G7 to be united in sending a clear message to the international community that our steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine will never waver”.

With the war there now in its 20th month and Ukraine’s counteroffensive struggling to gain ground, President Volodymyr Zelensky has regularly met Western leaders to try to stave off fatigue over the conflict.

Ukraine’s most senior military official, General Valery Zaluzhny, was quoted last week as saying the two sides had hit a “stalemate”, an assessment rejected by both Zelensky and the Kremlin.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said earlier that G7 countries were working on providing help to Ukraine as the country braced for a second full winter of Russian attacks on energy facilities.

Systematic strikes by Moscow’s forces last year targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving thousands without heating or electricity in freezing temperatures for long periods.

“It is clear, particularly at this moment, that around the world some (parties) are watching very closely how we will continue to support Ukraine,” Baerbock told reporters.

“We will do that with everything we are doing.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was set to join the G7 meeting by video conference.

Actor Patrick Dempsey has been named as the ‘sexiest man alive’ for 2023 by People magazine. He was revealed as the winner during the November 7 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where the actor made an appearance during the late-night show. Mr. Dempsey, also a racing car driver, succeeds Marvel star Chris Evans, who was crowned the 2022 Sexiest Man Alive.

The 57-year-old actor is best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd aka ‘McDreamy’ on the long-running medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. He is also known for his roles in movies like ‘Enchanted’, ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’, ‘Made of Honour’, ‘Can’t buy me love’, ‘Transformers’, ‘Lover Boy’ and many more. 

”I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life. It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive,” he told People.

When asked about his initial reaction to the news, he said, ”I was completely shocked, and then I started laughing, like, this is a joke, right? I’ve always been the bridesmaid. I’d completely forgotten about it and never even contemplated being in this position. So my ego is good.”

Notably, Mr Dempsey is married to makeup artist and beauty line founder Jillian and has three children. The actor said that his kids are going to keep him humble, saying they’re ”just going to make fun of me and pick on me and figure out every reason why I shouldn’t be.”. He added, ”Which is good, they keep me young.”

The actor, who is also a race car driver, will return to the big screen in the Michael Mann-directed biopic ‘Ferrari’ playing Piero Taruffi, an Italian Formula One driver. The ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star also founded the Dempsey Center, a Maine-based organisation that supports cancer patients and their loved ones, in memory of his late mother Amanda.

Previous title holders of People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ include Paul Rudd, Michael B Jordan, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Legend, Idris Elba, Chris Hemsworth, and Channing Tatum. The feature has been an annual event for People magazine.

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is commencing the registration for the first round of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test – Super Specialty (NEET SS 2023) counselling today, November 8. Those who have successfully cleared the exam conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) are eligible to apply for counselling. The registration link will be available on the official website of MCC, mcc.nic.in. The Medical Counselling Committee will oversee two rounds of counselling to allocate seats for the Super Specialty Doctorate of Medicine (MD) and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) programmes in central, state, and deemed universities under the 100% All India Quota (AIQ).

Applicants are required to submit a non-refundable application fee of Rs 5,000 and a refundable security deposit fee of Rs 2 lakh when registering for NEET SS counselling in 2023.

NEET SS counselling in 2023: The schedule for the first round 

Registration: November 8 to November 14 (until 12 noon)
Payment facility: November 8 to November 14 (until 3pm)
Choice filling and locking: November 8 to November 14 (until 11.55pm, with choice-locking available from 4pm on November 8 to 11.55 pm on November 14)
Processing of Seat allotment: From November 15 to November 16
Allotment result: November 17
Reporting to the allotted institutes: November 18 to November 24

Some prominent colleges that will be accepting NEET SS 2023 scores:

CMC Vellore – Christian Medical College, Vellore (NIRF Ranking: 3)
NIMHANS Bangalore – National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore (NIRF Ranking: 4)
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore (NIRF Ranking: 6)
SGPGIMS Lucknow – Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow (NIRF Ranking: 7)
BHU Varanasi – Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (NIRF Ranking: 8)
KMC Manipal – Kasturba Medical College, Manipal (NIRF Ranking: 9)
SCTIMST Trivandrum – Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum (NIRF Ranking: 10)
MMC Chennai – Madras Medical College, Chennai (NIRF Ranking: 11)
KGMU Lucknow – King George’s Medical University, Lucknow (NIRF Ranking: 12)
VMMC – Safdarjung Hospital – Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi (NIRF Ranking: 14)