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A shipowner wanted over a 2020 blast at Beirut port that killed more than 220 people has been arrested in Bulgaria, officials said Tuesday.The August 4, 2020 disaster was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions, ravaging swathes of the Lebanese capital and injuring more than 6,500 people.Authorities have said the blast was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.Beirut authorities identified Igor Grechushkin, a 48-year-old Russian-Cypriot citizen, as the owner of the Rhosus, the ship that transported the ammonium nitrate.Interpol issued red notices for him and two others in 2021.Grechushkin “has been placed in detention for a maximum duration of 40 days by a court decision on September 7, confirmed on appeal,” a Sofia city court spokeswoman told AFP.The authorities requesting extradition have 40 days to send the necessary documents to effect such a move, according to Bulgarian law.- Held at airport -Grechushkin was held on an Interpol red notice at Sofia airport on September 5 upon his arrival from Paphos in Cyprus, a Bulgarian judicial source confirmed to AFP.Wanted by the Lebanese judicial authorities, he is being sought for allegedly “introducing explosives into Lebanon, a terrorist act that resulted in the death of a large number of people, disabling machinery with the intent of sinking a ship”, the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office said in a statement.Grechushkin was arrested during a routine check of passengers arriving from Paphos, according to border police.”He offered no resistance. He repeatedly insisted on speaking to a lawyer and, after consulting one, he fully cooperated,” Zdravko Samuilov, head of the border police at Sofia Airport, told reporters Tuesday.He informed the officers that he came to Bulgaria “for tourism”, Samuilov added.- Long-stalled investigation -The Rhosus, a Moldovan-flagged cargo ship sailing from Georgia and bound for Mozambique, is widely understood to have brought the fertiliser to Beirut in 2013.After it arrived in Lebanon, the Rhosus faced “technical problems”, and security officials said it was impounded after a Lebanese company filed a lawsuit against its owner.Port authorities unloaded the ammonium nitrate and stored it in a run-down port warehouse with cracks in its walls, according to officials.The ship later sank in Beirut port in 2018.An investigation into the blast has been mired in legal and political wrangling.Judge Tarek Bitar resumed his investigation into the blast this year as Lebanon’s balance of power shifted.This followed a war between Israel and Hezbollah that weakened the Iran-backed militant group, which had spearheaded a campaign for Bitar’s resignation.Those questioned in the investigation include former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab, as well as military and security officials.

Israel launched its long anticipated ground assault on Gaza City before dawn on Tuesday, shortly after visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed its goal of eradicating Hamas in Gaza.A United Nations probe, meanwhile, charged Israel with committing “genocide” in the Palestinian territory and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials of incitement.During the night, the military unleashed a massive bombardment of Gaza City as Israeli troops moved deeper into the territory’s largest urban hub.”Last night, we transitioned into the next phase, the main phase of the plan for Gaza City… Forces have expanded ground activity into Hamas’s main stronghold in Gaza, which is Gaza City,” a military official told journalists.”We are moving towards the centre” of Gaza City, he said. When asked whether troops had moved deeper into central Gaza City he replied: “Yes.”The military estimated there were “2,000-3,000 Hamas” militants operating in the area, he added.Defence Minister Israel Katz said Gaza City was “on fire”.”The IDF (Israeli military) is striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the necessary conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” he said.Witnesses told AFP of relentless bombing of Gaza City, much of which is already in ruins after nearly two years of Israeli strikes since the Hamas attacks of October 2023 that triggered the war.”We can hear their screams,” said 25-year-old resident Ahmed Ghazal.Rubio offered robust backing for the offensive on Monday as he met Netanyahu, who has ordered the Israeli military to seize Gaza City.Rubio told reporters as he left Israel: “We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.”Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen.”Rubio, who met Monday in Jerusalem with families of hostages in Gaza, acknowledged that Hamas had leverage by holding them.”If there were no hostages and no civilians in the way, this war would have ended a year and a half ago,” he said at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.A group representing hostages’ families said they were “terrified” for their loved ones after Netanyahu ordered the strikes.”He is doing everything to ensure there is no deal and not to bring them back,” they said in a statement.- ‘Genocide’ -The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), which does not speak for the world body and has faced harsh Israeli criticism, found that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur”, commission chief Navi Pillay told AFP.”The responsibility lies with the State of Israel.”The investigators said explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities along with the pattern of Israeli forces’ conduct “indicated that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy… Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group”.The report concluded that Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and former defence minister Yoav Gallant have “incited the commission of genocide”. Israel said it “categorically rejects this distorted and false report” and called for the “immediate abolition” of the COI.Before flying out to Qatar, Rubio said he hoped the US ally would keep up its Gaza mediation efforts, despite Israel carrying out air strikes against Hamas leaders gathered in the Gulf emirate last week to consider a US truce proposal.”We want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” Rubio said.Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 27 people had been killed by Israeli fire on Tuesday.Media restrictions in the territory and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.- Ahead of statehood push -Rubio’s visit came a week before France will lead a UN summit in which a number of Western governments, angered by what they see as Israeli intransigence, plan to recognise a Palestinian state.Rubio called statehood recognition “largely symbolic”, while Netanyahu — whose government is fervently opposed to such a move — said his country may take unspecified “unilateral steps” in response.The October 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 64,905 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatar’s leader Tuesday to ask the Gulf country to stay on as a mediator in Gaza talks, a week after Israeli warplanes attacked Hamas leaders in the emirate.Rubio, on a brief, hastily arranged stop in Doha, shook hands with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in his office before entering closed-door talks with his aides.Visiting just as Israel launched its ground offensive into Gaza City, Rubio was pessimistic about a ceasefire deal but said Qatar was in a unique position to help.”We’re going to ask Qatar to continue to do what they’ve done, and we appreciate very much, and that is, play a constructive role in trying to bring this to an end,” Rubio told reporters as he flew out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to Doha.”Obviously they have to decide if they want to do that after last week or not, but we want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” he said.Rubio landed in Qatar a day after an Arab-Islamic summit in Doha condemned Israel for the strikes, which have strained relations between the Gulf Arab states and the United States.UN rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday condemned Israel’s strike on Doha, saying it “was shocking breach of international law, an assault on regional peace and stability, and a blow against the integrity of mediation and negotiating processes around the world”.In Doha on Monday, the head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council urged Washington to “use its leverage and influence” to rein in Israel.Rubio said the United States would work with Qatar to finalise a defence agreement soon despite the Israeli military action.President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “won’t be hitting” Qatar again.Rubio made no such comments in Israel. Speaking next to Netanyahu, Rubio was reticent on praising Qatar, saying only that it was important to look forward after the strike.- Duelling US relationships -In language also not used publicly in Israel, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that Rubio in Doha “will reaffirm America’s full support for Qatar’s security and sovereignty following Israel’s strike”.Qatar has been at the centre of diplomacy to broker an end to the nearly two-year Gaza war, and Israel struck as Hamas leaders were gathering to discuss a new US ceasefire proposal.Qatar is home to the largest US air base in the Middle East and is the forward base of Central Command, the US military command responsible for the region.The tiny gas-rich emirate is classified by Washington as a major non-NATO ally, and has assiduously courted Trump, gifting him a luxury plane.But few countries are closer to the United States than Israel, which has enjoyed robust support from Washington despite international opprobrium over its military campaign in Gaza.Hamas triggered the war with its October 2023 attack on Israel.Netanyahu said his government assumes “full responsibility” for the attack on Doha “because we believe that terrorists should not be given a haven”.Before the October 7 attack, Israel and the United States had reportedly quietly encouraged Doha’s role, including its transfer of millions of dollars to Hamas in hopes of maintaining stability in Gaza.In 2012, Qatar agreed to host the Hamas political bureau with US blessing.Both the United States and Israel viewed Qatar, with its close relationship with Washington, as a better place to keep an eye on Hamas and prevent the militants from basing themselves in Iran, which openly backs the group.

Israel unleashed a massive new bombing campaign on Gaza City on Tuesday after visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the ally’s goal of eradicating Hamas and warned only days may be left for a diplomatic solution.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said early Tuesday that Gaza City, the territory’s main urban hub, was “on fire”.”The IDF (Israeli military) is striking terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist, and IDF soldiers are fighting bravely to create the necessary conditions for the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas,” he said.”We will not relent and we will not back down until the mission is accomplished,” Katz said.It was however unclear whether the previously declared ground assault on Gaza City had been launched.Witnesses told AFP of relentless bombing on Gaza City, much of which is already in rubble after nearly two years of Israeli strikes since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.”We can hear their screams,” said 25-year-old resident Ahmed Ghazal.Rubio on Monday offered robust backing for the offensive as he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ordered the Israeli military to seize Gaza City.Pointing to the fresh operations, Rubio told reporters as he left Israel: “We think we have a very short window of time in which a deal can happen. We don’t have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks to go.”Rubio said a diplomatic solution in which Hamas demilitarises remained the US preference, although he added: “Sometimes when you’re dealing with a group of savages like Hamas, that’s not possible, but we hope it can happen.”Rubio, who met Monday in Jerusalem with families of hostages in Gaza, acknowledged that Hamas had leverage by holding them.”If there were no hostages and no civilians in the way, this war would have ended a year and a half ago,” he said at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport.A group representing hostages families said they were “terrified” for their loved ones after Netanyahu ordered the strikes.”He is doing everything to ensure there is no deal and not to bring them back,” they said in a statement.- US still hopes for Qatar role -Rubio was flying to Qatar, which he said he hoped would keep up its mediation, despite Israel carrying out air strikes a week ago in the Gulf country against Hamas leaders gathered to consider a US truce proposal.”We want them to know that if there’s any country in the world that could help end this through a negotiation, it’s Qatar,” Rubio said.President Donald Trump said that Netanyahu would not be hitting Qatar again, although both Rubio and Netanyahu declined to make similar assurances.European powers, but not the United States, have unsuccessfully urged Israel to halt the new Gaza campaign, warning of worsening the humanitarian crisis in the territory, where the United Nations determined last month a million people were facing famine — a finding rejected by Israel.Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the Gaza civil defence agency, told AFP that as of early Tuesday heavy bombing was ongoing in Gaza City, adding that the military also targeted the southern city of Khan Yunis.The agency said at least 17 people had been killed on Tuesday, noting that “the number of deaths and injuries continues to rise”.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.- Ahead of French statehood push -Rubio’s visit come a week before France will lead a UN summit in which a number of Western countries, angered by what they see as Israeli intransigence, plan to recognise a Palestinian state.Rubio called statehood recognition “largely symbolic”, while Netanyahu — whose government is fervently opposed to such a move — said his country may take unspecified “unilateral steps” in response.Far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have called for annexing the occupied West Bank to preclude a state, triggering protests by the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel five years ago. Netanyahu said Rubio’s visit was a “clear message” the United States stood with Israel, and called Trump “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had”.The October 7 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed more than 64,900 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 the Israeli military says are dead.

After youth protests over corruption and joblessness toppled Nepal’s parliament and left dozens dead, villagers like Santosh Sunar see their own struggles reflected in the nation’s turmoil.The 31-year-old is jobless and desperately seeking work, yet he dreads the day he finds it — knowing it will likely mean splitting his family further, leaving his daughter with …

‘Nothing here’: Lack of jobs forces young Nepalis abroad Read More »