At least 265 dead in India plane crash, one passenger survives

A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground — but one passenger has miraculously survived.An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — which had 242 passengers and crew on board — hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.The government opened a formal investigation into the cause of the crash, and rescue teams worked into Friday morning scouring the charred wreckage with sniffer dogs.”The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff. “It is heartbreaking beyond words”.Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai told reporters said that “265 bodies have reached the hospital”.That suggests that at least 24 people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball — and that the toll may rise further as more bodies are located.- ‘Devastating’ -The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground.”One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.”The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.India’s civil aviation authority said two pilots and 10 cabin crew were among the 242 people on board.Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, while the country’s King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked”.- ‘Sole survivor’ -But while everyone aboard the flight was initially feared killed, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP “one survivor is confirmed” and had been hospitalised.Air India said in a statement that the “sole survivor is being treated in a hospital”, adding that the “survivor is a British national of Indian origin”.The survivor is believed to be 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters he was speaking to them “after meeting him”.The BBC and Britain’s Press Association news agency spoke to Ramesh’s family members.”He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane'”, his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told PA in the British city of Leicester.- ‘Devastating’ -The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.”When we reached the spot, there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP.”Many of the bodies were burned,” she said.The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage.US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts.Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured.India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash.”It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.”The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “nothing short of phenomenal”.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

At least 265 dead in India plane crash, one passenger survives

A London-bound passenger jet crashed in a residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground — but one passenger has miraculously survived.An AFP journalist saw bodies being recovered from the crash site, and the back of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — which had 242 passengers and crew on board — hanging over the edge of a building it hit around lunchtime.The government opened a formal investigation into the cause of the crash, and rescue teams worked into Friday morning scouring the charred wreckage with sniffer dogs.”The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after Air India’s flight 171 crashed following takeoff. “It is heartbreaking beyond words”.Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai told reporters said that “265 bodies have reached the hospital”.That suggests that at least 24 people died when the jet ploughed into a medical staff hostel in a blazing fireball — and that the toll may rise further as more bodies are located.- ‘Devastating’ -The AFP journalist saw a building ablaze after the crash, with thick black smoke billowing into the air, and a section of the plane on the ground.”One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.”The nose and front wheel landed on the canteen building where students were having lunch,” he said.Krishna said he saw “about 15 to 20 burnt bodies”, while he and his colleagues rescued around 15 students.India’s civil aviation authority said two pilots and 10 cabin crew were among the 242 people on board.Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the scenes from the crash were “devastating”, while the country’s King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked”.- ‘Sole survivor’ -But while everyone aboard the flight was initially feared killed, state health official Dhananjay Dwivedi told AFP “one survivor is confirmed” and had been hospitalised.Air India said in a statement that the “sole survivor is being treated in a hospital”, adding that the “survivor is a British national of Indian origin”.The survivor is believed to be 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters he was speaking to them “after meeting him”.The BBC and Britain’s Press Association news agency spoke to Ramesh’s family members.”He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane'”, his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told PA in the British city of Leicester.- ‘Devastating’ -The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and the busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.”When we reached the spot, there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” resident Poonam Patni told AFP.”Many of the bodies were burned,” she said.The AFP journalist saw medics using a cart to load bodies into an ambulance, while a charred metal bed frame stood surrounded by burnt wreckage.US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts.Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured.India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash.”It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.”The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “nothing short of phenomenal”.The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

La tension monte entre les démocrates de Californie et le camp Trump

Un sénateur américain qui tentait jeudi d’interpeller une ministre de Donald Trump a été évacué de force et menotté, nouvel accès de tension entre les démocrates et l’administration sur sa politique anti-immigration, au coeur des récentes manifestations à Los Angeles.Cette ville à l’importante population hispanique est depuis des jours le théâtre de manifestations contre l’interpellation musclée d’étrangers en situation irrégulière, dans l’ensemble pacifiques mais également marquées des dégradations et des violences.Donald Trump a attribué jeudi le relatif retour au calme à Los Angeles depuis deux jours au déploiement d’environ 4.000 réservistes des Gardes nationaux et 700 Marines qu’il a ordonné. Mais le couvre-feu décrété par la maire démocrate de la ville a aussi pu y contribuer.La justice doit se pencher jeudi sur le recours du gouverneur de Californie Gavin Newsom contre l’envoi exceptionnel de militaires sans l’assentiment des autorités locales, qui dénoncent un virage autoritaire.Gavin Newsom “avait totalement perdu le contrôle de la situation. Il devrait me dire MERCI de lui avoir sauvé les fesses, au lieu d’essayer de justifier ses erreurs et son incompétence!!!”, a asséné le président jeudi.Figure centrale de l’opposition démocrate, M. Newsom, 57 ans, est considéré comme un possible candidat démocrate à la présidentielle de 2028.- Sénateur à terre -Si le gouverneur de Californie a dénoncé “le fantasme fou d’un président dictatorial”,  c’est un autre démocrate de l’Etat qui s’est retrouvé sous les projecteurs jeudi.Le sénateur Alex Padilla a été évacué  manu militari pour avoir interrompu une conférence de presse à Los Angeles de la ministre de la Sécurité intérieure Kristi Noem, selon un photographe de l’AFP.Dans une vidéo virale, on l’entend s’identifier et interpeller la ministre avant d’être forcé à terre et menotté par les agents.La porte-parole de la Maison Blanche, Karoline Leavitt, a affirmé sur X que “le sénateur Padilla devrait avoir honte de son comportement puéril”. Le sénateur et la ministre ont ensuite échangé pendant un quart d’heure, d’après la porte-parole de cette dernière, Tricia McLaughlin.Mais le sort réservé au sénateur, poste particulièrement prestigieux aux Etats-Unis, a indigné les démocrates, leur chef de file au Sénat Chuck Schumer évoquant des “relents de totalitarisme”.Au Congrès, une dizaine de parlementaires  d’origine hispanique sont allés dans les bureaux du chef de la Chambre des représentants, le républicain Mike Johnson, pour lui demander de défendre leur collègue et “l’institution du Congrès, contre-pouvoir démocratique” .”Il y a une campagne d’intimidation pour essayer de réduire au silence l’opposition”, a affirmé l’élu démocrate Adriano Espaillat.- “Ils ont peur” -Dans la deuxième métropole du pays, la situation semblait revenue à un certain calme.”En général, tout est sous contrôle ici à Ground Zero”, a déclaré à l’AFP Lynn Sturgis, enseignante à la retraite de 66 ans, devant les bureaux du gouvernement fédéral, épicentre des manifestations dans le centre-ville.Les manifestations se sont étendues ces derniers jours à d’autres villes américaines, toujours dans des proportions limitées, comme à Las Vegas, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta ou Boston.Les migrants “ont autant le droit que nous d’être ici, peu importe s’ils sont arrivés légalement ou illégalement”, a déclaré une manifestante prénommée Apples au Las Vegas Review Journal. “Cela me rend malade pour mon petit ami et sa famille. Ce sont des réfugiés cubains, ils ont peur d’aller faire les courses, d’aller travailler”.Au Mexique, d’où sont originaires nombre de sans-papiers présents au Etats-Unis, la présidente Claudia Sheinbaum a expliqué avoir dit à un haut responsable américain qu’elle n’était “pas d’accord sur le fait de recourir à des descentes de police pour arrêter des personnes qui travaillent honnêtement”.Donald Trump avait promis pendant sa campagne de s’en prendre aux “criminels venus de l’étranger”.Mais ses efforts pour lutter contre l’immigration clandestine ont largement dépassé ce cadre et visé en particulier les immigrés latino-américains, indispensables à certains secteurs d’activité.Sur le plan économique, il a admis devoir “faire quelque chose” rapidement pour préserver les nombreux travailleurs immigrés de l’agriculture et de l’hôtellerie.

La tension monte entre les démocrates de Californie et le camp Trump

Un sénateur américain qui tentait jeudi d’interpeller une ministre de Donald Trump a été évacué de force et menotté, nouvel accès de tension entre les démocrates et l’administration sur sa politique anti-immigration, au coeur des récentes manifestations à Los Angeles.Cette ville à l’importante population hispanique est depuis des jours le théâtre de manifestations contre l’interpellation musclée d’étrangers en situation irrégulière, dans l’ensemble pacifiques mais également marquées des dégradations et des violences.Donald Trump a attribué jeudi le relatif retour au calme à Los Angeles depuis deux jours au déploiement d’environ 4.000 réservistes des Gardes nationaux et 700 Marines qu’il a ordonné. Mais le couvre-feu décrété par la maire démocrate de la ville a aussi pu y contribuer.La justice doit se pencher jeudi sur le recours du gouverneur de Californie Gavin Newsom contre l’envoi exceptionnel de militaires sans l’assentiment des autorités locales, qui dénoncent un virage autoritaire.Gavin Newsom “avait totalement perdu le contrôle de la situation. Il devrait me dire MERCI de lui avoir sauvé les fesses, au lieu d’essayer de justifier ses erreurs et son incompétence!!!”, a asséné le président jeudi.Figure centrale de l’opposition démocrate, M. Newsom, 57 ans, est considéré comme un possible candidat démocrate à la présidentielle de 2028.- Sénateur à terre -Si le gouverneur de Californie a dénoncé “le fantasme fou d’un président dictatorial”,  c’est un autre démocrate de l’Etat qui s’est retrouvé sous les projecteurs jeudi.Le sénateur Alex Padilla a été évacué  manu militari pour avoir interrompu une conférence de presse à Los Angeles de la ministre de la Sécurité intérieure Kristi Noem, selon un photographe de l’AFP.Dans une vidéo virale, on l’entend s’identifier et interpeller la ministre avant d’être forcé à terre et menotté par les agents.La porte-parole de la Maison Blanche, Karoline Leavitt, a affirmé sur X que “le sénateur Padilla devrait avoir honte de son comportement puéril”. Le sénateur et la ministre ont ensuite échangé pendant un quart d’heure, d’après la porte-parole de cette dernière, Tricia McLaughlin.Mais le sort réservé au sénateur, poste particulièrement prestigieux aux Etats-Unis, a indigné les démocrates, leur chef de file au Sénat Chuck Schumer évoquant des “relents de totalitarisme”.Au Congrès, une dizaine de parlementaires  d’origine hispanique sont allés dans les bureaux du chef de la Chambre des représentants, le républicain Mike Johnson, pour lui demander de défendre leur collègue et “l’institution du Congrès, contre-pouvoir démocratique” .”Il y a une campagne d’intimidation pour essayer de réduire au silence l’opposition”, a affirmé l’élu démocrate Adriano Espaillat.- “Ils ont peur” -Dans la deuxième métropole du pays, la situation semblait revenue à un certain calme.”En général, tout est sous contrôle ici à Ground Zero”, a déclaré à l’AFP Lynn Sturgis, enseignante à la retraite de 66 ans, devant les bureaux du gouvernement fédéral, épicentre des manifestations dans le centre-ville.Les manifestations se sont étendues ces derniers jours à d’autres villes américaines, toujours dans des proportions limitées, comme à Las Vegas, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta ou Boston.Les migrants “ont autant le droit que nous d’être ici, peu importe s’ils sont arrivés légalement ou illégalement”, a déclaré une manifestante prénommée Apples au Las Vegas Review Journal. “Cela me rend malade pour mon petit ami et sa famille. Ce sont des réfugiés cubains, ils ont peur d’aller faire les courses, d’aller travailler”.Au Mexique, d’où sont originaires nombre de sans-papiers présents au Etats-Unis, la présidente Claudia Sheinbaum a expliqué avoir dit à un haut responsable américain qu’elle n’était “pas d’accord sur le fait de recourir à des descentes de police pour arrêter des personnes qui travaillent honnêtement”.Donald Trump avait promis pendant sa campagne de s’en prendre aux “criminels venus de l’étranger”.Mais ses efforts pour lutter contre l’immigration clandestine ont largement dépassé ce cadre et visé en particulier les immigrés latino-américains, indispensables à certains secteurs d’activité.Sur le plan économique, il a admis devoir “faire quelque chose” rapidement pour préserver les nombreux travailleurs immigrés de l’agriculture et de l’hôtellerie.

Bolivie: cinq morts dans les heurts entre police et partisans d’Evo Morales

Les heurts entre forces de l’ordre et partisans de l’ex-président bolivien Evo Morales, qui bloquent depuis onze jours des routes du pays pour réclamer la démission du président Luis Arce, ont fait au moins cinq morts, dont quatre policiers, a annoncé jeudi le gouvernement.Les soutiens de l’ancien chef d’État rendent le président Arce responsable de la crise économique dans le pays et l’accusent d’avoir écarté leur leader de la présidentielle du 17 août.Mercredi, de violents affrontements ont éclaté dans la ville minière de Llallagua, dans la région de Potosi, au sud-ouest de la Bolivie, où la police s’était rendue pour tenter de lever, sans succès, un blocage.Le gouvernement avait initialement annoncé la mort de trois policiers par arme à feu. Jeudi, le ministre de la Justice, César Siles, a indiqué que le bilan s’élevait désormais à quatre membres des forces de l’ordre tués.- Explosifs -L’un des policiers, un lieutenant, “a été enlevé” puis tué par un engin explosif introduit dans son corps avant qu’il n’explose, a annoncé le vice-ministre de l’Intérieur, Jhonny Aguilera. Le ministre de l’Intérieur, Roberto Rios, a précisé que le bilan incluait un manifestant décédé, selon un rapport préliminaire, alors qu’il manipulait un engin explosif non loin de la ville de Cochabamba, dans le centre du pays.  Au total, 54 blessés parmi la police, les manifestants et des habitants excédés qui ont tenté mardi de débloquer la route à Llallagua, ont été rencensés, a indiqué le ministère de la Santé. Nelson Cox, avocat d’Evo Morales, a assuré à l’AFP qu’il y avait eu “trois morts” parmi les manifestants. Il a également fait état de 15 manifestants blessés et plus de 30 détenus.”L’armée va entrer à Llallagua, car ce que nous voulons c’est garantir un état de calme et de paix”, a assuré le vice-ministre Aguilera. “Des niveaux de violence inacceptables ont été atteints”, a dénoncé M. Rios. Les blocages routiers se poursuivent depuis le 2 juin dans le pays bien qu’ils tendent à se réduire. Selon l’autorité nationale des routes, il y avait jeudi 19 points de blocage dans le pays, contre 21 mercredi et 29 mardi.Pour le gouvernement, ces barrages visent à empêcher le scrutin présidentiel et forcer une candidature de M. Morales, qui a gouverné à trois reprises entre 2006 et 2019 et que la justice a déclaré inéligible pour avoir dépassé le nombre autorisé de réélections.Le parquet a ouvert lundi une enquête contre Evo Morales pour “terrorisme”, “incitation à commettre des délits” et “atteinte à la sécurité des services publics” entre autres infractions pénales, après une plainte du gouvernement l’accusant d’encourager les protestations.L’ex-président vit retranché sous la protection de ses partisans dans son fief du centre du pays, dont il n’a pas pu sortir depuis octobre dernier, étant visé par un mandat d’arrêt pour une affaire de traite de mineure qu’il nie.

Trump warns Israeli attack on Iran ‘could very well happen’

President Donald Trump warned Thursday that Israel may soon strike Iran’s nuclear sites, but urged the key US ally to hold off as he stressed his commitment to a diplomatic solution.Tensions have soared in the region in the last two days with Trump warning of a “massive conflict” and drawing down US staff. Tehran meanwhile defiantly vowed to increase its output of enriched uranium — a key sticking point in talks with Washington — after being censured by the UN’s atomic watchdog.”I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.Trump said he believed a “pretty good” deal on Iran’s nuclear program was “fairly close,” but said that an Israeli attack on its arch-foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Trump quickly added: “Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.”News outlet Axios reported that Trump had said the United States would not participate in any strikes.- US troops in crosshairs -Trump later appeared to want tensions dialed down in a post on social media, while insisting that Iran must “give up hopes” of developing a nuclear weapon.”We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Tensions have rapidly escalated in the past few days amid growing speculation that Israel could push ahead with air strikes on Iran.Trump’s Middle East pointman Steve Witkoff is set to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran on Sunday in Oman, which has mediated efforts towards a nuclear deal so far.But Iran has also ramped up rhetorical pressure before the talks, including with a threat to strike American bases in the region if the negotiations break down and conflict erupts.”If the talks fail, the risk of military escalation becomes much more immediate,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defenses last year.Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.- ‘Non-compliance’ -The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a “snapback” mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as “extremist” and blamed Israeli influence.In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment center in a secure location.Iran would also replace “all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines” at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

Trump warns Israeli attack on Iran ‘could very well happen’

President Donald Trump warned Thursday that Israel may soon strike Iran’s nuclear sites, but urged the key US ally to hold off as he stressed his commitment to a diplomatic solution.Tensions have soared in the region in the last two days with Trump warning of a “massive conflict” and drawing down US staff. Tehran meanwhile defiantly vowed to increase its output of enriched uranium — a key sticking point in talks with Washington — after being censured by the UN’s atomic watchdog.”I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if an Israeli attack loomed.Trump said he believed a “pretty good” deal on Iran’s nuclear program was “fairly close,” but said that an Israeli attack on its arch-foe could wreck the chances of an agreement.The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: “I don’t want them going in, because I think it would blow it.”Trump quickly added: “Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.”News outlet Axios reported that Trump had said the United States would not participate in any strikes.- US troops in crosshairs -Trump later appeared to want tensions dialed down in a post on social media, while insisting that Iran must “give up hopes” of developing a nuclear weapon.”We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.Tensions have rapidly escalated in the past few days amid growing speculation that Israel could push ahead with air strikes on Iran.Trump’s Middle East pointman Steve Witkoff is set to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran on Sunday in Oman, which has mediated efforts towards a nuclear deal so far.But Iran has also ramped up rhetorical pressure before the talks, including with a threat to strike American bases in the region if the negotiations break down and conflict erupts.”If the talks fail, the risk of military escalation becomes much more immediate,” said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq — long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran.Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defenses last year.Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza.- ‘Non-compliance’ -The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied.Israel again called for global action after the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a “snapback” mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama.Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions.Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as “extremist” and blamed Israeli influence.In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment center in a secure location.Iran would also replace “all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines” at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead.

Israel says Hamas ‘weaponising suffering in Gaza’ as aid workers killed

Israel charged on Thursday that Hamas was “weaponising suffering in Gaza” after a US and Israeli-backed charity accused the Palestinian militant group of killing eight of its aid workers in the territory.The distribution of food and basic supplies in the blockaded and war-ravaged Gaza has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory’s deep hunger crisis.The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near the southern city of Khan Yunis was “brutally attacked by Hamas” around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Wednesday.The GHF said: “As of now, we can confirm at least eight fatalities, multiple injuries, and we fear that some of our team members have been taken hostage.”Israel’s foreign ministry said “Hamas is weaponising suffering in Gaza — denying food, targeting lifesavers and forsaking its own people”.Asked to respond to the GHF accusation, the Hamas government media office in Gaza said GHF was a “filthy tool” of Israeli forces and was being used to “lure civilians into death traps”.It did not comment on the GHF’s accusation.Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach GHF distribution points since they began operating in late May, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.The agency said another 21 people were killed while waiting for aid on Thursday, adding that they were among 29 people across the territory who were killed by Israeli fire.Contacted by AFP about reports of a deadly incident near an aid distribution point close to the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, the Israeli military said it had “conducted warning shots hundreds of metres from the aid distribution site, prior to its opening hours.”Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and the difficulties of access on the ground mean AFP is unable to independently verify the casualty tolls provided by the civil defence agency or the deaths reported by the GHF.- ‘Died while waiting’ -An officially private effort with opaque funding, the GHF began operating on May 26 after Israel cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking international condemnation and warnings of imminent famine.During its first week of operations, the GHF said it distributed more than seven million meals’ worth of food, but its operations were widely criticised even before the deadly shootings near its sites.The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.Gaza medics have said hospitals are being inundated with people wounded while trying to obtain food.At Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital on Wednesday, the emergency department said it had received dozens of people who had been killed or wounded while waiting for aid in recent days, including 200 in a single day.”Many Gazans went to the Nabulsi and Netzarim areas to receive aid and were shot at and shelled with tanks,” said Mutaz Harara, head of Al-Shifa’s emergency department.But with few medical supplies and no operating theatres, “many patients died while waiting for their turn”, he said.The war has caused major damage to infrastructure across Gaza, including water mains, telecommunication cables, power lines and roads.The Palestinian Authority said internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza on Thursday following an attack on the territory’s last fibre optic cable which it blamed on Israel.- Aid workers deported -Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign ministry said six people detained aboard a boat attempting to breach Israel’s Gaza blockade were put on a plane for deportation on Thursday afternoon.They included European parliamentarian Rima Hassan, it said.”Bye-bye — and don’t forget to take a selfie before you leave,” the ministry wrote on X.The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted 149-12 with 19 abstentions a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urging “all necessary measures” to pressure Israel into ending the conflict. The US vetoed a similar push at the Security Council last week.Egyptian authorities meanwhile detained more than 200 pro-Palestinian activists in Cairo ahead of a planned march to the Gaza border, the organisers said.Egypt said while it backs efforts to put “pressure on Israel” to lift its Gaza blockade, any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must obtain prior approval.The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.Israel said late on Wednesday that its forces had retrieved the bodies of two hostages from southern Gaza.Prior to the latest announcement, out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 were still held in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military has said are dead.Hamas’s assault resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 55,207 people, the majority of them civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.bur-acc-jd-lba/dv/gv