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The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza announced Sunday that the death toll from the war had risen to more than 52,000 people, after hundreds previously listed as missing were confirmed dead.”An additional 697 martyrs have been added to the cumulative statistics after their data was completed and verified by the committee monitoring missing persons,” the health ministry said in a statement, giving the overall toll of 52,243.Several United Nations agencies that operate in Gaza have said the ministry’s data is credible and they are frequently cited by international organisations.One hospital in the Palestinian territory confirmed the data and elaborated on the process.”The families of those initially reported missing had informed authorities of their disappearance, but their bodies were subsequently recovered -— either from beneath the rubble or from areas previously inaccessible to medical teams due to the presence of the Israeli army,” said Khalil al-Daqran, spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.He said the ministry’s release of the 697 figure came after a “judicial committee” that collects and checks data completed its documentation, “confirming their martyrdom and transferring their status from missing persons to martyrs.”When asked why such a large number was announced simultaneously, the Hamas government’s Media Office in Gaza explained that statistics are released periodically.It is not the first time the health ministry has made such a revision.”Because the judicial committee issues its report periodically rather than daily. They follow their own procedural protocols, and once their report was finalised, it was officially adopted,” Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Media Office, told AFP.With Gaza largely in ruins after more than 18 months of war, the health ministry has struggled to count the death toll.Israel has repeatedly questioned the credibility of the daily figures put out by the ministry, criticising the Gaza authorities for failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians.But neither the Israeli military nor top Israeli officials have denied the scale of the overall toll.Earlier this year, Israel and Hamas agreed to a truce, which began on January 19, but collapsed two months later on March 18 due to disagreements over the next phase of the deal.Since then, Israel has resumed its military campaign in Gaza, resulting in at least 2,151 additional deaths.

Fires were still blazing on Sunday after a massive explosion tore through Iran’s largest commercial port the day before, killing at least 25 people and leaving 1,000 others injured, according to state media.The blast occurred Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil output passes.The port’s customs office said in a statement carried by state television that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. A regional emergency official said several containers had exploded.The New York Times quoted a person with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate — a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.Iranian state TV gave an updated toll on Sunday of 25 people killed and 1,000 injured, with thick black smoke still visible in live footage from the scene.”The fire is under control but still not out,” a state TV correspondent reported from the site around 20 hours after the blast.Citing local emergency services, state TV reported that hundreds of casualties “have been transferred to nearby medical centres”, while the provincial blood transfusion centre issued a call for donations.- Blood-stained car -The explosion was so powerful that it was felt and heard about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away, Fars news agency reported.Speaking Sunday at the scene, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said that “the situation has stabilised in the main areas” of the port.He told state TV that workers had resumed loading containers and customs clearance.Images from news agency IRNA on Saturday showed rescuers and survivors walking along a wide boulevard carpeted with debris after the blast at Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran.Flames could be seen engulfing a truck trailer and blood stained the side of a crushed car, while a helicopter dropped water on massive black smoke clouds billowing from behind stacked shipping containers.”The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged,” Tasnim news agency reported.The authorities have closed off the roads leading to the site of the explosion, and footage from the area has been limited to Iranian media outlets.With choking smoke and air pollution spreading throughout the area, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the nearby capital of Hormozgan province, have been ordered closed on Sunday to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort, state TV said.The health ministry urged residents to avoid going outside “until further notice” and to use protective masks.- Mourning -Saturday is the start of the working week in Iran, meaning the port would have been busy with employees.Three Chinese nationals were “lightly injured”, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing its Bandar Abbas consulate.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the deadly blast, adding he had “issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes”.The United Arab Emirates expressed “solidarity with Iran” over the explosion and Saudi Arabia sent condolences, as did Pakistan, India, Turkey and the United Nations.Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “deepest condolences for the loss of life and extensive damage”, and offered to send help in a message to Iran’s leaders.Authorities declared three days of public mourning across Hormozgan province.The explosion came as Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.While Iranian authorities so far appear to be treating the blast as an accident, it also comes against the backdrop of years of shadow war with regional foe Israel.According to the Washington Post, Israel in 2020 launched a cyberattack targeting the Shahid Rajaee Port.

Fires were still blazing on Sunday after a massive explosion tore through Iran’s largest commercial port the day before, killing at least 25 people and leaving hundreds more injured, according to local media.The blast occurred Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil output passes.The port’s customs office said in a statement carried by state television that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot. A regional emergency official said several containers had exploded.The New York Times quoted a person with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate — a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.Iranian news agency Tasnim, citing the provincial judiciary chief, gave an updated toll on Sunday of 25 people killed. State TV said around 800 people were injured.Live footage on Sunday showed thick black smoke still visible at the scene.”The fire is under control but still not out,” a state TV correspondent reported from the site around 20 hours after the blast.The explosion was so powerful that it was felt and heard about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away, Fars news agency reported.Speaking Sunday at the scene, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said that “the situation has stabilised in the main areas” of the port.He told state TV that workers had resumed loading containers and customs clearance.Images from news agency IRNA on Saturday showed rescuers and survivors walking along a wide boulevard carpeted with debris after the blast at Shahid Rajaee, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tehran.Flames could be seen engulfing a truck trailer and blood stained the side of a crushed car, while a helicopter dropped water on massive black smoke clouds billowing from behind stacked shipping containers.”The shockwave was so strong that most of the port buildings were severely damaged,” Tasnim news agency reported.- Mourning -Citing local emergency services, state TV reported that hundreds of casualties “have been transferred to nearby medical centres”, while the provincial blood transfusion centre issued a call for donations.Saturday is the start of the working week in Iran, meaning the port would have been busy with employees.Three Chinese nationals were “lightly injured”, China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing its Bandar Abbas consulate.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed sympathy for the victims of the deadly blast, adding he had “issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes”.The United Arab Emirates expressed “solidarity with Iran” over the explosion and Saudi Arabia sent condolences.With choking smoke and air pollution spreading throughout the area, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the nearby capital of Hormozgan province, have been ordered closed on Sunday to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort, state TV said.The health ministry urged residents to avoid going outside “until further notice” and to use protective masks.Authorities declared three days of public mourning across the province.The state-owned National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company said in a statement carried by local media that the explosion “has no connection” to its facilities, reporting no interruption to its work in Bandar Abbas.The explosion came as Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.While Iranian authorities so far appear to be treating the blast as an accident, it also comes against the backdrop of years of shadow war with regional foe Israel.According to the Washington Post, Israel in 2020 launched a cyberattack targeting the Shahid Rajaee Port.

Stockpiling is the reflex response by firms to the imposition of tariffs, but with the rapidly-changing position of the Trump administration, companies are finding that it isn’t so straightforward this time around.Whether it’s the luxury, electronics or pharmaceutical sectors, US President Donald Trump’s unpredictability complicates the calculations of firms.Some companies didn’t wait for Trump’s April …

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At a mountainside cafe in southwestern China, Liao Shihao brews handfuls of locally grown beans into steaming cups of coffee, a modern twist on the region’s traditional drink.For centuries, Pu’er in Yunnan province has given its name to a type of richly fermented tea — sometimes styled “pu-erh” — famous across East Asia and beyond.But …

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