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French prosecutors were on Monday probing a terror motive after a man who had posted racist videos shot dead his Tunisian neighbour and badly wounded a Turkish man in the south of France.The shooting late on Saturday in Puget-sur-Argens, in the southern region of Var, came after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims.The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim’s ethnicity or religion.But French national anti-terror prosecutors, known by their French acronym PNAT, announced on Monday that they would be taking over the investigation.The suspect wanted to “disrupt public order through terror”, according to a source close to the case.The suspected killer, a Frenchman born in 1971, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police.He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on Saturday, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier.The victim, who was born in 1979, was shot five times. The Turkish national was wounded in the hand and needed hospital treatment, the prosecutor said.- ‘Swore allegiance to French flag’ – The suspect, a sports shooting enthusiast, “posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack”, the prosecutor said.According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect said he “swore allegiance to the French flag” and called on the French to “shoot” people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media.The PNAT prosecutors said on Monday that they had opened an investigation into a “terrorist plot” motivated by the race or religion of the victims.”The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer,” said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination NGO.”This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months,” it said, denouncing a “poisonous climate” in the country including the “trivialisation of racist rhetoric”.Aboubakar Cisse of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25.A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice.Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticised for never travelling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors.On Monday, Retailleau denounced the murder of a Tunisian man, calling it a “racist act”.”Racism in France and elsewhere is a poison, and we can see that it is a poison that kills,” Retailleau told reporters.”Every racist act is an anti-French act.”He added that he had spoken on the phone with the Tunisian ambassador to France.He later spoke to his Tunisian counterpart, Khaled Nouri, who “condemned a terrorist crime”, according to an official government statement.Nouri urged French authorities to “ensure the protection of the Tunisian community on French territory”, the Tunisian statement added. vxm-dac-sjw-as-bc/dhw

US President Donald Trump on Monday ruled out allowing Iran to enrich uranium under any nuclear deal between the foes — as Tehran defended what it said was its “peaceful” pursuit of fuel for power generation.Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention in five rounds of talks since April to ink a new accord to replace the deal with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.”Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!” Trump said on his Truth Social network after the Axios news outlet said Washington’s offer would let Tehran enrich some of the nuclear fuel.Republican Trump also blamed predecessor Joe Biden for the impasse, saying the Democrat “should have stopped Iran a long time ago from ‘enriching.'”Axios said the latest proposal that Washington had sent Tehran on Saturday would allow limited low-level uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, for an amount of time that has yet to be determined.Iran has insisted that Iran has “nothing to hide” on its nuclear program.Speaking in Cairo, where he met the UN nuclear watchdog’s chief Rafael Grossi, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: “If the goal is to deprive Iran of its peaceful activities, then certainly no agreement will be reached.”The remarks came after Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday called for more transparency from Iran following a leaked report that showed Tehran had stepped up uranium enrichment.- ‘Need for more transparency’ -The IAEA report showed that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent — close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons.”There is a need for more transparency — this is very, very clear — in Iran, and nothing will bring us to this confidence (besides) full explanations of a number of activities,” Grossi said ahead of meeting Araghchi.Grossi added that some of the report’s findings “may be uncomfortable for some, and we are… used to being criticized”.Iran has rejected the report, warning it would retaliate if European powers that have threatened to reimpose nuclear sanctions “exploit” it.”Some countries are trying to abuse this agency to pave the way for escalation with Iran. I hope that this agency does not fall into this trap,” Araghchi said of the IAEA.Iran meanwhile pushed for the United States to drop sanctions that have crippled its economy as a condition for a nuclear agreement with Trump’s administration.Araghchi said on Saturday that he had received “elements” of the US proposal for a nuclear deal following the five rounds of talks, mediated by Oman.- ‘With or without a deal’ -Both Araghchi and Grossi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who praised the US-Iran talks and called for “de-escalation in order to prevent a slide into a full-fledged regional war”.On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a news conference: “We want to guarantee that the sanctions are effectively lifted.””So far, the American side has not wanted to clarify this issue,” he said.The US envoy in the nuclear talks said last month that Trump’s administration would oppose any Iranian enrichment.”An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line. No enrichment,” Steve Witkoff told Breitbart News.Following a phone call with Witkoff the day before about the ongoing nuclear talks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged a peaceful solution and a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East, saying in Monday’s press conference that “the region is already experiencing enough problems and crises”.He warned that military confrontation would create “a state of chaos from which no one will be spared”.Iran has vowed to keep enriching uranium “with or without a deal” on its nuclear program.The United States has sent Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal that the White House called “acceptable” and in Tehran’s “best interest” to accept, US media reported on Saturday.The New York Times, citing officials familiar with the diplomatic exchanges, said the proposal calls on Iran to stop all enrichment and suggests creating a regional grouping to produce nuclear power.

Oil prices surged Monday over renewed concerns about Russia’s war in Ukraine and relief over OPEC+ production, while stock markets were mixed as US-China trade tensions resurfaced after a brief lull.The dollar was under renewed pressure as traders digested US President Donald Trump’s recent threats to double steel and aluminum tariffs, while Wall Street’s main …

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Cries of grief echoed across southern Gaza’s Nasser Hospital Monday as dozens came to mourn Hossam Wafi, after the father of six was killed while attempting to get supplies to feed his family.His mother, Nahla Wafi, sobbed uncontrollably over her son, who was among 31 people killed by Israeli fire while trying to reach a food distribution site the previous day, according to the Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency.”He went to get food for his daughters — and came back dead,” said Nahla Wafi who lost a son and had relatives injured on Sunday.Hossam Wafi had travelled with his brother and nephew to a newly established distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah. “They were just trying to buy (flour). But the drone came down on them,” his mother said, as she tried to comfort four of her granddaughters in the courtyard of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.Israel has faced growing condemnation over the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where the United Nations has warned the entire population faces the risk of famine.-‘Go there and get bombed’-The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that its field hospital in Rafah received 179 cases on Sunday, including 21 pronounced dead on arrival.The ICRC said that all those wounded “said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site”, and that “the majority suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds”.Israeli authorities and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli-backed outfit that runs the distribution centres, denied any such incident took place.The military instead said that troops fired “warning shots” at people who approached them one kilometre away from the Rafah distribution site before dawn.A witness told AFP thousands of people gathered at the area, known locally as the Al-Alam junction, between 2:00 and 4:00 am (2300 GMT and 0100 GMT) in the hopes of reaching the distribution centre.At Nasser Hospital, Hossam Wafi’s young daughters called out for their father, kissing his body wrapped in a white shroud, before it was taken away.Outside the hospital, dozens of men stood in silence before the body, praying. Some cried as the remains were taken away, one of them holding the father’s face until he was gently pulled away.His uncle, Ali Wafi, told AFP he felt angry his nephew was killed while trying to get aid.”They go there and get bombed — airstrikes, tanks, shelling — all for a piece of bread,” he said.”He went for a bite of bread, not for anything else. What was he supposed to do? He had to feed his little kids. And the result? He’s getting buried today,” he added.- Militarised aid -The deaths in Rafah were one of two deadly incidents reported by Gaza’s civil defence agency on Sunday around the GHF centres, which the UN says contravene basic humanitarian principles and appear designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.There have been several other reports of chaotic scenes and warning shots fired in connection with the distribution sites over the past week. The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) published a video of one such distribution site in central Gaza’s Netzarim corridor on Thursday.A large crowd is seen gathered around four long corridors made from metal fences installed in the middle of an arid landscape, corralling men and women into files to receive flour.The distribution site and its waiting area sit on a flattened piece of land surrounded by massive mounds of soil and sand.It is manned by English-speaking security guards travelling in armoured vehicles.Palestinians exiting the distribution area carry cardboard boxes sometimes bearing a “GHF” logo, as well as wooden pallets presumably to be repurposed as fuel or structures for shelter.In the large crowd gathered outside the gated corridors, some men are seen shoving each other, and one woman complains that her food package was stolen.Hossam Wafi’s uncle Ali said he wished Gaza’s people could safely get aid. “People take the risk (to reach the distribution site), just so they can survive.”

UN chief Antonio Guterres called Monday for an independent investigation into the killing and wounding of scores of Palestinians near a US-backed aid centre in Gaza the day before.Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah on Sunday, with medics at nearby hospitals also reporting a deluge of gunshot wound victims.The Israeli military denied firing at people “while they were near or within” the site.But a military source acknowledged “warning shots were fired towards several suspects” overnight about a kilometre away. “I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food,” Guterres said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths. “I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable.”Israel’s foreign ministry called the statement “a disgrace”, and faulted Guterres for not criticising Hamas.The Israeli government has worked with the group running the site, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to introduce a new mechanism for distributing aid in Gaza that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system.The UN has declined to work with the group out of concerns about its neutrality.- ‘Bullets were chasing people’ -One 33-year-old who was present on Sunday told AFP it was “around 5 or 5:30 am, before sunrise” when the gunfire broke out at a spot known as the Al-Alam roundabout, where a crowd had gathered from the early hours of the morning to wait before heading to the GHF centre about a kilometre away.”Of course it was the Israeli army who shot live bullets,” said the witness, who declined to be named for fear of Israeli reprisals.”Thousands of people were waiting at Al-Alam roundabout… but the army fired and everyone ran away. There was fear and chaos. I saw with my own eyes martyrs and wounded in the area.”Another witness elsewhere in the crowd, 35-year-old Mohammed Abu Deqqa, said “at first, we thought they were warning shots”. “But it didn’t take long before the shooting intensified. I began to see people lying on the ground, covered in blood. That was around 5:30 am” he said. “People started running, but many couldn’t escape. The bullets were chasing people even as they tried to flee.”AFP photos taken around 5:40 am showed civilians loading bodies onto donkey carts shortly after sunrise.Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said teams of rescuers arrived around 6:00 am and began assisting with the dead and wounded, though civilians and other paramedics had already taken some to Nasser hospital and a Red Cross field hospital.- ‘Warning shots were fired’ -The military on Sunday said an initial inquiry indicated its troops “did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site”, and urged “media to be cautious with information published” by Hamas.But according to an Israeli military source, “warning shots were fired towards several suspects who advanced towards the troops” overnight. The incident took place “approximately one kilometre away” from the GHF distribution centre, outside of operating hours, the source said.Army spokesman Effie Defrin said Sunday that “Hamas is doing its best, its utmost, to stop us from” distributing aid, and vowed to “investigate each one of those allegations” against Israeli troops.A GHF spokesperson also accused Hamas of circulating “fake reports”, saying: “All aid was distributed today without incident.”In a video message from Nasser hospital later on Sunday morning, visiting British surgeon Victoria Rose described a scene of “absolute carnage”, saying “all the bays are full, and they’re all gunshot wounds”.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that its field hospital in Rafah received 179 people, including 21 pronounced dead on arrival.The ICRC reported that all the wounded “said they had been trying to reach an aid distribution site”, adding that “the majority suffered gunshot or shrapnel wounds”.- ‘Intense force’ -GHF said that as of Monday, it had distributed more than 5.8 million meals’ worth of food from its centres.Israel has come under increasing international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza following a more than two-month blockade on aid that was only recently eased.The UN has warned the entire population is at risk of famine, and has also reported recent incidents of aid being looted, including by armed individuals.Talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire have so far failed to produce a breakthrough.Civil defence spokesman Bassal said 14 people were killed on Monday in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia, in the north.Asked for comment, the army said only that “strikes were conducted toward terror targets in northern Gaza”.The Israeli military also issued an evacuation order for parts of Khan Yunis on Monday.The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,201 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,470, mostly civilians.Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

When his conservative South Korean party bowed to show remorse for ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol’s disastrous martial law decree, Kim Moon-soo sat alone and resolute in symbolic non-apology.The moment catapulted the labour activist-turned-lawmaker to fame that he now hopes to harness to become South Korea’s next president.”He’s essentially a presidential candidate that social media gave …

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Israeli forces on Monday blocked an international media tour in the occupied West Bank, preventing journalists from entering the village of Oscar-winning Palestinian director Basel Adra who decried worsening Israeli violence.Adra’s film “No Other Land” chronicles the forced displacement of Palestinians by Israeli troops and settlers in Masafer Yatta, an area in the southern West Bank that Israel declared a restricted military zone in the 1980s.Journalists from AFP and other international media travelled to Tuwani at the invitation of Adra, who lives in the village, and co-director Yuval Abraham, seeking to draw attention to a spate of house demolitions and violent incidents in recent weeks.At the entrance to Tuwani, the journalists as well as a Palestinian Authority delegation were blocked by Israeli forces, who said they had a warrant to set up a one-day checkpoint.Abraham called the roadblock a “good example” of what he said was Israeli authorities’ involvement in attacks against Palestinians in Masafer Yatta.Adra said the violence was “getting worse and worse”.”Settler violence increased, the demolitions carried out by Israeli soldiers and authorities against our homes and schools and properties is increasing in very crazy and high numbers,” he told AFP.An Israeli officer who refused to give his name told AFP the force was at the entrance to Tuwani to “keep the public order”.”There were violent clashes between settlers, Jews, Arabs, journalists, and to prevent these violent clashes, we decided not to allow passage today,” the officer said.Adra said that last week, settlers had entered the nearby Palestinian hamlet of Khallet al-Dabaa, which was bulldozed by the Israeli army in early May, with the Israelis harassing the residents who remained despite the destruction.To Abraham, blocking the media tour was a “good example of the relationship between settler violence and the state”.”These police officers and soldiers that are here now to prevent the international media, not only do they not come to prevent the settler violence, often they partake in it,” the Israeli co-director told AFP.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared throughout the Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023.The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.Since the start of 2025, attacks by Israeli settlers have left at least 220 Palestinians injured, the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA has said.According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 937 Palestinians in the West Bank since the Gaza war began.Attacks by Palestinians and clashes during military raids in the West Bank over the same period have killed 35 Israelis, including soldiers, according to official figures.Abraham said he had been trying to hold on to hope that the film’s success would bring change on the ground.”Unfortunately, the world now knows, but there is no action,” he said.