Suspects in Bali murder all Australian, face death penalty: police

Indonesian police said Wednesday they had arrested three Australians who all face the death penalty for the murder of a compatriot on the resort island of Bali after a days long manhunt.Zivan Radmanovic, a 32-year-old Australian national, was shot dead in the attack on Saturday and a second man, 34-year-old Sanar Ghanim, was seriously wounded.Police had earlier said they were hunting for two men who burst into his villa in the tourist hub of Badung and at least one opened fire. “Three suspects have been arrested,” Bali police chief Daniel Adityajaya told reporters, adding that several pieces of evidence allegedly used to carry out the shooting were also recovered.He said the three suspects — all Australian men — were charged with multiple offences, including premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death, as well as murder and torture resulting in death, which carries a potential seven-year jail term.One of the suspects was detained at the international airport in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and flown back to Bali, in cooperation with immigration and national police officials, he said.”The other two already fled and were successfully returned because of the coordination between interpol countries in the Southeast Asia region,” he added, without specifying the countries involved.Bali police also showed on Wednesday several pieces of evidence to the media including a hammer, several pieces of clothing, and bullet casings.Witnesses, including Radmanovic’s wife, said the perpetrators who fled the scene after the attack were speaking in English with a thick Australian accent, according to a local police statement.The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the family of Radmanovic and confirmed three Australians had been detained over the shooting.”DFAT is aware that three Australians have been detained and we are urgently seeking further information from local authorities,” a spokesperson told AFP in a statement.Gun crime on the island of Bali and wider Indonesia is rare, and the archipelago nation has strict laws for illegal gun possession.

UN says two Iran nuclear sites destroyed in Israel strikes

The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme near Tehran, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day.Hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s surrender, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show “no mercy” towards Israel’s leadership.Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, was to deliver a televised speech Wednesday.Trump insists the United States has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin.The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.After the Israeli military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district of Tehran for their safety, Israeli warplanes hit the capital early Wednesday.”More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets… carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours,” the Israeli military said, adding that several weapons manufacturing facilities were hit. “As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted.”Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead.The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday.In another strike on a site in Tehran, “one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested”, the agency added in a post on X.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv.Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, despite Iran’s claims that its attacks were “repeatedly shaking the shelters”, though AFP photos showed Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran.It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran.- ‘Unconditional surrender’ -Trump fuelled speculation about US intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies called for de-escalation but backed Israel’s “right to defend itself”.Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.He also boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict. There was no immediate public statement after the hour and 20 minute meeting.US officials stressed Trump has not yet made a decision about any intervention.Hours later, Khamenei responded with a post on X, saying: “We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.”- Evacuations -Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.On Tuesday in Tehran, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.Iran’s ISNA and Tasnim news agencies on Wednesday reported that five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online.With air raid sirens regularly blaring in Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall.”We’ve decided to permanently set camp here until it’s all clear, I guess,” Mali Papirany, 30, told AFP.- Nuclear facilities -After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran denies.The UN nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where any attempts at “regime change” would bring “chaos”.burs/ser/kir

UN says two Iran nuclear sites destroyed in Israel strikes

The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme near Tehran, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day.Hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s surrender, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show “no mercy” towards Israel’s leadership.Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, was to deliver a televised speech Wednesday.Trump insists the United States has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin.The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.After the Israeli military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district of Tehran for their safety, Israeli warplanes hit the capital early Wednesday.”More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets… carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours,” the Israeli military said, adding that several weapons manufacturing facilities were hit. “As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted.”Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead.The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday.In another strike on a site in Tehran, “one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested”, the agency added in a post on X.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv.Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, despite Iran’s claims that its attacks were “repeatedly shaking the shelters”, though AFP photos showed Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran.It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran.- ‘Unconditional surrender’ -Trump fuelled speculation about US intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies called for de-escalation but backed Israel’s “right to defend itself”.Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.He also boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict. There was no immediate public statement after the hour and 20 minute meeting.US officials stressed Trump has not yet made a decision about any intervention.Hours later, Khamenei responded with a post on X, saying: “We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.”- Evacuations -Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.On Tuesday in Tehran, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.Iran’s ISNA and Tasnim news agencies on Wednesday reported that five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online.With air raid sirens regularly blaring in Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall.”We’ve decided to permanently set camp here until it’s all clear, I guess,” Mali Papirany, 30, told AFP.- Nuclear facilities -After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran denies.The UN nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where any attempts at “regime change” would bring “chaos”.burs/ser/kir

Israel-Iran conflict: latest developments

Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.Here are the latest developments:- Night of strikes -The Israeli military said on Wednesday that 50 Israeli fighter jets struck about 20 targets in Tehran overnight, and that it had intercepted a total of 10 drone attacks launched from Iran.”As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted,” the Israeli military said.The UN nuclear watchdog later said two centrifuge production facilities had been struck.Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv.Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, despite Iran’s claims that its attacks were “repeatedly shaking the shelters”, though AFP photos show Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.- ‘Unconditional surrender’ -US President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Iran’s supreme leader, saying on Tuesday that the United States knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is located but will not kill him “for now”.In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” as he fuelled speculation over whether the United States would join Israel’s attacks on Tehran’s leadership and nuclear facilities.Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.Khamenei is expected to give a televised speech Wednesday.- Rising toll -Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded since Iran’s retaliatory strikes began Friday.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.- Doing the ‘dirty work’ -Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “regime change is not an objective of this war — it can be a result, but it’s not an objective”.French President Emmanuel Macron warned that any attempt to change the government in Iran would result in “chaos”.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed support for the campaign Tuesday, saying in an interview that “this is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us” against Iran’s “mullah regime”.- Internet restrictions -Iran said Wednesday it had detained five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online, Iranian news agencies reported.”These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quoted a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying. Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict. Numerous sites and apps have since been at least partially inaccessible.The authorities appealed to the public on Tuesday to “minimise their use of equipment connected to the internet and to take appropriate precautions” online.For their own safety, civil servants and their security teams have been banned from using any connected devices, including smartphones, watches and laptops during the Israeli air offensive.State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users’ location and personal data and “communicates them to the Zionist enemy”.A WhatsApp spokesperson hit back against the claims, saying: “We’re concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.”burs-ser/jsa

South Africans welcome home Test champions the ProteasWed, 18 Jun 2025 09:59:49 GMT

Several thousand supporters were at the main airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday to welcome home World Test Championship winners South Africa.Temba Bavuma captained the Proteas to a five-wicket triumph over long-time rivals Australia at Lord’s last Saturday to end a 27-year major trophy drought.He and coach Shukri Conrad were the first to greet cheering supporters, …

South Africans welcome home Test champions the ProteasWed, 18 Jun 2025 09:59:49 GMT Read More »

Japon: trois morts et plus de 220 personnes soignées à cause de la chaleur

Le Japon est touché depuis le début de la semaine par de fortes chaleurs, qui ont fait au moins 3 morts, avec des dizaines de personnes qui ont dû être prises en charge, ont indiqué mercredi les autorités locales.Quatorze villes ont enregistré des températures record pour un mois de juin, et le mercure a ainsi grimpé jusqu’à 34,4 degrés dans le centre de Tokyo, selon l’Agence météorologique japonaise (JMA).Au moins trois décès en lien avec les fortes températures ont été signalés par les autorités locales dans plusieurs régions, où des alertes “canicule” ont été émises.Mercredi, au moins 57 personnes ont reçu des soins d’urgence à Tokyo à cause de la chaleur, s’ajoutant aux 169 cas enregistrés mardi.La plupart des habitants de la capitale se sont adaptés à la chaleur, comme Junko Kobayashi, 73 ans, qui a montré à l’AFP son foulard rafraîchissant.”Je le trempe dans l’eau, puis je le noue autour de mon cou. C’est très rafraîchissant. Et j’utilise aussi un parapluie. Il bloque la lumière et la chaleur, donc on se sent plus au frais”, a-t-elle expliqué.Les autorités recommandent à la population, notamment aux personnes âgées, de ne pas sortir et de s’hydrater.”Pas besoin d’avaler de grandes quantités d’eau, juste quelques gorgées de temps en temps. C’est important de d’y penser”, a confié Naoki Ito, 80 ans.Chaque été, les autorités japonaises appellent la population – en particulier les seniors – à se protéger en restant dans des espaces climatisés.Les personnes âgées ont représenté plus de 80% des décès liés à la chaleur au cours des cinq dernières années, alors que l’été dernier a été le plus chaud enregistré dans l’archipel.Le pays connaît par ailleurs un afflux record de touristes, avec une hausse de 21% des visiteurs étrangers en mai par rapport à l’année précédente.”Il fait vraiment une chaleur de plomb”, a déclaré Jack Budd, un touriste australien de 31 ans, qui tente de trouver de l’ombre autant que possible avec son compagnon de voyage.”Même le vent est chaude, donc à moins d’entrer à l’intérieur, il est difficile d’y échapper”, a-t-il ajouté.

Japon: trois morts et plus de 220 personnes soignées à cause de la chaleur

Le Japon est touché depuis le début de la semaine par de fortes chaleurs, qui ont fait au moins 3 morts, avec des dizaines de personnes qui ont dû être prises en charge, ont indiqué mercredi les autorités locales.Quatorze villes ont enregistré des températures record pour un mois de juin, et le mercure a ainsi grimpé jusqu’à 34,4 degrés dans le centre de Tokyo, selon l’Agence météorologique japonaise (JMA).Au moins trois décès en lien avec les fortes températures ont été signalés par les autorités locales dans plusieurs régions, où des alertes “canicule” ont été émises.Mercredi, au moins 57 personnes ont reçu des soins d’urgence à Tokyo à cause de la chaleur, s’ajoutant aux 169 cas enregistrés mardi.La plupart des habitants de la capitale se sont adaptés à la chaleur, comme Junko Kobayashi, 73 ans, qui a montré à l’AFP son foulard rafraîchissant.”Je le trempe dans l’eau, puis je le noue autour de mon cou. C’est très rafraîchissant. Et j’utilise aussi un parapluie. Il bloque la lumière et la chaleur, donc on se sent plus au frais”, a-t-elle expliqué.Les autorités recommandent à la population, notamment aux personnes âgées, de ne pas sortir et de s’hydrater.”Pas besoin d’avaler de grandes quantités d’eau, juste quelques gorgées de temps en temps. C’est important de d’y penser”, a confié Naoki Ito, 80 ans.Chaque été, les autorités japonaises appellent la population – en particulier les seniors – à se protéger en restant dans des espaces climatisés.Les personnes âgées ont représenté plus de 80% des décès liés à la chaleur au cours des cinq dernières années, alors que l’été dernier a été le plus chaud enregistré dans l’archipel.Le pays connaît par ailleurs un afflux record de touristes, avec une hausse de 21% des visiteurs étrangers en mai par rapport à l’année précédente.”Il fait vraiment une chaleur de plomb”, a déclaré Jack Budd, un touriste australien de 31 ans, qui tente de trouver de l’ombre autant que possible avec son compagnon de voyage.”Même le vent est chaude, donc à moins d’entrer à l’intérieur, il est difficile d’y échapper”, a-t-il ajouté.